Tuesday, March 31, 2009

day 90


Jody is such a good sport. :)

Monday, March 30, 2009

day 89


Today I attended the second day of a two day training on Nonviolent Crisis Intervention with a group of teachers and other staff members from my school. I think it's a training that all teachers should have. It was incredibly empowering and will absolutely change the way I interact with students from now on.

This photo shows the trainers helping our staff members practice the 'team control position.' It is used in a case where a student becomes a danger to himself or to others and needs to be restrained.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

day 88


Jody and I volunteered for the Military Ministry after church today. They are collecting care package items and cards for a squadron that is stationed in Kuwait. We didn't do much, other than talking to a few people and handing out information about how to get involved in the ministry but I'm glad that we were able to help out in some way.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

day 87


Today is a big day for my friends, the Walcotts! They are officially moving out of their rental in the Grove and into their very own home.
The best part (for me anyway!) is that their new place is on the other side of Olympic Parkway - just a short walk from my house. We aren't right next door like we were in the Grove but we will get to be neighbors all over again! I helped them get the truck packed up this morning and am happy to be off the hook for the actual move-in. They hired some movers for that part since their home is a three-story condo - that's a LOT of stairs!
Congratulations Naeem and Arijana! I am so happy for you guys and am glad that this will mean you're staying in the States for a while! :)

Friday, March 27, 2009

day 86



Jody and I went to The House of Blues tonight to see Brett Dennen in concert. He sounds great live but I have to say, I was a bit weirded out by his dancing and stage presence. I was feeling a little nauseous (not because of Brett!) so we sat on a trunk in a corner where we could enjoy the music but not see the stage. That worked out well and we amused ourselves with some fantastic people watching from there. Good times!

See a few more shots here.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

day 85



Today at school we had 'Culture Day.' Each teacher chose a culture to share and the kids were able to choose 3 different cultures they wanted to learn about. They were so excited about it all. I taught my groups about Ireland and had a great time with it. At the end of the day we had a great assembly with the Abalaye African Dance Ensemble.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

day 84


On my way home tonight, I stopped at Fresh & Easy to get a few things. This is my new favorite place to shop for groceries. They have really great prices and some very tasty, fresh foods that make for quick dinners. I especially like their cheese and bacon crispbakes, southern chicken escalopes, and par-baked french bread (especially the garlic loaf which has whole cloves of garlic baked into it.) Yum.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

day 83



Jody decided that we should go out every night for the next two weeks until Spring Break hits so we went out tonight for the second night in a row. Unheard of. I really enjoyed it - what a great break from cooking for one and holding down my sofa!
We ate at one of our San Diego favorites, Urban Solace in North Park. This time, we were joined by some friends that we work with, Christina and Pam. If you live in San Diego or come here for a visit, it's a fantastic spot for dinner. We sat outside on the patio where they have live music on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. (Tonight, they had Daniele Spadavecchia playing with an accompanist.) They made the whole experience just perfect!
We shared a bottle of wine and for dinner, ordered several favorites to share - Cheese Biscuits with orange-honey butter, Sweet Potato Fries, a Wedge salad and the Pulled Chicken and Dumplings. It was all so decadent and delicious! Pam noticed that they had an Espresso Martini on the menu and ordered one so that we could all try it. After dinner, Jody ordered a Not-So-Red Velvet Cake for dessert but I had to skip it because I forgot to take my acid reflux medicine and by then the reflux was on the attack.
What a great time I had with you, ladies! Thank you so much for joining us on a school night! :)

See a couple of other photos here.

Monday, March 23, 2009

day 82


After a long Monday at work, Jody and I decided to go crazy and head out for a beer (or in my case, a cider.) It was a such a great change of pace and a good reminder that we need to not take all the work stuff so seriously and get a life!

Sunday, March 22, 2009

day 81


I bought two jasmine plants for my front porch a few weeks ago. They have already bloomed and smell so great. I am looking forward to sitting out there in the evenings as the weather warms up.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

day 80


I used my beloved press to make a ham and havarti panini for lunch today. I am of the opinion that a sandwich is always better when it's warm - unless we're talking about a peanut butter sandwich because that would just be gross.

