Changing the World: starting with me!

2011-08-06T14:08:00.002-05:00

Change #1 Diet
This is what I bought today from the Co-op, Farmer's Market, and Great Harvest Bread Co, and Fish of the Old Block. I will be eating organic and fresh as much as possible.

2011-08-06T13:49:00.003-05:00

The Great Migration...

I pulled out of Conroe, Tx on July 30th with a large u-haul trailer hooked to my Jeep and headed to Mt. Pleasant. On Monday, August 1st, Bubba and I began the trip out of Texas and through Oklahoma, Colorado, Wyoming, and finally into Idaho.

It took us two days of driving until 11 or 12 each night. Because of the trailer we averaged about 60 mph. We stopped a lot on the second day because we were tired of the car. It probably took us about 26 hrs of total drive time.

I am happy to report that at no point did Bubba poke me like I feared he might. We only argued a little bit and over all, it was a pleasant trip. We talked, listened to Celine, talked some more, ate, neither one of us slept, and we mastered pulling the trailer. We did not leave on our first day until noon and so in the future, I would start as earlier on the first day. That way I wouldn't have to drive as long on the second day. Driving across Wyoming is by far the longest part of the trip... Oklahoma has the worst highway... and having reservations at the hotels would have been easier and ensured that we didn't get stuck in a stinky room like the first night.

When we arrived in Pocatello, we stayed at the Best Western. They only had three rooms 2 of them had queen beds and one had a king. We took the king. Turns out, it was the honeymoon suit... That's right people, I stayed in the Honeymoon suit with my brother... It had a giant bathtub in the room next to the bed... it was crazy. I told Bubba that we would never tell anyone that we stayed in the Honeymoon Suit together but it is just too funny not to mention.

Bubba was very helpful and pretty much moved me in. I really only helped him with the washer and dryer. I have since unpacked everything and need to only hang pictures and stuff on the wall. Once I get everything looking cute I will post some pictures for all to see.

2010-06-06T20:11:00.001-05:00

Aproaching 30...

This year I am going to be 28. When I had my birthday last year, I cried. We are talking big crocodile tears. This year, I am not going to cry I am going to age with grace instead. Next year, it will be easy because I plan on turning 28 again.

2010-06-06T20:10:00.002-05:00

Summer Day 2:

Today I spent the day with some of my favorite people. Where did we go? Splashtown! I love Splashtown. Water + Sun= Bliss...

2010-06-05T10:22:00.003-05:00

Summer DAY 1:
I am going to go back to the days of my youth... that's right people I am not going to wear pants unless I have to leave the apartment. And I am going to wear my swimsuit everyday....

2009-08-26T19:30:00.001-05:00

This is my beautiful Sister-in-Law. For those of you who don't know, I am going to be an aunt. I took these pics in my back yard.

2009-04-03T12:14:00.000-05:00

Fair 2009

2009-03-13T12:33:00.000-05:00

Last maternity pics before the baby...

2009-03-13T12:30:00.000-05:00

Rusty protection...

2009-03-13T12:27:00.000-05:00

Did you know that Scooby and Shaggy actually attend birthday parties? I know, it is awesome!

2009-03-13T12:20:00.001-05:00

Because she can't stand to be on the other side of the fence away from her people...

*No puppies harmed in the capturing of this photo.

2009-03-09T09:18:00.001-05:00

Bailey Anne Mlcak a.k.a. BAM!

2008-12-03T15:11:00.001-06:00

Maternity Portraits...

2008-12-03T15:10:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving...

2008-12-03T15:04:00.003-06:00

Thanksgiving picture time

Me and my bro

Grandparents

Mother and daughter

Harley

A family

2008-12-03T15:04:00.001-06:00

Master of Disguise?

2008-12-03T15:02:00.001-06:00

A boy and his pup...

2008-12-03T14:59:00.000-06:00

This is my BFF and her husband. Aren't they beautiful people....

