So much to post, so little focus to do so!

Here's a quick list of fun events:

Went to see Bo's in-laws :) in Carson City Sunday - his wife will be born in September, and we will get her in October.

Bo went with us. He is a great traveler!

Had a successful garage sale! I didn't put any ads or signs up at all, and literally hundreds showed up. What we didn't sell, we took to Hospice Thrift Store that day, and it's gone! The junk is gone!

We did a lot of cleaning and packing over the weekend too. It's getting there, but I'm sure we all know the overwhelmingness of that sitch.

It will all be on its way in 6 days! WHOA!

So, have I posted the following yet?

Casey was placed (finally) into Houston High School, Houston is the small town name too. We are talking to a realtor and getting loans set up etc. EXCITEMENT!

Well, back to monitoring exam adminstration! THIS IS IT CHOWCHILLA!

My Hero

So weird how Jesus talks to me sometimes.

A student presented the Mariah Carey song "Hero", and it was your basic mumuring music that I block out due to disgustingness and lack of talent.

As an activity for this "music project", the student had us all answer this question:

What is your worst fear?

Well, I know I'm going to heaven. I know my sins are forgiven. So to be honest, I have to answer with death/physical ailment.

The second it spilt out of my pen onto the paper...

"Oh death, physical ailment?
That's easy! Mary I've got you covered! You're free to live forEVER! So quit wasting time worrying about that"

WHOANESS! WOOHOOOYEAH!

So weird and so good. I'm sure everyone worries about that too, but with my doctor's routine check up last month and with our future all up in the air this summer, I had somehow misplaced all other worries into that pidily little thing: life and death of this tent.

Not piddily to me. BUT OH SO PIDDILY TO HIM!

BOOYA!

So in the words of the not so beloved Mariah Carey:

"And then a Hero (yeah Him!)comes along
With the strength to carry on
And you cast your fears aside
And you know you can survive
So when you feel like Hope is gone
Look inside you and be strong
And you'll finally see the truth
That a Hero lies in you" (yeah so, I capitalized my Hero's ref! :)

Yah! That's all I've been wanting to write today. Well, except that I totally must reclaim my owning of Morella's Forest album Ultraphonic Hiss! Out of the blue a song of theirs came into my head. I love that album!

HAPPY WEEKEND EVERYBODY!

Matt and Tracey hope you have (had) a great trip!

4 days of school left over here! I'm out!

Got a Tunis postcard yesterday! WOOOOOO!!! GREAT!

So into Rilo at this juncture.

Bo'ey has been a funny guy lately. He wants to just sit in the living room with us at night (of course as opposed to his prison barriers!).

Anyways, so once he is allowed he is so excited and hugs us, yet then mysteriously sneeks away as fast as he can to get his favorite chewing bone. Then he plops down in the middle of the floor to just chill and be a part of the family.

HA!HA! Wish you could witness it, b/c that descript does it no justice!

MAN! I have the hiccups! It's literally from trying to get a free ipod online. "Such a scam, such a shunder" (Dolores O'Riordan quote there - Cranberries).

It some how gets like $200 of your money with some sign up deal, blableeblonka. So I shall just keep my sights on purchasing it myself. Duh.

Mom, on a certain secret quilting project, I've been cutting away!

There was about 5 inches of an unsewn section, so now I get to actually do that and say I was a part of the creation! HA!

"HA! And you're an English teacher!" - this quote kept happening to me today for some reason.

I would assume that it is due to no restraint on the sloppy words that formed out of mouth all day. I keep sleeping in till 7:45 A.M. and have to get to school by 8:00. All dilerious, you know.

(previously today I wrote the belowness...)

Finding Neverland: A+, inspirational, sad, enjoyable, and totally unexpected quality.

Not sure what I was expecting. Even with dad's recommendation and amazing soundtrack I just couldn't push myself to rent it. I think I was completely judging the movie by it's cover. Bad design on the cover - but EXCELLENT MOVIE! Recommended to those who want to see a touching story, be inspired to write, and/or to those who want to spend a good afternoon by themselves on the couch - for quality emotional purposes, HA!

Trace, I've started running and pilating! Yesterday was my first fun since the 65er. It's so good to have nice weather to inspire healthiness - as dad alluded to in his blog on Calif. Good to here your exploits too!

So this morning on my hour off, I dropped the Jeep off downtown to get brand new tires. Our "new" ones (used) that Casey's dad put on a month ago are cracking, blablabla. So I dropped it off and had a nice stroll back to school on foot. It was a peaceful and enjoyable Chowchilla time.

