Top 10 Reasons ESPY Probably Thinks I'm Crazy

10. I left home when it was dark and got home when it was dark... Why can't you fall back arizona???

9. I did my laundry and thus there are a lot less underwear on the ground for him to try and steal from me and hide.

8. Every time I come home recently I turn on these crazy colored lights outside (ESPY has never seen outdoor lights before)

7. There are also strange white lights on the staircase (in non-puppy talk, garland with lights along the stairs)

6. I keep coming home with different bags of things that aren't for him (he doesn't get THAT many presents)

5. There's a fire on the TV (I love on demand fireplace, and its even in HD)

4. What used to be pictures and decorations are presents. What the dog doesn't realize is that I wrapped my pictures IN wrapping paper... Very tricky I know!

3. It actually smells really good in my house. Between good smelling candles and Christmas baking, house smells great!

2. There's a lot more foliage inside the house than outside. (ESPY must not realize the Christmas tree is fake)

1. I am dancing around the house, listening to Christmas music, drinking a glass of wine, and putting up the tree (definitely not an everyday occurrence for a dog).

Oh Christmas, how much joy you bring!

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In the christmas mood!

Well I'm listening to Glee Christmas, the lights are up, ESPY is wearing his holiday sweater, stockings are hung, and the christmas M&Ms are out... I am feeling in the holiday spirit!

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Video and Quick Update

TFA VIDEO


I know I haven't written in a while, things have been crazy - per usual.

10 Things Happening in MY Life
1. I went to the Cardinals game last week - fun but a disappointing loss for them
2. I am heading to Albuquerque at 4pm today for the Annual Teach For America Southwest Summit, a professional development opportunity for Corps Members in Phoenix, Colorado and New Mexico
3. A student at my old school, Larry C. Kennedy was shot last week - click here to see the article
4. I am meeting with some of my old students at LCK to speak about this and figure out something that THEY can do to make a difference!
5. I am heading to Houston next week with our whole Program Team to check out some Excelling School - yay!
6. I am working WAY too much - observing teachers from like 8-3 and then meetings from like 4-8... AHHHHHH
7. I can't WAIT to come home for Thanksgiving and see family... wahoooooo
8. I was looking up "social justice" things for my old students to talk to them about and found this CRAZY blog, you should check it out if you have time
9. My soccer team won our indoor game last night 5-3... one of our closest games in a while, but it was fun - my knee is a little sore though and I'm slightly worried because my feet fell asleepppppp.... oh no
10. I am obviously having a REALLY hard time concentrating at work today, hence the blogging.

Hope all is well with everyone else!

XOXO

OH Coolidge...

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GO SEAHAWKS!!!

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Best golf game of my life!!

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Using mom's bronzer as a coaster!

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The Aftermath

Here is a road the day after the storm- the entire road is flooded- insane.

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Storm Watch 2010

Quick update from PHX...
Approximately two hours ago I was driving in one of the most intense storms I had ever experienced- which says a lot since we grew up in one of the rainiest places in the world.
I was driving from home to the office to have a Big Goal Dinner with a few of my corps members when it hit... The torrential downpour of rain started plastering a sheet of water 3 inches in front of my windshield. Thunder boomed across the valley and lightening lit up the dreary sky every 10 to 15 seconds. In a short period of time I was driving through- no joke- at least 6 inches of water on the road. Between Red Rage (my truck) and the Tahoe next to me water was coming in my rolled down side windows. You might ask, why were your windows down? To which my response would be- because it is still 85 freaking degrees in october here.
Suddenly I hear huge cracking noises all around and see that hail the size of bouncy balls are striking my car at a force I have never before seen or felt- talk about scary. So I near my office traveling a blazing speed of 2mph (Phoenicians realy don't know how to drive in any type of rain) the parking garage was flooded. Oh boy.
So, I got out of my car took my shoes off, rolled my nice dress pants up and began my trek into the office. Luckily our office is one with umbrellas outside so I pulled open an umbrella and began to cross the road. A river of water flooded down the streets and I felt like I was Brad Pitt in A River Runs Through it fighting the current on my path to success- for him it was a prize fish, for me it was making it into my office. So, I waded across the calf-deep ( again, not a joke- it really was calf deep) water on the road with my shoes off and ended up at the office... SUCCESS!

Apparently, that wasnt a quick update and just so you know, on my way home I drove by many down trees and power outages...

All I can say is WOW MOTHER NATURE... IMPRESSIVE!

The End of September... Top 10

Well the month of September is basically over. I have 1 more day to finish my reimbursements for the month and then I'll be more happy (because then I'll have more money) and I get paid at midnight tonight, WAHOO! There's been a TON of things that have happened in the month of September. Because I love lists so much, here's the TOP 10 things about the end of September (*note, these are not in PARTICULAR order as I wrote them as I thought of them*):

10. NBC Studios - This was the sign at Rockefeller Center. It was so cool to see these things when I went to New York (even though I was only there for like 40 hours). I got to see Radio City across from NBC studios and where they film a lot of stuff. I wish I could have spent more time there, but it was great to see even if only for a short time.
9. Today's All Staff Retreat - we got to learn more about the Achievement Gap in Arizona, which was quite interesting. We got to hear both the people running for State Superintendent of Public Instruction tell us why they should be elected, what role they see TFA playing and basically waht they plan on doing when office. While seeing this was pretty cool, it also made me SUPER worried about the state of our "higher-ups" in Arizona. We also got to hear from some major players in education about why Arizona is truly 50th in the nation and what we need to do to chance this. Interesting, but seemingly a high order.

