I passed the Praxis II!

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just got my scores. Did very well on the Curriculum & Assessment test and semi-crappy on the Reading Specialist test (only needed a 30% to pass). Passed both and I can rest a little easier now.

I Want Every One of Them to Be Like This

I need some sit-and-do-nothing time but I really, really wanted to post on here, so I'm giving myself 15 minutes and then I'm off the computer... A quick but happy post!

Teaching:

Much more to say about this later, but I wrote the "Fantastic Weekend" section before this and so now I am ready to be done writing ;) I am loving my kids a little more each day and finally getting settled into a very different schedule than the one I had this summer (which was, essentially, no schedule). Lakeview is great (along with the 2-minute commute) and my supervising teacher, Kari, is awesome (we were both college athletes, still really into sports & fitness, like a lot of the same things, so that's nice) and so are the other second grade teachers (we do a lot of team teaching). The first few days were pretty rough because I was so tired that I wanted to crawl into bed the moment I stepped foot inside the door, but as I get a little bit more used to the workload (busy, busy, busy), the hours, and the non-stop movement (don't ever let anyone tell you teaching is easy, because they clearly have no clue what they are talking about) I am starting to feel a little more like myself at the end of the day (rather than believing someone was lacing my food with horse tranquilizers, as I did the first few days). It is going to be a long but hopefully successful and rewarding semester, and I'm just holding on tight!

A Fantastic Weekend:

This past weekend was one of the BEST all summer. I think part of it was that I had such a hard, long, exhausting week at school, so by the time Friday rolled around I was thanking my lucky stars. It's hard to truly appreciate the weekend without a butt-kicking week before it.

On Friday evening, completely and utterly pooped from the long week of second grade, I dragged myself to Emily's apartment to take our FINAL EXAM for that HORRIBLE online class I have been griping about all summer to anyone who would listen. Neither of us were at all happy to have to tackle such a task after a very trying week, but we knew we needed to just take it head on and that 3 months of crappiness would be over within 60 minutes. We were both so tired that we were slap happy and spent most of the exam yelling obscenities at the computer, but 60 minutes later we were done, the class was done, and I could have cried I was so happy.

To celebrate the death of our class and the end of our first week of teaching, Emily, Catherine, and I enjoyed dinner and drinks in the beautifully mild August evening outside at Scotty's Brewhouse. We ate lots of tasty, bad-for-you food and shared the biggest dessert ever (Cookie Monster... 5 warm chocolate chip cookies, 5 scoops of ice cream, and whipped cream), only making it through about half, and had a great time digesting our experiences in the classroom that week. Even though we were all ready to head home and hop in bed by about 9:00, it was a great way to unwind.

On Saturday, after a tasty breakfast of lemon cottage cheese pancakes on the back porch with Gearry, I took my last "shake the legs out" ride before Tri Indy on Sunday. I only rode for about 30 minutes, cruising nice and easy down Strain Ridge Rd. I was getting a little nervous about the tri since I haven't had much time to train over the past couple weeks because of school, but I knew that I have biked enough this summer that I would be able to grind out the 25 miles at a decent pace, so I just tried to psyche myself up for this event that I had been looking forward to all summer. In the afternoon, I ran a few errands and picked up some fun stuff for my bike, including a new water bottle rack & water bottle, as well as a sweet new wireless speedometer. (Which I installed myself... Which is good for me since we all know I am mechanically inept.) Then I headed over to my triathlon teammate Allison's (swim) house to make a healthy pre-race dinner with her and Anne (run), our other teammate. Grilled vegetarian "chicken," corn on the cob, green beans, and spinach salad, along with all our excitement about the next day's events, made for a great dinner.

Sunday -- Race Day!! I so wish I had remembered to take the camera, but as usual, I forgot. Gearry and I hit the road bright and early at 5:00 a.m. so that we could make it to Indy, pick up my registration packet, set up transition, and breathe for a few minutes before our 7:30 start time. Anne and Allison met us there and we talked some strategy quickly before Allison had to hightail it up to the swim start. It is crazy when you spend so long planning and training for an event that seems like it will never get here and then BAM, it's here and it is time to rock it!