Last night Casey had his baseball banquet and was blessed with two gift certs: Tahoe Joe's and Elephant Bar (never been to the latter). NICE! We'll end our days in CenCal in style! (ha, saw CenCal on a hat in Monterey County once - hilarious!)

I do want to get a black NorCal hooded zipper sweatshirt sometime in life. I have it all picked out and I will buy it for my birthday. Sorry I just thought of that.

Matt, I really like Hal. Thanks for the rec.

Gotta go, the bell is ringing. It seems like I had a couple more things to report...but I'll write them later when I remember them ;)

"And we will reign with Him 1,000 years on earth!"
-seen on a billboard by a church in Modesto yesterday as we picked up our truck top.

I told Dad I'd write about this and how ridiculous I thought it was. I was asking Dad about the legitimacy and Biblical backing it had, if any.

All I could think was, "Why would I want to reign on earth for a 1,000 years?".

I want to be in heaven with the Lord forever and ever. Not still on earth reigning over....what!?

Anyways, it's funnier in my mind than it is in print. Just something to think about.

This was a good weekend without school Friday and part of Thursday. I got all my exams made, double checked, review sheeted, and scantronned! YES! No more work for me ever again at Chowchilla High School!

Once again we did NOT go to the Chowchilla fair, and I'd have to say it was a good choice ;)

We got "the bed" all set for the back of our truck with wood planks spanning across our bed frame (real mattress will not fit). We'll pile it high with couch cushions and a new memory foam bed topper! WOO! I've been wanting a bed topper thing for literally years!

Well, now I must be getting to organizing my last piles of scrapbook stuff that I absolutely cannot sit down to do! It's the last bit of packing, and I just can't sit down to do it!!! I won't finish it, or the kitchen. That's what's left, and they would take less than an hour to take care of.

Must be some subconcious rebellion, procrastination in regards to the stress of moving! Blablabla, mumbo jumbo over analytical pointlessness!

HA!

Have a good week everyone! I know we will with 95-98 degree weather all week! WOW!

p.s. dad I liked your Cali blog entry, and wow! MOM 2 in one weekend! YES!

I'm so into the "Big Band & Swing" music channel on DirectTV. It's so ... well I don't know the word ... nostalgic and dinner party and peaceful sounding.

The good old days! Or something like that. Billie Holiday and all that coolness.

Well, there's 7 DAYS OF SCHOOL LEFT!

Good to see some good blogs out there.

We didn't have school today b/c of fair, but we went to work anyways b/c we get our per dium (sp?) pay.

Tomorrow, we go get the truck top installed on the truck so that it will be transformed into a sleeping quarters on the drive north.

The plan is that Casey and Tommy sleep in there, and I sleep in the 2 seating row of the truck cab. Nice! Bo will sleep by himself in the back of the Jeep with no backseat. Sounds good.

We'll probubly drive 13-16 hours a day or more!

Anyways, I'm packing some tonight b/c I got some new boxes to fill.

I found out today that my new G4 needs a battery replacement b/c the factory one has caused 6-8 fires out of the 3 million they sold (#'s sort of made up by me).

That kind of stinks. But I guess I will only be able to use it on the drive up until the battery runs out (plus one recharge at the Seattle La Quinta Inn we'll stay at). We won't stop at any other hotels the whole rest of the way.

Well, my words are boring me, so I best leave you to your weekend!

Sith darkness! WOW!

So good! I would like to see the movie again in a few weeks, you know, up in Alaska.

Well, I'm just saying hi so I can post and then check other blogs.

-Begin dentist office stage left
"How do I make my gums better?", says Mary to the brutal dental hygienist.
"Floss." - her.
"Do you floss?" - her again as if I do not, and would never have thought of it.
"Well, yes, I floss every day. Sometimes twice a day."
"Oh" - her.
-The End

Admittedly and deservedly, I have not been to the dentist in three years. OUCH!

I think it's getting hilarious in my head about these three years. They were dentist and doctor negligent on my behalf. They flew bye. They were jam-packed; they were fun. They are constantly lumped together as "these three years" in my mind and in references and conclusions.

Bare with my random thoughts the next few weeks. They will be reflectively Chowchilla, California, in nature.

Tonight I talked to my buddy TV and Jenny Mavis separately! That was good, and good to hear things are better.

Hey! A side note: I can't stop moving my PC mouse to get my Mac to do something! DUH! Thanks Mike (and Dad) for hooking my comp up with Tiger & internet abilities.

Well, as soon as Case gets back from his LAST BASEBALL GAME EVER! we'll head to Sonic for a PB shake and the REVENGE OF THE SITH! YAH CHEWY AND FAMILY!!!!

