Cute Mother's Day School Project Idea

April 12, 2015

I know it's been forever since I posted anything on my blog. Sorry, first I didn't really have anything to write about. I was just whiling away the time until the good Lord saw fit to return me home to Oregon. Boy did He. I taught for five years in North Dakota then I finally got a teaching job in Oregon and my youngest son and I moved home. We had to wait awhile but God gave us a house that I had been praying for for five years. It's a three bedroom, two bath house four blocks from the beach in Seaside Oregon. Now you are caught up and I will be changing my blog to more of a teaching adventure focus. That said, here is my first ever teacher blog post.

I now teach a k2 blended class. I have been trying to figure out what project to have my students do for a Mothers Day project. I also teach at a school focused on the environment and we are encouraged to recycle/ reuse. I was trying to come up with a way to reuse k-cups. I finally came up with an idea that kills the two birds with one stone and here it is.


For the Mothers' Day Project

Materials

Decorative duct tape

Used k-cups

Scissors

Potting soil

Seeds

Decorate the outside of the used k-cups with the duct tape. I found the narrow tape was easier and smoother than the wider tape. 

  

Cut or peel off the lid to the k-cups. They are packed pretty full with coffee grounds so this part gets messy and you may want to lay down newspaper beforehand. I drink tea so I had the kids open them up and dump all the tea out. Coffee is a good nutrient for plants and you can leave all or a little in the cup if you choose. This is what an empty K-cup looks like inside.

If you have the kids empty the cups, then fill them 2/3 of the way, put in a couple of seeds. I used Nasturtiums because the seeds are big and they grow relatively quick.  I put in three seeds each. Then cover with more potting soil . Add a little water. K-cups already have hole in the bottom so be careful because water will drip out.

I found these cute little plastic plates for appetizers in the paper plate aisle of the grocery store that I used for a tray under our plants. They helped to keep my counter at school clean.

After I shared this idea with my sister and her husband, they went home and planted their seeds for their vegetable garden in k-cups to start the plants in their green house.

There you have it two ways to reuse the k-cups that are filling our garbage cans and land fills.

I Start a New Adventure

I know it has been quite a while since my last blog. Sorry, I need to be inspired to write and I had nothing happening in my life. At least not much since my last post. That however has changed. As most of you who have read my blog before know, I followed the Lord to a Native American reservation in North Dakota to teach. I surrendered my life to God there for five years. Well May 26, 2014 was the last day of my fifth year teaching in Mandaree. On June 16, 2014 the Lord blessed me by answering my prayers for a job in Oregon. In September, I will begin teaching a Kindergarten, first, and second grade blend in Vernonia. I am super excited as it is a positive atmosphere with a team of teachers I have met and love. But that is not the wow factor.

When I learned I got the job, I began to pray for a house at the beach. This was what I asked God for:

A two bedroom house though three bedrooms would be awesome
A secondary heat source like a wood stove or fireplace
More than one bathroom
A window in the kitchen (I have had this in most of my homes and prefer it)
Close to the beach but anywhere near the ocean would be awesome (this is a life long dream of mine)

And I began thanking God for provision and the house and answered prayers. I have been living for the last five years in hiddenness which means I did not feel God's presents, I stopped going to church because I couldn't find one that when I left I felt refreshed and renewed. God was silent. I did not get any messages from Him at all. That did not worry me because as a teacher I know "teachers are always quiet during a test," and God is the ultimate teacher. I knew that God did not abandon me in North Dakota but I still felt that way. I learned to trust God and seek His peace without feeling the warmth of His presents. I knew He was there. I lived under His favor and He stilled answered my prayers. Its just when I worshiped I felt like I was singing a song not praising my God. I lived by faith not be sight or feel.

Then when God started bringing school interviews into my life, I started feeling His manifestation. I could feel His presence, His love and things were moving. But He wasn't content with just bringing me back to Oregon.

First the move, I called U-Haul they wanted $1550.00 for a 14' truck and car dolly for four days and limited mileage. I called Budget and got a 16' truck with a car dolly and unlimited mileage plus six days for $530.00. But I had no place to move to and it was very frustrating and difficult to find a place near Vernonia online. So I gave up and decided to let God do the work. I just packed up my house and with my youngest son, James, and cat, Binks, we moved in on our family. I was thinking I would have a place to live within two weeks. God had other plans.