I could go on and on about the race, but I'm approaching my self-appointed 15 minute time limit, so I'll sum it up in two words: FUN and HOT. It was a blast! But holy poop, it was hot as balls! It was at least 90 degrees, crazy bright sun, and humid. That added it's own challenges, along with the fact that it was a pretty windy bike ride (some of the roads felt like wind tunnels). I didn't make my goal of maintaining an average of 20 mph (I finished at 17.8 and should have been faster) but I thought I did a pretty decent job of handling the 25 mile course given the circumstances and my lack of recent training (I've barely ridden 100 miles in the past few weeks). Allison and Anne both had a really fun time AND... We won third place in the all-female team division! Since we just kind of threw our team together this summer, that was pretty exciting. Now I have another little Tri Indy trophy to go with my one from last year. I'm on a roll... I think next year if I don't get a trophy I might be a little disappointed ;)

Finally, even though I was tired and sore, after getting back to Bloomington around 1:00, Josh and Gearry and I spent a little time in the afternoon at the pool and tiki bar, and then met up with Mom and Dad at the dam for some boating/tubing/kayaking action. Even though it was originally only Gearry and I who were brave enough to tube, we convinced Mom and Josh to have a go at it, which made for an extremely entertaining evening. We had so much fun! It was just a fantastic evening with the whole Young clan.

And, even though it was not technically the weekend, the goodness continued into Monday. After a good day at school, Mom, Dad, & Josh joined Gearry and I for Mexican Monday at the Eagle Pointe Clubouse... Taco bar & Coronas :) Fabulous. Afterward all of us took the puppies on a walk down to the water and let Zoey swim while we watched the sunset. Love it. Some pictures below for your viewing pleasure.

Puppy Photo Shoot!

The puppies are ALWAYS cute, in my opinion, but there was something about them today that just made them extra cute, and they were being excellent models, so one photo turned into two which turned into three and then suddenly I had a puppy photo shoot on my hands! For those of you who are not on Facebook, I thought I'd post some of the pictures. Hope they bring a smile to your face!

The Chase

Last day of July. In honor, I took this video while laying out by the lake today. I read my entire new issue of the Vegetarian Times, got some sun, and went for a dip. It was so beautiful, I couldn't resist capturing a bit of it, although my cell phone camcorder is a bit fuzzy.

August... dreaded. For many, it is a gateway to fall and a last warm-weather hoorah, but for me it simply means back to school, days shortening minute by minute, the beginning of harried schedules, a day-planner so chocked full there is no where else to write, and COLD months approaching too quickly (Have I mentioned on here 2, 3, 4,000 times that I hate the cold?). Yes, that is pessimistic, but that's how I feel. And the great thing about blogs is you get to say how you feel ;) My mood tends to dip starting about this time, not to pick back up until next May. I am OK in August, somewhat pleasant in September, can be dealt with in October & November, survive December due to the pleasantness of the holidays, become a royal witch in January & February, start to come out of things in March, lighten up more in April, and finally return to my old self for May, June, & July. 3 months a year is no way to live... I definitely need to relocate somewhere with year-round warmth. Until then, I will TRY to be optimistic. Fall has beautiful colors, I love wearing jeans and hoodies and cute scarves and pea coats, I am obsessed with football, it is cool enough to run during the middle of the day, the holidays mean time with family I don't get to see often enough, and the first snow fall of the year really is pretty. See, I'm not entirely a cool/cold-months party pooper!

I meet with my supervising teacher for student teaching next Wednesday to help set up the classroom, meet some people, etc., and then my first real day is Monday, August 10th (two days of meetings... Students' first day is August 12th). Even though I am NOT excited about the two classes I have to take on Monday evenings on campus (a practicum seminar and a research seminar), I AM excited -- although extremely nervous -- to start student teaching and to hopefully learn a ton from my supervising teacher and my experiences this fall. I will student teach full-time from August 10th through Thanksgiving break and then... I'm DONE. If I passed the Praxis II and don't completely screw up my student teaching, I will have my teaching license in December and be officially unemployed ;) No worries, though. I am fully committed to substitute teaching & networking for however long it takes. Most in my program who want to teach in the Monroe County area end up substitute teaching for about a year and a half (some longer, some shorter... the graduate program has a really good reputation, but so much is about who you know and being in the right place at the right time). That is a LONG time as a sub, but I know it is the best way to make contacts, get more experience, and make some much-needed cash after spending the last year and a half paying so much to IU.