So, I rented "Connie and Carla" this afternoon with Toni Collette (growing to be one of my fav actresses). Plot line and script: weak. Cheesiness, obnoxiously predictable, and only worth a free rental, barely no more than the gas mileage it took to drive to Blockbuster.

Here's a silly beckoning to a West Hollywood bar crowd, during their lounge act from the movie:
"God put us on this earth to laugh,
hence the term laugh lines.
Do yourselves a favor,
let your eyes krinkle
and your skin wrinkle.
Our lines show that we've lived!"

A good two days flew bye, and now the fam is back to Ohio! :(

It was a great 8 days! Camping, biking, hanging, eating, movieing, sharing, computering.

I will miss you three! I looked forward to the end of the school day every day knowing you were there. I just felt like smiling more! YAHOO!

Anyways, now I can smile every day thinking of Alaska! Let's do this!

Matt, Trace, and Justin I wish you were here all those 8 days too!

Gotta get ready to go to my cavity filling dentist appointment now. Talk to yous later.

What were we (was I) thinking!?

I was not a big fan of the 65 miler event yesterday! OH MY!

Whining aside, it was a great feat. An out of control annihilation of time and mountains.

It was very beautiful. Surreal, neat, picturesque, and full of solitude. Just good out in nature alone time.

UNBELIEVABLE HILLS! STRAIGHT UP! STRAIGHT DOWN! And that times 17.

So, it is the last day with my family here in Chow :(

We shall not see them for another 6 months - 1 year, and that is sadness. Let alone other fam members we will not see for that long.

But the price we pay is for Alaska! WOW! WOW! WOW!

Well, the 3rd class of the day is about to start. I best be off!

I'm glad we did that biking event; however, I will never do it again. In fact, it 99.9% solidfied any thoughts I had on doing a marathon. Just the time issues!

It's so long!!!!!! I'll stick to triaths! Matt, and everyone, you should do a triath! Those are neat! And 9 miles biking in that...would be nothing now!

Nice job out there Matt and Tracey and Mary!

Wednesday!?

Saw Ladder 49 last night.

It was predicatable, but worth a deterant from school work or something. I liked it I guess, only b/c of Joaquin Phoenix.

Anyways, I'm at school and just thinking of this week's fun:

Tennis this afternoon! Quilt making!?! (unless mom goes for the sewing part)Grizzlies Thursday night! Camping trip! Bike ride with lots of unique food ect. and accomplishment! YES!

I'm bringing my camera again too on that ride.

Well, nothing else for now. Hope the trio visitors are having a good time shopping today :)

My family is here! YAHOO!

CAUTION! MOVIE ALERT!

Dear Yous and Yousa's:
I signed up for Blockbuster's movie pass for $9.95 and I'm OUT OF CONTROL!

Absolutely OUT OF CONTROL ON RENTING 2-3 per day - and that means 2-3 trips to Blockbuster too. (I can only have 1 out at a time) ;0 ;)

Okay so here's some quick reviews, and the first one is a theater one (obviously) that we saw this weekend. Here ya go. Skim away:

Kung Fu Hustle: A +
Enjoyable, funny, fun, cool, unique, unpredictable, weird, and interesting. Refreshing!

Wimbledon: D
I only liked seeing and hearing a tennis ball being hit.

I (heart) Huckabees: B
Interesting, jumpy, funny, worth a rent.

Deadwood (TV series): B
Violent, intense, realistic, cussers, grimey, nostalgical.

I'll Remember April: C
School movie on Japanese/American prejudice in WWII. Too many little kiddies yelling in it. Wait, why did this even creep into my blog!?! Ugh, SCHOOL BE GONE from the head!

Next to rent: Motorcycle Diaries, Life Aquatic, In Good Company, Finding Neverland, Connie and Carla, any Toni Collette movie, Bubba Hotep, Around the World in 80 Days, All the Pretty Little Things, God is Great (both Amelie lady movies).

Only 2 more Mondays left! And 15 days of school! Whoa, wow, weeeeee, yahooey!

So here I am up late waiting for the parents and Mike to arrive in by a "medium sized" rental car. Really I shall hit the hay until that 3 A.M. sitch but...so...

I'm loving my new bike tires! So smooth, so light, so fast! I've been riding a bit - not near as much as needed. I'll leave it at that. But alas, we shall finish the race! Must get spare tire tubes as well (noted in the direction of Matt and Tracey listening here).