I spent two weeks not finding a place. Nothing was available in my price range even though I was very willing to throw my list of wants right out the window. I kept getting messages from odd places  (life has taught me that is how God communicates with me). I got a couple of fortune cookie messages that were too specific to my situation to not be from God and they were saying take a vacation and rest in God. So I took my grandson and my son to Seaside for a day of play. We had an awesome time. On our way home we stopped at a Dairy Queen (which is in the middle of nowhere) on the way home. I was waiting outside the bathroom for Zander and started a conversation with a woman who was waiting as well. Anyone who knows me knows that that is not unusual but what happened next was totally God by design. I explained I was moving back from North Dakota going to teach in Vernonia and was looking for a rental preferably in Seaside. She said she had a rental that would not be open until December, however the present tenants were looking to buy a house so they might move out sooner. Later she found me at my table and gave me her contact information. I called the next day and they told me to go check it out on the outside and call them if I liked what I saw. They said they would tell the tenants, "who are never home," that I would be there so I could feel free to go in the back yard and everything.

I get there and the tenants are home and they show me the house! Inside and out! So now is the Wow. It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, window in a giant kitchen, a fireplace and is four blocks from the beach in Seaside!!! But God was not content with answering my prayer as it was, He wanted to do so much more. He added whipped  cream with a cherry on top!!! It was fully furnished including linen and dishes. I wouldn't need to unpack unless I wanted to use my things. Then I would only have to pack their things in the attic. But God still wasn't finished.

When I called the next day to talk to my new landlords they had discussed the move-in fees. They asked me what would work for me and I wasn't sure how to respond except to say I would clean the house myself as I moved in so if could they take whatever they would normally pay to clean the rental off the deposits that would be great. The husband said "Here is what I am thinking. We will wave the cleaning deposit since you are going to clean it. We will wave the move-in fees and we will wave the requirement of first and last months rent." So when the tenants move out and I move in I only need to come up with the first month's rent! WOW!! Oh and the rent includes the utilities including internet, TV and electricity.

I found out two days later that the old tenants purchased a house and they thought they could move out September 1st. However, they soon learned that repairs to the house would push the move-out date back to October. But the landlords have offered their personal vacation home for rent to me for the month of September! The Lord never ceases to amaze me on how much He loves me and how generous He is. He is truly awesome and I am very excited to see what else He has planned for me.

I am truly blessed. Thank You Father for EVERYTHING!!!!! What tops that is that James is seeing with his eyes how good the Lord is. I think another prayer will be answered soon .

Sorry there are no pictures in this post. I am not using my computer because it is packed for now.

Chicago

Whirl wind road trip to Chicago with Kendall a friend from Warner Pacific College, roommate and teacher. We left at 2:00pm on Thursday after school and drove straight through about 16 hours. We had a great time on Friday going around the city and sight seeing. We went to Lake Michigan and walked along the beach and got our feet wet. It was real foggy so we could not see much of the lake but it did have waves crashing on the shore like the ocean.

Saturday was our interview. We get ready and drive through downtown Chicago which is no easy feat. Man they drive crazy there. Got to the hotel only to have to call our contact and find that they had canceled Chicago interviews because they had hired all they needed, only we did not get that email. I emailed our contact before we left asking her to confirm and never got a response either. So we did a little shopping and headed home.

We did some sight seeing in Wisconsin and picked up some cheese, drove through Milwaukee on our way home. Got home around 11:30am Sunday and passed out for awhile. I am going back to bed shortly but I know everyone was waiting to hear if I was going overseas. Looks like God has other plans.

I am not really disappointed as I did not have high hopes for this job but God rewards those who take risks and that was a risk for me. Now I am putting applications in Oregon with little hope for getting anything, and organizing my room and planning for next year. Still not sure I am coming home for the summer. I need to fix my car and see what kind of money I have. Plus I think it will be hard to go home knowing I am not going to stay. Also there are a lot of things to do in North Dakota in the summer. I might just do some sight seeing and take small trips around the area. We shall see. I need to discuss things with my life planner (God). I will post pictures later.

Last Day of School

I am exhausted but I am so glad it's over again. I had a roommate from January until now and she is in the process of moving out. She is going to Williston ND to live. She will not be coming back to teach. Kendall is a teacher I went to college with that moved here this year and she is in the process of moving in. I haven't even had time to clean or anything and no time on my own. Oh well it will be nice to have Kendall around.

I am teaching summer school from May 31-June 30. James (my youngest son) got his GED so he will be starting trade school on June 30. I am so proud of him I never thought I would see this day. He is going to school to be a auto body repair and paint guy. Jeff is graduating this June from mechanic school and starting the same schooling with James.

I don't know what else I will be doing this summer except got to Chicago for an interview to go overseas. If I get the job I will pack and move all my stuff to Oregon. (better storage climate). Visit my friends and relatives. Then I will drive my car to Houston TX so my sons will have a reliable car and then fly out from Houston. If I don't get the job I will spend part of my summer planning out next year and reorganizing my room and who knows after that.

10 More Days of School!!!

Sorry I have not been blogging. I have been so busy that time has slipped away. There is nothing much to talk about but work because I have not done much of anything but work. There is only ten more days till school is out for the year.

