Car full of laughs

Alright, so we are currently in route back home from Michigan. I think we are a few hours away from saint Louis, where hopefully we will be staying near a casino and the arch....not sure yet. It'll mean a little longer driving tomorrow but we all have Monday off from work. And the only thing I would like to be in town for is too early in the afternoon for me to be able to make it at all. Which actually brings me to some sad news before I get onto this weekend. My school was saddened to learn this week that a student passed away. Unfortunately this is the second student that I will have buried in my short teaching career. Deann Campos was a bright happy 7Th grader whom I rarely saw without a smile on her face. She was out all of last week and on Wednesday we learned of her death. The autopsy came back on Friday and it turns out she had a fast growing tumor that even if it had been detected, a surgery would have been unlikely and could have possibly caused permanent brain damage. So I am thankful that she did not have to suffer through the pain of surgery or the fear of death. She will be deeply missed but she has a wonderful school community that is praying for her and I appreciate everyone keeping Holy Cross in your prayers as we close out our school year. Unfortunately the rosary is this evening (Sunday) and the services Monday at 3. I think that my school will be having a memorial service at some point though. Plus I think staying home from this trip to go would have been a mistake. So let me tell you about it. We, being me, mom, Bobby and dad, left Thursday evening around 6.30; we stopped somewhere in Oklahoma for dinner and then drove on through stopping for breakfast in Saint Louis, Illinois :) then the next like 9 hours were SOOO long. It seemed like we were close but it was like waiting for water to boil, it just didn't seem that we would ever make it to Grand Rapids!! But we finally did. After washing off the previous 20 hours and getting all dolled up we made our way to the rehearsal dinner, where I got to see my cousins whom I haven't seen in 8 years!! Which after making this trip, I can't blame them. It's a looong drive!! We got to catch up a little. I got to meet my like second cousins, at least I think- they're my cousins children. I had met Caleb before, seeing as how mom and dad are his godparents, but Nicholas I had never met, along with Hailee, Ty and Amy whom I met the next day at the wedding. Along with a whole slew of people that if I listed here you would get bored, but if any of you happen to read this, know that it was great to meet you so please don't feel slided. Also know that I hope to see you again soon. I can't wait until I get to post all of my pictures up on facebook. One cool thing, there were a few so this is just one, is that at the reception, someone put together a slide show that had pictures of Katie and pictures of Duke and then pictures together and I was in one of Duke's pictures! It was us hanging out at nanny's house when I was about 9 or 10. It was really a cool moment for me but also the moment that I lost control of my emotions. After this week of school and then being around family, I knew I would lose it if I ever got close to the edge of my emotions. A part of that, too, is that I couldn't help thinking right before the wedding that nanny was there, enjoying the moment, sharing her own stories and memories with whomever she wanted up in heaven. Sorry. I know I was going somewhere else with that but I got a little emotional and had to take a minute to compose myself. The reception last night was a blast, I had some of the best dance partners there and took LOTS of pictures!!! Oh, and this morning we all met for breakfast at Big Boy, even the newlyweds, which was great!!! All I know is that we have to find ways to get together more often. Maybe we can meet somewhere in between that way our round trips are the same instead of one person taking like two days vacation to travel. So, if you're reading this aunt Dee, which I know you are, let's think of some place we can meet in the middle and have a goal of meeting there sometime in the next year or two. Maybe Saint Louis or I don't know where, but I'll do some research. Anyway, let's make it happen!! :) oh, and some of you asked about the big decision I asked for prayers for, and they worked! Lol, so I'm just going to say for now that MY mind is made up, so I'm going to ask you to keep praying that some important people make the right decision :) hopefully, I'll have an announcement to make soon. Sorry to be so mysterious, I just don't want to jinx it, but if You're really curious you can send me an email and I may tell you :) well I can't decide if I want to end this blog for now or just pause and finish the rest on Tuesday at school. I think I'll finish it later....

