June 28

Lazy day
I did a whole lotta nothing today. Wait, I lie. I went to the gym and took a nap. And caught up on some Gossip Girl. But that about covers it.
So here's a picture I took in the bathroom of one of the lodges in the Grand Canyon. I think every toilet needs this warning. I'm just sayin...

June 27

Partying with the Cheekses
Spent the day at my parents' house, where the Cheekses were being babysat. We partied. We partied hard. Some Bubble Guppies. Some swim lessons. Some ice cream. Some new hairstyles at bath time. I know what you're thinking... I should slow my partying ways down. But I promise I have it under control.

After an ice cream tasting, her saying, "Teeeeeeeese!" for the camera

June 26

I'm pretty sure that me driving for more than three hours at a time induces headaches.
And the drive home sucks WAAAAAY more than the drive there.
And random golf-ball shaped buildings in the middle of nowhere may actually be someone's house. Possibly. Though there's no evidence to prove it.

Anyone know what the heck this is??

June 25

Twilight Zone
Day 2 in Arizona consisted of us driving south to Sedona for a tubing experience down a slow-moving river. We didn't get to see a lot of the red rock part of Sedona. We did, however, drive about 10 miles into the country from the highway and then on a dirt road in a 2-door Accord.
And for the record, before going on a second trip down the river, one should consider reapplying sunblock so that you don't look like a lobster (front side only) at the end of the float. Ugh.

Highway drive.... beautiful

Dirt road drive... dusty and bumpy

We didn't get any pictures tubing because neither one of us wanted to risk taking anything that would be ruined by water.

June 24

So wait, it's a canyon?
I'm pretty sure the Grand Canyon isn't real. Well, the foreground is, but, as I was told at sundown, the people at Universal were going to come in and roll up the background screen until dawn.
And I'm pretty sure that I was expecting to see a giant mountain that just dropped off into a deep canyon. I didn't realize that it was flat ground that just dropped off into a chasm, if you will. (This is coming from a girl who, just within the last 10 years, realized that Italy was part of Europe. I promise I'm not an idiot. I have a Masters degree.)
If you're looking for recommendations, I say rent bikes when you're there. Because then you get to speed by those who are walking, get lost with the lack of clear bike trail markings, and wear flops all day. Here are some pictures from our day.

June 23

 Are we there yet?
A friend of mine and I had decided that we should take a trip out to see the Grand Canyon, since I had never seen it and she saw it when she was very young. Since hiking Half Dome last summer, I decided that I wanted to see more of the natural wonders of the world.
Anyway, it took us about 7 hours of driving to get there. Well, 7 hours of awesome music, a few wrong turns once we got into Flagstaff, a possible hepatitis C contraction in the bathroom of a Needles' Carl's Jr., and a realization that cars CAN make it through 110* weather driving at high speeds. Who knew?
This picture is the result of a lot of practicing, lane changing, and possible motion sickness.

June 22

Decisions
This is going to be a bit of a different post than usual. It's not going to be a positive one, but it is helping to clear my head of some anger, so I'm finding positivity in that.

You see, this whole Ryan Dunn thing has really affected me. I remember waking up that morning and doing my usual check on TMZ (don't judge me), and I saw the post that he had died. As soon as I read who he was, the accident became less of a surprise. And then I scrolled down more and saw the article with the picture of the wreckage. And I automatically assumed (I realize now that I probably shouldn't have been so quick to judge, even though my judgments were spot on) that this was a selfish accident, probably caused by alcohol or speeding.

I immediately went back to Facebook and people were already beginning to post memorials to him. It angered me. I remember reading one that was a link to an article that read, "Ryan Dunn was killed in a car accident last night," and I started to type a comment on that person's post about how that headline made it sound like it wasn't his fault. I decided against posting the comment, as I still didn't know the details of the accident.

Throughout the day, I was still angered by it. I didn't know why. I kept checking back with TMZ for updates. When the post about the actual speed at which the police believe he was driving came up, I was livid. To me, 90mph is fast. This dude was going roughly 130mph. Come on. That's disgusting. He had no care for his life, so why should we be making such a big deal about this story??

This is the thing... I don't wish death on anyone. I don't think anyone DESERVES to die. However, when you live life so recklessly and without regard to others around you, I find you to be a selfish human being. And if you want to play hard in life, you have to be able to face the consequences of your careless actions. I teach my students that every year. Everything you do is a decision. You decide, knowing the rewards and consequences, and you must accept responsibility for your decisions. Plain and simple.

Ryan Dunn decided to get in his Porsche that evening, being more than twice the legal limit of intoxication, and drive over 130 mph. Sure, he killed someone else. But that guy wasn't an innocent passenger. He also decided, after spending the evening drinking with Ryan Dunn, to get into his car and let Dunn drive him where ever they were going.

I can say this because I lived through a similar tragedy.

In the summer of 1995, my brother was bowling with his underage best friend and another gentleman who was of drinking age. At the end of the night, my brother's best friend decided to get into the other gentleman's car instead of getting into my brother's car. In fact, my brother wasn't even going to drive that night. They were all going to ride together.

My brother went on his way. Before he left the parking lot, he watched the two of them speed off in the guy's T-top Camaro.

Not long after, the Camaro ran a red light at high speeds. It ran into an unsuspecting truck, going underneath the truck with the T-top open, and ultimately killed my brother's best friend.