I don't believe in coincidences but I do believe in signs. I just don't always interpret these signs correctly. First sign is I have had a roommate paying rent to me since January. The money has come in handy since I needed to go to the dentist recently for a root canal. While I have not been able to save very much money, I have had enough to not struggle. I was hoping that the extra money would mean provisions for moving this year but I see now that it was probably just living provisions.

The second sign is I have an interview with a company that will take me to Abu Dahbi, a country in the United Arab Emirate. It is located on the peninsula in the Persian Gulf. It is one of the riches countries in the world. If I get the job they pay for me to fly over, my pay would be almost 44,000 a year tax free. I would get a three bedroom apartment rent free, airfare to come home once a year, and great benefits. My interview is in Chicago in June. I have not given up on Oregon and I have three applications in for jobs there but so far nothing.

The third sign that I may be moving out of North Dakota is that we have not received any contracts as of today (5/10). This is good in that by law they have to give me 30 days to sign the contract. Last year I had to decide that I was coming back by 6/1/11. Now I will have till after my interview to sign my contract. Once I sign I have to buy myself out in order to break it so if I have another job it is nice to not have to pay off my old employer. Plus Oregon is just now starting to look for new teachers, so it is nice to have more time to look for a job there.

What will I do this summer? Well, I am going to teach summer school for the first month. Then it all depends on where I am going to work next year. If I have a job in Oregon, I will move back late July early August. If I get the job in Abu Dahbi, I will move my things to Oregon to store in a moderate climate and since in two years I will have paid off my student loans, I will be moving back to Oregon afterward (unless I fall in love with overseas teaching). After I move all my things to Oregon, I will drive to Texas to give my sons my car. Then I can see everyone before I go overseas. If I get this job I am spending Christmas in Bethlehem or Scotland or some place cool like that. If I am staying in North Dakota I will spend a large portion of my summer taking classes to renew my North Dakota license, and spend time reorganizing my room and planning my year so I am not struggling to keep on top of things.

If I stay for another year, there are some changes to prepare for. It has been decided by the school board that we are to give a pre-test and a post test and the student must past the post test in order to move on to the next grade at the end of the year. This means I must plan on what I am going to teach all year and test students on what they need to know to be a sixth grader by the end of next year. It might even help in discipline if the students realize they must learn or they will stay back until they do.

I started this year off with a cold and that is what I am ending it on as well. I have lost my voice and I have a sore throat but I will finish this year out and then....

Only 44 more school days!!!

I am so excited. This year is almost over. Only 44 more school day or 10 weeks. The school year is almost over. It is the thought that is keeping me motivated. I am tired of being a babysitter and then the administration turning around and asking me to justify everything I do because I am judged by my students test scores.

This weekend I went to Bismarck to take the Praxis II test. It is a series of tests for teachers. Oregon is one of the only states that does not require teaches to take this test. Only high school teachers need to pass it for their Oregon licence. It makes sense to have this test because it asks about theology of teaching and what are the proper things you should do in classroom management and all that. It was a tough test took four hours for two tests, a lot of writing.

Anyway my friend and I took Friday off so we could get to Bismarck (3 hour drive) and to the hotel. Then hopefully have time to play since it is the "big city" (maybe the size of Pendleton). So we drive there, it was clear as a bell. We can't check in to the hotel right away so we went to the mall to look at stuff. We are in there for about an hour and when we got out about an hour later it was a white out blizzard. We went to the store picked up some stuff to eat and went to the hotel and stayed in for the rest of the day. It closed down our school and the teachers at school got stuck there and had to spend the night with some of the teachers that live near the school. It was wild. Next day it was cold and sunny and on Sunday when we went home it was clear as a bell. You could not tell there had been a snow storm. Talk about freaky.

I am back to looking for a new job and praying that the Lord sees fit to move me somewhere else. I am tired of this school, I have totally lost my love of teaching. If it was not for being surrendered to God and the large student loan debt I would go back to being a secretary.

Bumbed

Sorry I have not been updating my blog but I have been extremely busy this year. I spend all evening on Monday's grading. Then I tutor on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays. I plan on Friday for what I will be teaching during the next week. The weekend I clean, shop and do laundry however my dryer is broken so laundry takes a little longer because I have to hang everything.

Now why I am bumbed. I was planning on taking a three day weekend starting this Friday. I was going to shop for a dryer and sleep in and rest. But I woke up this Monday with a tooth ache. I made it through the day teaching and then it got worse. I was in a lot of pain by night fall. I got to use my personal day to try to go to the dentist. ONLY I live in North Dakota and there are not enough dentists or doctors to go around. So I called several in the area and there is no way to see a dentist for at least two weeks. Luckily, I was able to get into a doctor and get antibiotics. Which is good since the whole side of my face is swollen. I look like I have been beaten without the "pretty" bruise coloring.