8. Our Hotel while staying in New York. Quite an incredible site from the Hotel. I am truly amazing when I get to these hotels that Teach for America puts us up in. They are truly the best of the best. We had a view of the entire Big Apple and everything important to see.
7. The Seahawks - Well Basically Football in general. How amazing is it to wake up on Saturdays, turn on the TV and watch College Football. How about waking up on Sundays and watching NFL Football. And, how about coming home from work on Monday and watching football... AMAZING! I Do wish that the Cardinals were on a little less and the Seahawks were on down here, but I'll just have to venture out to bars for the games. And, the Seahawks aren't sucking so far... SO GREAT! (knock on wood) - I don't want to jinx them.

6. My New Favorite Television Shows - Glee and Modern Family. I watched a bit of Modern Family in the first season, but I LOVE the show. It is hilarious, real life, and just entertaining all around. Now, Glee, I didn't want to jump on the bandwagon (just like I resisted Harry Potter for a while - thanks for finally convincing me Lauren) but I happened to watch the season opener last week randomly and I loved it so much I watched all the online episodes that same night. Also, since I missed the show last night, after this blog, I'm going to watch last night's episode.

5. The Excitement of Mom and Dad's Visit - Mi Madre and Padre are coming to Phoenix... wahoo. Not only are they coming to Phoenix, but I'm going to be taking time off when they come. I am so psyched that when they come stay at an amazing hotel, I'm taking time off and vacationing with them. TIME OFF... whaaaaaaat? I am missing Fall Break at this point (it would normally have been next week), but I'm excited to take two days off!

4. Hearing about Lauren's teaching/placement- I'm so excited that she is doing what she is doing and really seems to be enjoying it. It sounds like she got placed at an awesome school and is super lucky for that and I'm so happy for her. It's great to hear that there are good schools like that out there when there are so many horrible ones out there.

3. My Friend Angie's wedding - She is obviously in the middle behind the man in the tux (the groom naturally). The rest of the girls in the picture are either girls I play soccer with or against on either Sundays or Thursdays.

2. Time's Square - I saw everything!!! This picture is where the ball is dropped on New Year's Eve - so cool. All along the sides were shops and near we found where they film the Early show, Jay Leno, Rockefeller Center, everything was truly amazing.
1. THE Amazing Empire State Building - absolutely Phenomenal.
GREAT view from the TOP! The Crazy light from the middle was Times Square, it was like a HUGE and crazy and just-as-bright Vegas - without all the people trying too hand out all those adds for strippers or "late night parties" while hitting the post card stripper on their hand to make a clicking sound and attract your attention. If you don't know what I'm talking about, it's been way too long since you've been to Vegas and I suggest going immediately.
Alright, time to go watch GLEE! YES! Have a great almost last day of September. Wow, October already huh... nutso.

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No big deal just on the top of the empire state building!

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Good Morning New York!

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Ah Golf!
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Good Stuff Occurs on Wednesdays:

1) Today's Groupon for Phoenix was Tequilla Tasting... WHOOOOOO HOOOOO. Yes, that's right, only $12 for 4 hours of tequilla tasting (9 different tequillas) = 4 hours of amazing-ness

2) I registered for the PF Chang's Rock 'n' Roll half marathon over Martin Luther King Day in AZ. Everyone should come/participate. Click here for the link: BOO-YAH

3) I just found the coolest website called Golf Now which basically you can search for an area and a set time and it gives you CHEAP tee times for that area. For instance, I searched Central Phoenix and tomorrow's date and it gave me tee times ranging from 5:45 am (yah right) to late and really nice golf courses to the not so nice ones for CHEAP. In case you're wondering, I took this information and signed up for a tee time for tomorrow at 9:05 at Encanto Golf Course for $8 for the whole round. Awesome. This realization brings me to #4:

4) I'm going golfing tomorrow at 9:05 am at Encanto Golf Course!

5) I'm driving to Coolidge, Arizona tomorrow to meet with an observe 3 of my teachers. Hopefully it'll be a nice drive!

ESPY Went Camping

Well a wonderful weekend of relaxation, sun, exploring Arizona, and did I say sun! I may or may not be a little burned.

Friday: Left work a little early and decided to head up to Flagstaff for a nice camping experience. Espy even decided to come on this camping excursion! We went to Ashurst Lake about 15 minutes from Flagstaff!
We didn't arrive at the campsite until about 7:30, but we still got the tent up and I got STEAK for dinner... yummm. And then, to top it off, S'mores (and a Sol beer too!).
Saturday: Woke up nice and early, let ESPY play around in the lake for a bit, went walking around the campsite and then packed it up to head to the Grand Canyon!

Here's ESPY at the Grand Canyon:

And then here is ESPY and I at the Grand Canyon.


What a fun weekend :-) Then, the next day I went and celebrated Sunday at my friend Laura's house to swim, eat and drink, and sit in the sun! I got a little burned but not too badly. Then today, Labor Day, I slept in a bit - took ESPY roller blading - came back read Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang (Chelsea Handler's most recent book) which is AMAZING. SO SO SO SO funny, if you're looking for a quick funny read, I would suggest it! Now, ESPY is asleep on his new bed that I just bought for him!

A Wonderful Long Weekend. I'm getting prepared for a busy 4 day week ahead, it's full of teacher observations, principal meetings and ensuring that teachers are doing a good job! Wish me luck!

Also, congrats Lauren and Sarah for finishing another half, I'm so proud of you guys and am signing up for the Arizona Rock and Roll Soon!!!

xox-K

Weekend

Well last night kicked off a hopefully relaxing weekend. I went out to dinner with my friends Nicole and Jackie and then spent some time hanging out in Scottsdale later in the evening.
Now, I'm off to Anthem, Az to go to the ONE Gap Outlet, donate some money into the economy while helping out Teach for America and the hopefully Pizzaria Bianco later tonight.