Water Lily

2008-10-17T13:13:00.003-05:00

DSC04400, originally uploaded by Adelheide.

Reflection

2008-10-17T13:13:00.001-05:00

DSC04385, originally uploaded by Adelheide.

Pregnant Portrait

2008-10-17T13:11:00.001-05:00

DSC04751-1, originally uploaded by Adelheide.

2008-03-27T08:56:00.000-05:00

My first photo shoot. . .

2008-03-11T14:32:00.000-05:00

Policeman

One of the best gifts I have ever given.

2008-03-03T09:21:00.000-06:00

Dreaming of living here.

2008-02-26T09:13:00.000-06:00

Trains

They carry things

They are kind of big

They are loud

They stink

They interest me

Where are they going

Where did they come from

2008-02-13T15:29:00.000-06:00

East Shore....

It is a place where dreams are made. I often walk the streets here and dream of the day that I can live in a place with gas light and pools. I find peace here dreaming of a day that could come.

2008-02-05T14:43:00.000-06:00

Mardi Gras Parade (pre-k style)

2008-01-29T11:30:00.000-06:00

Fearless Knight

2008-01-29T11:28:00.000-06:00

Saddie

2008-01-29T11:27:00.000-06:00

Pepper

2008-01-29T11:26:00.000-06:00

Dutch

2008-01-29T11:25:00.000-06:00

Eggs...

2008-01-04T10:38:00.000-06:00

LIGHT...

2007-12-13T14:07:00.000-06:00

Christmas is here...

2007-12-04T09:28:00.000-06:00

Trinity First United Methodist Church in Trinity, Tx

2007-11-16T10:23:00.000-06:00

The story of this typewriter...
When I was a little girl I would go over to my grandparent's house and in their play room they had this typewriter. I would sit at the typewritter and my grandma showed me how to put the paper in the opening and turn the dial that would feed it through to the other side. At first, I would hunt and find the letters in my name. I would type and entire page of just my name and I loved every moment of it. When I was in high school, we needed a typewriter for a play and I knew just the place to find one. I took my theatre teacher over to my grandma's and we picked up the typewritter. By then it had stopped working properly and it was no longer used. Grandma told us that we could keep the typewritter and since then it has been used in many different plays at the high school. This year I was in need of a typewritter for my play and I went to the high school and am now borrowing it for my show. It is an excellent prop and when I am done with it I will return it to the high school but a part of me wants to keep it. Hearing the sound of the typewritter takes me back in time to a place that I had forgotten. It reminds me of a time when my family was different. At time when I was young and unaware of what it was like to be grown up in the world.

2007-11-13T10:35:00.000-06:00

Hayden is now two years old. That means that the little boy I am going to adopt some day is also two years old. I wonder how old he will be when I finally adopt him.

Pablo looks so happy here...
Even separated from his body he looks happy.

2007-10-26T09:10:00.000-05:00

Waiting for the game to start...

2007-10-15T10:31:00.000-05:00

I went to DeQuincy, LA on friday with some friends. DeQuincy is a small town and it was homecoming weekend. There was a parade and the whole town was involved. There was candy and beads and it was a lot of fun. I didn't grow up in a small town but I have always been interested in them. I was glad to have some time to go and do some people watching and participate in the festivities. Time seems to slow down in DeQuincy and it was nice to be able to slow down.

2007-10-15T10:26:00.000-05:00

Homecoming in DeQuincy, LA...

2007-10-10T14:55:00.000-05:00

I went on an adventure with some friends to find a gun shop and these are some pictures I took along the way...

2007-10-10T11:13:00.000-05:00

Best Friends....

2007-10-05T11:42:00.000-05:00

Coke comes to school...

2007-10-03T14:42:00.000-05:00

Comfort....

2007-09-27T10:28:00.001-05:00

I think it has been pulled before...

2007-09-27T10:22:00.000-05:00

Signs that another day of school has been survived...