Now I am taking Multron, and major strong antibiotics. I can't eat a thing. I have been drinking soup. Funny thing the antibiotics require you to eat food with them. Only I had no soup so I stopped and got a bag of M & Ms to suck on so I could take my meds right away. Good thing because the roads are terrible right now and what should have taken me an hour to get to Dickinson took me an hour and forty-five minutes. Most of the way was up and down hills, round corners, and all covered in ice. A real nail bitter of a drive and I couldn't even grit my teeth. Ouch!!!

SO I have a sore mouth, I am hungry because drinking soup does not keep you fool and I am wore out from the awful drive. I am going to bed.

Christmas VIllage

My brother requested I post some pictures of my Christmas Village. Only thing is, it's too big for just one picture so I took this video to show off my village. The village started with seven houses the my mother's younger sister made. Aunt Patty poured, fired, and painted the houses herself. She then made most of the trees, bushes, and animals. The bear, baby bears and the foxes were made by my Aunt. Two of the smaller houses were sent to my mom in a floral arrangement that my mom's older sister sent her for Christmas two years in a row. They are from the Thomas Kincaid collection. The houses my aunt made were Charles Dickinson style. It became a holiday tradition for my mom and I to buy at least one item each year for the village.

I inherited the village when mom died. I added the lighthouse and the ship. I also got one of my brother-in-laws to help build the base. It is a full sheet of plywood that we cut in half and added hinges so I could close it for storage. I painted the board and added the gravel roads, cobblestone roads and we drilled holes and added the lights. The table that it sits on was made by my middle brother. The base is four feet wide by a little over six feet long. I have the base overhang on one side of the table so I can use the table edge for more room. Two years ago I added stars hanging from the ceiling but chose not to put those up this year. I am currently looking for small snowflakes to hang with the stars maybe next year. That is provided my youngest son is living close to me because he is tall and real good at hanging things from high places. (My definition of a high place is anything out of my reach and I am only 5' tall) The mountain is just a folded sheet.

As I write this it is snowing. It has been snowing since 10:00 this morning. We actually closed school 45 minutes early to get the students home safely. We were almost too late because the buses had a lot of trouble making it to school. When I left for work this morning my sidewalk and driveway were clear of snow. When I got home at 3:45 the snow covered my shoes. I have posted some pics. It was too dark to video the blizzard. But it really dumped on us this time. It is supposed to warm up a little tomorrow then drop below 0 again for the next week.

I hope I can get out to go shopping this weekend. I have planned my first progressive party for a week from tomorrow and I need to get supplies and food. Also I am getting a little stir crazy and need a break before winter really takes hold and I have to with stand cabin fever. Here is the video and pics enjoy.

Winter is Here with a vengance

It snowed again today. I drove my car to work because I had too much to carry back to school after grading and planning during the long weekend. I parked it and did not think about it again till I wanted to go home tonight and there was six inches of new snow plus the packed snow that was freezing underneath. I drive a Saturn 3 door coupe with very little ground clearance and you guessed it, when I tried to drive home I got stuck. It took two other people and a shovel to get me unstuck. It took me almost an hour to get home and I live 500 feet from work. When I got to my driveway I discovered that the plow had been by and I had over a foot of snow plowed against my driveway. So I went to the neighbor to ask them to get facilities to use the bobcat to dig out my driveway. My neighbor works for facilities, facilities does maintenance and other things for the people who live on the school campus, which I do.

While I waited for the bobcat, the neighbor's son who is in third grade dug out my driveway, the part that meets the road and I was able to get into the garage. Getting into my garage is very important to me because it is going to drop below zero for the next couple of days and my car does not have a block heater to prevent my car from freezing so the garage insulates it enough to prevent freezing. So I am now warm and cozy in my house, a half hour after I called the bobcat has just shown up and dug out my driveway and my car it tucked in for the winter.

Have I ever told you I hate the cold and snow? Well I do even more now that I have had to survive on winter and am starting on my second in North Dakota. Oh up date on the kittens I found in my garage. I have lost three and am down to two who are fat and happy and currently climbing my leg. Momma kitty is doing well too. I doubt I will keep any because the cat box and mess drive me crazy.

I don't think North Dakota knows about the winter solstice!!

Sorry for the picture quality but the wind was blowing and that is as still as I could keep the camera.

Its only November 24 and we have already had three blizzards and about 11 inches of snow on the ground. It is also very cold. Evenings have been getting about 8 degrees below zero and sometimes it doesn't get much warmer during the day.

Well today was the last day of the week because tomorrow is Thanksgiving and the start of a nice long four day weekend. School was suppose to get out 45 minutes early at 3:00 but due to wind and snow we let out at 1:30. So I had lots of time to plan and get all my copies made as well as get organized for next week. I have gotten pretty spoiled. We had been having a lot of four day weeks either due to planning or water pipes breaking. Now I look at the schedule and we have five day weeks until Christmas break. Yes I do have cheese to go with this whining.

