Escape and Breath

I'm less than two weeks away from District Music Festival, and I'm pretty stressed and freaked our about all of it. We have a 20 pieces total between all the groups, and the Band and Choir. There is no way everything is going to go smoothly, so I'm just hoping it goes ok.
Anyways, I went to Billings two weekends ago to take a break and get away from it all. It just so happened to be the NRA finals (National Rodeo Association) and the Hotel I was staying in was hosting all of the cowboys. I teased Ben quite a bit about that one. I did shopping, relaxing, reading, and reflecting about my life. It was really a neat realization when I discovered that my first time in Montana was almost exactly a year ago. And I had even stayed in the same hotel. I decided to retrace my roots a little bit, and ended up getting slightly lost and farther out of town then I had planned. Here are some pictures from my 3.5 hour side trip.

 

 I don't know about you but I LOVE MOUNTAINS! There is something about them that made me fall in love with Montana to begin with. Although, I ended up in an entirely different area of Montana, pretty far from mountains, I think God had a special plan for me. Even if I leave with some extra pounds, and less hair, I will always be able to look back and smile knowing I made it through a rough time, and I stepped out and listened to God, even when it was difficult. That being if I get through this school year!!! AAAAHHHH! I'm not sure what the future has yet to hold for me, but I'm excited. 

One thing I think God has really taught me this year is the importance of family and those who you care about dearly. I have stronger relationships then ever before which probably wouldn't have happened if I was comfortably sitting at home with my dream job (which I still haven't found!) So if you feel led in the spirit to lift up a prayer for Music Festival, for the remainder of the school year, and for what to do after May, I'd appreciate it!

I'll leave you with two pictures of my favorite mountain range in Montana. The first picture is from March 15, 2010 and the second is from March 12, 2011. It was also fun to have two girl scouts tell me the story of how the Crazy Mountains got their name, and they didn't even mention me! hahaha

Winter Blues and some School News

Wow, it has been a terribly long winter. Just when I think it's going to improve nature reminds me what life in the north is all about.  I have been struggling lately with some winter blues. It's very difficult to be stuck for days and even weeks on end. I try not to complain, but after a month without going to the grocery I was at my wits end. Last Saturday my car wouldn't start, and trying to get it jumped in -20 F, was like laughing in the face of a bear (nothing will help.) I was blessed to be allowed to take the school suburban to town, and it was a Godsend!! Nothing is better then having a stocked pantry and fridge!

 School has been crazy recently, as usual. We are preparing for District Music Festival on April 8,9. It's kind of like Contest, and Solo and Ensemble all in one weekend. I also got some new students this week. I think it will be a good addition in our classroom dynamics, but you just never know. Last Friday, I had a camping/bonfire themed lesson for my grade K-4 classes. We had smores, sang some fun songs, and played a game. I set up my tent in the classroom, turned down the lights, and set up a fake fire to sit around. It was a lot of fun, and I think the student's enjoyed themselves, as well. I made me 5-8th graders jealous though, so I need to think of something fun for them, in the near future.

It's been tournament season out here in Montana. The Pep Band travels to the games to play, so I've had to haul around all our instruments, and students too! With the weather, it's been very stressful, but I have seen some great  games. Our girls didn't make it past Districts, but they fought hard with their 3 games (tournament is double elimination.) The boys made it through Districts and are in Divisionals this weekend. Today our game was at 1:00, so we had to leave the school at 9:30! I had to get a sub for the elementary so that added to me going to bed late, and getting up early. We won today in a very close game, so we are going back tomorrow. The Band bus leaves at 7:30. AAHHH!!! Luckily this is the last Pep Band weekend, no matter how our boys do because the Band will not be traveling all the way to Bozeman for State.

Also....

I  was cleaning out my phone pictures and figured I'd post a few forgotten treasures, that peer into the mundane life that I live. And, for some reason most of the pictures have to do with food.

The Lustre Version of Soft Pretzel and Cheese (yes it's homemade)

 I made myself a nice meal.

 Honeycomb, from Ben!!!!

Tigerbrood also known Dutch Crunch Bread: Yum!!

Oh, Dear What can the Matter Be?...starvation :-(

Cheers!

Things I love about Saturday!

Saturday's can sometimes be a bummer. It always seems like everyone is out and about, and I'm stuck in Lustre doing school work. I normally arrive at the elementary by 10:00am. I let myself sleep in before getting to work. I work on lesson planning for 4 or 5 hours , take an afternoon break, then go to the high school for a few hours to prepare for the week. Eventually, I head home, make supper and relax for a few hours before going to bed. In my mission to think positively about my life and what's going on, today I decided to look for things that I could be thankful for.

 

I love to watch movies or in today's case, Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, while I'm working. I'm one of those individuals who likes background noise while I'm working, as long as it's not distracting.

I love Classics for Kids! I visit the website at least twice a month for lesson ideas and their radio shows.

I love simple comforting meals while I'm working. Today I had egg salad with crackers.

I Love the fact that I'm safe and warm.

I love to take mini breaks and play some music. I even played my clarinet today, working through Brahms Sonata No. 1 in F Minor. 

If you wonder why I was carrying around a heart, I was in the middle of decorating my door at the grade school. It's not finished but I took a picture anyways. Have a great Sunday and enjoy the Super Bowl!

Just Pictures

I'm too tired to write. Here's some pictures of winter life in Montana, although I'm happy to have the snow over the ice!

I refuse to take down my Christmas lights. Every time we get more snow, I hope my window isn't snowed shut. It's my only view outside in my whole apartment!