So that was all written on Sunday afternoon in the midst of a road trip. It's now Tuesday evening and it's been edited, but now you meed to hear the rest of the story. So we ended up staying the night at Hotel Lumiere that is connected to a Casino. I have to say that I haven't seen Bobby THAT excited in a LONG time! At one point when Mom and Dad were trying to decide where to stay, Bobby sent Mom this text "just make up your dang mind please before you have [two] dead bodys in the backseat from anxiety" which made us ALL laugh, which actually happened ALOT of the time in the car! We may have been cramped, crowded and exhausted, but we had fun. It's another family memory that I'm grateful to have. There may not be pictures or specific stores to share but I have lots of memories of laughter. So back to St. Louis- None of us had ever been there before so after we checked in to the hotel, we walked to the Arch, which I knew was known as the "Gateway to the West" but didn't know why it was in ST. Louis. Well, luckily for us, my dad knew and educated us on the background of the arch. Then we went back to the hotel and ate in the nice Italian Restaurant. On our way back to the room, Bobby said "Well, this trip has not only been fun, but also educational" HAHAHAHA! That kid! We drove by Busch Stadium, unfortunately they had an afternoon game so we didn't get to see the Cardinals play. BUT I'm okay with that CAUSE..... I'm going BACK! In our hotel, our suite had 2 Queen Beds, a pullout Sofa in the living area, 2 TVs, a Pool, a Gym and it's connected to the Casino. That room cost $140 for the night. With 5 people in a room that's less than $30 a night!! You don't need a cab cause it's close enough to walk to alot of the bars and even the stadium. Buy yourself some baseball tickets, bring some gambling money and you're good to go! So when this trip happens depends on a few things, but I know I'm going to need to at least recover from my trip to Alaska first. It needs to be during baseball season, sometime. So anyway if you're reading this- know that you're invited to come along, in fact I hope you do. The more, the merrier, right? In case you couldn't tell, I think I've been bitten by the travel bug! I'm really motivated right now! I really had a FANTASTIC, PHENOMENAL, AMAZING, SUPER weekend! (couldn't decide on just one cheesy adjective) A BIG THANK YOU AND A BIG HUG TO ALL INVOLVED- especially Dad for driving the majority of the time! Oh and Duke and Katie for getting married! :) Be sure to check out the pictures on facebook :)

the final (not really) countdown

Alright so first things first, WITH SEMESTER TESTS, I only have 23 school days left!!!! I'M PRETTY PSYCHED ABOUT THAT!!! It would be 25 if it weren't for item #2...
I'm also pretty stoked about next weekend! My cousin Duke is getting married!! It's been WAY TOO LONG since I've seen them, so I'm very excited to get to spend a couple of days up there in Michigan....not excited about the 18 hour-both ways-road trip with my mom, brother and dad...but I'm assigning a vocabulary project so I should have some grading to do. :) plus I've got the iPhone and a portable DVD player so I should survive...hopefully. If not, this could be my last blog..just kidding :) So some of you may have read from facebook or heard it from me, but I'm moving out of my apartment this summer!! No, not back to mom and dad's...(ugh- love you guys)... a friend of mine has a house and two empty bedrooms, so Teresa and I are moving in! I'm pretty stoked about this as well. I've never really had roommates, with the exception of girl scout camp, but that doesn't really count cause we had to share a living space. The other thing that this has inspired is a case of puppy fever!! I can't currently have a dog in my apartment, so it has even been on my radar, but when Teresa brought it up with Paula the other day- something sparked. Then I went to Midland to visit my wonderful friends (I'll come back to that) and my wonderful hosts, Karrie and Jason, had the cutest little Maltese dog, Grace, that completely stole my heart. So once we get moved in and everything, I anticipate having a conversation about a getting a puppy/dog :) So as I said, last weekend I drove down to Midland to visit my amazing, wonderful teacher friends! Friends really isn't the right word. They really were my second family. They took me to the doctor, they brought me food when I was sick, they laughed, talked, shared pretty much everything with me! They're really the most amazing group of teachers EVER! I was a little disappointed that some of them couldn't make it, some of them already had plans or children to be responsible for, or..something. But at least we have Facebook! Is it weird that part of me is worried that after a year, they're not going to want to be my friends anymore? Just like a year after college, I started talking to most of my friends from college less, I'm worried that's going to happen. It was a very bittersweet drive home. If you're reading this Midlanders, know that I'm truly blessed to know all of you and I thank you for a wonderful evening last week.
I don't remember what number we're on, but there are only 45 MORE days until CAMP STARTS!! (I'm sorry if that freaks you out Natalie, but I'm stoked and let me know if I can help do anything else..) This is a pretty big year for me- this summer will be my TENTH SUMMER to be on Staff at Girl Scout Camp Kiwanis!! That's pretty dang cool, don't ya think? Sure that only adds up to like 20 months or something, but still TEN SUMMERS!!
I actually think that's just about it, except don't forget to donate to my March of Dimes Walk this weekend! www.marchforbabies.org/teddyzzil
Every little bit counts and I'm getting closer to my goal! Thanks to those who've donated- and if you know anyone that wants to donate, just send them my link! It'll be much appreciated! Also, sorry for the 1990's surfer dude vocabulary, I guess I need to look up a couple of synonyms for "stoked" and "psyched." Well, I'll hopefully I'll get to see you all someplace other than the Cyber-world, but until then! HAVE A GREAT DAY!
--DON'T TAKE MY WORD FOR IT :)
(Kudos to my sister for getting that reference a couple of blogs ago)

