Only hours away...

I am so ready for a BREAK! Everyone is! The kids, aside from having spring fever, are anticipating the prom tomorrow evening. Only juniors and seniors are invited to attend, and the school is slowly transforming into paparazzi-land. I'll try to take some pictures of the place finally decorated, but I won't get any pics of the actual event, because... well...

Tomorrow at 1 pm, spring break begins. And, after helping decorate for the prom, I'm "springing" myself from school, home to finish packing and then over to Raleigh to meet Mom. Friday morning we'll be on the train by 8:30 AM for a 6+ hour train ride to DC. The sun will shine and the scenery will be lovely (I've already decided this). We'll spend the entire weekend in Washington, exploring the sites (cherry blossoms!) and enjoying quality time together. We come home on Tuesday -- and I think the trip will be just long enough. Hopefully the rest of the week we'll have a chance to relax and rest up a little bit so we won't need a vacation from our vacation!

Ibeth is going to Miami for the break, with some other Colombian VIF teachers. She's just as excited as I am! Hopefully the weather stays as nice down there as it will be up here -- we're expecting high 70's to low 80's for the entire week without much mention of rain.

Brian and Annie are going up to Maine to visit family (and look for jobs!) and Alvin and his family are driving to Houston for the week. Surely we'll all have great stories to share when we see each other again. Goodness knows, we all deserve the change of scenery (and pace!).

So the next time you read from me, I'll be sharing my DC trip blog with you! Until then, take care and have a very HAPPY EASTER!

<3

Seven days to FREEDOM!

First of all... Let me give a big shout out to Evan and the Class of 2010 in St. Laurent!! I have to yell loud to some of you who are FINALLY taking your Europe trip with Ms. Bruce. I hope you're having a great time, and I can't wait to see pictures and read all about it in June! Yes, in June!! Wild horses couldn't keep me away!

Sorry I haven't blogged in a few days. Life took over, and as such I am BEAT! Thank goodness that tomorrow is Friday --- the last Friday before Spring Break! Yippee! Only 5 school days before vacation. Let's hope they are fast days....

One week from today I'll be in Raleigh with Mom (!!!) getting ready for our trip to D.C. the next day. I don't know what I'm more excited for... the trip to D.C. or hanging out with her! Which reminds me...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MOM,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

As a gift to her... (and you too!), here's a couple of pictures from last weekend... Love the beach...

The waiting is the hardest part...

I hear the snow has all but melted at home. That's great! Must be a record-melt! Hopefully this won't mean we'll have an early winter later this year...

The trees here are in their bidding stages, and some are blooming! I'm getting excited for spring break, which is still two agonizing weeks away. I'm hoping to make the time pass by faster by taking a couple of trips to the coast this weekend and next. The weather is supposed to be great this weekend... let's hope that the trend continues.

Things at work are going as well as they can. I still struggle in some areas, but I've had more decent days in recent weeks. I think that my biggest struggle this year has been realizing that there is tons of support out there and that it doesn't all have to be my burden. Having come from such a small school where I did a lot of everything... It's hard to relinquish that control again. I suppose my ego believes that giving in means giving up... admitting that I can't do it by myself. And I need to convince myself that it's not that I can't do it by myself -- it's that I don't have to! Which is not an easy thing to tell a stubborn person like me. ;o)

Everyone's ready for a break, though. The students, the faculty... We're treading water and trying not to strangle each other until spring break, wondering why it can't be next week already. ;o)

Food, Friends, Fun and the... Federal Government?

It's 5:28 PM on a Monday... and I'm home from work.

I can't even recall the last time that happened. Which either means that I've 1) started to lighten up on myself, or b) have forgotten something incredibly important...

Don't worry, I'm not without "homework" tonight. Blech.

Had a really good time Saturday in Fayetteville. We went to a catering showcase that featured local vendors from around Cumberland County who were strutting their stuff with samples and promotions. I'd heard about it on the radio and thought it might be a good way to find out "what's out there" for the next time we were in the area. Admission to the event was free, but if you wanted to try any of the offerings, you had to purchase a ticket for $10 that allowed you to visit all 24 vendors. I don't know who would come and NOT want to sample... As it was we only knocked off about half before we were stuffed and ready for a nap. It didn't help that the room was hot and got increasingly more crowded as time wore on. We skipped some of the title names... Subway, Hooters... and went for the places that had the best to eat! Found a few favorites to try in the future.

While we were chowing down, a photog from a local paper asked to take our picture. After trying to get the best shot, and some confusion over how to spell our names, he told Ibeth and I that the picture might be published in the mag later on in the month, but that it should definitely be on the website earlier than that. So I took the address and found it...


Okay, so we may look like a couple of goofs... but it's kind of cool to think we may be mildly famous...

Saturday night I went to Brian and Ann's for some (more) chow and games. I met friends of theirs, and got to hang out and be silly. I caught up a little with the other Canadian VIF teacher, who was disappointed to know that I was leaving. Brian and Ann have also announced that they are moving back to Maine so that they can be closer to Brian's family and civilization. They are such fun people, and I hope that we'll be able to keep in touch after school ends.