OK, Bailey just woke himself up barking in his sleep. Too cute. I wonder what puppy dreams are like? I mean, how complicated could they be? They would either have to involve playing, eating, or sleeping. On that deep, philosophical note (ha!), I'm going to go get some work done for my class -- or, more likely, take a nap -- and rest up for whatever the evening may hold. Mom and Dad may be coming up to grill out for dinner and go listen to the band at the clubhouse/tiki bar tonight. No workout today... need to give my legs a day off. Had a great 24 mile ride yesterday on Hwy. 446. Minus the part where I got CHASED by a deer. I startled it and instead of running away from me, it ran toward me, chasing me down the highway for all of maybe 5 terrifying seconds. Luckily, a car approached and it got spooked and ran away. How in the world would I have explained getting tackled on my bike by a deer? Anyway, legs are resting; another ride tomorrow. Getting pumped for Tri Indy 2009!

UPDATE: Dad wimped out on the band & tiki bar... boo! But Mom is on her way up to grill out on the back deck and hit up the clubhouse later! Yay, Mom!

Where the heck did summer go??

This picture is how I want to remember summer (Mom took this when I wasn't paying attention and sent it to me today... I'm pretty sure I felt as relaxed as I looked). Because even though it is still only July, it is almost over for me! I will be back in the classroom the first week of August in preparation for the upcoming school year and I begin full-time student teaching at Lakeview on August 10th! I cannot believe May, June, and most of July flew by so quickly. I got to experience and enjoy a lot of awesome/fun/crazy/interesting/new things, but I feel like I need at least another month or so. But too bad... Because fall is closing in.

I have no excuse for not posting regularly since I'm only a part-time student this summer (although I'm a pretty awesome full-time housewife). And to sum up all of the things I have done since my last post would be difficult. But I'll share some snippets of the fun.

Fourth of July - Perhaps the worst EVER. It rained (poured) the entire day and Gearry had to work, of course. Other than grilling out with my friends Allison and Carly on our back porch for a couple hours in the afternoon, it was a pretty disappointed snoozefest. Especially compared to last year, which was the best 4th of July EVER at Stebby's parents' lakehouse in Michigan. *Sigh* Stebby was in Wisconsin for her PT clinicals this holiday, so it didn't work out. Perhaps next year... I need some Stebbins family craziness!

Auditions - Mom and I decided, on a whim, to audition to be extras in an indie film that is filming this summer in Austin, Texas and Bloomington. I did a lot of first things this summer -- first triathlon, first international vacation, to name a couple -- so I thought, why not "act" in my first movie? Of course, as an extra not much acting is involved. And, even though we had to "audition," that really isn't the correct word for it since it only involved getting our body shot and head shot taken, and filling out some contact information. Mom got called to be in a scene that filmed in Lawrence County this past Monday. I got called to be in a scene that is filming in Bloomington this coming Saturday. I don't know a lot of details about the film except that it is about a girl who tries to "escape" the holds of a fundamentalist Christian cult and finds her own definition of faith in the process. Mom had a good time during her shoot Monday, although she said it was long and sometimes a bit dull. But she thought the process was really interesting and was glad she did it, so I'm looking forward to Saturday.

That Other Thing on Saturday - Oh yeah, there's another little thing I have to attend to on Saturday: The Praxis II Exam. From 7:30 am to 1:00 pm, I will be torturing myself in a classroom at the IU Kelly School of Business as I take this exam that will allow me to get my teaching license. I've heard that it is really difficult from some and really easy from others, but everyone I know that has taken it has passed it, so I'm not too worried. Although I should probably do a bit of studying between now and then to make myself feel a little better about it. I have to pass it, or I won't be able to get my license until next year and I would really like to have it in December in case a random second semester job opens up.

Chicago - When your friends are scattered around the midwest (and the country for that matter!) you get to do fun things in order to hang out with them... like meet for a crazy weekend in Chicago! To celebrate our birthdays (Stebby's is July 22nd, mine July 23rd), my friends and I decided to organize a girls' weekend to Chicago this past weekend. Hillary's husband was in Indy for the weekend teaching at a conference, so it worked out perfectly. Hillary and I drove up to East Chicago together and then took the train into the city, where the two of us enjoyed Friday evening with a LOT of walking (we got lost on the way to our hotel), some Chicago pizza, and lots of tasty drinks at a neighborhood sports bar, where we watched everyone else watch the White Sox game (we don't really do baseball). On Saturday, Stebby's train arrived from Wisconsin and we enjoyed lunch and drinks at Navy Pier, some shopping on Michigan Avenue, and, again, LOTS of walking. Our friends Carly and Alli were supposed to take the train in from Crown Point on Saturday, but some issues with Alli's dog resulted in spending the day at the vet and missing the last train in, and they were both too tired to drive. So, Stebby, Hillary, and I met up with our friends and former roommates, Raechelle and Richelle, for birthday dinner at an amazing vegan restaurant, Karyn's Cooked. They use no animals products and no refined sugars, and the food was AWESOME. Stebby and I were like kids on Christmas because we could order ANYTHING from the menu instead of having to pick from one of the couple vegetarian options restaurants usually have (typically pasta and salad). Stebby ordered "ribs" and I had spaghetti and "meat" balls. Great food and great to see the twins again, and their apartent. The pic below was taken on the balcony of their sweet apartment downtown.

