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!!!!!!

Etsy Rules

(partially stolen from http://www.regretsy.com)

#1. Bandannas were originally created to help cowboys keep dust from getting into their nose, mouth, and throat. Do not use them to create clothing styles.

(source)

#2. When making beauty products, not only should they smell good, but they should look pretty too!

 

(source)

#3. Knitted beards are not in style in this century.

 

(source)

#4. I know recycling is important, but clothing fabric should be more luxurious then this. 

(source)

#5. Tapestries shouldn't be monstrosities. Especially when you're being charged $1,200!

Sorry to have wasted your precious time

Brahms, Candelight, and Chocolate

I went to the High School this evening to work on grades because it's the end of the trimester. I got most of my work done so I decided to go into my classroom and play the piano. I ended up lost in the world of Brahms for about an hour. It's been awhile since I played some real music so I was making mistakes all over the place. It doesn't matter how it sounded because what's important is that I left feeling relaxed and somewhat cheerful! I'm now realizing that because I'm involved in music all day I tend to unwind by reading, watching TV, or playing a game. To teach student's to love and appreciate music I need to love and appreciate music! I am feeling really motivated to start practicing again on a regular basis. We'll see how it goes.

I also got a wonderful package today from Steve and Mel North. It had a whole bunch of goodies, but most importantly there was chocolate!!! I never buy chocolate or snacks for myself because I don't "need" it and it's not cheap. With Thanksgiving approaching and the knowledge that I won't be eating at my Grandma's on Sunday, or with the Rife's on Thanksgiving chocolate was just what I needed.

After eating some chocolate, I lit some candles to try and make my apartment feel warm and cozy. It's so COLD here!!!

These three things made me smile, and I feel like today was a good day. Honestly it's been awhile since I could say that, and it was much needed.


With Love,
Casey

Choir

I thought my "audience" would be interested in seeing a picture of my choir singing at the EMB church last week. I stole this picture from the dorm blog which is a fun read as well. I was jealous to learn they were out driving four wheelers today. That's ok, I spent my day relaxing, cleaning, and making homemade bread.

Music keeps me Happy!

I love listening to music while I'm working on the weekends and when exercising. It helps calm me but still keeps me focused. I thought I'd upload two songs I've been listening to recently. The songs are peaceful, a little sad at times, but the lyrics are hopeful, as I am.


NEW FOUND LAND - Rooftops from TV Noir on Vimeo.

Ojo de Dios

This week I took a day or two to do a traditional Spanish craft with the elementary students.
Ojo de Dios, is Spanish for "Eye of God." They are made from yarn and sticks by native peoples of Mexico and South America. It was fun to take a day off from our curriculum and do a fun craft. It also was a quick teaching moment by singing "Cabeza, hombros, rodillas, y pies".
The student's really enjoyed themselves and were patient with me as I went around making knot after knot. I also made one as an example and then ended up making two more as well. The student's actually like me now! (lol... I think they liked me ok anyways.)
Here's the picture of the ones I made with thread instead of yarn. They took a lot longer then making them with yarn, but they look a lot better. Here's a yarn example on Etsy of a traditional Ojo de Dios. They are fairly easy to make in 15 mins. or more depending on how thick your yarn/thread is and how long you sticks are. I thought about keeping one of mine, but I think they may end up in the mail traveling back to Ohio.

If you have some free time this weekend take time to create a craft.

Home is where the Heart is

I was so excited and blessed to travel home for Ashley's wedding. I left on Wednesday Oct. 20th after school was out at 1:00. We had an early release and I was excited to get away as quickly as I could so I wouldn't have to drive unfamiliar roads in the dark. I went through Malta and then South into Billings. I had to make a few stops because my curiosity got the best of me. I ended up spending about 45 mins. in the C.M. Russel National Wildlife Refuge south of Zortman. I drove the hilly gravel roads on an auto tour route. It was absolutely beautiful but the sun made it difficult to take any pictures. Around the same area I saw signs for Elk crossing. I looked but I didn't see any. ;-( Also saw a glimpse of the Big Snowy mountains that I enjoyed driving around in when I was in the Lewistown area back in March.