2007-09-26T11:50:00.000-05:00

See You At The Pole 2007

2007-09-26T11:43:00.000-05:00

Tuesday Night Football

2007-09-25T11:33:00.001-05:00

Underneath the stairs

I decided to start posting more of my photos on here. This is a picture that I took from inside the Apple store in NYC. It is one of my favorites.

2007-09-20T10:49:00.000-05:00

Bald spot? How could it be that I am balding?

2007-09-20T09:15:00.000-05:00

I love kids... This is not some great revelation. I have always loved kids. I especially love little boys. A friend told me today that I always say that every kid is the greatest or cutest kid that I know. I was telling her about how I was going to be keeping two of my favorite kids this weekend. They are two boys that go to church with me and they are super cute and I love being with them. She says that is what I say about all the kids that I hang out with. And it is true. The reason that I say it is because it is true. I don't have to hang out with kids. When I do hang out with them, I get to pick who I want to spend time with. I always pick the ones that are the cutest and most fun to be around. That doesn't mean they are the only kids I ever see but they are the only ones that I like to talk about.

2007-09-11T15:15:00.000-05:00

My Job....

I came to school this morning in a really rotten mood. I have been dealing with some stressful personal type stuff. Nothing major but I am not very good at being stressed and try to escape it when I can but sometimes it catches up to you whether you want it to or not. So anyway, I have been stressed and this morning I was feeling pretty rotten and was ready to have a rotten day. But after about thirty minutes of being here my mood began to change. I realized that I work with some pretty cool people and that I really like my job. I realized for me the best cure for stress is coming to work and being around my students and co-workers. Here I really get to be who I am, I get to do what I do best, I get to teach. And now at the end of the day, I don't really feel stressed, I feel lucky. I am lucky because there are so many people that can't say that about what they do. And maybe I won't feel lucky every day, but I do today. I just wanted to tell somebody that.

2007-09-02T20:09:00.001-05:00

Being the big sister....

For those of you who don't know I am a big sister to three different people.

This is Bubba.....

Bubba moved to New Jersey last week and I am going to miss him being around. One time my cat got out and he came over in the middle of the night and helped me look for him. We didn't catch the cat that night but having him come over and help me made the fact that I couldn't find Napoleon okay. He is the kind of guy that you can call in the middle of the night and he will come and do what ever he can to help you. He has always been there when ever I needed some one to help me. He is great at moving furniture, and playing trivia games. He listens to strange music and lacks table manners. Now that we are adults and have moved past sibling rivalry, I really enjoy being around him and spending time with him. I am really proud of who he has become and the man that he is going to be. I love you Bubba and I hope you learn how to use the phone while you live in New Jersey.

2007-08-30T19:17:00.000-05:00

This is my sweet Thomas. Someday I hope that I can have a little boy just like him. Until then his parents let me borrow him.

2007-08-30T19:14:00.000-05:00

The Gang goes to Bluebell.

2007-08-16T13:57:00.000-05:00

Goodbye Summer

In life, there are several different ways to measure the passing of time. I think that average people look at the calendar, they see the seasons come and go, they look at the months as a guide to the year. Reflection comes at the end of the year in december and resolutions are made for the coming year. This is not the way that it works for me.

For most of my life I have been slave to a completely different calendar. I have measured my time according to the school calendar. My year is broken up into two semesters and the summer. As of today, my summer has ended. When school ended in may my reflections began and I have had the whole summer to reflect on what I think I did well and how I want to change. Honestly, I didn't spend a whole lot of time thinking about school but I am feeling the urge to get really reflective again. This is the time of the year where I make resolutions for the school year.

So you may wonder, what kind of resolutions have I made for myself. I am in no way finished, but here is what I have so far:

1. Continue to have fun
2. Become more involved in the happenings on campus
3. Incorporate the other disciplines into my subject
4. Do at least threee plays
5. Take my courses to the next level
6. Figure out a way to go back to school for my masters

So there you go internet. These are things I want to do this year. I guess time will tell what happens.