Reliant K has been my soundtrack for the last week or so. But Rilo Kiley, Innocence Mission, and Keane have been rotating in there as well.

I'm out!

I haven't been reading blogs or emails yet this week really!

Sorry if you've been mentioning things and I haven't been responding.

It was a busy week, definitely one of those weeks where you think every day is a different day than it is!

Yesterday we got tons of rain, flooding the highways. It was great! It was peaceful, it was nappy time.

Alas it is Friday and my brain is fried!

We sold our fridge to a teacher buddy, I sold my IPOD to a student, and I'm planning to get a pink IPOD mini to go with my new G4! I also bought some new puma kicks and the old movie "Escape from Sobibor" (to go with Holocaust teachings). Does anyone remember watching that movie when we had like a Mike McDermont babysitter night or something back in the day?!

I got to spoil myself a little bit there with my bball coaching check, and everything else is locked up for our move! ARGH! We already paid for the Uhaul, and then let's not talk about "gas money" for the two car drive up! HA!

Sorry to talk about money. For how much I dislike it's effects, I spent several paragraphs talking about it?!?!

Well, I must run to the post office before my plan period is up. We're sending our resumes to specific principals b/c the district office process is taking too long and is annoying. The lady told Casey he could have a job at this one little town (Houston), but then yesterday told us it was given to someone else.

Just randomly! We were furious at that annoyance!

Oh well, God is good. It'll all work out one way or another!

In my opinion, and in my backwards way of tricking myself that we're almost done with school...

...THIS is the last real week of school! YAHOOOOO!

Now I shall bore you with why:
1)Next week fam here, no cares on work
2)Next, next weekend a 65 miler distracts any work thought for sure excitement
3)After bike time, we have a 3 & 1/2 day week due to the fair!
4)Review for exams week, then exams week to end it all out!

So, I worked too hard at work today. Lots of reading and leading discussions on prejudice. It's good stuff though, so let's not complain :)

Exercise ball kicked my butt! I did literally 2 sets of 10 just reaching all the way back sit ups (well with an 8 lb. medicine ball) and I'm seriously sore! Picture that Ablounger deal, and it's the same motion - full range of motion. So that's hilariously bad to get so sore!

I recommend anyone with a medcine ball (or not with one to invest the $11 @ Walmart for one) to do just 10 every other day! Killer!

Anyways, I finally worked out today. Yet it was running 2 miles. Both my bike tires (and Casey's even) have a flat back tire. And our bike pump is completely vanished!

Thursday or Friday I'm looking to get over to Merced for the road tires installed (rather than the mt. bike fatties). Fingers crossed on it making me a better biker. I just want a whole new bike! DANG IT!

Happy May all yous!

I FAINTED TODAY!

HA!

It was so surreal! I went to get blood taken for my doctor's check up and I felt fine for the minute, then not the minutes afterward. WEIRD!

The lady is like, are you okay, and I was all weak, limp, weird, sloppy slouched. "It happens all the time, it happens all the time...make sure you eat something with a lot of sugar in it when you get home" she said. I'm fine with that remedy!

So that made me appreciate this fine machine of human design that God created in us. I take health for granted like most Americans I presume, and today reminded me that God made an intrical amazing machine that requires balance - and loss of that little of blood was out of balance for me.

Well then, I guess I'm glad (and sad) that I've never given blood for Red Cross or anything before. Whatta wimp! ;)

I'm getting excited for our bike event next week, but more importantly to spend the week AVOIDING work and hanging out with Mom, Dad, and Mike in our puny place! And then camping! WOOYEAH! So fun!

That's all I've got for today. I'm off to bike? Pilate? Yes, yes, this lazy bones has got to get moving! Love you all and keep praying for the Mavis daughter! God is in control.

"I'm goin' back someday, come what may, blue bayou..." - a good part of Justin's Blue Bayou.

A good weekend!

School has stepped into hyperspeed!

I participated in Chowchilla's Relay for Life this weekend; only for about 6 hours of the 24.

The house is actually quickly getting into shape. All the camping gear, Casey's personal stuff, half of my stuff, the garage, and half the kitchen, and all the closets are all packed and taped up.

It feels and looks good! Well, I'll not mention the back room that has my half stuff slopped EVERYWHERE!

Luckily it will be done by the time our final vistors arrive!

Bruce, Joan, and Mike next Tuesday! WOO!

That's all for now, I have an FCA meeting/BBQ to go to. Hope it goes quick b/c I have lesson plans to do for tomorrow!

"Now Ester has 2.4 million children! She writes us and asks to pray for them all...do anything you can to help..." - new Sara Groves cd