In the meantime I'm going to set up my Fantasy league that I'm doing with 9 of my Friends (that my friend Dave named my team online Pete Carroll Sucks - which I'm going to CHANGE right away). I do have an amazing team (I was the first pick again this year) so my team consists of Chris Johnson, Joe Flaco, Reggie Wayne, Reggie Bush, Steve Smith, and Eli Manning, among many others. I'm hoping for a better season than last year.

Also, if you guys haven't read the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - I suggest reading it. I just finished that book and now I'm reading the next book in the set of 3 called The Girl Who Played With Fire... very good.

Anyhow, happy Saturday everyone and I hope you all have wonderful weekends!

xox, K

SAVE $ and HELP TFA

www.gapinc.com/giveandget/teachforamerica

Save 30% at Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy and support Teach For America

Thanks for the Wine Sis!

Three Day Weekend!

Whoo, after a long week of work - I have a three day weekend. This weekend, as of now, will consist of a little bit of sleep (well probably a lot of sleep), a little bit of soccer, a little bit of softball (we're just starting our new fall league) and a little bit of fantasy football draft. It should be a great weekend.

The week ended with a great happy hour (with my corps members) at Zipps Grill. Which, for those of you who I have not introduced Zipps to, it is a fine wings establishment. During happy hour my corps members are getting to know me so well one even said - hey Kristen, it looks like Seattle is beating New York right now in baseball... I didn't see - did we win?

So that was the end to my week - the rest of the week consisted of going to visit classrooms, playing another game of soccer, answering emails (lots of emails) and trying to stay caught up on my life. Along with that, I booked my flight to New York for training on Teach for America's selection model (I get to help choose the new corps members!). I'll be in New York from September 15th until the 19th - a wonderful long weekend. I'm hoping I'll get to see my TFA friends who have since moved to the Big Apple.

Also, today, I had a meeting with a guy who is leading Stand For Children, a non-profit company that is trying to pass legislations that help students. I checked out the website and it looks like they have things going on in Washington too! They wanted me to get involved and be a part of the development team (developing strategies for teacher accountability and ensuring that students get the necessary education they deserve). I'm still looking into it, but I think it was quite a privilege to be asked.

Anyhow, that's my week in a nutshell - and now it's off to the weekend for some true R and R!

Happy Friday everyone

xox - K

Sarah Lauren and I on Bryan's Birthday

Family at Bryan's Birthday!
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Long Long Overdue...

Yes, I realize after many many moons of not-blogging, it's time to get back on the bandwagon! So many things to update you on: Going to a Beer-Fest/Wine Tasting in Cali (I have awesome friends), Institute (which basically consumed my life for a month and a half - booooo), going home for Lauren's birthday and the 4th of July (great time), Starting my new Job (yay), celebrating my 24th B-Day (whoot), going to Chicago for a Training (such a cool city), and trying to stay afloat in my job (yikes - it's quite a LOT of work).

So the school year ended and we took off... to California. P.S. My new Fave song is California Gurls by Katy Perry (don't judge the song by the music video - cause the video is WEIRD). We went to a Beer Festival in San Luis Obispo, super FUN.

This is the Crew: Dave, Jackie, Me, Chris, Drew, Mackenzie, and Nicole

After the beer festival on Saturday we went wine tasting on Sunday, also way fun. Surprisingly, there are quite a few wineries around Paso Robles (where we went tasting).

After that fun weekend, I basically had to start working institute a few days later. So, institute was basically 6 weeks of pure work. I did nothing but work for 6 weeks straight. It was really good training for my job beyond the summer. Here is a pic of the people that I worked with this summer -

It was a good group of people, but I was pretty happy to be done with it at the end.

In between institute, I got to go home to visit for Lauren's birthday and the wonderful family celebration of the 4th! I had an amazing time on Lauren's Birthday with the fam - and got to see even more family on the 4th! It was so good to see everyone, it had been WAY too long.

Great Family Pic

Sarah and Bryan!

That was a great celebration of Lauren's birthday!

And some wonderful 4th of July pics :)

Me with Grace!

Before Blowing out the Candles

Another Wonderful Family Pic!

Then, I started my new job... and unfortunately had to work on my birthday. I had to work kicking off the new year with the Teach for America All Corps Kick Off - it was from 8am to 6pm - ish... Yikes, it was a long day, but we had a fun night after. My friends came over to my new house, had some great food, played Jenga (a wonderful gift from my friends), Barrel of Monkeys (another wonderful gift from my friends) and had a wonderful relaxing night. Super, super fun Birthday!

As you can see, I had a great Cake (and you can see the Jenga there as well!)

Post birthday, I kept working and then got sent to Chicago for some the new Program Director conference! Chicago was an awesome city. We had training from about 9-5:30 every day, but then at that time we were free for the rest of the day. I went to see Wrigley Field, which was pretty awesome (but it was $40 to go to the game so we passed), experienced Navy Pier on Lake Michigan which was surprisingly nice... go Chicago. Then, on the last night, we went to the John Hancock building and went all the way up to the 96th floor... whaaaa??? Yes, it's true - pretty insane... amazing view of the whole city!

Anyhow, a pretty awesome city and a pretty crazy summer. Turns out, I get to go on lots of trips with the new job, New York, D.C.... so cool - lots of perks!

Now I'm watching the Ball Boy edition of Seinfeld, ESPY is sleeping deep in his kennel (after going on a RUN with me a little earlier :) )! It's time for bed and to go read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo on the new Kindle (LOVE IT!!!), I have to be up observing a class at 8:00... yikes. Hopefully I'll update the blog a little more frequent so I don't have to spend hours doing one post.

