Phenomenal

I was called to the principal's office today.

He had finally gone through all the TCAP scores from last spring.

He started out with, "I know you had a pretty rough year last year..."

Uh oh. What's coming?

"But I couldn't wait until Friday to share this with you. All those parents who gave you such a hard time... Here is your vindication."

And he put the printout in front of me.

And although I don't yet have a copy of it, so I can't tell you exactly what the results were, I rocked it. For reading, writing, and math, I only had two or three students not make a year's worth of growth. I had about half make a year, and some make two.

"I knew instinctively that this was going to happen before it did... But I want you to know that there's no way you can chalk this up to 'relationships with kids.' This is instruction. This is good instruction. If everyone did this, our school would be in the top 10 percent. This is phenomenal."

Phenomenal.

People don't use that word very often.

Lately I've been contemplating my career. I really enjoy what I do. I've always felt that I was good at it.  Two years ago I was working at a school that was on a probationary period due to low test scores. We brought that school up to Performance Level. I left after that year, so I don't know how those students did specifically, but because fifth grade is such a pivotal year for testing, I knew I'd taught those kiddos well.

Today I got my proof.

Before and Afters - Outdoor Spaces

One of the things I really wanted to change about my house when I moved in was the two dirt patches which adorned both sides of the stairs up to the front porch (see the lovely top picture, below). So we headed to Home Depot one day to get some ideas. Ideas only. But as we were walking into HD we passed a pallet of pavers (see the bottom photo, below) that had been used and returned. So they had some glue on them, but they were also only $50. For the entire pallet. We originally passed it up and headed to the garden department. For ideas. Until A said, "You know, if you're thinking about those, we need to go back and get them. Now. Or someone else will." You know the end of the story. What you don't know is that the $50 dollar pallet was over 3,000 lbs. of pavers and, as we later calculated, worth over $500. I have some flowers on order, so I can't fill the beds yet, but look at the improvement!

 The entire porch got an overhaul, and probably cost about as much as those pavers. I painted the loveseat a darker brown and covered those hideous cushions with covers I found at the thrift store. Also from the thrift store are the bamboo vases, the curtain, and the few items you can see on the wall on the right in the top right photo. The hanging planters are from Ikea and the teal table is a recent sale find from World Market.

(I feel like I'm going to cave in on myself, looking at these two pictures (above). I really don't know how they ended up tilted in opposite directions like that, but I'm too lazy to do anything about it).

Finally, a quick shot of what the upper deck looks like as well. Quite different from when I bought the place. Of course, summer and full, green trees help a bit, too. 

Over the Crux

My man and I headed to my favorite climbing locale last week. Finally, for the first time since we started climbing outside a couple months ago, I felt good. I don't know what was previously going on, but every time I'd climb something (except for a run up Montezuma's Tower in the Garden a couple weeks ago) I was terrified on every single route I started up. But on this day I finally felt on top of my game again, even though I'd not climbed anything yet. It was just a feeling I had - partly because I was sick of feeling freaked out for no good reason and had given myself a good pep talk. 

After leading a climb I'd done many times, I scouted around for a couple others we could do. We headed toward the right side of the rock face and found one that Mountain Project said was a 5.9. I looked at it, said, "I can do that," and started roping up. I noticed that halfway up there was a bail-biner - a carebiner someone had left there because they couldn't finish the route for some reason.

When I got to that point, I understood why the previous climber had bailed. It was definitely the crux of the climb. Mountain Project said there was an undercling, but after looking at it, I knew there was no way I could hold onto what was there. It's happened before, me climbing a route differently than intended. I'm sure others do it, too. I hung there at the bolt the previous climber had bailed on and looked and looked at the next move. My man was holding me tight (at my request), while I maneuvered my feet over and over, trying to find the perfect stance. After probably six or seven "attempts" (still being held taut), I called, "Give me slack, give me slack!" And then I was up. I don't even really know how it happened. It was like my body decided my brain was a hindrance, took over for a few seconds, and completed it with sheer physicality. Without really consciously realizing what was happening, I was over the crux. And yes, definitely back on top of my game.

While I have no idea why I'd been so freaked out about climbing for so long, what really concerned me was that I was and I didn't know if the feeling was permanent. I'd actually even debated whether or not I should climb anymore (when it comes down to it, I'm too stubborn to give up, though). Glad I kept at it, because there are other things in life that scare me, and it's a good lesson learned - if I just keep trying, at some point I'll be over the crux without hardly realizing how I did it.

Fur and a Tail

My man and I have hiked the last couple days around town. The first evening we headed into William's Canyon. It's not open to the public, but there were only two of us. We're not really "the public" are we? It's amazing what that canyon looks like now, after all the flooding down there this summer. I shouldn't really say we hiked it. Rather, we walked to it from my house and then we boulder hopped to the point where the trail breaks from the old Cave of the Winds exit road.

Yesterday evening after work, I thought I'd show my man the old Ute trail, a relatively obscure one that seems very remote and untraveled. We only hiked up about 40 minutes, then turned around. On our way back down, we decided to explore a different exit option. It's always a risk to do so, but we were so close to town we figured we could get back to the car no matter where we came out.