 

 

I ended up driving the last hour or so to Billings in the dark and was thankful to get behind a truck so I felt ok with having to go slower.Arrived in Billings and went to Bed with an early start in the morning. I arrived at the airport around 5:00 am and had a great flight into Denver. I had over a 3 hour layover in Denver. I ended up finding a quiet place and watching a movie on my ipod. I even nodded off for a few minutes and was able to put my feet up.

I finally arrived into Dayton in the afternoon (Ohio time.) I spent some time with my family, Ben, and the Rife's on Thursday then headed into Chillicothe for the wedding on Friday. Before I left I took a few minutes to enjoy the beautiful colors around our house. The red leaves was the best because Montana doesn't have any maple trees. It was quite a bit greener than here in Montana as well. So many trees make me happy!

 

We arrived in Chillicothe on Friday afternoon. I went to the rehearsal and then the rehearsal dinner at a swanky place called The Brick. It was so great to see everyone. I got to spend some quality with Nat and Tyler, and I had some really good food. Although I had to pick some meat out of the salad it was really. Even better was my slice of pecan pie with a large dollop of whipped cream!

The wedding was on Saturday. I went to the church around 10 to get my hair done. I felt so bad for the lady who was working on the bridesmaids hair. When I walked in she took one look at my long locks and her eyes got so big. It turned out that my hair was one of the easier ones to do.

Ashley was absolutely gorgeous and the wedding was really beautiful. It had a fall/harvest theme so there was beautiful colors all around. (All the colors I miss up here in the Hi-Line.) They had this cute little video during the wedding called The Missing Piece.  It reminded me that in Christ I am already complete, I don't need a husband to complete me. After the wedding we took some pictures at the church and then went to a park take some pictures. Then the reception began. There was some dancing, toasting, laughing, and eating!!! I was SO hungry by then. I sat with my parents after the main meal, and was able to spend some time with them too.

 We left around 7:30 and drove up to Mindi's house. My parents hung out for awhile before saying their goodbyes. I had some trouble falling a sleep and was upset when my alarm went off at 4:30 Ohio time (2:30 Montana time.) Mindi took me to the airport in Dayton, and I made the journey back to Billings and then home to Lustre. I also stopped in Miles City on the way home to do some grocery shopping at Wal-Mart! I rolled into Lustre around 6:30 and was in bed by 8:00.
Overall it was an amazing weekend. I'm so glad that Ashley had me in her wedding because I had the opportunity to go home.
Last night I had parent teacher conferences. It's hard to come back from a trip and get right back in the thick of it, but I didn't really have a choice. I'm looking forward to Christmastime even more now!


Toodles.

Excitement

I have been very busy lately! The music fundraiser has begun and it's a lot of work getting the student's to do what they are supposed to do. ;-) I'm hoping that they do not procrastinate and turn in their orders on the last day but it seems like this is a very likely event. We are selling citrus fruit (oranges, mandarins, and grapefruits) and apples (Granny Smith, and Red Delicious.) For many out here in the north the fruit they purchase lasts most of the winter so a lot of people rely on it. It's a little pressure for a new teacher, but I'm managing at least at the moment.

I am so excited to get to leave this week and get a little touch of home. I'm in a wedding in Chillicothe Ohio on Saturday. It's my best college friend Ashley and I'm really excited. I also get to see my immediate family and Ben! Unfortunately I don't have enough time to really visit others or go to my church but I'm still excited to have this chance. I will leave through Billings on Thurs, and return to Billings on Sunday. It's a good 6 hour drive to Billings, so I've been working my tale off to get everything planned for this week and next so I don't have to worry about it while I'm gone.

With being so busy I've really grown to love  my little free time each day. It normally means reading a little and watching an hour program on TV. I've been watching a new show on the History Channel called IRT Deadliest Roads. The Ice Road truckers are in India driving in the Himalayas. It is absolutely crazy and entertaining. I've also been obsessed with the Discovery channels newest nature series. It's called Life. I had it on today and ended up watching the whole hour. I had to turn the TV off after seeing it was on next as well. And it's so beautiful to watch in HD! You can watch the preview here.