Pics

Here is Ryan's bed, hall, and his 'morale' wall with pictures I have sent him. A picture of him to come soon!

Laugh

This made me a little worried, then I realized it was time to laugh...
Symptoms of the BIRD FLU...

The Center for Disease Control has released a list of symptoms of bird flu.
If you experience any of the following, please seek medical treatment immediately:

1. High fever
2. Congestion
3. Nausea
4. Fatigue
5. Aching in the joints
6. An irresistible urge to crap on someone's windshield.


A side note - a friend passed this on to me. Go to http://www.gizoogle.com/ and put in an site, it's especially funny if you do your blog or My Space. But anything works!

New Hobby?

So for the past few months, I have been having weird dreams. In these dreams I am running in races, and winning them, and enjoying running. Especially when I was the grand champion of the barefoot race. Fast forward to reality - I hate running. But after being envious of all these people I know who run I've decided to try it again.

I've been running on the treadmill for 2 miles a day for about 2 weeks now. I decided to get ridculously expensive shoes mostly to cure my shin splints, but as a side effect it keeps me running because I don't want to waste my money. Today, I even took Drake to the park and ran a 2.8 mile trail, with NO WALKING! I'm very proud of my new hobby. I don't think I could have started it with Ryan here.

All this free time has left me needing to find things to do. Can't really scrapbook bc I have nothing to take pictures of now that he's gone. Hopefully he'll send me pictures soon and I can start adding them to his Air Force scrapbook.

No Child Left Behind

People have asked me before what No Child Left Behind is really all about. I am not sure that I agree with it, and maybe after you read this symbolic example you might see how hard of a goal this really can be. Not that I don't want children to succeed, but there is not really a uniform way to measure or judge people and their abilities.

No Child Left Behind: The Basketball Version

1. All teams must make the state playoffs, and all must win the
championship. If a team does not win the championship, they will be on
probation until they are the champions, and coaches will be held
accountable.

2. All kids will be expected to have the same basketball skills at the same
time and in the same conditions. No exceptions will be made for interest
in basketball, a desire to perform athletically, or genetic abilities or
disabilities. ALL KIDS WILL PLAY BASKETBALL AT A PROFICIENT LEVEL.

3. Talented players will be asked to work out on their own; without
instruction. This is because the coaches will be using all their
instructional time with the athletes who aren't interested in basketball,
have limited athletic ability, or whose parents don't like basketball.

4. Games will be played year round, but statistics will only be kept in
4th, 8th and 11th games.

5. This will create a New Age of sports where every school is expected to
have the same level of talent and all teams will reach the same minimal
goals.

If no child gets ahead, then no child will be left behind.

Fair?

So I had to give my FIRST GRADERS this end of the quarter math test. Here's 2 of my questions...
"Look at the number sentence. 6+3=9. Circle the corresponding subtraction sentence." How is that fair for 6 year olds? Not a good judge of addition/subtraction knowledge.

Another one was a weather graph that asked "How many MORE days are sunny than rainy? Each picture stands for 2 days." Yeah, we read graphs. Yeah, we count by 2's. But multistep problems for kids who wet their pants and crawl on the floor?

Any comments???

Yoink!

I saw this poem on someone else's blog and I liked it so I yoinked it. My lazy dog is drooling all over my couch. Blech. Anyway, here ya go.

"I'm A Christian" By Maya Angelou When I say ... "I am a Christian," I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin'. I'm whispering "I was lost, Now I'm found and forgiven." When I say ."I am a Christian," I don't speak of this with pride. I'm confessing that I stumble, And need CHRIST to be my guide. When I say ... "I am a Christian," I'm not trying to be strong. I'm professing that I'm weak, And need HIS strength to carry on. When I say ... "I am a Christian," I'm not bragging of success. I'm admitting I have failed, And need God to clean my mess. When I say ... "I am a Christian," I'm not claiming to be perfect. My flaws are far too visible, But God believes I am worth it. When I say ... "I am a Christian," I still feel the sting of pain. I have my share of heartaches, So I call upon His name. When I say ... "I am a Christian," I'm not holier than thou. I'm just a simple sinner Who received God's good grace somehow.

Dorm Room

This is the inside and outside of the dorms. It is not Ryan's specific room, and he took the bunks down for one bed. He does have the stylish drapes though :-)

Ryan Pics

Here's where Ryan lives, works, and a beautiful sunset to boot.