The trail, at first, started out wide, and looked like a vehicle had even driven that part of it before. It wasn't long, though, before it really was a trail, following the ridge of a hill. Not something to be done in snowy conditions, because it would be hard to recover from a slip off either side. Not something to be done in summer, because it was extremely rocky - perfect for snakes.

We kept the original trail to our right, and when the one we were on veered to the left, we decided to head downhill to the right to see if we could get down the hill and back onto the "real" trail. The hillside was a bit steep, and sometimes we had to hold onto the abundant spiky small trees to help us down. We were not far from some really steep cliffs to our left, so we headed right to find a gully that emptied onto a not-so-steep part of the hill down to the trail. We found one. It was full of more of those spiky trees, but we picked our way through them, held onto rocks on either side of us, and lowered ourselves down over the steeper areas. Really, this wasn't dangerous or anything, just a little more effort than some descents. "An adventure," my man called it.

So here we were, surrounded by craggy rocks, almost to the hill that we could take to the trail at the bottom. I went first. I grabbed some rocks and jumped to the ground, right in front of small cave. At the same time, I thought I heard a man's voice. I looked down toward the trail, but no one was there. I didn't think anything else of it at the time. Maybe, for some reason, I scraped something or what have you, and it made a sound like something someone would say. I started walking down the hill, and turned back after a few steps to wait for my man.

As he started coming down over the hole, he said, "Babe, you keep going. I'm going to find a different way down." "What?" I said. "Why?" "Just keep walking, ok?" When I questioned him again, he said, "There's something in that hole. I'm going to find a different way down. You just get to the trail." He headed back up the rocks, and I headed down, my heart beating a bit faster than normal.

That was some of the scariest moments I can remember, in that regard. I didn't know what he'd seen, I was out in the open, and he was getting farther away from me as we moved in opposite directions. I didn't know if something was going to start hunting me. Perfect timing, as it was dusk by this time.

Well, obviously all's well. He found another way down and we met up on the trail - with whatever it was staying in its hole. When he reached me I asked what he'd seen. "I don't know what it was," he said. "All I saw was fur and a tail." And the male sound I thought I'd heard? Probably the animal growling at me when I jumped down right in front of it. We're figuring it was a coyote, but there's no way we're going back to find out.

So, lessons learned this time out? No more rocky crags on a hillside that no human has come down in probably years. And the adventure my man mentioned earlier on our descent? "Maybe a little less adventure," he commented once we were back at the car. Yes. Perhaps.

Ouray 2014

 On Friday my man and I took off for Ouray, Colorado, home of one of the ice climbing meccas of the U.S. Seriously. People are jealous of what is practically in our backyard. Even if it's a backyard that takes 5 hours to get to.

We met up with a crazy bunch of people there, many of whom I'd climbed with last year. We had two condos rented for the fourteen of us. Above is the view from the condos.

It was Ariel's first time on ice. First time climbing outdoors at all. He followed in my footsteps in that regard, as my first time climbing outdoors was also on ice in Ouray, three years ago.

Did I mention Ouray also has some amazing vistas?

He had, however, rappelled before, when he worked for the fire department years ago. So at least I was ok with him rapping into our first climbs, which were in the New Funtier area of the ice park. 

We had amazing weather. If I'd had a t-shirt on, I'd've worn it. Most of the time I just climbed in my long underwear top. It was so warm, there was a lot of dripping water. I've been there when it was freezing cold, and it's not fun. So while the heat is nice, when you go to climb ice, you kind of want it to stay there. 

Some of our group: Nathan, Tommy, Chad, Me, Norm, Ariel, and Erik. 

 Not pictured: John, Jonathan, Sarah, Dan, Jason, Valerie, Stephanie.

It was Stephanie's first time, too. 

 Jonathan broke his neck a few months ago, and was up climbing.

Sarah was given a 15% chance of living two months ago, and was also up climbing.

 And while it's nowhere near that serious, I did something to my back the morning we started out, and could barely walk all weekend. But I didn't go all that way to not climb. So I loosened my back as much as possible with the short walk in and then ignored the pain all day.

As I type, I've got some pain meds working their magic, and I'm sure I'll be fine in a few days.

Ice tools. 

Erik rapping in. 

Ariel giving someone a ride. 

 Nathan's got some interesting belay positions going on...

 Ariel was a natural. He climbed like he'd done it many times before. On our drive there he'd said, "I don't know why people drive all this way to climb on ice. I didn't even know you could drive this long and still be in Colorado!" I think he gets it now (although whether he comes to love climbing like I do remains to be seen).

My first year climbing, three years ago, I got hit on the shoulder with a chunk of ice that the guy I was climbing with knocked loose. This is how big I imagine it to be. I never did actually see it, but it rendered my arm useless for quite a while.

Below, some of our group are climbing up out of an area called South Park. 

 Time to chill.

Lesson Learned: Drive "all that way" to climb. We're some lucky people!

Vintage Her

I found this picture while perusing a huge antique store a few weeks ago. Not sure why she was there. She doesn't seem like the type to be at home among old Gardener's Almanacs, silver thimbles that Granny used when darning socks, or old office chairs. Perhaps if she'd been tucked in between inlaid teak china cabinets and hundred dollar jewelry...but she wasn't.

