rash is gone

well im not sure what caused it but the strange rash is gone for now...thanks for everyone's advice!!

strange rash....

sounds weird...but i was washing dishes tonight and pushed up my sleeves and something caught my eye...there was this strange red rash on my forearm...
let me know if you have any ideas as to what it might be let me know...

the red spots are slightly raised and are tender to the touch...
richard...any thoughts?

vocab lesson

so there is big talk lately in the news of a Nor'easter coming our way...i won't try to convince you that i know what that is...i actually had to ask one of the parents of my students...he explained it as being a big storm system that moves up the east coast and stalls over us...and dumps a ton of snow on us...this is the wikipedia's definition of it: A nor'easter (also northeaster; see below) is a macro-scale storm along the East Coast of the United States. A Nor'easter is so named because the winds in a Nor'easter come from the northeast, especially in the coastal areas of the Northeastern United States and Atlantic Canada. More specifically, it describes a low pressure area whose center of rotation is just off the East Coast and whose leading winds in the left forward quadrant rotate onto land from the northeast. The precipitation pattern is similar to other extratropical storms. Nor'easters also can cause coastal flooding, coastal erosion, hurricane force winds, and heavy snow. Nor'easters are characterized by having an association with a warm front, cold front, or occluded fronts.

so in terms i understand we are under a severe storm warning from sat night through monday morning...we are being told to expect 18-24 inches of snow by the time we wake up on monday morning...this seems so far fetched to me....
it has been snowing or flurries almost everyday at some point for the last 2 weeks...today i took so more photos at school pre-nor'easter...we'll see what happens...here are some pictures that don't even come close to capturing the beauty of today's snowfall....

i will be taking pictures after this big storm hits...we'll see if it ends being everything they are saying it will be...
just in case i borrowed some snowshoes from my classroom so dominic and i can use them on sunday or monday maybe...
let it snow...let it snow...let it snow

cats and boxes

i don't know what it is with cats and things they can crawl into but im glad i took courtney's advice and didn't buy out the pet store of their toys...thura seems happy enough playing with whatever we have lying around...she especially likes boxes and cardboard rolls...



she also likes to be involved in everything that i do...including the computer...this is her usual resting spot while im checking email and such...

she also thinks she is human and should therefore have everything that i have...i had just poured this glass of ice cold water...i turned to put the water picture back into the fridge and this is what i come back to....

her latest favorite place to sleep while we are in the living room has been under the christmas tree...
Merry Christmas to all of you!!!!

countdown

the countdown has begun! two weeks from tomorrow (sat.) dominic, thura and i will be on our way down to the sunny island of bonaire...can't wait to be sitting in the sun chilling out with family and friends...
here's a little peek of what we will be looking at and surrounded by in two weeks...

fitz live...

this is one of my 'brothers from another mother'...shane, or fitz to all of us...he has to be one of the funniest guys i've ever met...he loves chevy novas and has a tattoo of one on the inside of his bicep...in this clip he transforms his nova into a pinto...
love ya fitz!

thanksgiving 2 days early

so we had our thanksgiving dinner a couple days early to we could have our 'brothers from another mother' there as well...it was amazing...we had 2 suites both had kitchens and the 2 aarons, my mom and joy cooked...we had ham and turkey from honey baked ham...
it was the first thanksgiving that these guys had had in 5 years i think they said...we had a lot to be thankful for this year!
hope everyone had as great of a thanksgiving as we did!!!

traveling with Thura

wow...traveling with a little kitten can be interesting....we had 6 flights in all and she did awesome! of course everyone loved her...how can you not...she is so small and cute...here are some pics that were taken on the trip...this is the first time she met dominic...i think she loves her dad... :-)

this gives you an idea of how big she is...this is compared to dominic's foot...haaaaa

She decided to try and help dominic pack....hard to get a good pic of her because she moves so fast...

which one is which???

so dominic and i flew out to san diego to spend thanksgiving week with my family as we welcomed jake home from iraq...he got to meet my sister charity and her husband aaron for the first time...
we were all hanging out in the living room watching tv and charity walked up behind dominic and starting rubbing his back...she said "heeeellllooooo"...it wasn't until my step-mom sharon said "you do know who you're rubbing right?"
charity freaked out...she got all embarrassed and said she couldn't tell the difference from behind...here is her photo proving her point...
dominic is the one on the left...aaron on the right...

first snow in vermont

woke up this morning and took my recycle and garbage out in a beautiful snow fall...it rained all day yesterday and last night...and turned to snow about 6 this morning...
here are a couple of pictures from my classroom door...the kids were so excited...
it was so peaceful and beautiful to watch come down...
i was again reminded about how blessed i am to live here...
we spent the last 2 afternoons outside hiking in the mountains with our students...they had to plot out a 21 square foot grid and analyze the health of their plot...it was so fascinating to me what kids are capable of when you allow them to think and process...

jake's coming home

jake and his buddies, my brother's from another mother, mike and shane are on their way home!!! this is a picture my dad took in hawaii...they left hawaii sat morning on their way back to san diego...my dad gets to ride on the ship with jake and the marines...he is very excited about this...charity, aaron, jummy and dad will all be there on the 17th when he gets in...the rest of us show up sometime on the 18th...we get to hang out with him for the week....