2007-07-05T22:51:00.001-05:00

My Best Friends Wedding!!!

My best friend is getting married on July 28th. I took some pictures during the photo shoot for her bridal portraits. Isn't she beautiful?

2007-06-08T21:37:00.000-05:00

A Call to Excellence

I recently attended a meeting for all of the ministry coordinators at church. This was was the second such meeting that we have had since moving into our building. We started the meeting with a throw back to what the first meeting had covered. During the first meeting we talked about the vision of our church and Pastor Glen really hit home how we are called to excellence and how as a church that wants to attract more people we really need to focus on being excellent in all areas of the church. This first meeting really began to challenge me because if I am going to run a ministry in the church and hold it to a higher standard then I am going to have to hold myself to that same standard. Well, during the second meeting we started by reading one of the scriptures that dealt with excellence:

1 The queen of Sheba heard about how famous Solomon was. She also heard about how he served and worshiped the Lord. So she came to test him with hard questions.
2 She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large group of attendants. Her camels were carrying spices, huge amounts of gold, and valuable jewels. She came to Solomon and asked him about everything she wanted to know.
3 Solomon answered all of her questions. There wasn't anything that was too hard for the king to explain to her.
4 So the queen of Sheba saw how very wise Solomon was. She saw the palace he had built. 5 She saw the food that was on his table. She saw his officials sitting there. She saw the robes of the servants who waited on everyone. She saw his wine tasters. And she saw the burnt offerings Solomon sacrificed at the Lord's temple. She could hardly believe everything she had seen.
6 She said to the king, "Back in my own country I heard a report about you. I heard about how much you had accomplished. I also heard about how wise you are. Everything I heard is true. 7 But I didn't believe those things. So I came to see for myself. And now I believe it! You are twice as wise and wealthy as people say you are. The report I heard doesn't even begin to tell the whole story about you.
8 "How happy your men must be! How happy your officials must be! They always get to serve you and hear the wise things you say.
9 "May the Lord your God be praised. He must take great delight in you. He placed you on the throne of Israel. The Lord will love Israel for all time to come. That's why he has made you king. He knows that you will do what is fair and right."
10 She gave the king four and a half tons of gold. She also gave him huge amounts of spices and valuable jewels. No one would ever bring to King Solomon as many spices as the queen of Sheba gave him.

1Kings 10:1-10

As we were reading I was thinking how much better the world would be if our leaders understood how to set an example of excellence. How they would really impress people if they were able to honor their commitments and live a life of integrity. What would it take to see that happen? The only thing I know to do is to require excellence of myself.

2007-06-05T21:34:00.000-05:00

Delusions of Grandeur

So I have been going to the pool the past few days with my cousin and doing some water aerobics. I am attempting to exercise so that I can loose some weight. What you need to know is that there is rarely a time when I am with my cousin that we do not end up overcome by a fit of laughter. I made the comment that I wished we had an Olympic sized pool because then I could swim laps and after all I do have a speedo swimsuit and it was made for racing. Then the conversation switch to synchronized swimming and I decided that I could be a synchronized swimmer. That is when Carri informed me that I suffered from delusions of grandeur. She seemed to think that it would be more likely that I would injure myself attempting to perform and that she would have to call 911 and would not be able to perform CPR because she would be laughing so hard at me. So I guess that I won't be on the next Olympic team for racing or synchronized swimming.

2007-06-04T22:31:00.000-05:00

One, Two, Three strikes your out....

I went to a baseball game on Sunday. I haven't been to a professional baseball game since long before the Astros started playing at Minute Maid Park. I mostly didn't go because I am not all that crazy about baseball. It is a good game but I would much rather play baseball than watch it on tv or in person. As a matter of fact, I only went to the game on Sunday because my favorite three year-old asked me to go and I decided that anywhere he went would probably be fun for me.