I hope everyone is doing well - Blitzen, thanks for the blog update!

xox - K

WHY I Teach for America

I just got this email from my student from last year:

Dear Ms. Berndt,

I just want to let you know how thankful i am that i had you as a teacher. Even though we didn't really know eachother, or really talk to one another i still feel like i was loved. Your one of the best teachers
i have ever had in my life, and will remeber you always and forever. Ms. Berndt it's teachers like you that make us want something in life. You pushed me foward and helped me realize i can get somwhere with my life. And i can say i know i can, and when i get older and become that someone. im going to come and thankyou. because beleive it or not your one of those teachers that hleped me get there, when i get there. and one thing i will always remember about you ms. berndt is you always know how to make someone smile. (: and you always started my morning off great. I never meant a teacher like you. Your not only a teacher but your someone to talk to. i will never forget you. just thankyou so much for everything you have ever done for me. thankyou for being my teacher, and the best teacher anyone can ever have!

Sarah



Below is the response she wrote me when I thanked her for her kind words and asked her to stay in touch with me.

Ms. Berndt,
Of course i will keep in touch with you (: . You and my old teacher Mr. Rhymes are my favorite techers by far!!! You guys have made me realize that there is something in life to work for. and i thank you for that .. I am telling you right now seeing my family not do good, and so many people in my life not do good.. and then you and mr. rhymes always telling me there is something i can achive in life.. well just hearing that makes me want to pushs myslef . and seeing that makes me tell my self that im going to do something .. thank you agian ms, berndt.
--Sarah


I can't wait to share this with my Corps Members during Institute... HOW AWESOME and awe inspiring!

Apologies

Sorry for the lack of blogging. Between moving into a new home, pre-work for working at the TFA summer institute and pre-work for my new job as Program Director for TFA, my head is spinning. I'm living in the ASU dorm right now... booo, and start first thing tomorrow morning. When I have time to breathe, I'll put up pictures of the new house and everything in between.

ARIZONA... What else can you do...

Check out the state of Arizona now... REALLY ARIZONA?

Rights groups file suit against Arizona law

Another Thing to Add

I didn't express this in the last blog because I don't have any pictures from it but...

I HAD THE BEST TIME HERE WITH LAUREN IN PHOENIX!!!

I can't wait to see her pictures.

Some Highlights Include (but are in no way limited to)...

1. Pizzaria Bianco (even though it took us 3.5 hours to get some pizzas)

2. Softball Champions (Lauren snagged some great pics of a winning team and potentially a 3 run home run hit by me :) )

3. Our AMAZING time in Sedona visiting the Red Rock country and enjoying the beautiful sights.

4. Our night with Mom and Dad (how great to have everyone together - especially at Mi Patio :) )

5. SO MANY MORE GREAT MOMENTS

Hope you had fun in Vegas Sis and Congrats Lauren G!

Right Now...

• Right Now... I'm looking at pictures from my graduation weekend (whoot Masters)

(My Friends Catherine, Mackenzie, me, and Jackie after receiving our diplomas)

• Right Now... I have a Master's in Education... WhAT?

• Right Now... I am laughing at the "Most Interesting Man in the World" Commercials which REALLY makes me want to drink Dos Equis

(I like the one that says his mother has a tattoo that says the word "Son"... hint hint Mom)

• Right Now... my poor little (big) puppy is sleeping on the couch right next to me because of an unfortunate injury at the dog park yesterday. His poor little paws lost the pads and then the inner layers of his paws got burned by the hot concrete :(
  
  

• Right Now... I'm watching the Suns lose to the Lakers, COME ON PHOENIX

(I think ESPY should be Steve Nash's puppy, they both seem to have little injuries - except ESPY's is debilitating and Nash is playing in the Western Conference Finals... if only ESPY had the stamina of Nash * Reason #1 my Dog is not like Steve Nash *)

• Right Now... I'm actually having a "Night Off" without much to do (only one conference call this afternoon at 5:00... what a welcomed reprieve. Tuesday is a celebration dinner, Wednesday is Science Fair, Thursday is Soccer Night and Friday is the WEEKEND!!!

• Right Now... I'm posting pictures to Facebook from my NEW CAMERA!!!! WAHOOOO.

• Right Now... I'm going to read a book (during the Halftime Show) and have a glass of Sweet Tea Vodka and Lemonade - if you haven't had this, I highly suggest it... it is phenomenal!

• Right Now... I'm signing off for the night. Hopefully with the camera I'll be more diligent about my blog posting!

On to the Championship

After two grueling games... my D-League softball team has made it to the CHAMPIONSHIP.

Next Wednesday (sorry Lauren you have to come :) ) we have our Championship game! Boo Yah!

Good Times.

20 Things You NEED TO KNOW about Kristen RIGHT NOW

After a long hiatus, I have returned into the light. And, with this return is some amazing news. Here are the 20 things you should know about Kristen RIGHT NOW! (in no particular order)

1) I just accepted a job as Program Director for Teach for America working in Phoenix!!!! WHOOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!!! I'm going to be supporting about 20-30 first and second year teachers helping them in the process to becoming highly effective in the classroom. While this is a tall order, I couldn't be more excited. The program team in Phoenix is incredible and I can't wait to work with all of them.

2) I will be working, also for TFA, at the Summer Institute (June 6 - July 18th). Here, I'll be helping incoming corps members learn how to be teachers... do I see a trend... maybe!!!

3) I am getting ready to leave for a Semi-Final Co-Ed softball game with all my best friends!!! Hopefully we win :)

4) I went to Vegas two weekends ago to play in a soccer tournament with more of my friends! We didn't play super well and thus did not win the tournament unfortunately. But, we had a great time and hit the strip pretty hard the first night!

5) I have officially finished my Arizona State University Master's in Education program. I graduate next Friday from the College of Teacher Education and Leadership... whoooooot!

6) I have a TFA Alumni induction celebration this Friday which I am very excited for.

7) I am renting a pontoon boat on Saguaro Lake with my friends on Saturday to celebrate it basically being summer in Phoenix now.