So I rescued her from that life, that she seemed so unaccustomed to. Not that my house is anything like the life she came from, but it was better than the shop. I love her look: subtle, muted colors, and those eyes...

I don't know why, but it feels like she belongs in a bathroom or powder room.  However, I don't have a powder room or the space in my bathroom to hang her. So she's in my bedroom right now, even though she seems a little uncomfortable there. 

Although she does go well with the chandeliers hanging in there (perhaps because she's more than a little bit glam), and my Moroccan table (because I can picture her there, sitting with her back against a tiled wall beneath the wooden arches of a rooftop lounge in Marrakech). 

What do you suppose her name is?

2013 Gifts

A few weeks ago I was ruminating about the upcoming end of the year. I thought about everything the last year has brought and wrought and taught. There have been a lot of gifts in this past year. Some have been given to me, some I've given to myself. All have been wonderful.

Although the first gift of the year started in 2012, it ended in 2013 - my climbing trip to Joshua Tree Nat'l Park in the desert of California.


Whoever said that California, or the desert, is always hot, has another thing coming. I froze on this trip. It was cold or chilly during the day, and downright freezing at night. I was even "lucky" enough to be in JTree when it snowed.

Still, it was a good trip, for the most part. One I'm glad I took for a few different reasons.
I got to climb in one of California's climbing meccas - and I'll probably never do that again.

I got to see close to a half-dozen national parks on that trip, each beautiful and unique.

I was able to get together with some girlfriends I hadn't seen in ages. We laughed and talked through dinner one evening, at one of my favorite restaurants.


And Kim Myles blessed me enough to - after viral and text messages back and forth for a few months - meet me for lunch. We still send the occasional hello to one another, and caught up by a "real live" phone a couple weeks ago. I have to say the biggest thing I've gotten out of knowing her is more confirmation to just be myself. She pulls no punches when talking about the "smoke and mirrors" that is television, and I love that she's not afraid to be so real about it.

This next give was made for me. I'm sure it was supposed to be for Christmas, but I didn't find it in Josiah's backpack until January. It reads, "If I were a gift I would be a kid for mi mom because i love hr!" I still have this hanging on my fridge because I love it so much.

This one, a gift to myself. I went and bought myself a house. I moved in in February. It took a long time to feel like home, but it certainly does now. I have had a good number of parties already, am enjoying making small renovations, and my favorite part of the house is my "sun deck" on the roof.

Watching my boys in school performances is certainly a gift.

I met a very diverse group of people in March. I barely knew one of the guys in this group, but was invited to go with everyone to Ouray to ice climb with them. It was a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to the one this year, even though I'll only be able to go for a day and a half this time.

I finally took my boys climbing, and they loved it.

My little guy turned eight. He is one of the biggest gifts I've ever been given. His personality is precocious, he can laugh at himself well (although he has a real issue when others do it), and he's fairly laid back. I really enjoy this little guy.

Also in March, a couple friends convinced me to try out Match.com. I'd just come out of a relationship that, while it wasn't serious, affected me way more than it should have. "Get your mind off it," they said. "Who knows, maybe you'll meet The One." "If nothing else, you'll get free dinners and some stories to tell." Well, there are really no stories. I was pretty selective, didn't go on a ton of dates, and only joined for three months. But at almost the very end of that time, this man caught my eye and came into my life. And we've been together ever since.


I gave myself a trip to Spain and Morocco this past summer. One of the best parts about it was that I decided, very last minute, to take Benjamin along. I loved introducing him to another part of the world, to travel, to different foods, and to two other continents. He was a great traveling companion, and I hadn't realized what a gift it would be to do that with him. It was also wonderful to spend time with my best friend from college and her family (who is also, distantly, my family). 

Another gift of travel, and the gift of family. Shortly after returning from Spain I took the boys to the family cabin in Minnesota. All my cousins were there, my aunt, my dad, my cousin's son, her god-daughter, and a few friends. Spain was wonderful, but nothing beats time at the cabin with these people. It's always the highlight of my year, and the 20-hour drive is so worth it.

The older one turned twelve. He is exactly like he's been since the day he was born. A talker, intelligent, self-motivated, and pretty no-nonsense.

Just a few days ago I made a purchase that will finally allow me to get home when there's snow on the hill (mountain?) to my house. I absolutely hate the idea of owing on something other than my house, but it was necessary. And the heated seats are a plus!


And then, to really make the year end right, I got to see this girl. My bff from high school who lives in Canada. But thank the good Lord her mom still lives only an hour and a half away, so she still has to come visit occasionally. Even better, this is the second time I've gotten to see her this year!


What I like most about looking back at 2013, and seeing all the awesomeness, is how it shows that life is an ebb and flow. I have settled into a new normal. I feel at peace with everything in my life, not just aspects of it. Although the first half of the year was pretty hard emotionally, the second half has been great. Maybe 2014 will be even better. Who knows, it certainly could be. And that's something to look forward to jumping into. Good thing, too, since it starts tomorrow!