I had a mix-up with my bedside clock on Sunday morning. I set it ahead before I went to bed, only I forgot that my clock has a digital calendar that's automatically synched to DST. So I woke up Sunday to a dark room a little after 8:00 AM and wondered why... It wasn't until I stumbled down the stairs and turned on the television that I realized what I'd done. Let's just say that another hour of sleep was not very hard to come by. ;o)

I got my 2010 census in the mail this afternoon, and it took me all of 3 minutes to fill it out. I'm required to by law... so says the envelope... but it feels rather dishonest counting myself now, when in a few months I won't be here anymore. I feel like I'm leading the Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics on...

Okay, it's now 5:53 PM, which is about the time I'd normally be cursing myself for not going home before 6 PM. So I guess I'm not really ending up any father ahead than usual. Except I got to grace you all with a post!

Have a great week, everyone!

TGiF!!!!

IT'S THE WEEKEND!!! YAHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Sorry, just needed to let loose a little there! This has felt like a very long and busy week. Report cards, musical practice, meetings and the like... I feel like I haven't stopped since Monday! Of course, much of that is my own fault, but it makes me feel better knowing I'm doing the very best I can, so I push myself a little farther and hope that the impact is deeper.

Luckily tonight I've got some R&R planned... A little TV... a little reading... a little Farmville. ;o) Tomorrow Ibeth and I are headed to Fayetteville in search of civilization. Maybe some retail therapy is in order? Whatever we end up doing, it'll just be great to be out of Dodge for a little while! I'm hoping to take advantage of more weekends as spring comes... I've only got a few months left here, I want to see and do as much as I can before I go!

Hopefully you all have something great planned for your weekend! It may be an hour shorter than we'd like, but we've gotta make the most of it. ;o) So drop me a line and let me know what you're up to!

I swear I saw Spike Lee...

We lost. Boo. But it was a good season, and the boys really worked hard on their game. It was great being in an arena filled with people from our town and theirs, watching our teams play on a beautiful regulation court. The concessions came in handy too. Can't say I enjoyed the bus rides though... but I didn't have to drive myself... You give you take!

On the bright side, let's hope that the weather is turning towards spring. We're going to be near 70 by mid-week, and I swear I saw budding trees yesterday. I'm looking forward to being able to turn down the heat, and not just because it costs a fortune! Hope spring is around the corner for you, too!

I Believe....

We're on a winning streak...

Wednesday night, the boys won their semi-final game and are now in the final four for the eastern championship. The next game is tomorrow at 3 pm at ECU in Greenville. Apparently, this is as far as any team has gotten in basketball. Everyone has been buzzing at the school... It's really quite exciting. T-shirts with the phrase "We Believe" (team mantra) have been circulating around... We're flocking 2 hours out to attend the biggest game ever. Look for coverage on the news tomorrow. ;o)

Blame Canada...

So that delay I was hoping for was eventually announced last night... and then transformed into a full-on school cancellation this morning when we got a little more than expected. Something around 3 inches, which basically started melting as soon as the sun-rose, which made for a soggy, wet and flooded environment as those of us who didn't want to forgo a leave day tracked our way to school... a little late... but still there!

Now we've got another school day to make up for later on this month. Thankfully our Spring Break is still in tact -- for now!

Tomorrow we've got true two-hour delay, which means school starts at 9:45 AM. They are saying that this is the worst winter in years for precipitation and below-normal temperatures. Of course, everyone's blaming the lone Canadian in the midst for bringing the harsh weather with them. Geez... Can't catch a break around here!

I've been getting some pretty supportive reactions a people find out that I won't be back in September. My coworkers have all been really understanding -- they know how important it is to be happy with where you are and the difference you are making. Not many of my students know yet -- but I don't imagine that they many of them will care.

Those of my former students (from St. L) who I have kept in touch with are helping keeping my spirits up by posting their graduation pictures and counting down the days until their big Europe trip. I'm so happy that they are enjoying their final year. They are a great bunch of kids and I can't wait to celebrate with them in June.

I'm thinking about taking some university classes when I get back. There are a couple which could keep me really busy for the first part of my summer, but they'd prepare me for taking my M.Ed, which I am definite is in my near future. I just need to decide which branch I'd like to study!

Enjoy the rest of your week, my friends!

Go Black and Gold!

The Clinton Darkhorses are in the basketball playoffs! Tomorrow is another very important game! Unfortunately, it's about 2 hours away, in Greenville. The school is arranging bus transportation so that students and staff can go on and cheer for their team. I'm debating if I should go... Part of me would like to, but I'm pooped and I could really make better use of the 4 hours round-trip on a bus full of annoying teens. Still... Whoop whoop for the team! If we win a couple more, we're going to State!

It's raining right now, and the temperature is supposed to drop, so some of that might turn to snow. We likely won't get as much as last time (a record, BTW!), but a couple inches could be enough to give us a delayed start in the morning. It would be nice... to sleep in for an extra hour or two. I suppose I shouldn't jinx it -- with the winter we've been having, anything is possible!

Hope all is well with those I love and miss!