8) I only have 3 weeks of teaching left.

9) I had an amazing time when Grandpa and Georgette came down to visit. I went golfing with Grandpa twice (once I beat him by one stroke, the next game he beat me by one stroke so now we're even) :) We had fun hanging out with Georgette's family and eating some great Lebanese food!

10) I am still in the running for the Sue Lehmann Excellence in Teaching Award given to an exemplary second year TFA corps member chosen from the entire pool of TFA teachers across the nation (A SUPER BIG DEAL) :) :) I think I find out at the end of May if I get it or not, I'll definitely try to keep everyone more updated.

11) I went camping last weekend at Christopher Creek which is just past Payson Arizona. Interesting thing about Payson, Arizona is that they are not on the same time-zone as the rest of Arizona. The Navajo Nation follows the mountain time zone. So, needless to say, I was SUPER confused when it only took an hour to drive there even though it was much further away. Pictures to come from this camping extravaganza!

12) I still have a beast of a dog who seems to keep growing (yikes!). He thoroughly enjoyed the camping trip and slept all day Sunday (I should go camping more often)!

13) I am currently looking to move into a house. I am pretty picky though when it comes to living arrangements: I want a pool, a back yard, and cheap rent... think I can find that???

14) I have not had time to blog because I've been going crazy with stuff from school (end of the year celebrations with 8th graders, Science Fair with both my 7th and 8th graders, trip to the water part, trip to the science center... eesh... it's been crazy), stuff in preparation for my summer job (conference calls, pre-work, videos to watch, interviews to critique), and now I my new job has some crazy pre-work stuff to do to!!! AHHHHH. Oh, and not to mention that I have been working with TFA to get the first Unit plan done for the incoming science corps members next year.

15) Did I mention I'm psyched for my new job?

16) I am still playing soccer. Outdoor season is done for the summer but I am still playing indoor twice a week - which looks like it's going to have to be trimmed down to once a week during the summer because of my jobs.

17) I have SO much going on, I'm not sure when I'm going to make it up to Washington, but I'm hoping in August... I know it seems like a long time, but it will fly by before we all know it.

18) I am bummed about not being able to come to leadership camp this year :-( but this is not something I could maneuver around. I am hoping a one year hiatus will not affect future years at camp.

19) I AM SO EXCITED for Lauren to come down next Tuesday and Mom and Dad to come down next Thursday! There are no words to express my elation.

20) I have to go now because my softball game starts in 30 minutes and my friend Jackie is coming to pick me up to go play. In case you want to cheer for us... our team name is:

HERE COME THE RUNS!!!!

Thanks for reading and sending you all my love!

Worthy Wines! 6: Merlot

A long overdue wine post is here. I'm sure you all were holding your breath to see what I was up to this time, and alas, the time has arrived. Because of some wonderful gifts from Lauren and Sarah, I bring you this edition of Worthy Wines! with a lot more expertise than I had before. I now have a WINE JOURNAL and a "Rate This Wine" scale to use when continuing this wonderful part of the blog. I'm actually pondering starting another specifically "Worthy Wines!" Blog, so chime in about your opinions on that.

Here is the wonderful "Wine Journal," trusty computer, and glass of wine for the week!

As previously noted, I also received a wonderful "Rate This Wine" notepad which I am proud to say was successfully used for this blog :)

This week's wine is a Fish Eye Merlot from the Fish Eye Winery, Vintage 2007 (note the new vocabulary brought to you by the wine lover gifts!!!

This full bodied wine originally sold for a whopping $4.89, but with the Safeway Club Card I managed to basically steal this wine for $4.19... that's right, a savings of .80 cents. Wow, that Safeway Club Card really does it for you huh? Awesome!

This wine lists itself as pairing nice with Pasta, Turkey, Pork and Beef. Sounds good to me!

Some categories on the "Rate That Wine" sheet include: Label, Color, Clarity, Nose, Body, Flavor, and Finish. This Merlot Rated an average of a 3 out of 5 (from me) on this ranking system. It ranked high on the Label because I'm a big fan of the purple and green. The color, it received a "Looks Like Wine" ranking and the Finish ranked a 4 with "Stamina to Spare."

This wine is a GREAT option for the price. I see the Fish Eye as a cheap effective way to start the night off right. If you're casually drinking wine with a dinner alone, or hanging out playing cards with friends, this wine would go wonderfully. I would not choose this wine if you're trying to Wine and Dine a certain someone... most people know that Fish Eye is not the most "Swank" label of wine.

Overall Ranking: 22 out of 35

Back from Reality

You know that show "reality bites"... feeling a little bit of that. What I wouldn't give to be on the beaches of Cabo San Lucas drinking Margaritas and sticking my toes in the sand.

(Chris and I along the Pacific Ocean) :)

Instead, I'm trying to cope with reality. After seemingly months of grueling interviews, I come away empty handed. No summer job, no recruitment job, and still waiting on the Program Director job. Waiting to hear if Seattle opens, waiting to see if anything else opens in the regions I want to be in... another waiting game.

Alas, the trip back to reality was not the best. But, the trip before "reality" was amazing (other than the fact I'm returning with one less camera and a few less pesos). For an all-inclusive resort, the Riu Palace had it going on. First off, we arrived in Cabo and immediately greeted with our first bar right outside the plane! We bought our Sol cerveza's and waited for our van to arrive to take us to the resort. When we hopped on our Van (along with numerous other Spring Break-ers) our first stop was non other than a liquor store. I guess the bus driver really knew what people were looking for! So, we drank our Pacifico beers and finally made it to our hotel about an hour later.

At check-in we were once again met with more alcohol. Yes, that is right, fresh margaritas in the hotel lobby... awesome.

