Unseasonably warm

	Record Report
Statement as of 12:25 PM AKST on December 6, 2009 ... record temperature at noon today... the high temperature record for this day was set in 1939 at 44 degrees... it was 44 degrees at noon today... with this unseasonably warm conditions over the Kuskokwim Delta we may yet see a new record set before the day is over.

"Breathe In" by the Crash Test Warriors

Here is the video that my robotics team made for their project. It turned out pretty good. It's pretty funny too. If you havent seen the video for "Beat It" for a long time, you can click here to refresh your memory. The robotics video will make more sense if you've seen the "Beat It" video first. (or if you're me, you'll be happy if you never have to see or hear the song Beat It again in your whole entire life)

Let me know what you think. Does it make sense? If you were the judge, what things would you tell us to make better? If we end up going to state, we'll have time to make some adjustments.

ENJOY!

Phil Dry the Climate Guy

With this year's robotics competition starting today, I thought I would finally get around to posting the link showing last year's robotics project. They made a spoof movie of Bill Nye the Science Guy. I guess you would have to have seen a few of his videos to really get this video, but even if you havent, its still pretty good. Enjoy!

Click HERE for the video link. Let me know if it doesnt work.

I'll post this years project as soon as I can. The kids are making a Michael Jackson video. FUN!

The End

The last day of November. The last day of mom's visit. Last day of NaBloPoMo. Last week of robotics. I'm looking forward to the end of all of these things. Looking forward to having a few extra hours in my week to relax. To start focusing more of my attention on my teaching. To give Avery some more of my time. To start making some real solid plans for my vacation.

Mom goes for a ride

My friend came over with his brand new snowmachine today to give mom a ride. We got her all bundled up before she went out so that she would be warm. They were gone for over two hours. He took her out to some of the villages around Bethel. He took her to Oscarville and Napakiak. He took her around the city of Bethel and over to see one of the dog sled yards here in town. When she got home, her face was bright red and she could stop sneezing. That's right...she cant stop sneezing. I think she has sneezed about 100 times in the last 2 hours. Weird.

She said that she had a good time and she was glad that she got to go out. When she got back, she said that she wasnt even cold the whole time. I told her that that is because she was wearing the right gear. I know that going snowmachining was one of the things she really wanted to do while she was here, but our snowmachine isnt quite fixed yet. Almost, but not quite. I cant wait until it is fixed. I want to go out for a ride.

Still here

She's still here. I havent been able to connect with the lady who is going to be her new mommy. So, she's still here. She gets better and better each day. She is totally, completely house trained now. She barks and jumps on the door when she needs to go out. She's been here for a week...and she's totally house trained. What puppy does that?
She has stopped chewing things except her toys. She knows she's not allowed on the couch. She sleeps through the night without doing anything bad. She's an absolutely GREAT puppy. But I still dont want her. I dont feel any kind of connection with her. I think I've intentionally kept myself from forming that connection knowing that I'm not planning to keep her.

I just wish she wasnt so DAMN cute...

:)

Thanks Birthday

My brother and sister both share birthdays on or near Thanksgiving. Adrian's birthday is today. She's 26. Avery's birthday is on Monday. He's 14.
Over the years, we have frequently celebrated their birthdays on Thanksgiving. Yesterday, we put a few candles on a piece of pumpkin pie and sang the Happy Birthday song.


Avery opened his presents without thanks or appreciation whatsoever. The joys of raising a teenager... One day is great, filled with awe and happiness. The next is filled with disrespect and apathy.In other news...
I found a home for the dog, but we havent been able to connect yet so she's still here. She's in the habit of running away now and mom and avery just let her every day, multiple times a day. So annoying.

Thanksgiving was good. I ate way too much food and havent come anywhere near the scaled for two days. I need to fast for two days now.

Mom is really starting to get on my nerves. Nothing bad, we havent gotten into any fights or anything. She's just really annoying. 3 more days....

I worked the church supper club tonight. We serve a free hot meal to anyone who wants it every friday night through the entire winter. It was fun.

I've really enjoyed all the comments ever since I gave you guys a hard time about not commenting. Thanks! It makes writing so much more fun.

Giving thanks

What am I thankful for? I've been thinking about this question. It's actually kind of nice to think about this question. To actually spend some time focusing only on the positives of life. Here are some things that I've come up with...

Really great friends near and far
Heat-good heating that warms our apt from the neg temps outside
Good food and my ability to cook well
A great job with awesome students and a fully supportive administration
Professional football, especially the Packers---Go Pack!
Airplanes and the freedom of travel that they bring
The happiness that comes from watching Avery grow into a young man
The Wii and the people who designed it
My blog, the outlet it gives me, and the connection with friends that it allows
A vehicle that starts
Snow and the beauty that it brings to Bethel
Slippers and wool socks
Box wine
Wireless internet
Really great books
Puppy kisses (while they last)

Torn

I found a mommy for this little girl. She's a lady that lives out in a village close to here. I just dont know if I want to give her up. I'm torn. Torn between keeping her and letting her go.

Reasons that I want to keep her...

1. She's so sweet
2. Well behaved
3. smart
4. already knows the words no and down
   
5. nice looking dog
6. Avery likes playing with her
7. we love her already
8. she's already become a part of our house/life
   
9. She has NEVER peed on the floor
10. It's fate? She found me
11. companionship
    
12. I miss having a dog
13. only puppy I've ever had to sleep through the night
14. She's just such a good dog
    
15. I'm not sure about this lady that wants her, I KNOW she'll be well cared for with me
    

Reasons I want to let her go...

1. My allergies are going crazy
2. It's expensive to own a dog here (flight fees, vet is outrageous, shipping food in)
3. too busy, not enough time, she'll be in the cage alot
   
4. have to find someone to dog sit when leaving town (and we're leaving for c-mas soon)
5. she's a chewer
6. avery and I both dont really want to do the raising a puppy thing...we're used to having an old, lazy dog
7. not over losing Taboo yet
8. no yard to let her run in
   
9. not even sure that I can have a dog in this apt
10. I dont want to responsibility right now, i've got so much other stuff going on
11. Her light color means that i'll have light hair on my dark clothes and I wear alot of black
12. raising a puppy is alot of work
13. I like the idea of being 'free'...not having to always worry about going home to take care of the dog
    

I dont know...these are all of the things that pop into my head right now. Now that i've written this pro and con list, the number of items is about equal, but the pro list seems pretty superficial and unimportant. the con list seems like some pretty major important stuff. Basically, my heart wants to keep her and love her, but my head knows that logically that's not really a good idea. I think I'll make arrangements to go ahead and ship her to the village. Bummer.

Stuck

I'm stuck at 30. I lost those 30 pounds and really had plans to lose more, but I'm stuck. In all honesty, I havent been working out quite as much or watching what I'm eating quite as much, so it isnt surprising that I'm stuck. I guess with the holiday season here and the fact that I have been crazy busy, it is a good thing that I havent gained back some of that. At least I'm staying even, not gaining any back, which I think also says something about the fact that I am really planning to keep the weight off. I got the new Wii fit plus game when I was in Anchorage and have used in a couple times since. I still weigh myself every morning, so that helps me keep tabs on how I'm doing. I need to get back into the groove of working out everyday and really being careful about eating habits. I will...soon...I promise.