Day view from my window. 

See my window!

Road View Sunset

 Sidewalk to my neighbors.

 

Proof of the deer walking around the yard looking for food. It's so sad. :-(

My white winter photo.

P.S. Thanks for the Cheese Curds Ron and Cathy Rife!

Strange Morning

Well, today has been an interesting morning for me, as you can probably tell by the early blogging. I wasn't feeling well last night, so I got to bed at a decent hour. I awoke at 4:30 this morning feeling a little sick (with a possible fever) and very thirsty. I got my morning glass of ice water, took some Tylenol and tried to get back to bed. After 15 mins. or so I realized that wasn't going to happen. The chain of events that followed led to the most relaxing morning I've had while teaching. I had three hours to get ready, have some breakfast, a nice cup of coffee, do some reading, and watch the today show. I also finished my lesson plans that I was hoping to get done this morning during my morning plan time.
I may not be feeling so great by the end of the day, especially because I won't get home till 7:00 pm due to potentially stressful and possibly long discussions during parent teacher conferences at the High School, and a possible sinus infection and fever, but I feel great about how my day has started. For once, I'll make it to our staff devotions on time without running in at the last moment, frazzled. Maybe I should attempt another early morning sometime soon.

Have a Great Day!

Chicago and Back

Well Christmas Break has come and gone. I told another teacher today that I was experiencing the "Post Holiday Blues" and I think a lot of student's would join in on an "amen!" I did get two days off this week because of a blizzard in North Dakota, which shut down Amtrak trains between Whitefish and Fargo. I ended up stuck in Chicago on Sat. and Sunday, finally leaving on Monday.
I was a little irritated to be stuck but made the best of it, by exploring Chicago and even getting lost in Chinatown at 9:00 pm. On Saturday Amtrak paid for my hotel and gave me money for food and transportation. I went to my hotel, rested, and then attempted to not get lost in downtown Chicago. I originally wanted to go to the ESPN Zone. I took a bus to downtown, walked to the address, and then discovered it's closed. AAHH!! With Ben's help, I ended up farther north at Dave & Busters! I had some supper and spent some money on games. I had a blast! I even got 350 points on Skeeball!!
On Sunday I learned I was stuck at least for another day. I typed up plans for my substitute, booked a new hotel room (***'s for $35.00's plus tax :-), and left by the checkout time. My new hotel was on the Magnificent Mile. I walked around for a few hours, did some shopping, and finally ended up at Giordano's for some stuffed pizza!
To end my stranded in Chicago days, I went to a Dueling Piano Bar. It was so much fun!!!
Had a great night's sleep then called Amtrak's Julie, and discovered the train was leaving on schedule.
I got back to Lustre on Tuesday, and very tried from the lack of sleep on the train.
I'm glad to be back in some ways, because it means I'm closer to seeing family and friends again.
Here's some pictures, but the quality is bad because my phone's resolution was set low.

These wreaths were all over town.

Sorry I've been busy!

Life has been very busy lately! I'm sorry I haven't blogged for awhile. I am preparing for the Christmas Concert this Thursday, and our fruit fundraiser came in. I was up till 11:30 on Wednesday sorting fruit. Luckily almost all of the fruit is delivered, my Christmas programs are mostly done, and my lessons are ready for the coming week. I figured I could blog a little about what's been going on.
Basketball is starting, which means Pep Band. In this area of Montana the home team plays the school song of the visiting school. Isn't that interesting? The only problem is I can't find some of the songs. Hoping my search will have success this week, as my first Pep Band gig is Friday.
The weather has been interesting. We had some snow and really cold temperatures right before Thanksgiving. (Like a high of 0!) Then we, warmed up, and we got some snow a couple of days ago. It's cold again tonight (-5 right now, with a windchill of -20 or so,)  so you have to bundle up when you go outside. I went to deliver fruit to an older gentleman this afternoon, and couldn't make it through his lane without getting stuck. I had to walk the lane, twice, and I was so cold that my legs took about 30 minutes to warm up! I enjoy looking at my new thermometer every day, and calling Ben to have him explain the barometric pressure.

We had some interesting freezing fog. I was trying to see how much ice could build up on my antenna. When the sun came out, it looked like a true winter wonderland.

 

Over Thanksgiving I spent the weekend in Whitefish Montana. I didn't really do anything really interesting. Mostly I just relaxed in my hotel room, and walked around town. The shops were a little expensive so I really didn't buy anything. I even "went out" and met two very nice ladies. One of them worked at a boarding school in Kalispel. It was neat to talk to her and share stories.The mountain air was amazing. The air was cool and crisp and my lungs soaked it right up. I enjoyed walking around the antique stores, and made my second purchase (of 2, lol) at a used book store.

 

 

Whitefish at night

I took the train to Whitefish on Thanksgiving day and returned on Sunday. My experiences on the train were great! It's a more relaxed form of travel. You have time to relax, enjoy the view, and even grade papers. If you ever ride the train, I suggest hanging out in the Lounge. During daylight, you have a better view of the scenery, and at night it's quiet and free on snoring passengers! I feel a lot more comfortable about riding the train home for Christmas now.

I'll post my other pictures on Facebook in the near future. Hope everyone is enjoying this Holiday Season. I've appreciated all the notes, cards, and prayers you've been sending my way. If you are able to pray from me for this Thursday, for the Christmas concert, I'd appreciate it. It will be my first K-12 program I've been involved in, and my first completely in charge of concert.

Can't wait to come home and see everyone!!!!!!