My march of dimes Card!

Click here to help me reach my goal!

Chalk dust

First, let's start with some good news!! In case you haven't heard, I passed my high school math certification test!!! YEAH!! I was concerned mostly because it's been a long time since I've taken Calculus but it didn't matter. Second, I don't do this very often, but I may be having to make a decision about something soon and I would very much appreciate your prayers. I'll share more as it happens, but I'd rather not share anything publicly until I know something. Thank you in advance for that. OK, now onto "the blog"
So, it's kind of weird that I was inspired to blog today while at school. I use mostly the chalkboard at school for teaching and such. I was using the overhead at the beginning of the year, but the chalk board is just so much better and fits with my big handwriting. I also learned from my high school Physics teacher, who did the same thing, that a rag or cloth erases the board MUCH better than an eraser. So I bought a pack of washcloths from Walmart and they work GREAT! Unfortunately, I also use colored chalk, which creates more chalk dust while erasing with more ease than the white chalk. I know that's probably alot more than you ever wanted or needed to know about my chalkboard use, but it will help with the story....well at least I think it will. Anyways, on Friday after school, I decided to clean my board because our cleaning people only vacuum the dust from the tray. So I cleaned it with water and a towel. I used the chalkboard in all 6 of my classes today and I have to say that my chalkboard still looks pretty clean. Which made me think "mistakes are easier to fix with a clean start." This sentence has many meanings for me and I'm still pondering it. So, I'm not going to elaborate on my little insight anymore, I'm just going to let you ponder on it.
I would also like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all of my "loyal readers," and even my "unloyal readers" or "occasional readers" I'm very thankful for the Internet and facebook and this blog for allowing me to stay in contact with my family and friends, many of whom live far away. Frankly I think that's pretty cool. Just like in the "old days" when people would write letters to their family members to let them know what was going on. I kind of feel like that, just a modern day version, mostly cause you don't have to wait 2 weeks to get the letter. Any who. Those are my thoughts as they stand today. I hope your April is just AWESOME!! :)

Supersillious Spring

Um, so I'm pretty sure that 2010 is pretty...(before I finish this sentence, know that I am hesitant about using this word based on the fact that I will sound like a teenager, but it fits..) epic, at least it really has the potential to really be that way!! So first, I really feel like I'm the happiest that I've been since I shouted " I'm trying to study!!" during finals at the student center, which if you don't know that story... It's also classified near the epic category. So far, 2010 has begun with me kicking ass and losing 20 pounds!! Then I've reconnected with some childhood friends. Then I just had a FANTASTIC spring break!! We are approaching April and I have to say I'm psyched. I'm taking a new certification test to be certified for teaching high school Math. I'm going to visit Midland and see all of my wonderful friends!! I'm walking in the March of Dimes walk. In May, my cousin is getting married in Michigan!! I haven't seen them in a looong time so that's AWESOME!! then it's CAMP TIME!!! THEN it's ALASKAN CRUISE TIME!! of course somewhere in there I'll turn 26!!! What happens after that is a little more up in the air, I'm taking that one as it comes....but now hopefully you can see-epic is an appropriate word. I know I blogged about bishop Matt already but his funeral today brought back lots of memories. I remember lots of masses being the altar server at St. Laurence with father pat or Ed or the bishop. I remember his retirement mass!! One of my favorite things was, standing in front of all of the priests as they said the eucharastic prayer in unison!! It happened today and brought me back 13 years. It was an intense moment. Of course now I'm on a mission to find a picture from the mass. Mom and I got out some pictures of dad and looking at them it was the first timethat I REALLY saw how much I look like my dad. People at family reunions or different functions for most of my childhood came up to me and said "are you david's daughter?" I never saw it. Now my brother- yes! They could be twins. Those pictures are on facebook and I may add them here later. Anywho, I think I had more to blog about but I'm watching the third season of grey's anatomy- which is a really good one. So I'm distracted. So in case I don't blog before Easter, have a happy one! Also don't forget to donate to my March of dimes walk.
www.marchforbabies.org/teddyzzil
thank you!!