a huge thank you to all of you that have been praying for jake, his buddies and my family over the past 3+ years!!! please continue to pray for those that are still over there fighting...

thura...the kitty

she is finally home...she is hard to get pictures of because she moves so much...here's what i have so far...

mask making in lincoln

halloween is celebrated differently in every school...lincoln community school does something quite different from anything i've ever experienced...on halloween in the afternoon for about an hour the kids are put into multi-age groups and they go to different rooms throughout the school and make masks...these are not halloween masks but masks of celebration...for example my room made ballroom masks...others made masks from corn husks, and still others from outdoor materials...it was very cool...here is a picture of devon, my teaching partner, and i...

update at last

didn't realize how long it's been since ive posted...well here goes
1. im done taking antibiotics...going back to the dr. next wednesday...so we'll see...im still having symptoms but not as consistently as before...im taking that as a good sign...
2. dominic is now in outage...which means he's working 7 days a week 12-16 hours a day...yuck...
3. looks like dominic will be able to come to california to welcome jake home with the family...
4. i am picking up thura on sunday...can't wait to see our kitty!!! (ill post pics as soon as i get her home)
5. school is still going well...we have report cards and conferences coming up before thanksgiving...
6. work at the bobcat is good...really enjoy working there...
not a day goes by that i question the decision to move here...i love it here!!!

lincoln, vermont

just wanted to show you some pictures that i took the other week when we took the kids up the mountain a little ways to study tree life cycles...
dominic and i live in a truly special place! the colors don't show much in these pictures but it looks as though someone painted the mountainside...amazing!
can't wait for people to come visit us! (hint hint) :-)

new pics of future family member

pics of new kitten
here are some more pics of jennifer...we are renaming her Thura (pronounced two-ra) it is burmese for the sun...dominic found it and we both like it...

lyme update

just wanted to keep you all up to date with how the lyme is doing...i am still having some of the same symptoms...joint pain, aches, exhaustion etc...i saw my acupuncture guy and i am doing quite a bit of herbal things...i was having pretty severe pain in my spleen area and during our acupuncture session he focused on that area...i have not had pain in that area since!! i am a total believer in it now...i am also learning that i have to adjust my lifestyle...i need to really look at what im eating and make sure that i am eating things that will not force my body to use most of it's energy on digesting...which means cutting back on carbs, sugars and increase my veggie intake (which is a huge deal for those of you that know my eating habits) haaaaaa...im making a vegetable broth right now...part of strengthening my immune system is doing a vegetable broth fast 2 days a week...we'll see how it goes...i have 12 days left on meds (not that im counting haaaaaaaa) then back to dr.
thanks for all the support and love

pics from chicago weekend with joy

joy and i in front of the fountain in grant park...it was sooooo hot out!!!
dominic and i 'rockin' around wrigley stadium...had to get some cubs gear to cheer them on...
the giant bean near grant park in chicago...
a view looking up at the bean from underneath it...
we had a good weekend...thanks joy for coming down!!!

big news...

dominic and i have decided to get a cat...we are getting a ragdoll...here is the link to the picture of her...scroll to the bottom...
http://www.ragdollsvermont.com/id9.htm#questionnaire
her name is jennifer for now...but will be changed when we bring her home...she is 6 weeks old...we will get to bring her home the weekend after thanksgiving...i can't wait...it is going to be so nice to come home to something especially since dom travels so much for work...

Chicago weekend

i got into chicago on friday night about 7:30 or so...dominic and joy (she drove into town from mn) picked me up...we headed the the hotel that dominic and i were staying at...then to joe and trish's place (joy stayed with them)...joe and dom went to college together...we ordered pizza and chilled out...saturday brought some heat with it...joy cabbed it to the hotel and we walked around grant park, millenium park, and wrigley field...joy and i both bought cubs t-shirts to help cheer the team on...they were playing game 3 in the playoffs...they lost but not going to talk about it...haaaa...it was very hot here...in the high 80's low 90's...we grilled at joe and trish's place and watched the cubs end their season...we were all so tired from the day that we were all in bed by 9pm...
we woke up on sunday and watched the marathoners run over the chicago river from our hotel room window...was kinda tough to be here this weekend because i was supposed to be running in the marathon but i was so glad that i wasn't when we walked outside and it was 9am and already 70 degrees...they ended up shutting the marathon down about 12:30 or so...it was over 90 degrees...super hot...
am going to get a pedicure right now will continue this later...

bobcat

so tuesday night was my first night waitressing at the bobcat...a local bar/restaurant in town...i had a blast...i am working there one night a week for some extra cash and to get myself out of the house a bit...here is the link to the bobcat's website..
The Bobcat Cafe

i am going to be working on thursday nights, live music night...should be fun and busy...
mentally doing well today but physically feeling the same way...thanks for the prayers...

thank you...

to all of you that are not only praying for me but that are calling me, sending me cards, and checking up on me...the love and support is amazing and means more to me then you can ever know!!!
the new medicine is kicking my butt...i came home from work today early in tears...i am so overwhelmed with all the mental, emotional, and physical aspects of this disease...
i am so blessed to be surrounded by amazing family and friends...thank you...i want to say a special thanks to dominic...you are such a patient, amazing person...thank you for being my rock during this...

