i decided that i deserved a reward since i'm teaching summer school. i'm now the owner of a pretty little green ipod mini. happy un-birthday to me!

i don't have any cancer in there. just thought i'd let you know.
(p.s.- that tube is bigger in person)

and i'm back! these pictures are from our last full day in the sierras. the flowers are (i think) called drummond's anemone. they were all over the ground when we tried to go hiking on something called "trail of the gargoyles." our drive to where the trail started was unusual, seeing as the roadway was blocked by snowdrifts. so, i got to play in the snow in june! it wasn't even icy snow- it was still soft. more evidence that our weather this year has been wacky.


the fact that no one had probably gone on the trail since last year also meant that we couldn't figure out where the trail went because it was poorly marked. we did see a couple unusual rock formations, and there was a great view.

the week was fun- i got to do a little hiking, and a lot of relaxing. i went kayaking, watched the boys fish, read, and even got a slightly better tan! now i have two weeks left before i start teaching summer school. how the time does fly...

and i'm off!

we're taking a jaunt to the sierras tommorow. (we = boyfriend + his family + sister's boy) i'll be gone for a week, until sunday the 26th. if possible, i'll be posting from there. we're staying in a condo, so it won't exactly be camping.

so until sunday, (unless i find the internet) stay cool.

ay. another one of my cousins is engaged now! at least she is older than me, unlike her sister who is getting married in august.

i just finished reading "the curious incident of the dog in the night-time," which i thought was very good.

i have three other books to read too
1. one nation under gods: a history of the mormon church
2. the time traveler's wife
3. the poisonwood bible (thank you meghan for the rec.)

i haven't had many new books to read that weren't about teaching in the past year. yay for me!

because of my side-part and the way my hair falls, half my forehead is tan, and the other half isn't.

i also have my cherished sandal-tan, which i use to prove to the world that i come in two shades of whiteness

a couple of funny things happened the last day of school.

1. my non-english speaking boy who came to america in may bit the school bully
2. a girl in my class kicked a soccer ball into the side of my face so hard that it hurt to close my mouth for several hours, and i spent most of the school day holding ice packs to my face while teaching. i even had to fill out a worker's comp accident form just in case it didn't feel better. (i'm fine now, thank goodness)

school is over, all my shit is now in my new classroom.

along with several years worth of other people's shit.

and some spiders.


good news: as of right now, i'm not teaching a combo class anymore- it's a straight third unless the school gets new students.

things i bought:
iron and wine- woman king ep
iron and wine- our endless numbered days
iron and wine- the creek drank the cradle

things that i almost bought and didn't (damn):
bloc party- silent alarm
bright eyes- i'm wide awake, it's morning
the innocence mission- now the day is over

4 more days of school......

i finished report cards today, and so i feel awesome! we ate dinner early, and then went out to coffee. at 7.30 i have yoga. (this almost seems like i have a life. wow)

i've been tearing down all my bulliten boards and boxing things up in my classroom. it looks really sad and empty. it is amazing how much better the stained, scratched up walls look when they are mostly covered.

anyways, time to go stand on my head or some such nonsense.

we were going to go to church this morning... still church shopping, so we went to a new one in sunnyvale. we walked in, and then both decided we didn't like it, so we ditched church and went to an art and wine festival instead. that was by accident- we meant to go get coffee. i guess it worked out, huh.

we seem to have skipped spring up here in san jose, and gone directly from winter to summer. lovely. i hate sweating.