I found the camera today.
Oh yes. 🙂
So of course, the dogs were immediately the focus of my attention once I downloaded the pictures from our August cruise. (Just in case Bonnie decided to try to chew on the camera…)
Now, this is the reason I have such a hard time getting up to do things around the house:
How am I supposed to get anything done when these two dogs look at me like this every time I try to get up?
What sweet pooches. 🙂
Have any of you seen those Red Robin commercials where there are kids playing hide and seek, or the UK Grenadier Guards (The ones in the hats that aren’t supposed to move or talk no matter what) and they get a reaction when the phrase “Red Robin” is sung? (They have to respond “Yum”.)
Nuh uh. I can’t stand those commercials- so annoying.
I recently decided it was time for me to watch what I eat again, so I’m currently on the South Beach diet, phase 1. Meaning no carbs, no fruit, no sugar, really. That’s pretty difficult for me, but I’ve recently come to terms with it when I get to have delightful meals like Seafood Caesar Salad.
NOW we can say YUM.
Shrimp grilled in EVOO and some minced garlic, a bit of crab, salad, and voila- A beautiful, tasty lunch! Pretty fulling too. And a whole lot cheaper than eating out. I am pretty happy with the results so far-about 4 lbs in 6 days. (I promise, it’s necessary!)
I hope I can stay to this- chocolate and mexican food have been an integral part of my diet and I struggle not having them!
Besides trying to chill in my last week of true vacation and diet, the dogs are keeping me busy. We had a small playdate with a couple from Jared’s work that went really well. They have a puppy (27 lb puppy…) named Bonny. It was so much fun to watch Bonny chase a tennis ball, our Bonnie chase Bonny, and Stevie then chase OUR Bonnie.
Apparently Stevie’s the wimp- while Bonnie chased a dog 3 times her size, Steve went after a dog that’s smaller than him (1o lbs to his 13).
Bonnie’s also healed up amazingly well from her spay last week and has been pestering her brother nonstop. We are all happily busy and enjoying this summer weather!
All right, well, it came back today in FULL FORCE, but the rest of the weekend while our in-laws were here was lovely!
Saturday we had an outing to San Antonio to check out the Alamo and the San Antonio Riverwalk. We took a risk because there was still a chance of rain, but it paid off! It was a beautiful day, despite the crowds that had the same ideas.
There was supposed to be a craft fair around the riverwalk (hence being there on the weekend), but I think many of the people were scared away by the rainstorm issues, so that was a bit of a let down. The scenery was beautiful, and it was a fun experience to have with the family!
Monday: Bonnie got spayed. Yes… She had to wear The Cone of Shame and all that stuff. I hate having to put her through this, but it is for the best for her. She was pretty out of it on Monday, but she was back to her peppy self Tuesday.
Today she’s putting ME through the paces- I have to constantly stop her from running around because she’s forgotten that she went through MAJOR ABDOMINAL SURGERY Monday. Really? How is that possible?
Since most of my summer is full of training and other things, I am going to enjoy the remaining week and a half of my vacation now. Maybe I’ll go cuddle with my dogs.
I can’t believe I’m even saying that.
This time last year, we were in full-on drought mode, and making a run for the summer with the most 100 + degree days. We were PRAYING for rain.
The reason that I am more unhappy about the weather is probably because my in-laws are here and we had some awesome plans that have now been washed away with the rain. We were able to check out The Hula Hut down town yesterday and walk around before the rain got too bad.
By the way, The Hula Hut and Mozarts are both at a very cool location- right on the riverfront, with some beautiful views. And the food was pretty awesome too.
Today it has been raining NONSTOP, ALL DAY. Bad because
1) The dogs are wimps about going outside in the rain for bathroom breaks, meaning more accidents to clean up inside the house.
2) The dogs are wimps about going out in the rain, meaning we can’t get some of their crazy ADHD energy out through a walk (which Bonnie desperately wants).
3) Today we were gonna hit up San Antonio: The Alamo and River Walk.
But no. It has to be all wet and stormy thanks to has-been Hurricane/Tropical Storm Alex. Thanks Alex. Now I get to watch Jared set up his SURROUND SOUND STEREO SYSTEM.
Despite our weather woes, it’s been fun having David and Phyllis here. We went to see the movie “Knight and Day” today to escape the gloomy weather, and for an action-comedy-romance movie (think along the lines of “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”) it was pretty good. Even though I don’t really care for Tom Cruise or Cameron Diaz.
I’m just hoping the weather clears up soon so I don’t get cabin fever! There’s a lot I’d like to do while Jared’s parents are here… if the weather and my health allow it.
Because if it’s not one, it’s the other. So it goes…
AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination.
wha????
Actually, it’s a really cool theory or process. This was the training I was at in Dallas all last week. (By the way, let me start out by saying Jared survived my absence remarkably well…. the dogs kept him busy enough not to have time to even miss me!)
Basically, there’s the “School Game”. This is where some of us figure out when a teacher says, “This is important,” or, “This may be on the test,” we who know THE GAME take out a sheet of paper and start to write furiously. Most students don’t pick up on that. Or the fact that a textbook has subheadings, bold, italicized, underlined print, and/or pictures and figures for a reason–emphasizing (ideally)Â the important information.
Many students just don’t get it. They think they are just dumb–especially kids from low socioeconomic backgrounds, kids that potentially are going to be the first generation to go to college, kids that are in the foster care system, etc. NOT TRUE! AVID is preparing them to:
1) Understand how to make it through high school through difficult classes (like AP classes);
2)Â Find out ways to apply for colleges and find ways to fund it; and
3) Once in college, successfully stay there and graduate and be successful in their own careers.
It’s all about enabling these students. Letting them know that we know they CAN do these classes, can make it to college, that it’s OKAY to be successful in school…. And lets face it- those of us who made it to college on our own still made lots of little mistakes that we wished we hadn’t, right? Did poorly in some classes- couldn’t figure out exactly what professors were after, etc. AVID gives them strategies to become successful (And really, everyone could really benefit from these strategies- I wish I had them when I was a young student…).
Anyways, I had a lot of fun. We got to stay in the very nice Hyatt Regency hotel.
when we got to break down into smaller groups for individual subject matter and levels of AVID knowledge, I got to go to the beautiful Adolphus hotel. It had a great, inspiring theme, perfect for the English teacher in me. It’s the kind of hotel you could write a ghost story about with it’s great antebellum south feel.
And, while riding the DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transportation system/subway) I noticed a lot of the trains had these awesome “Poetry in Motion” plaques on the inside, where you could read a variety of poems as you waited to get to your location.
How awesome is that?! Okay, yes, I am a nerd, but you all knew that anyways because I chose to be a teacher (of literature/language arts/english) of all the other awesome professional options out there!
I made some really great friends on the trip, and hopefully I can get some of their much nicer pictures (ones NOT taken with my grainy little cell phone quality). I had a fabulous time and learned some great strategies and ways I can be a better teacher for my kids!
I’d write more, but the baby Bonnie lass has awoken and is using one of my hands as a chew toy… so I better pay attention to here before i lose a finger to those sharp little teeth! Lets end with a pic of the puppies in a better, non-chewing moment:
    
     