But you try 18 loud kids that have trouble following directions and cannot figure out how to stand in line, work 12 hour days and see if you don't whine a little.

Happy Thanksgiving, and for the record I don't have to dream of a white Christmas and if you really want one, I have a spare room. Come on over, I'll keep the light on for you. It doesn't matter you wont find me without a map and a guide.

Nice Day

Yesterday (Thursday) we let school out early. We had a water main break so we had to let school out at 1:00. Funny how we had school during a blizzard but a water pipe breaks and we run for the hills. (Side bar: in Mandaree when the water pipes break, you run home and fill your bathtub before you loose water pressure so you can use the toilet. You should also fill a couple of pitchers so you have drinking water too. We also do this when we loose power because the water pumps are powered by electricity).

So since we had the afternoon off and instead of using the time wisely like for planning, a neighbor and I went to Williston. It is about one and a half hours northwest from Mandaree. It is an old town with lots of brick office buildings not very pretty as far as architecture goes. But it has a couple of real cute shops. Antique shops ran by antique people. Fun to look in and talk with. I found a cute teddy bear. It is a Theodore Roosevelt bear complete with mustache, too cute. I found an old glass Christmas ornament that is a ruby slipper reminding me of my mom. Her high heal shoes and the fact that her name was Dorothy.

Then we went to Salvation Army and I found a bread machine. I have been wanting one since they first came out but never got one. I have been looking around for a new one since Mother's Day. I have been making a lot of Indian fry bread. Not many do this well apparently. Ever since my native friends taught me and tasted my practice batches, they call on me to help make fry bread when there is a fund raiser or a funeral. Either they want the fry bread or me to make my sister's famous buttermilk rolls. I think a bread machine is going to come in handy since my fingers do not knead bread as well as they use to. Especially when I have to do five loaves at once. Ouch!! Anyway, I could not find a new bread machine and I spotted this one at Salvation Army for $6.99. Yes the decimal point is in the correct position. It had the manual with it and all the pieces. I figured that seven bucks was not much to risk so I bought it. I am presently testing it out. So far so good, it kneads well and all the buttons work.

I wanted to take a personal day on Monday so I could run errands. Things like get my North Dakota drivers license and plates and tags. Fun stuff like that. In North Dakota they do not know what the DMV is. Every time I say DMV they say "What?" Here it is called the License center. There is a division set aside just for driver's license. North Dakota License Center is closed on Thursdays by the way. Why Thursday? Beats me. Well, the substitute teacher (Mandaree has two) that I called and prefer was subbing at another school on Monday. The other sub is a teacher/councilor that no one wants but has a contract so he is a in house sub. He is kept very busy because teachers get sick or need a day. He is sick so I have no sub for Monday. The solution was for me to take off a half hour early today (because my students have computers and leave for the bus during this time so I don't need a sub) and beat feet to the DLC. Luckily there is an hour time difference between Dickinson and Mandaree. Dickinson is an hour south of Mandaree but it is in Mountain time and Mandaree is in Central time. Go figure. Why? Beats me. Like one of my friends who is the new 6th grade teacher this year says "That's North Dakota for ya"' SO I made it to the DLC and it only took me a half hour. Can you believe it? It only took a half hour for me to take the eye test and show them my birth certificate and marriage license. Yes even though I have been divorce since 1992 I had to prove my legal name is Fry instead of my maiden name. Once I proved who I was and paid $10.00 yes only ten dollars. I got my licence handed to me.

All of you who live in Oregon know how amazing this is. When you go to DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) you take a number and sit with 60 plus people to wait your turn. If you are lucky there are three people working the counter. (Not an exaggeration). Think of the movie Beetle Juice when they were waiting to see their case worker and you are close to the DMV waiting line. Please plan on being there at least two hours. Then after you prove who you are and where you live and that you deserve your license, you get a piece of paper which is a temporary license. Your real one comes to you in the mail after they check that you are not Alkyda or some other terrorist with forged documents that are always better than the real ones. Not only does it cost you a day of work but last time it cost me $84.00 to be renewed in 8 years.

Next up, I get my tags and North Dakota plates for my car. Not as cheap. I don't know how much the plates and tags will cost but since I am from Oregon and did not have to pay a certain licence tax it is going to cost me 4 percent of the blue book worth of my car. I also have to have my title with me in order to have it changed to a North Dakota title. That sounds like fun.

Oh, after the blizzard, when I got my shovel and dug out my front door, I found a momma cat and five kittens in my garage. I have adopted them and have found a farm for them when they are old enough to go. Momma and babies are doing well. I have made semi-friends with the mom but she is not ready for me to meet the kids yet. They are only about a week old, eyes are still closed. There are two orange stripped, two black and on gray. Mom is in the middle. She has a couple of extra toes and so do some of the kitties.