Friday, March 20, 2009

day 79


Here's a photo I shot of Hershey this morning. She has these two little white hairs on her 'eyebrows' that you can see here.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

day 78


Here's Charlie... keeping an eye on the neighborhood.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

day 77


I am always excited to come home and find a little white box from Hollywood on my doorstep and can't wait to find out what Nintendo has sent me! Today, the box was a bit smaller than usual and contained a 'mini DS Lite replica case' for holding game cartridges - very cool since I don't really have a way to carry games with me safely - and a set of lip glosses from The Gap. Thanks so much Nintendo! I am having so much fun being of of your Girlfriends! :)

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

day 76


Happy Saint Patrick's Day!
Here's a little gift from one of my students. I love that she wrote Mrs. Gannon and then crossed out the r. :) The kids are very curious about my life and every so often I get the "Ms. Gannon, are you married?" question. My new student asked me that today and after I told him no, one of the girls came up to me, patted me on the back and said, "I'm sorry Ms. Gannon." They are just too cute!

Monday, March 16, 2009

day 75


The kids wanted me to take some photos of them holding our snake, Seymour, this afternoon. He's a three year old California King Snake whom I've had since he was a couple of months old. This is my first snake and he actually makes a really good classroom pet. He doesn't smell, doesn't need much to keep him happy, lets the kids hold him and the only thing about him that I really don't like is that he eats live baby mice. That is something I have a really hard time with when I think about it so the best thing is to just not think about it. He needs to eat too.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

day 74


We joined Arijana and the Black and Whites for a hike out at Upper Otay this evening. It was a really nice end to a beautiful day.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

day 73


Poor Charlie. His claws grow so quickly these days and he is NOT a fan of having them trimmed. He hates it so much, in fact, that I have to sedate him and take him to the vet to have it done. Even under sedation, the techs always look a bit traumatized when they bring him back out to the waiting room.
When we got home I put some beds in his favorite daytime spot, right in front of the sliding glass door in the kitchen, so he could lay in the sun to recover. He had a hard time walking by then and didn't quite make it onto to the beds before collapsing. Pathetic.

Friday, March 13, 2009

day 72


It is incredibly difficult to photograph mice, I have learned. This is Brownie, one of our classroom pets. She is constantly moving and it is really hard to get a sharply focused shot of her.

Here's Snowflake, our other mouse. She's a bit easier to photograph because she's not quite as shy.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

day 71


I wish I was still in second grade, painting with water colors. Doesn't that look like fun?

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

day 70


Today was our last game of the season. I am so proud of how hard the girls worked and what great attitudes they had, even on the days they lost. It is amazing to see the transformation they go through in those few months they spend with us and it's so much fun to see their excitement for the game.

day 69


This is me just before heading out to the School Board meeting where our school was officially introduced for the first time. Our logo turned out so cool! The photo below was not taken by me (I'm in the upper right hand corner) but I wanted to add it in because tonight was such a big moment for us. We don't have approval yet but things are looking good...

Monday, March 9, 2009

day 68


It is unbelievable to me that there would be any new construction in a neighborhood filled with foreclosures. Look what cropped up today behind my community pool. What are they thinking?

Sunday, March 8, 2009

day 67


Who says I can only choose one photo a day? I couldn't resist including this second shot. Charlie just looks so handsome!

Saturday, March 7, 2009

day 66


The Browns know exactly where the jar of bones is and are not shy when it comes to asking for a snack - even if they have just had dinner.

Friday, March 6, 2009

day 65


I must have taken about 50 photos of this snail and only a handful were usable. For a slow moving creature he was sure hard to capture! I got another shot that really showed off the rest of his body but it wasn't well framed.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

day 64


I took some photos of the kids today for a book we are writing. We've been learning about Martin Luther King, Jr. and have specifically focused on what he was like as a child. The book tells about M.L. (his childhood nickname) and how the kids are like him and how they are different.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

day 63


These are my girls, warming up before our game today. It's been a tough season but I am SO proud of them for always having such a positive attitude. At the end of the game, which we lost, one of the girls told us what a great time she's had this season - with a huge smile on her face. Several of them chimed in and told each other how awesome they were in the game. Those moments totally get to me. That's the whole reason I do this.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

day 62


Meet my new little plant, Dorothy.

Monday, March 2, 2009

day 61


Today is Read Across America Day - a special day in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday. We took the second graders to Bonita Vista Middle School for our yearly celebration. The 7th and 8th graders put on a show for our students and they read together. This photo shows some of the artwork they had displayed around the room. Today I was VERY grateful not to be in middle school anymore. What an awkward, difficult time that was.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

day 60


There were so many great opportunities to take photos this afternoon but I didn't have a camera with me. Grrr. This was shot with my Palm phone at Extraordinary Desserts in Little Italy. Jody and I were delighted to discover that on Sundays they have a brunch for $16.95. I am not generally a big fan of the all-you-can-eat buffet but this one is fantastic and worth every penny. Deelish!