When we arrived in our hotel room we were pleasantly surprised to find an AMAZING ocean view overlooking two pools of many over the property. We also found our refrigerator STOCKED with Dos Equis and a hard alcohol dispenser (which we thankfully never used) above the fridge... crazy. They don't mess around with the all inclusive business.

And, when we ran out of beer or water or Pepsi Light, we just called and the brought us more. AMAZING! So we threw on our suits and went straight to the ... bar... no beach... no wait, they were the same thing. The beach had a bar on it. This place was nuts. So we sat in the sun, drank Margaritas and wonderful Mexican beer and then headed out on the town.

Downtown Cabo was potentially the craziest place I have ever seen (even rivaling New Orleans). It could be because it was Spring Break-ers paradise, but it was insane. A four story outdoor bar with bleachers on the top... insane.

The next day we went down to our breakfast to be met with amazing food and guess what, more alcohol. This place is NUTS. There was ten bottles of Champagne around the breakfast area with orange juice near it. There was pre-made bloody mary mix with the bottle of Vodka sitting next to it. There was smoothies that were pre-made with rum sitting next to them. So crazy. Here is a picture of Me, Pete and Chris at breakfast on the first morning. Notice, I am the only one drinking a Mimosa because the boys were not feeling super after our first night :)

Unfortunately this day two was when my Camera went Kaputt. And by Kaputt I mean fallen and wet in the Pacific Ocean. Day two we sat by the beach, drank more margaritas, soaked up the sun, and hit up the beach bars. We went to Mango Deck bar where there were an insane amount of drunk college people. It was super fun, even crazier and... needless to say we hit the hay pretty early that night.

The next day we hit the pool and went parasailing. Went out on the town. I would expand more but the other stuff is very similar (more beach, more margaritas, etc.). The day after we hit up a sunset cruise, checked out the seals near Los Arcos and saw the whole other side of Cabo. It was amazing. That night we hit the town one last time before our last day!

Last day I sat in the sun while the boys watched the beginning of the NCAA games. Then, we took a Taxi to the airport and hopped on a plane back home. Back to reality.

And here we are today! Happy Monday!

Off I Go... #2

After spending a few days with crazy interviews in Atlanta, I arrived back in Phoenix for a day and a half, just to be leaving again. In this day and a half though, mom and dad came down (how awesome)!!!

Now, I'm getting ready to leave for L.A. to catch a 6am flight in the morning to CABO!!!

Here is the ALL-INCLUSIVE hotel that I'm going to be staying at. Enjoy looking at the pictures while I will be basking on the white sandy beaches drinking Margaritas and pushing away all the peddlers selling their goods!

Happy Spring Break!!!!

Off I Go...

To Atlanta for my Program Director and Recruitment Director Interviews.

Day 1 = Recruitment Director

Interviewing With: Seattle and Portland

Day 2 = Program Director

Interviewing With: Seattle, Colorado, Phoenix, Hawaii

BOOM!

I come back Thursday, Mom and Dad are in town!

Saturday... CABO HERE I COME!!!!

Wish me luck.

Thank you to the Parents...

Who are like my parents.

I have more and more faith in the success of many of my kids when I meet their parents. I see my parents in these parents. I begin to thank them for raising their children so well because it makes my job easy and their eyes well up with tears. I thank them for instilling in their children morals that make me not have to discipline them. I thank the parents for telling their students that they EXPECT them to go to college (one parent of an ELL student said - hey Michael, you promised me not only were you going to go to college, you promised me you were going to graduate). How great is that? And another parent saying, "going to college isn't an option. taking a year off is not an option. where he wants to go to college... that is what he gets to choose." How AWESOME are these parents?

The cool part is, I know that my parents said the same things at our conferences years and years ago. Does this surprise me... no. Look at how Lauren and I turned out. Pretty damn good huh? Well, thanks to our parents who got us here (love you mom and dad), and thanks to the parents who are trying to get their kids where Lauren and I are today!

What I Want to Talk About During Conferences

What I'm really thinking:

• Come talk to me about the fact that your child hasn't turned on thing in the entire quarter and has a 2.9% in my class right now.
• Come talk to me about the fact that I think your student is INCREDIBLY bright but is the laziest student I have ever met.
• Come talk to me about your student attempting to sleep through my class and then complains that you (the parent) makes them go to church until 10 pm every single night and then do chores when they get home.
• Come talk about the fact that your student DRIVES ME NUTS in class and I can't get them to stop talking.
• Or, don't come talk to me because you know your student does all those things and you don't need to hear it to believe it.

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• Come talk to me about the fact that your student doesn't know how to speak English but yet they come to class every day and at least appear to be interested in what I'm teaching.
• Come talk to me about the fact that I KNOW your student can achieve if we work together to find the best strategies.
• Come talk about the fact that your student amazes me because he moved from the English Language Learner class to the "honors" class in one year and has the highest grade in the highest class.
• Come talk about the fact that your student never ceases to amaze me with the awesome questions they ask which challenges me every single day.
• Come talk to me about the leader I already see in your student and I can't wait to see who and what they lead.
• Come talk to me about the fact that I am SURE your student is already WAY smarter than I am and I can't wait to see what incredible things they do with their life.
• Come talk to me about high school, scholarships, and various colleges that I know your student can attend if YOU just believe in them the way their teachers do.

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• Don't come and talk to me if you are going to suggest that your student isn't smart enough - every student can achieve.
• Don't come and talk to me if you are going to complain that the only reason your student has a bad grade is because they are not getting taught - everyone needs to take some personal responsibility some times.
• Don't come and talk to me if you are going to put up road blocks for your student as they progress throughout their education - they should all have the opportunity to succeed.
• Don't come and talk to me if you do not EXPECT your student to graduate high school and go to college - THEY CAN.
• Don't come and talk to me if your mind is closed to education - education can free your mind.