Drake

So I've been feeling bad because I am neglecting my dog. I'm at work from 6am to 4 or 5 pm. Then I've been going to friend's houses for dinner and things on the weekdays and weekends. I was at Walmart and found a toy that claims to be "mentally stimulating" and "reduces boredom". It's this big plastic ball that has a maze inside. So you put treats in it, and when Drake rolls it around, the treats fall out at random intervals. It's taken 2 days, but today he finally started rolling it around all by himself to get the treats out. It's really cute. Now I'm a good mom :-)

Kids Today

So intersting story from this week...one of my kids got mad because some kids were teasing him about something. Instead of talking to me about it, he just snuck out of the room during centers (a very busy time if you are a teacher). His family called about 30 minutes wondering how/why he was home from school. Yikes!!! I am just thankful everyone was safe and not in trouble (well that I was not in trouble). Who would have ever though of leaving school? I don't think I ever even got out of my seat without being told! Crazy.

Ryan's E-mail

ryan.windle@auab.centaf.af.mil

Spider's Take Two

So I lied, not intentionally, about how those spiders behave. Here's the facts: Camel spiders (so named because, like camels, they can be found in sandy desert regions, although they aren't technically spiders) grow to be moderately large (about a 5"-6" leg span), but nowhere near as large as dinner plates; they can move very quickly in comparison to other arthropods (a top speed of maybe 10 MPH), but nothing close 25 MPH; they make no noise; and they capture prey without the use of either venom or anesthetic. Camel spiders rely on speed, stealth, and the (non-venomous) bite of powerful jaws to feed on small prey such as other arthropods (e.g., scorpions, crickets, pillbugs), lizards, and possibly mice or birds. They use only three pairs of legs in running; the frontmost pair (called pedipalpa) is held aloft and used in a similar manner to the antennae of insects. Camel spiders shun the sun and generally hide during the day, coming out at night to do their hunting.

Blessings

2006 is off to such a busy start. I am just so thankful for all I have in my life. Ryan can e-mail me daily, and can call at least 2 times a week. And that is for free! I have already been to dinner at three different co-worker (and friends!) houses. My community group and church have been very supportive as well. All my friends and family back home help as much as they can too. I thank God so much for all these people he has placed in my life. The last two days when I have been in the car I have heard our wedding song, I Will Be Here, by Steven Curtis Chapman. I really feel like that is a way of God showing me that Ryan is thinking of me and still with me. I know this time will be a great opportunity for us both to grow, as well as appreciate each other even more. I already have realized how much of my slack he picks up, and how his traits fill in all the traits I am missing. Such a pensive entry today...

Address

Here is Ryan's address

A1C Ryan Windle
379 EMXS/MXMG
APO AE 09309

Don't know what he wants yet, but his birthday is January 19th if you want to send him a card or note. Stamps went up to 39 cents this weekend, but you only need one to mail it to him. Thanks for caring about both of us!

Spiders

So Ryan left today for his 'trip'. I don't feel like he's really gone, I think it will take a couple of days to set it. When we had some friends over last night to say goodbye, he showed me some camel spiders. Apparently these are crazy spiders that raise up on their hind legs and charge at people. They also latch on to camels and EAT them. They bite and give an anesthetic so the animal does not feel them eating them. So gross. They are also HUGE and aggressive. If you want to see a picture of them, go to http://www.wallofsleep.com/pM/images/uploads/camelspiders.jpg or you can just click on the title of this blog, spiders. WARNING - it's really big and gross....

Finished!

A few weeks ago we finished the crown molding project in our bedroom. If you know me well, you know that I could never have let that project go incomplete while Ryan is gone. We are pretty pleased with how it turned out.

New Year Pic

Ryan and I had fun with some friends of his from work. We played games and set off fireworks. We made it up way past our usual 9:30 bedtime...we got home at 3 a.m. It's like we're 24 or something instead of 40!

Happy New Year

Hopefully everyone had a fun and safe holiday season. I'd appreciate some comments on my blog - I know I'm boring but let me know that you come by to visit once in a while! Tomorrow, the 2nd, we're having a BBQ to say goodbye to Ryan. We should have about 20 people dropping by, I'm very excited.