National Boards

After about 18 months of work and waiting I can finally say that I am a National Board Certified Teacher!  I was very excited to learn this news the weekend before Thanksgiving.  It was a long journey to complete this certification and it included a 4 entry portfolio with two video entries of my teaching, and a 3 hour long assessment at a testing center.  I also took two semester long classes through ISU to help me get through the process…and the 350 pages of instructions!

The benefits include: (for the next 10 years)

- a monetary stipend from the state and my district

- My teaching certificate is good in all 50 states!

- A lil bit of prestige (only about 30% of teachers pass their first year)

 

13.1 at 17 weeks

So I have always been a runner and I have continue to run since finding out in May that I was expecting.  I was already training for a half marathon when I found out so with the OK from my doctor I was able to finish my first half marathon the second week in September. My friend Michelle and I drove to Chicago and stayed at my other friend Katie’s house….she was the best cab driver in town the morning of the race!

 

I finished! official time was 2:44…about 12:30 miles…this included 3 bathroom breaks! and some mandatory walking for some of the time.

 

Michelle and I….yay!

Eating our pizza and resting our tired legs

Alaska

In mid July Travis and I embarked on our longest vacation to date. We traveled to Alaska to enjoy a 7 day cruise along the inside passage as well as a 3 day land tour. We started our journey in Vancouver, BC where we met the boat. We arrived a day early so we could enjoy the beautiful city of Vancouver before we left. We then got on the boat and cruised for seven days to the ports of Ketchican Juneau,and Skagway. Following these day we had multiple days of scenic cruising along glacier bay and College Fjord.

We got off the boat in Wittier, AK and boarded a glass top train that took us on a 9 hour tour through the wilderness. We saw some bear and a bald eagle along the way. We also had a wonderful tour guide that was so knowledgeable and a great story teller. He made the trip seem much shorter.

We got off the train and stayed at our first resort directly next to Denali National Park. We had fun hiking about Denali and taking in more amazing scenery. The next day we boarded a bus that took us to a resort in Talkeetna, AK where we weren’t able to do any hiking because of the weather. But we did see a Moose and her calf off an observation deck. We spent this day playing board games and having fun inside the lodge of the Mount McKinley Resort.

Finally, our trip came to an end in Anchorage. We enjoyed a nice meal and relaxed the night before our trip home. It was an amazing trip and probably one of the last trips we will be taking of its kind. Shortly before (about 4 weeks before) we left for the trip we found out that we were EXPECTING! We are very excited but needless to say 13 day vacation are probably not going to be in our immediate future….at least without a stroller in tow. Anyway, I hope that you enjoy the smilebox.

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San Francisco

June 27-30th I went to San Francisco for a social studies curriculum conference. They fed us very well to say the least, and even had time to teach us about their curriculum too. My co-worker Joy and I shared a room and quite a few fun excursions around the city.

We arrived on Sunday afternoon and enjoyed a cocktail party followed by a four course dinner. We went to bed with insanely full bellies and woke up on Monday to attend our first day of sessions. Afterward, we took off down to Fisherman’s Wharf where we caught a bay tour of Alcatraz and of the Golden Gate Bridge. It was sunset so the view was amazing. After our tour we went to Alioto’s for dinner at the Wharf. I proceeded to eat two pound…yes that is right…two pounds of crab legs. Poor Joy. All she could do was laugh and take pictures of me.

After our Sessions on Tuesday we took a tour bus (compliments of the company) and went to China Town and North Beach. We had dinner at a quaint place called Mona Lisa’s where we had a window seat to people watch. Wednesday was the day we flew home. However, before we caught our plane we had a town car take us to a town nearby called Burlingame. It was full of boutiques and really cute Mom and Pop shops. Joy and I walked around and contributed to the Burlingame economy before we headed to the airport.

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March to May

So I have become a really lame blogger. Sorry to all that have been trying to keep up with us via this web 2.0 tool. Lately I have fallen back in love with the telephone, mail, and other forms of communication that don’t require any typing.

MARCH
For those that don’t know I finished my National Board portfolio at the end of March. I recently took my 3 hour, 6 essay exam to complete the process…..this has been a 18 month journey. I will not find out my results of either until….wait for it….NOVEMBER…..yes that is correct. When I pass (putting the positive vibes out) my teaching certificate will be good in any state and I will also receive a monetary stipend for the next 10 years as well.

Also in March I went to Vegas for Katie’s Bachelorette Weekend. It was sooo much fun especially since I had never been there before.

Katie and her sister Megan

Jenna and I

We had 13 girls on the trip.  My fabulous friend Jill was kind enough to book a junior sweet for the time we were there. We could have slept on the floor, but with that many girls we needed more than one bathroom….

The first night I got there we went out for dinner and then got bottle service!  It was a blast pouring our own drinks, having a place to sit for everyone, and having our own security guard.

The second night we had a lingerie shower for Kate and then we went to see the cirque du soleil show “O”. It was by far the most amazing thing I have ever seen preformed.

MAY

May 15 was Katie and Jay’s Wedding and it was a lot of fun to say the least.  Below are some picture from the rehearsal dinner that was an Italian buffet.

