August Update

This summer has been full of wonderful times. Now Jack and I are back in school. The second year at a new school is SO much better than the first year.

I am now teaching 6 classes; 6th grade band, 6th grade choir, 7th grade band, 7th grade choir, 8th grade band, and 8th grade choir. I love 5 of my classes and am a little annoyed at one of my classes. The 8th grade band is very immature. Those of you who know me well realize that I have very little patience for stupid behavior. I have about 5 students in a class of 20 that require my constant attention. These students explode if I am not answering their questions when they call out or if I don't address them specifically. You know me. I can't stand that.

My 6th and 7th graders are adorable. I know the honeymoon will be over soon, but they are still in that stage where they want to make me happy. That's my favorite part of beginning groups. Pretty soon they will be overwhealmed with learning new skills and will become middle schoolers. That's OK. I will remember them as the sweethearts they can be.

Louise, my Mother-in-Law sent me a great poem about middle school students. I took it to school to keep near my computer. Maybe later I will share it if I can remember to bring it home. Middle school students are unpredictable. They can be the nicest, most generous people or they can be the meanest, most disrespectful people. It really depends on how their day is going and what has been happening in their lives. I am so glad I had a great middle school experience. I remember the emotions and the politics from that time in my life. I can empathize with these students. It is so hard for them to just get up in the morning. Our school day begins at 7:20. Can you imagine?

Jack loves his school, too. He is working on a new project to teach his 5th graders about the blues. He has some pretty neat ideas. I can't wait to see what happens.

I know that I haven't been updating this blog very often. It seems a little easier to use Facebook right now. I will continue this blog when ever something interesting happens. Take care everyone!

Some Days are More Eventful Part 3 (Finale)

Sorry about the delay in blogging the finale of this eventful day. Jack is working on his last class and taking his comps right now.

After the blood draws, after the vet appointment, we went to The Melting Pot for an early anniversary dinner. Our anniversary is (was) June 12. Since this is (was) our 10th anniversary we wanted to celebrate by having a nice dinner at a special place Wednesday and then host our friends for a BBQ on Friday.

All week long Jack has been going to Denver to search for something. He had been saving his gig money for over a year to buy me a gift for our 10th anniversary. At the Melting Pot Jack re-proposed to me and gave me a beautiful new ring. I was so suprised! I wasn't expecting jewelry at all. He was so great! Here is the picture of my new ring. I love it. This is the end of this story. What a day!

Some Days are More Eventful Part 2

After the lab work Jack said that he had to go into Denver for a bit to complete some anniversary shopping. It was the only time he could take care of whatever it was that needed taken care of. He felt bad that he wouldn't be able to help take Dimirti to the vet. I said that I could handle it. After all, Dimitri isn't as big as he used to be and he is only a cat.

I got ready to cart Dimitri to the vet for a much-needed check up. Since we moved to Brighton about 5 years ago, we have let Dimitri's health care slide. We hadn't gotten around to finding a vet and getting back into the routine of vaccinations and such. This appointment was made because we noticed that he was favoring his back legs a little. He's 15. He moves around pretty good for an old guy. His legs were getting better by the time we were scheduled to have him looked at.

For those of you who don't know, Dimitri does not travel well. As soon as he realizes he is in a car he starts this loud and anxious yell on every breath he takes. When we used to travel with him to Grand Junction we would have to give him a tranquilizer so he wouldn't work himself up during the car ride. This sound he makes is between a meow and that sound that cats make when they are in heat. Really obnoxious.

I brought Dimitri into the vet's office and he was fine for the first part of the exam. What sent him over the edge was getting his temperature taken. I don't blame him. It took two of us to hold him down while he was getting to know the thermometer. Poor guy.

The assistant left me and Dimitri in the exam room to try to relax for a few minutes. He was starting to settle in when the doctor came. She was very nice and not at all frightened by my beast. We got the cat back on the examining table. I guess cold metal on your paws isn't very comfy. The doctor examined him. This thoroughly insulted Dimitri. Why sould anybody have to poke and prod him at this age. He made his displeasure known to us by fully sinking the claws in his right paw in my arm. Only one claw from his left paw broke the skin while he barely scratched me with a fang. After that episode the doctor rolled her sleeves down and stated that Dimitri was "the only cat ever to back her into a corner."

The bruising is much more colorful now.

The end result was that the vet and one of her assistants took Dimitri out of the exam room to take blood (our entire family had blood tests done that day) and give him his rabies vaccine. I heard yowls and howls that I have never heard before. Dimitri was NOT in his happy place. I called Jack while I was waiting in the exam room. I think he could hear the ruckus over the phone. When the vet brought him back in to the exam room he was wrapped very tightly in a towel. She said she heard him ripping the towel inside.

The end result of this challenge was that Dimitri has a hyperactive Thyroid. We now have to give him a can of wet food with some medicine mixed in it every day. The good news is that all of his other numbers are perfect. He really shouldn't be this healthy at his age. He has lost a lot of weight in recent years. I believe his top weight was about 15-16 pounds and he now weighs 8.7 pounds. Dimitri is recovering nicely from his ordeal. Here endeth part 2.

Some Days are More Eventful Part 1

Yesterday was a memorable day. Here's how the day unfolded. Jack and I both woke up earlier than our normal summer sleeping schedule to go have out blood drawn for testing. Neither of us has had a blood test in years. We had stopped eating earlier the night before so that we could have accurate fasting blood tests. We drove down to the hospital for the labwork about 7:45 AM. The hospital had my labwork request but Jack's had not shown up yet. Jack is someone who needs to eat in the morning as soon as he can put a sentence together. He was pretty hungry at that point. Jack knew the woman who was going to draw my blood. She was the parent of some of Jack's former students in Greeley. I guess she was just starting her internship in the lab and had only stuck a couple of people. You all know what a chicken I am regarding needles... She was nervous. I was nervous. We started to feed off each other. I only have one vein that works for blood draws and IVs. This poor woman was too scared to try for it. She had one of her supervisors do it. I have to say that it was the easiest stick I have ever had. I understand it is more difficult to stick someone you know. I felt bad for her but glad that she didn't stick me.

We left the hospital to await the opening of the doctor's office so that Jack could remind them to fax a form to the lab. An hour later, 10 by this time, he was able to go in to get his fasting blood test done. Poor guy went in and, like the generous teacher he is, had the intern take his blood. She tried in his left arm first but the vein rolled on her. She got on the second try in his right arm. So... that was the morning of this eventful day. More to come...