By the time we finished dinner and checking out the apartment, it was close to 11:00 and time to party! We ended up in some other part of Chicago (I'm not even sure what part!) at Spin, a super fun club where we danced like crazy until around 2:00 a.m. I was ready to keep going, but we had an early train to catch in the morning, so I was glad Hillary acted as our voice of reason and convinced Stebby and I that we did want some sleep. Getting to spend a fun weekend with Colleen and Stebby in D.C. in June and then Hillary and Stebby in Chicago in July was one of the highlights of the summer. It is hard when your college friends become scattered, but I love that we are all committed to making the distance work and take turns traveling here and there for some girl time.

Birthday - 25 is a scary birthday for some reason. In response to my "fear," I decided to do what most girls do every year and spend an entire week celebrating my birthday. I mean, one day is really too little to celebrate the fabulousness that is me, right? ;) Starting with Chicago, my b-day celebration also includes dinner at my parents' tomorrow; pizza & a movie with friends on Friday; Upstairs Pub with friends on Saturday night; and, since Gearry has to work on my actual birthday, dinner at The Melting Pot in Indy and shopping on Sunday. OK, so that's actually a week and 2 days, but who is really counting?

Vacation Pics

Getting ready to walk down to the lake to lay out/swim/hang out with my friend Allison, so not much time to write about the fabulousness that is Mexico, but I promise more details later. In the meantime, here is a link to our photo album from the trip... enjoy!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2651528&id=6807128&l=e4a653daa4

Hola from Puerto Vallarta!

hey, all! typing this on a keyboard with mostly spanish keys, so forgive me if i dont use capitals or punctuation correctly! at an internet cafe in downtown puerto vallarta, sunday afternoon. just finished lunch by the ocean and decided to check our emails and facebook and send you guys a hello before we go do some more exploring.

everything is going well. i am sure i will talk your ear off about it when we get home. actually not that hot here (upper 80s, lower 90s) but very humid, so you walk down the street for two minutes and you are sweaty, sweaty, sweaty. some big storms in the evenings or at night, lots of beautiful lightning over the ocean, but so far it has not stormed or rained during the morning or afternoon, though it looks like it could any minute and we forgot our umbrella at the condo... whoops! yesterday was beautifully sunny and very hot, today very overcast and not as hot, but still quite humid.

we really love our condo... it is a very scary (the road is like the pacific highway, right by the ocean with big cliffs and the drivers drive very very fast... pretty much no traffic rules here!) 10 minute bus ride from downtown, but that also means it is very quiet and very beautiful. view is amazing. the water at the beaches in town is almost brown from the runoff from the rivers and mountains, but the water at playa gemeles, where we are staying, is like carribbean water, very clear blue, so you can see down for many feet. very glad we decided to stay just outside of town. makes coming into town an adventure, and then you feel very relaxed when you go home in the evening.

i dont know what we would do without gearry being essentially fluent in spanish, though. i cant imagine being here just by myself, only speaking english and just a few basic spanish phrases. his spanish has helped us out a ton. he had a 10 minute coversation in only spanish with the cab driver on the way from the airport... good way to make friends. i just sat there stupidly, understanding about every 20th word. haha. the only other bad thing about it here is the many, many, many vendors trying to sell you things on the beach and the streets and getting you to come into their stores and restaurants. that is how it is in many foreign countries that cater to tourists, however, not just mexico. it is the low season, plus the economy is hurting badly from the medias horrible coverage of the drug wars and the swine flu, so people are desperate for money. you have to say no gracias, no gracias, continually. they are usually not pushy though. if you say no gracias, they leave you alone. some of the time. some are a bit aggressive, but again, it helps that gearry is pretty fluent. they are just hurting for money. it is nothing like the media portrays as far as violence and such though. no swine flu, no drug violence. police are everywhere, along with security, and everyone has been nice so far. if you want trouble, you can find it. but that is just like anywhere.