Update on Blizzard status

This is what I woke up to today. No it was not a snow day. It was a two hour late start but not a full out snow day. Crazy about keeping schools running thats us in North Dakota. The first picture is my garage door the other two are outside my front door.

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Possibly My First Blizzard

This afternoon I was handed a new phone tree (list of phone numbers of teachers and staff that work at our school). We usually do not receive the new tree until later in the year. It is used for calling around and telling everyone that there is a late start or school closure. Then I walked out of school this afternoon to find the wind whipping around small snowflakes. There is a rumor of a blizzard. This is so weird. Friday I was driving around with my windows down in above 70 degrees, sunny and warm weather. Now it's Tuesday and I may be watching my first real blizzard.

Where my house is we are in a small valley. A hole most people say. This hole protects me and my neighbors from most of the wind so I might not actually see a blizzard unless I go over the hill on the ridge. But I am not likely to do that.

The native man that is one of our custodians told me there was a weather advisory. It says if you do not need to go anywhere you should stay home. I said that I had things to do and he says ( and this was without skipping a beat) "Well you're from Oregon so go ahead and drive around all you want." I think he gave me bad advise. LOL

This is what the weather looks like from my front door.

OH The Times They are a Changing

I received an invitation to go out to dinner and a movie in Watford City which is about 30 minutes from my house. (The movie was The Switch). I was on my way and it dawned on me. There are at least five new oil drills within the sight of the road. These are only a month old at the most. Then I realized that there was a lot of traffic. Usually the locals call seven cars on the same road as you, traffic. But this was real traffic. Oh not as bad as rush hour in Portland but a lot of cars and trucks on the road going in both directions. Apparently the word is out that there is oil in North Dakota. All the restaurants are super busy. There is more traffic and people in every town I have been in lately. I can't believe how fast changes are taking place. I am out once a week and I see new wells being dug or pumps in or endless flames burning the natural gas off the wells so they don't explode. There are more job openings and help wanted signs then ever. Anyone in Oregon ready for a change could move to North Dakota and get a nice job. You may not have a place to live because the construction is slow but you will have a job. Just bring a trailer or RV and you will be set.

School is going well but I am super busy so this is going to be short and sweet. Hope all is well in the world. I wouldn't know I have not had time to breath let alone check to see what is going on anywhere that is not school.

October

Hurray!! It is October already. WOW this year is flying so far. I have been very busy trying to figure out a way I can teach and have the students be quiet. They sure love to talk but not to listen. While I have challenges this year, they are nothing compared to last year. I do not come home as tired and beat down as I did last year. I have a much sunnier outlook on life than last year too. The first year of any adventure is truly the hardest.

I don't know what it is about October and my injuring myself, but I did it again. Last year you may remember, I got my finger smashed in my garage door. It was on my birthday too. This year, I got hurt just before we took class pictures and yes you guessed it, I hurt my face. It happened this way.

The boys were all in the classroom ready to go get their pictures taken and the girls had to go to the bathroom one more time to primp. Yes this stuff starts in fifth grade. Everyone was looking wonderful too. Well the girls were making a lot of noise so I left the boys unattended to flush the girls out of the bathroom (no pun intended). Meanwhile back at the ranch (I mean classroom), the boys decided it would be funny to lock the classroom door. So the girls reported the door was locked by saying loudly "Miss Fry the door is locked!!" (insert high pitched, whiny voice here) So I tried the door it was locked, then I bent down and put my key (which I carry around my neck) into the lock. The lock is under the door knob and the door knob is not a knob. It is a lever handled that you pull down to open. As I did this the boys sensing danger, unlocked the door and opened to for me onto my face. The door knob thingy hit me in the nose, and upper lip and it cut my upper lip making me bleed.

Luckily, Lassie came to the rescue in the form of another teacher named Mr. Fry, no we are not related. I asked him to watch my class and I went and put a cold compress on the mouth. My teeth are fine and so is the inside of my lip but the outside is much the worst for wear. I had a very cooperative and apologetic class going into the gym to get their picture taken. The photographer said you couldn't see my owie in the photo which I hope is the truth. The girls suggested I cover it with make-up, however I do not think make-up would do the trick unless it was airbrushed Hollywood style. You be the judge, I have attached a picture. I hear it has swollen quite nicely. Yes for the 100th time it hurts.

Sorry but This has to be Short and Sweet

Man, this school year is kicking my butt. I have not had much time to do anything but teach, plan to teach, and grade papers. The fifth grade is great but I have a group of talkers. These kids can't walk down the hall without talking. We stop, everyone gets quiet, then as soon as we start walking it's like their leg muscles are connected to their jaw muscles because they cannot take a step without starting to talk.
Oh and the spit wads don't even get me started on them. I have done everything I can think of to get rid of the spit wads. Uggh the life of a teacher.

