The fire dancer isn't dancing......

So, I had every intention of making my next post a post all about summer's closing. I was going to talk about all the adventures I had, cool things I accomplished, the craziness that is house hunting, and the stresses of starting all over in a new district (that is fully under construction), but something I heard on the radio this morning has inspired me to change that plan (although I should still be making that post in the next 7 days). After getting out of the shower this morning, the radio announcer introduced "Too Much" by Dave Matthews Band and stressed to listen closely to LeRoi Moore on the sax. I thought it was odd for two reason. First, this particular station rarely plays any Dave. Second, it was the album cut, so I didn't hear anything particularly special about the song. Then, after the song had ended, the DJ shared that LeRoi died yesterday. The press release on the official Dave Matthews Band website says:

We are deeply saddened that LeRoi Moore, saxophonist and founding member of Dave Matthews Band, died unexpectedly Tuesday afternoon, August 19, 2008, at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles from sudden complications stemming from his June ATV accident on his farm near Charlottesville, Virginia. LeRoi had recently returned to his Los Angeles home to begin an intensive physical rehabilitation program.

My first response was simply WOW. If you know me, you know that I am a HUGE DMB fan. Just look around my blog and you will see multiple references to the band. A few seconds after I heard about LeRoi's death, it hit me that I would NEVER see the band perform as a whole unit ever again. If I wasn't bitter ENOUGH over the unfortunately events of missing the last two tours... Let me refresh your memory. Two summers ago Keith, Carlie, Pat, and I attempted to drive to Alpine Valley for the yearly show. In Janesville (less than 40 miles from East Troy) the tranny went out in my car. We never made it. I was VERY upset, needless to say. And what made it so much worse was that the band played "Loving Wings" that night; that is a very rare concert song. It is only two cds, both part of the Gorge 6 cd pack; the song played during our wedding ceremony. That tour, two summers ago, would have been my last chance to see the band play all together. This past Aug (the 9th) DMB played at Alpine Valley again. It was also the same weekend of Western Days, so obviously we didn't' go to the concert.

Anyway, rants beside, I just had to share my discontentment related to the passing of LeRoi Moore. He was one of the founders of one of the greatest bands of all time. His talent was not overlooked and will be greatly missed by fans all over the world.

At Summer's beginning...

So, last week was my first week of summer vacation. This vacation is unlike others because I don't have to worry about applications, interviews, and the stress that goes along with that. You may be asking, "Heather, whatever did you do with your time off?"

Monday I spent the whole day scrapbooking the trip to Vegas we took last June with Carlie and Keith. It made me even more excited for next summer's trip to celebrate Tiff's 21st birthday.

Tuesday was a girls day with Carlie. I drove to Waseca to pick her up; then we headed to Albert Lea to get some MN Wild autographs! It was worth the wait in line. After that we headed to the Sugar Room in Mankato for lunch, but its kitchen was closed :( We wandered around the streets and found McGoff's (an Irish pub) and ate there. I was really impressed with the place and hope to end up there again someday soon. THEN we went to Cactus Tattoo. I had a 3:30 appointment. If you haven't heard yet I got a tattoo of Bacon's paw print on top of my right foot. I chose my right foot since Bacon used to always sleep on my foot and would often set his paw on my right foot if I was feeling down. I realized camping Memorial Weekend that I've had Bacon over half of my life. After his stroke in January I am constantly worried about saying good-bye to him, but this way I will always have him with me in a way. It turned out pretty sweet :)

Wednesday I FINISHED the Vegas scrapbook. It took over 15 hours, but I did it!

Thursday I was suppose to go fishing with my Dad, but the water was much too high. Instead we went out for breakfast to Daniels in Kasson, I showed him where my future school is, then we wandered around checking out water levels and just talked. It was very relaxing.

Friday I spent the day at my sister-in-laws helping her make food and decorate for her daughters graduation open house. I thought it would be stressful having 7 women working together in the kitchen, but it was actually really fun!

Saturday I spent the day at Kayla's open house drinking free beer, playing bags, and eating. Does it get any better than that?

YEAH FOR SUMMER!!!

It's Official!!!