were going to go do some shopping and then have dinner at an awesome vegetarian restaurant and probably hang out at one of the beach bars this evening before head back south to the condo for the night. we spent the afternoon in town yesterday, but today will be our first evening in the city. tomorrow is our anniversary and we are going on a canopy tour in the a.m. in the mountains (zip lining and then swimming in one of the mountain rivers) and then going out for a nice oceanside dinner in the evening. we dont have any plans for tues., wed., thrs., or fri. weve been good about not making too many plans. our favorite thing to do here so far is just be lazy and lay on the beach and play in the waves!

They're baaaaaack...

Remember the post last year when Gearry and I had planted our new lilies and were SO EXCITED for them and then they died like a week later and we were like, "Oh?" Well, just to show you how we are completely NOT aware of how flowers work, we were pleasantly surprised a couple of weeks ago when buds appeared on them once again, and especially a couple days ago when, BAM! Flowers appeared. Apparently they are a briefly lived once-a-year treat. I'll get another picture soon in the short time frame between when all the buds bloom out and they die!

I'm finishing up the last of my packing for my D.C. girls' weekend. My flight leaves Indy tomorrow at 1:45 pm, so I plan to have breakfast with Gearry in the morning and then head up to the airport around 10:30 am. I land at 3:20 pm for three days of fun and mayhem!

And just because it is cute and because I took a picture of Zoey napping in almost the exact same place last week and I am an equal opportunity puppy parent, here is a picture I took this afternoon of Bailey catching some Z's on the guest room bed while I worked on my e-portfolio for P540 (which I spent the afternoon doing TWICE since when I went to hit the "submit" button it erased my entire portfolio. Yeah, a lot of cursing ensued.)

If I was a nudist, there would be much less to pack... hmm...

I HATE unpacking. Just ask Gearry. After every rowing road trip this spring, I would throw my suitcase on the floor in the bedroom and there it would stay until the next weekend, when it was time to pack it up and leave again (if I was really lucky, I could just leave most of the clean stuff in it and never really had to unpack it at all!). So, it should not be surprising that before I can pack for my Washington, D.C., trip this weekend, I must first UNPACK the suitcase from when I went camping with my parents a few weekends ago (which is lying on the floor of our bedroom, of course). It's even more fun thinking that when I get back from D.C. on Monday evening, I'll have to pretty much unpack right away so that I can start packing for Puerto Vallarta! I should just start storing all of my clothes in suitcases 24/7. It would be more efficient. I need to hire a personal assistant to do the few obligatory things in life I do not look forward to: unpacking/packing; folding laundry; dusting; taking recyclables to the recycling center; and taking the dogs out to potty when it's raining/cold/snowy.

So, I'm off to unpack and then re-pack. Even though I don't leave until Friday morning. I'm procrastinating from working on this transcribing assignment and my horrid P540 Learning & Cognition class.

Love.

Yesterday was a fantastic Sunday. I was still feeling the delayed effects of Saturday's race (i.e. I woke up feeling like I got hit by truck), but that was OK since Gearry and I decided our mission for the day was to relax. Gearry doesn't typically get Sundays off, but since his promotion he's worked out a schedule where he alternates Sunday-Monday off one week, Tuesday-Wednesday off the next week, Sunday-Monday, Tuesday-Wednesday, etc. We slept in, enjoyed some banana-chocolate chip pancakes and coffee on the back porch, and then Gearry tackled his long-neglected and self-appointed duty of grooming the dogs. This is a messy project in which our kitchen becomes pretty much useless for cooking for a day, but it results in some cute, clean little puppies without a trip to the groomer.

After we cleaned up from the grooming mess, we met up with Mom and Dad over at the dam and spent the day with them on their boat. It was a gorgeous day, not too hot. The water was a bit chilly, but not enough to keep us from hanging out in it! (This picture is of pale Gearry BEFORE he turned into a lobster... Despite my many, many -- probably annoying -- reminders to keep putting on sunscreen.) We went for a ride, spent most of the day anchored by the dam swimming & hanging out, and then ended the day with another spin around the lake.