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• Come talk to me if you think these things but are willing to change your mind.
• Come talk to me if you have heard these things but you think they are untrue.
• Come talk to me if you want to make a difference in your child's life like I do.
• Come talk to me and we can figure out what to do.

Worthy Wines! 5: Cabernet Sauvignon

From the request of my beloved cousin, this week's (or should I say month's) worthy wine is a Cabernet Sauvignon from down under. That's right, it's the wonderful Yellow Tail brand wine, product of Australia! Shout out to Aunt Sue, who I'm hoping is still an avid follower :)

This wonderful Aussie wine was sold at Safeway for $7.99, but with my wonderful Club Card, it was a shockingly low $5.59. I will have to say thank you to the old North Bend phone number for keeping it real at Safeway every time I go. And, you're welcome Dad for getting you the Safeway Gas ten cents off when I spend too much money on groceries (cough cough... beer and wine... cough cough).

So, back to the wine. This wine tastes more expensive than the $5.59 that I paid at Safeway (apparently it is supposed to sell at $10.99). After a few nights of savoring the wine, I think it would go well with some very flavorful meat. I'm thinking a peppercorn ribeye or a spicy flank steak. Eat something that makes you think "cowboy" but with class (hence the wine). As Carrie Underwood would call it... A real Cowboy Cassanova of a wine. (click the word for the awesome music video!)

This wine has a mild spicy taste, unlike my accidental SUPER spicy Gumbo that I put in 1 whole jalapeno instead of 1 tablespoon chopped jalapeno... oops. This wine, is unlike my gumbo in this manner. Also, unlike my gumbo, it has bold fruit flavors. On the [yellow tail] website, it notes that this wine has "blackberry, chocolate and luscious vanilla aromas."

In regards to the aroma, this vanilla and chocolate aroma is very unlike my dog. For one, ESPY has had horrible stomach problems and has filled the room with everything but chocolate and vanilla aromas. Bummer. While I would like to say that this wine takes after me, I do not think that I smell of chocolate and vanilla... another bummer. Although, that might be a good thing, ESPY might bite me even more than he already does if I smelled of vanilla. Not chocolate, because chocolate apparently kills dogs.

Guess what doesn't kill dogs... hopefully at least? Wine!

Here's ESPY enjoying this smooth Cabernet Sauvignon :)

Truth to the picture, ESPY didn't take a gulp, but he did pose nicely for the picture.

Alright, that is the end of the Worthy Wines! 5... more to come. I bought 5 more bottles for 15% off at Safeway... WHOOT! I'll try to squeeze in a few more before I leave for Mexico.

Enjoy and Drink Up!

Why My Dog and I are NOT Alike...

Just a follow up on my post why my dog and I are alike. This week, I decided to do why my dog and I are not alike.

1) I have realized over my socialization in the past 23 years of my life that biting is not a great way to get attention - ESPY still bites sometimes when he wants my attention.

2) ESPY can make it through a RawHide bone in approximately 9 minutes flat (I just timed him with the one he has in his mouth in the picture) - I do not eat RawHide Bones

3) I can properly digest things such as pizza - When ESPY accidentally got a piece of pizza from the mid-afternoon Dominos order on Sunday, he promptly threw it up that night... Great.

4) I lose my energy at about 7:30 - ESPY seems to be in TOP EXCITED form until about... well until I put him in his kennel to go to bed.

5) ESPY is NOT Busy - I cannot seem to get more than a free 10 minutes (of which I choose to spend the time blogging instead of doing my laundry) between interview stuff, nomination stuff, and oh yeah... I teach.

6) ESPY is perfectly content not being busy - I think if I did nothing all day every day, I would go insane. Even though I complain about being SUPER busy all the time, I think, in a way, I thrive on the fast paced style of my life.

7) ESPY does not seem to like Ice Dancing as he barked at all the contestants last night - I LOVED watching the Ice Dancing competition last night, although I was a bit sad when the Americans didn't take home the Gold... but how cute was that couple from Canada.

8) I am drinking a smooth red wine right now (expect a blog soon) - ESPY is strictly regimented to a diet of Water and Puppy Chow (for Big Dogs)

9) I have opposable thumbs to type this with - ESPY has these Du-Claws that are actually quite long and tend to scratch me when he likes to wrestle. Well I'll be honest, I like wrestling with him until he scratches me with his "thumb wannabes"

10) My ears do not fold over - ESPY's ears fold over from time to time (see picture at the top)

11) ESPY eats the carpet - I sometimes only sit on the carpet (when I'm sweaty from Yoga and don't want to sit on the couches)

12) ESPY is dark and light colored at the same time - I am dark during the summer and light during the Winter (soon to be Dark when I come back from CABOOOOOOOOOOO).

13) ESPY seems to like eating paper (he always steals my napkins and unimportant papers - sometimes important ones - to tear apart) - I think I ate paper once, but it was probably a note in the 6th grade that I didn't want anyone reading... hopefully I'm just being facetious, but I usually don't remember anything before the age of 18 :)

14) ESPY enjoys licking my yoga mat - I enjoy lying on it

15) I have met the wonderful Mr. and Mrs. Berndt - ESPY has yet to have the privilege (but that'll happen in March :) )

Hope you enjoyed this rendition of my puppy and I. Time to do laundry while listening to ESPY bark at the Canadians on TV, Awesome!

Oh and #16 - I don't punch ESPY in the face - ESPY punches me in the face.

One of those days...

Although the title of this post makes it seem like today was bad... I actually feel just the opposite!

Good news comes in pairs for me today apparently. First, I found out that I got an in-person interview for both the recruitment director and program director jobs in Teach for America. This interview is in Georgia and is going to take place the beginning of March. While this has made me a stress ball about parent-teacher conferences (which happen to be the same day), I know I'll figure it all out.