Now if you are planning on going to a game anytime soon and you are not a big fan of baseball, I recommend taking along someone that you will find entertaining. I had a great time watching Thomas be amazed at the size of the Park and the fact that there was a giant train. He watched the first few innings and asked questions about what was going on. He ate pizza, pop rocks, and cotton candy. Then somewhere around the 4th inning he began to come down off of his sugar high and fell into a deep sleep for about 3 innings. He slept through the 7th inning stretch and missed "Take Me Out to the Ball Game". It wasn't until someone hit a home run and the whole stadium cheered that he woke up. We left shortly after that because that was about all the baseball we could stand.

So basically if you aren't big baseball fan, you need another form of entertainment. My idea of entertainment is a three year-old. All in all, it was a pleasant experience and I enjoyed the game and the people that I went with. There is something magical about baseball and that was not completely lost on me.

2007-06-04T22:18:00.000-05:00

A reflection....

I have successfully completed another year of teaching. I think that I learned a lot this year about who I am and the kind of teacher that I want to be. When last year was over I was just so glad that I had made it a full year with out any major problems that I didn't really spend a lot of time looking back over my accomplishments and failures. I only set one real goal for myself for the new year and that was to do everything I did the previous year but to do it better. At the end of this year I can say that not only did I do that, I did a whole lot more. I don't really want to go into a long blog about my accomplishments and failures from this past year. I just want to hit a few of the highlights.

I have become more involved on my campus and I feel a connection to the school and to my co-workers that I did not have before. This has dramatically changed the way that I look at my job. I feel like I am on a team that will work together to help educate and change the lives of the students at my school. I want to be on this team because I have gotten to know some of the people that I work with and they are awesome.

Any nervousness about being a new teacher has almost completely gone away and I feel at home in my classroom. I am beginning to form my theatre program and have started dreaming big dreams for what I am going to do in the coming years.

I have realized that no matter how easy or difficult teaching can be, I always have something to learn from my experiences. I am excited about the future and what it holds for me.

2007-05-24T10:32:00.000-05:00

How is it that I could love a cat so much that when he gets out and I can't find him I would be reduced to tears?

Last night at around 11:00 I realized that I had not yet fed my cat and I decided that he was probably very hungry and would want to eat ASAP. I went upstairs to put his food in the bowl and I called for him to come and eat. Usually when I call for him he comes running from where ever he is curled up. I called him, he didn't come. I wend downstairs and called for him, still he didn't come. I started looking for him. I looked in every room under every piece of furniture and behind every box, still no Napoleon.

I asked Carri, "Have you seen Napoleon?" She hadn't seen him and shared with me that he had gotten out when she was doing laundry earlier. She didn't notice he got out until she was back inside and saw him through the glass door. He apparently wanted to come in and was running towards the door. He didn't realize that the door was shut and ran right into the glass. He is not a very bright cat. Carri then wondered if he had gotten out when she went back outside later.

Since he wasn't in the apartment and she had gone outside and I hadn't seen him since she went outside I deduced that he had gotten out and was in the woods. I took a small maglite penlight and went on a search. I spotted him on a path infront of me and as I got closer he went into the woods. I walked through underbrush to try and catch him but there were too many thorns and he was too fast. He got out of my sight and Carri spotted him by the front door. When I got up there she had lost sight of him too. I spent some more time searching and didn't find him. Carri had to go to bed so she went inside and I kept looking.

At first, I was mad at Napoleon for getting out and running from me when I called him but after looking for him for and hour I was starting to worry that I wouldn't catch him and he would have to stay outside all night. I was concerned that he would get run over, wander off, or be attacked by another animal. As I sat there calling for him I started to think about how upset I would be if he got killed or never came back. So, I called my brother. As I told him what happened I began to cry. He offered to come and help me look and I asked him to bring a better flashlight or batteries. Thank goodness for a brother who is a bit of an insomniac.