To be Decided....

I know this year isn't technically over yet, and when I say year, remember that I'm a teacher, so my years are according to school years and summers! Also, I hope this sounds right, you know how sometimes I say things that don't make sense, this could be one of those times...
Anyway, today in Mass at school, I started thinking. About how all of the things that have happened have gotten me here for a reason. I honestly think that moving to Midland and teaching at Anson Jones was the absolute right thing for me to do. I would not be the teacher that I am today if it weren't for the two years I was there. I also would not have the wonderful friends that I now have from there, at least I think they're still my friends- even though I haven't been able to visit. Also, I wouldn't have the wonderful supply of Math Games that I now have, thanks to EveryDay Math. But other than that, nothing has REALLY happened the past two years. This has been the first year that things have started happening, or that I've started doing them, however you want to look at it. It all started with the passing of my best friend's dad in August. It's weird to say that I was motivated by Death, but I have been. Not long after that, a Girl Scout Friend and Mentor also passed away. A few months ago, Olga Lange, a childhood "friend" and pseudo-grandma, passed away, which I've already blogged about so I won't repeat myself. A few weeks ago, a friend/student's father also passed away, along with a friend's grandmother and fellow teacher's mother and then last night Bishop Leroy T. Matthiesen passed away. Now, maybe I'm noticing it more because I'm working in a funeral home or maybe because I was actually able to attend all of these services, where as the past two years, I was unable to attend any, but that's quite a few. Also, I need to add, I've been a little unmotivated about lots of things lately. So this morning in mass, I started to feel like I was just sitting around waiting for life to happen again, when here is this list of people who are no longer around here to live their own life. So as the end of Lent approaches and Easter Season is around the corner, I am rededicating myself to joining the Military. I completely full-heartedly believe that it is the correct place for me to be. I'm having to deal with the fact that it's not happening NOW, because of past mistakes and choices that I've made. But I'm handling it, I'm ready for it, I'm excited for it. I feel like Spring Break was a nice break from everything. I got to shoot some guns. I got to hang out with my best friend, who unfortunately/fortunately reads my mind better than I do sometimes. My nephew spent the night at my apartment also. I was nervous about this, it was his idea and he has a past track record of being kind of "choosy" (one of his birthday parties, he rejected almost every present because it wasn't what he thought it should be). But I realized that even though I don't buy them flashy toys or loud games, my nieces and nephews (and my brother) know that I love them, which is really the most important thing. Andrew was happy just to hang out with me- he didn't care what we did. They also know, that they can be whomever they want to be when they're with me and not suffer any judgement for it, or so I like to think. Those qualities are those that I think every person should have at least one person like this in their life. Along with someone who constantly pushes them to be the best. So there you have it, my life as I see it right now. My life as I see it to be and as it was and WILL BE NO MORE!
I had to blog quickly about the book I just read, cause I think it's possible it's having an effect on my current attitude, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. I haven't seen the movie yet, but the book was....good...interesting...different. I also just saw the movie Remember Me. And Yes, I saw it because Robert Pattinson was in it, but you know what? It was actually a GOOD movie. I would recommend to anyone...including non-twilight fans. :)

The Final Countdown!

Just having a little fun at work!! Isn't it exciting?!?


Vacation Countdown Clock Generator