Other good news, I found out that TFA is going to let me go to Vegas for the soccer tournament. I thought they weren't going to let me because I already have one excused absence from our professional development because of Leadership camp last summer, but with a little sweet talking and some straight up pleading, they are going to let me go! WAHOO!!!

Good day! Time to go hang with the friends for half an hour and then go to soccer. What a great THursday!

Peace.

Four truths and a Lie

Let's play a game. I'm going to list things that happened to me today and you're going to guess whether I am telling the truth or lying.

1) I got a month membership to the local Bikram Yoga studio for $15

2) I have been just been sweating in a 102 degree room for the last hour and a half

3) I just got home to a letter that said, once again, that if I continue with my "Crazy Parties" then my lease is going to be terminated

4) I won a contest getting me a $300 gift certificate to a skin rejuvenating/hair removal place in Scottsdale

5) I had 2 students plagiarize their Genetic Engineering papers 100% (like not a word of their own)

I'm sure you're thinking right now...

Wow, Kristen, I hope #5 or #3 are lies because the other 3 sound awesome.

Well, if you thought that, you are partly correct. #5 is a lie. But, unfortunately, only the number of students who plagiarized their papers was incorrect... I actually had 5 students write down on a separate piece of paper EVERYTHING they read off a website on Genetic Engineering. But, little do they know, their teacher is not stupid (although I may appear to be at some times). Bless you Google. Type in the first two sentences into the "search" box and up comes a website entitled "FREE GENETIC ENGINEERING ESSAYS." Just how stupid do I look...

While I wish #3 was a lie, I am apparently, once again, on "watch" for getting my lease broken. You know what Hawthorne... SUCK IT. Kick me out, that would actually make me happier. I don't like living in you anyways.

Well, time to eat my McGrilled Chicken or whatever it is called, eat my fries and put on all the calories I just burned off in the Sweat Box known as Bikram Yoga. Hope you enjoyed the mid-week update. Sorry no wine tonight, I need to hydrate, I feel like I just had a vacuum cleaner stuck to my pores and sucked out all the water.

Peace.

Thank you to our Presidents...

... for giving us that nice long weekend!

I had quite an eventful weekend. First, I would like to note that I LOVE the Olympics. Whether confused why a certain skater chose a certain type of music and skated in that certain way, or marveling over the knee strength of the mogul skiers, or fascinated at the pass the U.S. snowboarder made to the Canadian in the Snowboard Cross... the once every four year event is absolutely divine, just like the American figure skater I am watching right now.

So to celebrate my love of the Olympics, I donned my apartment with Olympic rings and brought in the party. The party was quite fun!

It was a "dress as your favorite country" Party. Since the United States was a bit cliche and Botswana did not have any participants in the Winter Olympics (big shocker there - its like a billion degrees in the country year 'round), I decided to dress as Norway. This picture properly depicts my outfit which consisted of shorts painted like the Norwegian Flag, a shirt painted as the Norwegian Flag, and a Viking helmet painted also like a Norwegian Flag. The Norwegian Flag can be seen here with Sabina, a teammate of mine (dressed as Italy).

This was truly an olympic event.

Then, Saturday consisted of the Skirt Chaser 5K in Tempe! This consisted of a few of us donning a running skirt, which I am not sure I will ever wear again (despite how comfortable it was to run in), and jogging a 5K. I say jogging because it truly was a jog. I finished in a little over 30 minutes. Then, we spent the rest of the afternoon listening to a rockin' band play some classic music and drinking free beer (free because they gave us drink tickets with our registration... this was my kind of race). I wish I had pictures, but Jackie did the picture taking at this event (to be added later). Later Saturday I saw Valentines Day, the movie, which I enjoyed and maybe even shed a tear during an ending scene. Cute, not what you would expect at all times, but very cute.

Sunday consisted of a soccer game at 10, which we won! Giving ESPY a gift from Mom and Dad...

Then, a little basketball at the park was in order. Sat in the sun when we got tired. Then, after that, a little sunset Horseback ride topped of an awesome Sunday!

Monday, because of the great weather, consisted of sitting in the sun, reading in the sun, sleeping in the sun... and then going to do Bikram Yoga. Hooked but exhausted. My GROUPON proved me well and provided me with $15 for a Unlimited Month of Bikram! AMAZING.

I just went to class and came home, bought 6 bottles of wine from Safeway to get me through until Spring Break! So, get ready for a wine blog in the next two days. The wine will feature a shoutout to my awesome Cuz who I spoke to on Sunday! Love you!

I have also decided to start writing a book so here is a little excerpt from the first chapter I'm jotting down! Tell me if you liked it... but hold your thoughts to yourself if you're not a big fan :)

Exceprt: Botswana Diamond

“What would you like to drink Miss?” said the waiter in perfect English. I wanted to stop and tell him that I was a “local” and did not need to speak to me in English, but I figured if I looked like a tourist and was now acting like a tourist… why deny the role? I was spending the MOST money I had since I arrived in Botswana on this one outing, well other than the semi-illegal trip to Zimbabwe. I figured I might as well live it up.

“What do you recommend?” I somewhat flirtatiously said back hoping that if he liked me the first drink might be free… boy was I wrong.

“The Botswana Diamond. It is the best drink in Kasane.” Now this didn’t seem to be a outlandish statement since all I had really drank in Botswana had been traditional beer that tasted like vomit that had been sitting in the sun for 3 days and the local KLB beer (much like the American favorite Bud Light). Actually, while on the topic of KLB beer, I do want to note my affinity for it (and Bud Light too actually). Plus, when a beer company uses your initials to promote their company, you can’t help but support them.

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HAPPY TUESDAY!