Bubba came and we looked again and still didn't see him. This time we had a better flashlight and I knew that Napoleon was not where we were looking. After some time had passed we went inside and Bubba had some leftover pizza. While he was eating we heard some cats fighting. We ran outside to see who it was and sure enough there was Napoleon. I ran towards him and he ran off into the woods again. This time I decided not to go in after him. Now I knew that he was staying by the apartment I could finally have a little peace and go to bed.

The next morning when Carri got up she opened the front door and there he was. She brought him up to my room and he came in and woke me up with his purring. I kindly informed him that if he ever got out again and put me through what I went through last night I would be selling him to the chinese restaurant nearby for meat.

What I want to know is when did I become so attached to this cat that the very though of him having to stay outside all night made me cry?

2007-05-22T11:09:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday!

Yesterday was my cousin/roomate's birthday. She is now the same age as me and will be until June when I turn 25. For her birthday she got to go to our old apartment and clean up stuff.

Yesterday was also Napoleon's birthday. He is now three. For his birthday he decided to be sick and puke all over the new stairs and the new bedroom. I am hoping that he was just adjusting to the new place and he will be done puking. If not, I am going to need a new cat. One that doesn't projectile vomit.

2007-05-22T11:04:00.000-05:00

This is the current state of my room. I am able to live in it but it looks like it will be the weekend before I can really do much more.

2007-05-17T15:36:00.000-05:00

Goodbye, Ghetto! Hello, Upper Eastside!

I'm moving on up, to the eastside....

Well, not really.... I am really moving to the south on the westside.

2007-05-04T08:37:00.000-05:00

U.I.Hell (UIL)

First weekend in may, you know what that means don't you? You don't? Well then you are not involved in the world of the Texas UIL One-Act Play. If you were then you would know that right now the state competition is being held in Austin. Eight school from each division come here to peform the show that they started competing with back in March. The plays you find here on these three short days are supposed to be the best plays in the state of Texas. This event is the central event of Educational Theatre in Texas and I am excited to be taking part.
I am here with my former high school theatre teacher and current friend, Jill. She took me around for a little bit yesterday and we went in some cool shops and I took some fun pictures. Here they are:

2007-04-24T14:06:00.000-05:00

Commitment? Huh? You mean I actually have to do what I said I was going to do?

In keeping with the theme of Excellence and Integrity, I asked my students today to define the word commitment. Once again they were great at using words and coming up with a pretty accurate definition. They gave examples of different kinds of commitments like marriage, being on a team, even individual goals. Unfortunately, they don't have much of an idea of what it is like to actually follow through with your commitments.

I hope that they learn how to make commitments and keep them. I hope that they make choices about what they really want in life and focus on attaining those goals. I have great hope that they will grow into people that can accurately prioritize their commitments. For now, I will hope that they make it through their years in school alive, well, and with a knowledge about how to honor their commitments.

2007-04-20T12:08:00.000-05:00

That's right it is TAKS time again. I am happy to report that it is actually over. Today was the last and final of the four days of torture. This picture is a photo of a sketch that I worked on yesterday. It is one of my students while they are taking their TAKS test.

I am an excellent test administrator. I follow all of the guidelines that have been laid out by both the state and the school district. I actively monitor my students. It really isn't that hard to do. I will not complain about what is required of me in that respect nor will I complain about the students that are in my testing room. They are good kids who have not given me any trouble and have done what has been expected of them. All of that said, I do have complaints.

#1- Why do we have to test four days in a row. I don't mind two days but the third day is very difficult. I think we should break the days up a bit.

#2- Why can't we get rid of our testing material after everyone is finished instead of sitting their in silence for hours waiting for them to be collected.

#3- Once all the classes are finished on the hallway could we please shift some student around because I am tired of looking at the same 16 people for several hours each day. This is why I don't teach elementary, I need a break from the same students all day.

I guess those are the only complaints that I have that deserve a mention. At least these are the ones that I think could be fixed. (Notice: I did not mention the fact that there was some problem with the water pressure and we didn't even know if we were going to be able to send students to the bathroom. I also left out the fact that it is extremely cold in my room and no matter what I try I can not seem to regulate the temperature. )

I will end on a positive note, IT IS OVER!! YEA!!!!!