A friend sent me a cute little journal that is made for drawing and journaling. I needed to de-stress, so I did a couple of zentangles in my new pens and some gel pens. Thought I would share them. So here they are. I will write more when I have time.

First three day weekend of the school year

It is the first three day weekend of the school year. Saturday I went to Bismarck (The "big city") and did some shopping. I almost felt like I was back in Oregon because I found an Office Depot and a Big Lots and Dollar Tree store right next to each other. Also went to the Sam's Club which is like a CostCo for all us Oregonians. It is a three hour drive from my house. I passed the time by listening to my Oldest son lecture me about transmissions. Most of which was way above my head but by the way it sounds this time next year I will have one hell of a mechanic in the family. My youngest son is going for the auto body repair soon, so I just save myself a ton of money and I didn't have to switch to Geico.

Sunday I went to church with my new roommates. We go to the Watford City Assembly of God which is kind of a sister church to Four Square and as close as I can get to East Hill in North Dakota. Today after the worship part of the service a grandmother, aunt, mother, daughter and cousin got up and circled around the piano and sang a couple of hymns. While my family did not gather around the piano very often and when we did we usually sang other songs not hymns, this really made my miss my grandmother and mother and one of my aunts that are now sitting around God's piano singing with the angels. Then I come home and put in a sappy sad movie and now I am home sick, want my mommy and crying over a dumb movie. I think I need to go back to bed and start again.

My roommates will be moving out in a week or so. They don't want to wait till October for the three bedroom. I really don't want to move out of my cute house that my sister's unpacked and decorated from me. I am really happy with the plan. I think they are too. I was glad to be able to be a spring board for them to launch themselves from in North Dakota. Now they will fly off and soar with the eagles and not need my help any more. I am learning. I say yes to God no matter what He asks of me and I get blessed and the growth process does not take as long to accomplish.

I am enjoying teaching fifth grade. Totally different set of students in my class. Easier issues except they are a lot of talkers and I am trying to figure out how to stop thc constant talking so I can teach and they can learn. To those who know me well, Do not think the irony is lossed on me.

So that is my life in a nut shell.

Well, here are my two roommates and me on our first day of the 2010-2011 school year. I have been soo busy but soo happy this year. I am being blessed by God. I have a great class and its fifth grade. I got the most beautiful, colorful classroom in the school. I come home to two teachers that are fun to be around and are making me younger by the day. We eat together and chat about the day. I am having a great year so far.

For those of you who haven't heard, two friends of mine from College are first year teachers and living with me. One is from Oregon and the other from Montana. I am populating North Dakota one Warner student at a time.

Time is slipping by me. We have been in school for 8 days already. I did not realize I had not blogged for over a week. This has been my first weekend off in a couple of week because I have put together my room and helped put together on of my roommates rooms because she arrived the day before school started. I have been so busy I have not been able to watch TV or have down time. I have already paid for it because I got a cold a day before school started and I am finally over it.

I only got to one powwow and I forgot my camera. We went to the "big city" of Minot. It has an air force base near by. We went shopping at the mall which is a great treat out here. Minot is a two hour drive from my house. One of my roommates has a car so I am not doing a lot of driving. I will be moving into a double wide manufactured home which has three bedrooms, propane heat and stove, a garden tub and two bathrooms and ac. Only thing it does not have is a garage and it is directly across the street from the school. I will need to get a block heater which, attaches to my car and I plug into an electrical plug and it heats my car block to prevent my car from freezing in sub-zero weather.

Well, it is Sunday evening and I am finally able to rest and I am going to stare at the TV and not think for about an hour. I will post more later.

Okay so I have a few new things to share.

These are pictures of my new room. Note the beautiful crown painting. I have the fifth grade, which is the grade I wanted. Thank you God. I wanted this room because it is the only room that is has this beautiful paint job. The rest of the classes are white. I have it almost set up. I am just waiting for the old teacher to come get her stuff out and the room is mine. I am well organized and I am now working on planning and procedures. I am so much farther ahead and prepared than last year. I am also excited (not anxious) and looking forward to this year. God has changed my heart in that I am not so homesick and I am willing to live here at least another year. I am positive and happy which is tremendous considering a month ago I was devastated when I knew I was returning to North Dakota. God also showed me part of why He has me here. I find when you know the why, or even a little part of it, its sooooooo much easier to be obedient and surrendered. I truly feel God is rewarding me for my long hard year last year. He has answered my prayers just not where I wanted them to be. I wanted 5th grade and my roommate back. Well, as you know, I have fifth grade and I have a roommate only not my best friend.