Travis and I….very full bellies not shown

WEDDING DAY

Jill and Steph on the way to the reception

the happy couple

The BEAUTIFUL bride and myself….don’t mind the parking stripes

Katie looked beyond gorgeous and it was amazing to see one of my best friends get married to such a great person, in such a perfect and heartfelt ceremony.

SCHOOL IS OUT

The last official day of School for me was May 26th.  To celebrate at the end of the day I started at my own schools happy hour and then made my way over to my friend Stacey’s party……This was where Travis came to find his very happy wife.

Stacey (looking very festive) and myself…ready for the summer

The next few month are a little crazy to say the least.  I am going to San Francisco (end of June) and Alaska (July9-20) in the next two months.

I am also taking two, week long, classes (in June) and doing a 15  hour curriculum project(June).

This is on top of teaching a 3 week early start summer school program at the end of July and training for my first 1/2 marathon…..LET THE SUMMER BEGIN. I will try my best to do better with the updates.

Suprise….we are going to Tampa

I took Travis to Tampa to see the Yankee’s spring training….only Travis didn’t know we were going until 3 hours before our flight left. I showed up at his friend’s house in a Chi-town burb and told him we were leaving. He was not that happy with me on Saturday because he wanted to go home to do laundry and watch basketball in his favorite chair. The control freak/travel un-enthusiast was freaking out. Once we got to Tampa we had a lot of fun and enjoyed watching the Yankees get ready for this season. Here are some pictures from our trip.

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Cancun baby!

So after much hard work by my husband, he was eligible for a well deserved 100% complimentary 5 day vacation in Mexico.  Needless to say it was amazing.  I have never been to a warm destination in the dead of winter and if I wasn’t a teacher with only two days of vacation a year, we would do this more often. click to view the pictures I took!

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It has been too long!

Yes, yes I know that it has been way to long. We had a wonderful holiday season that was spent with friends and family. National Boards has kept me really busy on the weekends and I have been less motivated to spend more time on the computer doing more typing…Anyway here is the last few months in a nutshell.

MY BIRTHDAY-OCTOBER

Jill and Katie came down from Chi-town and Adrienne and Sara met us out to help celebrate.  We went to dinner and then for drinks…of course

WEDNESDAY BEFORE THANKSGIVING-NOVEMBER

Katie, Steph and I met up with our Hubbys and soon to be (for Kate) and caught up before going our separate ways for the holiday

NYE 2009 – December

New Years was spent in Galena with 5 other couples. It was Steph’s b-day so we all dressed in 80s wear.  Steph won best dressed.  It was one of the best NYEs we have ever had!

Me and the birthday girl.  She actually still had  bff heart shaped earrings.  I wore one and she wore the other….she also had on Troll earrings as well….priceless.

Ahhhh My hubby looks totally Miami Vice-ish

End of summer

School officially started and while I have been thinking about posting for a while I haven’t made it a priority…bad me.  The pictures I have are from the last part of the summer.  They include some great nights out with friends!

Noah and Mom (Lindsay)

We celebrated with Travis’ family in mid August.  Noah received a new liver a year ago this month from a wonderful family friend. He has been getting stronger and the future is looking brighter each day. Noah is Travis’ cousin’s son.  Travis and I played in a bags tourney and we made it to the second round.  We would have made it farther because I was on fire, but one of the guys we played with seriously only missed 1 throw!

My friends Noreen and Adam came down from Chicago last month and we had a little Marshall 5 reunion.  Noreen, Michelle and I all lived on the Marshall floor at Waterson Towers.  We went to the “Hot Summer Nights” aka taste of Bloomington and had a great time listening to live music on the streets and catching a great bite at a tapas place called ”reality bites”.

Yummy tapas….thanks Adam for making sure the picture was lively! Our friends Emily and Jeff also joined us for dinner that night.

Trav and I at Kilarney’s in downtown Bloomington

Summer is almost over:(

I have been really slacking on the posts!  This July started with me taking a class for National Boards, as well as a week long computer conference where I made my webpage for school!  Also, I have been working in my classroom the last two weeks and it is finally done….did I mention school does not officially start until August 20^th. Really, I wanted to do a lot of rearranging and reorganizing (my favorite).   Trav and I have also been busy mingling with friends and family this summer as well. 

This is Gail, Gavin and Gabby.  We ran around town and played in their inground pool two days a week.

Steph and I at  Beyonce…..we shook it, for sure.

Beyonce!  Her concert was so much fun.  I stayed the night at Steph and Matt’s and we shopped the next day in her neighborhood in Chi-town.  Travis was Golfing with his old co-workers both days so it worked out great because we were able to drive up together.

We also went to my Aunt’s lake house in Wisconsin this month.  We celebrated my brother’s college graduation and my parent’s 40th wedding anniversary.  The green…and brown.. gown was courtesy of my cousin Lori…..priceless.

These are the little ones I hang out with on a regular basis.  They are my co-worker’s kids.  My friend Courtney came back into town after moving away this summer and we all got together at the splash park.  Afterwards, 6 adults and 9 children ( 2 more were in strollers) headed out to lunch! 

It has been a busy July but it has been really nice to not have class everyday like last summer.  However, I am taking a week long SMARTboard training class starting on Monday.  At least it is only one week!