2007-04-04T12:24:00.000-05:00

Excellence and Integrity

It seems to me that these words are not foreign to most people. I asked my students today what the work excellence means and they said things like, "When you do something very well." "goodness" "perfection" "being sucessful". They are right this is a part of excellence. I feel confident that if I were to ask them what integrity means they would give me answers that would define integrity. So if a bunch of junior high students understand these words, it is safe to say that most people probably understand them. I don't think people have a problem with word meaning. They have a problem with taking those words and applying them to the way they live their lives.

Living your live with excellence means challenging yourself to be the very best person that you know how to be. It means that you treat others with kindness and respect. It requires you to examine your short comings and learn from them. It means that in the face of adversity you stand strong and fight. I don't think people know this. They say they understand excellence but you can look at this world and see that there are lots of people fooling themselves. I don't want to be one of those people.

Integrity is when you do what is right not matter if someone is watching you. People who have integrity keep their commitments. They don't lie, they don't cheat, and they don't walk around full of pride. I aspire to be a person of integrity.

This is what I am learning now. I am learning what it truly means to strive for excellence and pratice integrity. This is what I want to share with the world around me.

2007-03-27T11:02:00.000-05:00

I went to the challenge course this past weekend with students from my school. The weather was great and we learned lots about ourselves and our ability to accomplish great things. I was a sponsor for the trip andI took the pictures. I have lots of great pictures but because of FERPA I cannot post pictures of students on this sight. I will say this, I didn't know that I was afraid of heights until I got up on top of the element and had to walk across a wire that appeared to be a thin as a piece of string.

2007-03-01T14:14:00.000-06:00

OUCH!!!!!!!

I have an impacted wisdom tooth and it hurts. Only one of the four teeth are impacted but make no mistake they all hurt. It is just that the impacted tooth hurts more. I am sure that the minor discomfort I am experiencing pales in comparisson to say a sore that is infected and showing signs of gain green. I tell myself that it doesn't really hurt and that I was in more pain when I had an absessed tooth but having four teeth in pain is much worse it is like having surround sound pain. I am fully engulfed, there is no part that doesn't hurt. No wonder people were driven crazy from teeth pain at the turn of the 20th century.

The good news is that I have an appointment with an oral surgeon in a week. Bad news is, it is in a week and then I still have to wait to have them removed.

2007-02-09T14:58:00.000-06:00

The world needs a moral compass...

I see children everyday who do things everyday that they know are not to right thing to do and they don't care. They lack integrity and moral disicpline. They are to follow rules set forth by their teachers, school, parents, and whom ever else has authority over them. They are at an age where they will be faced with many descisions that will effect the people they are to become. The sad part is that many of them are not going to make descisions that will lead them to a place where they will ultimately have some control over their own lives.

They know from their parents that it is not fun to have to live under authority. Their parents are under the authority of a boss, the criminal justice system, money, addiction, and many other things that control how they live. The problem is that they don't see that they have a choice about how they want to live and their choices start now in the 7th and 8th grade. They will have to decided what kind of people they want to be.

Do they want to be people who will stand up for what is right? Do they want to try and make a difference in the lives of others? Do they want to have dreams and make them come true? Do they aspire to be something more than what their parents have become?

I know that they dream. I ask them what they think and I listen to their answers. I just want them to understand that if they don't want to live under the authority of someone else, then they have to start making choices that are going to lead them in the direction of their dreams.

I hope that they hear me. I hope that they can imagine a life where they are happy and fulfilled. I hope that they understand what it means to be a person of integrity. I hope they see what a life that is lived with character and a love for other people really means. I hope they see how to make their dreams come true.