This is a bittersweet week for me, although I suppose the end of the school year always leads to those feelings. This year it is different, though. I am saying good-bye to the Rochester district....and hello to being a Kasson-Mantorville Komet. It's tough saying good-bye to the awesome people I have worked with in the Rochester district. Many of them have really helped to shape me as an educator. It's also difficult to say say good-bye to middle schoolers; they accept me for who I am and aren't afraid to get goofy with me. Heading to high school teaching, though, means more maturity and teaching that is based on the students' future as adults, not their future as future students. Teaching high school means, though, the excitement of milestones (being able to drive, homecoming, prom, and graduation).

Last week I interviewed at two schools, and both offered me positions. I had to weigh the pros and cons of remaining in Rochester, heading to Triton High School, or teaching in Kasson-Mantorville High School. When it came down to it, the decision was pretty easy. As a district, they impressed me the most. They also had excellent technology available (hello SmartBoard!). I wasn't overwhelmed with obligations, like I was in Alden. They run on a block schedule, which will be a change for me. Over the course of the year I will be teaching Reading for Today, Language and Composition, Contemporary Lit, and American Lit. I will also be the senior advisor, which means I will help set up for graduation and go on the senior class trip (or darn!).

So, what does this mean? Well, it means I will no longer be traveling between schools each day. It means I will have my own classroom. It means I will be an active part of a school again. It means I will have a continual job from year to year (as long as they renew me). It means....we can finally think about getting a house!!! Over all, it mean peace of mind to both Pat and I....and possibly anyone else who interacts with me frequently.

I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.

So, 11 actually days left of school. I honestly don't know if I'll make it. The kids have checked out. I've pretty much checked out. The middle schoolers see their escape is coming near and and can't stop rubbing in their vacation plans to others. The high schoolers got their year books yesterday, so you see those now instead of faces, homework, or notebooks. And me? I'm torn between completing the academic expectations of the district curriculum and giving in to a few movie days. 11 days may not seem like that long. I normally wouldn't think so. But when I look at the calendar and realize it is only Tuesday, 11 days seems like an eternity.....

????

I am beginning to think that I'm the only one who looks at this thing, and that frustrates me a little bit. Why should I continue to post updates about my life if I am the only one who reads it? Don't I already know what is going on in my life? Hmmmmm...

Does anyone read this? Anyone? Bueller?

Ready for a Change

I decided about two weeks ago that I needed to do something different. I needed a change. There are so many things I'd love to change right now. I'd like to change my job to a 1.0 position in one school, I'd like to be living in a house that offers room to move around and more than one floor to escape to, I'd like to spend some time in a warmer climate and just relax (Vegas!!!), I'd like to be able to get more sleep and not wake up 5 times a night, I'd like to look in the mirror and not be afraid of "swimsuit season," and I'd like to chop my hair off and not feel like it is always in my way. Well, many changes are beyond my control...except for the last two. So first of all, I've been hitting the gym pretty hard. I hurt like hell afterward, but that tells me that I'm doing something right. I haven't checked the scale yet to see how things have changed in the past could weeks, but I will eventually. That, in turn, has helped me sleep better at night. Two solutions down! The other that was under my control was my hair. I went in last week Thursday and said I wanted a bob about shoulder length. I was pretty nervous, considering my hair hasn't been above my shoulders since I was in diapers. But I have to say, that I'm happy with the results. For those of you wondering: yes, I can still wear it in a ponytail and pig tails. The day this woman can't put her hair in pig tails will be a sad, sad day.

Oops...

So it's been over a month, I know. I'm learning I'm not so great at the keeping up on a blog thing. I'm also beginning to wonder if Tiffany is the only one who really looks at it. Oh well...

Not to make any excuses, but life has been pretty busy. There's been speech, spring break, bar olympics, late nights of Settlers, scrapbooking, working, working, working, lesson planning, speech, saw the movie 21 and loved it, cd construction and swapping with Carlie, cleaning, speech, tryign to set up a work-out routine now that speech is wrapping up, Mn Wild Hockey!!!, and a couple lazy days on the couch with Pat. Oh, and checking Brooke's blog religiously for updates on the baby.

Yup, that about covers the past month.