3 year old's bday party

this is isadora right after she opened her presents from dominic and i...she loved the dinosaur and the cars...
there was some dress up time...we were surrounded by butterflies and princesses...
isadora and a couple of her friends chilling with their juice boxes...
it was a great day for a birthday party!!

outdoor classroom

a huge part of the 3/4 curriculum is called outdoor classroom...you have seen some of the pictures of the river where we were collecting macroinvertebres...we are studying the northern woods this year...this includes learning about everything from the leaves on the trees to the decomposers and the animals that live in the forest...the past 2 days we have been collecting leaves and using dichotomous keys to identify which tree they came from...here are some pictures of the area that we were in...
i am learning so much about nature...i love it...vermont is so amazing...it truly is a magical place...i don't know how else to describe it?
if you haven't been here you need to visit...if you have been here then come back soon...

latest on lyme

well...i went back to the dr. yesterday for a follow up appointment...i have still not been feeling well...and i've had more symptoms that have started...difficulty reading outloud to my students and trouble writing things correctly on the board...scary to me! i am on 2 new medications now for 30 days...one of the medications is pretty strong...actually turns my urine and tears an orange/red color...yikes...and will make me feel like crap for a bit...not fun...but if it makes me better...fine...
i left feeling frustrated, scared, helpless and tired...
this afternoon i went to a dr in chinese medicine to discuss what other things i can do to boost my immune system and keep my body as healthy and strong as possible while dealing with the lyme and all the meds that my body is having to deal with...it was good and very informational..i felt good leaving there because i felt as if i finally had some control to be able to do something to help my body fight!!
we'll see how things go...thanks so much for all your well wishes and thoughts and prayers...

monday fun

monday turned out to be a great day...the weather was perfect...sunny and about 80...after a quick day at school...i spent an hour coaching kindergartners soccer...there are 9-12 of them depending on the day...they are so cute but very busy...after the practice dominic and i hiked up to sunset ledge (the hike i went on with the kids from school)...it was beautiful...def. a reason they call it sunset ledge...
after the hike we came home and had some of dominic's homemade chili...it is amazing!!

all school hike day

this is a new concept to me...the entire school went on different hikes...the 3-6th graders got to pick what hike they went on...i went on the hike to sunset ledge...the views are more amazing then my photos will be able to show you!
we stopped on the way down at a lean-to that one of the parents had built 17 years ago...this is a few from there...
here is another from the ledge...
it was so much fun and an amazing experience...once i know that i have permission from all my parents i will put some pics on my classwebsite and send a link...the kids are so cute and fun...

lincoln community school

this is the school that i teach at...it houses grades k-6 which is about 120 kids...i love it...
this is a picture of the school's greenhouse and garden...the second grade plants and cares for this as part of their curriculum...we just had a big garden harvest festival on friday...
this is where both 3/4 classes have spent every thursday and friday afternoon...we've been collecting macroinvertebrates...like water scorpions, dragonfly nymphs and other fun bugs...everyday i am so amazed that i am surrounded by such beauty and get to go out into and enjoy it with my students...

great way to start the week

woke up this morning and it was freezing...well in the 30's and lincoln (where i teach 5 miles away) had frost...crazy...but the day turned out beautiful...i am coaching the kindergarten kids in soccer every monday after school for an hour....it keeps me on my toes...it has been awhile since i have coached such young kids...
found out today that dominic is coming home this friday which is awesome...but has to leave on monday or tuesday for chicago...he will be working there until about thanksgiving...might get a break? might not then back to the chicago area til christmas...
i am excited to see him this weekend!!! miss him...
i should be doing some school work or cleaning the apartment but i am soooooo tired...it is about 8:45 at night and i am going to go to bed...night

camping out for real

well over labor day weekend dominic and i decided to go camping...we didn't have to travel very far to find a very secluded place...we camped out in lincoln, the town next to us, in a blackberry patch in the middle of a pasture...we were surround by mountains...it was so amazingly beautiful...i know the idea of camping might sound really strange after contracting lyme's disease but i can't stop living so i just made sure i did a lot of tick checks on myself...haaaaa
we drove the car to the bottom of the trail that led up to the campsite...it was about a half mile or so hike up to where we had decided to camp...so it took a couple of trips to get all of our stuff up there but it was a good workout...on friday we walked down to a friend's place for some drinks...after awhile we walked back up, made a fire and cooked dinner...it got very cold that night...down into the 40's...but the next day was beautiful...we decided to hike up mt. abe...
this was a great climb with some tricky parts but we had a good time...the view from the top was amazing!!!
i love this place...so amazing and beautiful...we were exhausted after the hike that we made a ton of food had some drinks and went to bed...
we got up monday, packed up came home and vegged out on the couch all day...we were spent...it was so fun to be able to spend some good quality time together before we both get busy with work...