2007-02-09T09:23:00.000-06:00

I recently returned from a trip to NYC and NJ with my brother. I was go to have a break from the routine that I have grown accustomed too. This was my second time to visit the Big Apple and I hope there will be many more. For me, there is something magical about a city that is so diverse. New York is the place where dreams come true. At least, that is what my perception of the place is. Obviously there are lots of horrible things that happen everyday but the feeling that I get while I am there is a sense of wonderment. Someday, I think I will try and move there. I want to be a part of a place where so many different people come and have to live together and share the same space.

I spent my time in the city running around trying to see everything that I could. I went from one end of manhattan to the other. I took somewhere around 300 pictures and still I don't think I captured how amazing in can be to walk around the city. I was very cold and I think I would have taken even more pictures but my hands got cold holding the camera.

2007-02-07T15:46:00.000-06:00

Times Square at dusk. I love this city and this place. I wish I lived here.

2006-11-25T21:41:00.000-06:00

Fishing, it's lots of fun. There are downsides; not catching any fish, not being able to cast with a real rod and real, having a chapped face from zooming across the water with the cold air beating your fat cheeks. It is my belief that the upsides far out weigh the downsides. The thrill of the hunt, the excitement of getting your line caught in a tree, and on a good day the joy of actually hooking a fish.

I have grown up fishing. My Grandma lives on a small lake and from an early age I have been casting my line into the lake and catching perch or bass. One time when I was six I caught and eight lbs bass. It was pretty awesome. This past summer I learned a new kind of fishing. I learned how to jug fish. It is amazing. You get a bunch of bottles or sealed pvc pipe, tie a hook, and bait. Then you throw it into the lake, watch it float, and when a fish gets hooked you chase it down and pick it up.

This weekend, I learned a new way to fish. I am not sure how to spell it but it is called trolling. You get some poles, bait them, drop them in the water, let it trail behind the boat. You drive the boat at a slow rate and wait for a fish to get hooked and real it in. If the fish are biting this can be a very productive way to catch them because you can have as many lines in as you have poles.

Unfortunately, the fish were not biting this morning because it was very foggy. We did catch six fish and I was able to reel in two of them. I really did like fishing even though we didn't get much. It was very relaxing and I look forward to doing it again.

2006-11-13T12:45:00.000-06:00

SO, It is official, I am an adult and as an adult it is time for me to buy a home. I am tired of throwing money away every month to live in a cheap some what run down apartment. It is time to make a change and have my own home. I need a plan of action. I don't have a plan of action. I don't have any idea where to start. I guess I will make an appointment to talk to an agent or something. This is the house I want to live in. It has a cool master bathroom. I figure that isn't the most important thing in a house but it is the only thing that I am sure I want. Problem is that my salary will never pay for this house. I guess I will have to start looking for a rich man to marry. I am so not above marrying a man so I can have the perfect bathroom.

2006-10-31T22:21:00.000-06:00

So I have a myspace but I never write on it because I can't access it from my job and I am never on my computer at home. I have decided that I really want to be a blogger so I am going to try blogging here and see what happens.

I started this blog by posting some pictures of halloween costumes and I now feel like giving and explanation of the pictures. They are the costumes that my cousin and our friend made for halloween this year. My cousin and I had known for a long time that we wanted to be the good witch and bad witch from the Wizard of Oz, so on friday night we decided to start making them. The plan was to finish them by Saturday so we could go to a costume contest. We had a few challenges like the fact that we only had one sewing machine, we had never made a costume, could barely read a pattern, and we also decided that our friend should join in our festivities and be Dorthy. It was a long night that turned into an early morning and then another late evening. But as you can see, we were successful in the costume making. Unfortunately, we were not successful at the contest and did not win anything. But I am already thinking about what I should be for next year. Any ideas?

2006-10-30T20:12:00.000-06:00

In and out of focus.

2006-10-30T14:02:00.000-06:00

Verdigree

2006-10-30T13:58:00.000-06:00

Dorthy after the Rainbow!

2006-10-30T13:54:00.000-06:00

Dorthy before the Rainbow!

2006-10-30T13:48:00.000-06:00

Glowing Glinda the Good