The things that you find interesting...

when you live in Bethel.

I got a call early this morning that school was cancelled for the students. We had received freezing rain in the night and the roads were like ice skating rinks. The busses were not operating. Teachers were still required to go to school for an inservice day. I got up and ready and when I ventured out to my truck, I almost slid right past it. It was slick! The robotics competition was cancelled because it was too dangerous for the village teams to fly in which gives us some more time to practice. We had an inservice/workday today. I got so much done today. I have my lesson plans written all the way through the first week back after Christmas. Wow! That's the farthest ahead I've ever done my lesson plans! And I have a rough draft of how the rest of the year is going to go in my 8th grade physical science class. I am, however, way behind on my grading and still need to create first semester final exams for both of my classes. But, I digress...

In order to have freezing rain, it has to be warmer than it has been for months. This morning it was hovering right around that 32 degree point, hence the freezing rain. By the time I got done at school, it was around 37 degrees which meant all of the snow melted off my truck. When I went out to my truck, I was so happy. You see, the ice has been building up in the space behind each tire for along time now and it's been to solid to kick off. The ice behind my rear passenger tire grew so much that it was wrapped partially around my tail pipe so that every time my tail pipe vibrated (all the time when the truck is on), it would vibrate against that piece of ice and make a really loud and annoying sound. No ice, no sound. The things that make me happy in Bethel.

Other random thoughts...
Avery has ringworm. He got it wrestling. There were several other kids who got it too. We didnt notice it until we were already on vacation. Now that we are back, he got some of the treatment cream from one of the other kids that had it. Did you know ringworm is the same fungus that causes jock itch and athlete's foot? The treatment is just an antifungal cream like the ones used in women for yeast infections. At least he didnt get it while he was actually in wrestling, then he wouldnt have been able to participate.

I love my haircut. I got my hair cut when I was in Houston and I love it. It falls just right around my face in a nice little slope. She did cut off more than I wanted, but it grows back. My next haircut wont be until this summer, so I'm glad I like it. Last summer, when I got my haircut by my usual stylist in Ohio, she asked me if we had alot of iron in our water in Bethel. I thought this was an interesting question because in fact we have so much iron in our water that it turns toilets and your white clothes orange and when you fill the bathtub with water it looks like it has an orange tint to it. She said she could tell because it was in my hair. I wonder how you get rid of that?

The Twilight movie sucks. After being completely addicted to the books, I decided to go see the movie with my friends in Fairbanks. Avery also read the book and came to the movie with us. Anyhow, the movie was terrible. That is not to say that it wasnt entertaining, because it was. Hugely so. I laughed so hard, but mostly because it was so terrible. There were other people in the audience laughing too. It was so bad, it was funny. And while I'm talking about it, the books were not that great either. I mean, they were fun and easy to read, but they were not at all intellectually stimulating. They are written at a fourth grade level (at least the 1st one is) and are just basically fluff. Adolescent fluff, which, I think, is why they are so fun and addicting...because they take you back to being 15 all over again.

Christmas presents from North Pole, Alaska. I went to the little town of North Pole, Alaska while I was up north. It is about 20 miles south of Fairbanks. I'll blog more about it later when I have the pictures loaded, but for now I just want you to know that if you receive a Christmas gift from me, it will be from North Pole. We got to see Santa there, too.

Avery made banana peanut butter cookies while he was home from school today. They're good, but I have to say they turned out more like little cakes, than cookies. I broke down and got Avery an iPod for his birthday. I got a really good deal on it, so I got it. I also bought him a pair of board shorts, a matching shirt, and some Michigan sandals for when we were at Chena and when we go to Honolulu for Christmas. I let him open those presents when we first got to Chena so that he could have them. Then on the plane on the way home on his actual birthday, I was listening to "my" iPod and when he commented about it I asked him if he wanted to listen to it for awhile. He did so I gave it to him. Then I said I wanted to show him something on the iPod and told him to go into the information section and it said his name. He was confused for a second, then said, "Wait....are you giving this to me?" When I said yes, he freaked out! He gave me the biggest hug and slathered me with compliments and told me that his heart stopped beating for a second when he realized it was his. Geez...talk about dramatic! Anyway...he had a good birthday. :)

My jaw still hurts, except when I take a pain pill, but then I feel hazy and slow. Not sure which is worse...being in pain or being slow.

We have new plans for when we get back to Anchorage after Honolulu. A coworker of mine invited us to visit his cabin in Kenai. We're going to get to see another piece of Alaska. YAY!

Why does Johnny Depp play such strange characters?

Enough rambling for now. Good night!