A girl that went to Warner Pacific and graduated this year called me asking if there was a job here for her. I told her yes and how to get in touch with the Superintendent. She did and was hired for the sixth grade. She asked me if she could live with me because she wasn't sure about living on her own. Then she discovered how much it cost me to move out here and realized she could not afford to move all her stuff out here yet. I told her she could take the train with all she could pack and I had the rest. So she came out with her clothes and personal items. We went to Walmart and got an air mattress and food and she is settled in. I wasn't sure about having a roommate I did not know well at first but we get along well and I really like having someone around. I am not so lonely. Then came another change.

We needed a fourth grade teacher and no one had applied. My new roommate called Warner Pacific and told them about the opening and messaged a few other newly graduated teachers from Oregon. With all the budget cuts and lack of jobs in Oregon paired with the fact that Oregon colleges spit out a ton of teachers to fill those non-existent jobs. North Dakota has a deep pool to fish in for teachers. But still no takers. Then, I text a girl that lives in Montana who also went to Warner and graduated with me. I knew she did not have a teaching job and had subbed last year and was looking at subbing again this year. She said she was interested but did not know how she could possibly move here before school started (which is this Thursday 8/19). I told her just pack what can fit in her truck and drive out I had the rest. I was thinking wonderful my new roommate and Miss Montana could move in together and live just down the street from me and I would enjoy having them close but I would go back to being a hermit. Which I prefer. You know when you live alone you have a place of your own to be selfish. When you have a roommate or mates you have to work on sharing the space and everything else. It is much easier to be selfish. Then my sweet, young, smart, roommate had a wonderful idea. We could move to a three bedroom and split everything three ways. I asked her why she wanted me to move too. One reason is because I have a house full of stuff, the other is because she did not want me to be alone. Another change.

Of course, I am old so at first I said "I am not moving, but you two can live together" next day after thinking on it I said "The manufactured home has central air, a dishwasher, two bathrooms and a garden tub not to mention propane to heat and cook with so if we our electricity went out we would still have heat and be able to cook. However, I would have to pack my whole house just to move down the street, I would live directly across the street from the school, and most importantly no garage to protect my "Baby" (my car) in the winter." I am still sitting on those thoughts.

I think the reason God has me here is because I am paving the way for these girls. They are young, in their early twenties. I have a fully equipped house, and I am their security. So I should move with them. But God gave me this house and it is the nicest, newly remodeled house on the campus. I like where I am. I like my house. My sisters unpacked and decorated my house. I have not moved a thing except to move things out of my art studio/guest room for my roommate since they did the unpacking. (insert whinny voice where you see fit) I am not making any rash decisions. I will pray about it and let God change my mind and heart and then I will let you know when I am moving. Oh boy I don't like change. I am a rubber band and God has two hands to stretch. Here goes more stretching.

Fort Mandan and more meanderings

Flowers in North Dakota. Rare sight.

I know I said I would put some pictures on and blog at about Fort Mandan so here it is. First I want to say that I am really excited for this year of school. After much tears and disappointment I started praying to God to change my heart if He wanted me to stay. He was as good as His word. He change my heart and gave my the fifth grade. He has been very busy around here while I was off playing in Oregon. I am really walking in His favor all around. I have the classroom I wanted its bigger and has this beautiful border of native design all around the top of the walls. It is set up the way I wanted my old room last year to be set up. I am really getting excited to start the school year. Next week is a new thing at our school but other schools have done this for years. It is a new teacher seminar where new teachers are taught the curriculum and the policies of the school. They also teach the software for grades and attendance. I am self taught on all of this so I am going to get a better understanding of how things should work and hear of all the new changes. They are setting up a Positive Behavior System in the school which I am excited about. Most Oregon schools already of these procedures and they are school wide so all the teachers and staff use the same vocabulary and rules and the students know what is expected of them. This helps in behavior and discipline. This is going to be a great year.

One more change that God blessed me with is a roommate. One of the students I went to college with got a job here as well and she is moving in with me. She is a year younger than my youngest son and this is her first year teaching. I think God has me here this year to be a mentor for her and help her adjust to living in North Dakota. I am not one for roommates. The only people I have ever lived with apart from my family are my ex-husband and my best friend. Living with people is a challenge but as a friend of mine said "God had two hands and I am His rubber band, and that is all we will say on that subject." I am feeling awful stretchy. Now about Fort Mandan.

This is a replica of the fort. Louis and Clark made this fort in order to survive the winter in North Dakota. It was erected quickly and not made as a lasting trading post. After the expedition to the West Coast they returned to find the fort had mysteriously burnt down. The actual location of the fort was closer to the river and the river has moved and eroded the bank covering most of the area the fort stood.

Here are the sleeping quarters. The ever necessary blacksmith shop

I leave you with a real treat. A part of a thunderstorm in my neighborhood.