I never in my life want to watch anyone go through what my brother went through when his best friend died. He blamed himself. He was angry. He was depressed. There were many nights when my mom would go into my brother's room, close the door, and all I could hear were voices and cries late into the night. It was horrible. And then there was the funeral. And then the court case. It was painful and my brother was in the center of all of it because he was the last person with them.

But the thing I know for sure when I look back is that there were decisions made that night that had consequences. The drinking. The choice for my brother to drive his own car. The choice for his best friend to get in the Camaro when he knew the driver was drinking. The reckless driving.

I don't think Jon deserved to die; I really liked the guy. But in the end, he made the decision to get in that car, knowing the driver had been drinking excessively. And what happened in the fallout of his death was a horrible experience. The same thing is what I assume is happening to Ryan Dunn's friends and family now. It could have been so easily avoided. All of it.

But sadly, it wasn't.

June 21

Roooaaaad triiipppp!!!!
On Thursday.
But I have been working diligently on a road tip mix for the past couple of weeks. I've narrowed it down to 7.1 hours of pure awesomeness.
I. cannot. wait.
Behold. Road Trip!!, Volumes 1-6.

June 20

Where my girls at...?
Seriously. Love these girls. And of course, they all go to my gym. (MY gym. Not their gym. MINE. Just kidding, it's OUR gym.) We're all supporting CFCH on day one of the Regionals.

June 19

CrossFit celebritydom
So there are people who exercise. And then there are what CrossFit considers to be The Fittest People in the World. And I rubbed arms with them this weekend. Sorta. I mean, I kinda saw them from a far and took pictures, using the zoom on my iPhone.
God, I'm a dork.

Kristan Clever, 2010 CrossFit World Champion, missing her 185lb thruster. Turns out she's not superhuman.

Katie Hogan, my new CrossFit crush. She later broke the world record, thrusting 190lbs. Nobigdeal.

June 18

Day two
CrossFit Regionals at CSULB. More pictures of what I'd like to be when I grow up.

 Chest to bars

Kettlebell swings

June 17

I don't want to brag or anything, but...
...my gym is pretty rad. This weekend, some of our top members competed in the CrossFit Regionals at Cal State Long Beach. Don't worry, I wasn't one of them. I honestly am not that good and I'm not sure I could handle the pressure. But those who competed kick some serious ass.
Here are a few pictures from Friday's workouts.

One of our awesome ladies wrecking handstand push-ups

One of our top guys, competing individually

About to thrust 150lbs

June 16

If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it...
How did I glaze over this??? A friend of mine wanted to propose to her girlfriend and had decided to do it with the help of some of her friends. We flash-mobbed to Single Ladies in the middle of an annual party last week and she proposed after. It took a few weeks of practice (and I still sucked), but it was fun! Happy engagement!!!

June 15

I'm kind of a big deal
... to my former students. Look how beautiful these flowers are that one of my girls gave me (let's be honest, her parents bought them and she was forced to hand them over to me) on the last day of school!!

June 14

Ballin!!!
Got tickets to an Angels game on Saturday. Pretty good seats, I won't lie. We had like waiters and stuff who brought us our food. Overpriced food, albeit, but still... waiters. I can't even comprehend that in my Right Field Pavilion head. So we sat in style and got waited on... for all of one order. Then we realized that it was MUCH cheaper to go ahead and walk to the snack bar to get beers and food.
And beers and food we got.
For the record, garlic fries THIS loaded with garlic are not as yummy as they look. Or smell.

June 13

Well I'm moving on up (moving on up)...
.... to the next grade. In a deluxe classroom in junior high....
I should be sad, shouldn't I? I mean, sure, it's bittersweet to pack up this classroom. But maybe because I've only been in this particular room for 2 years, or maybe because it hasn't sunk in... I'm still waiting to feel sad.
I spent the day packing up my classroom (with the help of my momma!) so that I could actually start my summer vacation. Here it is, in all its glory... my empty classroom and all of my teaching loot:

June 12

Muddy overflow
Because I know my mom will be disgusted by these videos and pictures, here are more from Saturday's mud run. I really do enjoy doing these things, Mom. :)

Some of us before the run

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is how thick the last few pits were. One of the girls gets stuck and then gets a cramp in her leg. Someone from the mud run throws in a rope to help pull her out. She still can't get her foot out so another random runner comes over and digs it out. Rad.

June 11

A team of 30 strong
About three months ago, I had the bright idea that I would organize some girls from my gym to take part in a mud run. I had done the run before and I really liked it, so a few of us decided that we should do it and open it up to the girls at the gym. A few weeks later, we had 30 girls who wanted to take part.
From the beginning, I had hoped that all 30 of us would start AND finish together. When it came down to it, I knew some of the girls would be faster and I wasn't sure they would wait for the rest of us.
Turns out, the girls waited and we crossed the finish line together, all linked together. It was a rad and proud moment.

The 30 CFCH Dirty Girls

June 10

Seriously? Kindergarten already??
I swear to you it was like last year that my Cheeks was born. No joke. I remember being at the hospital, having to leave the room because my sister-in-law was having a contraction and feeling like I was going to pass out because of the amount of pain SHE was in.
And now?? Pre-school graduation?? I can't handle it. Next thing you know, she's going to be a senior in high school.

Five-ish years ago

3-ish years ago

1-ish week ago

June 9

Because it's been too long
... and because I've got nothing for this day.

My Baby Cheeks. In the driver's seat. Nobigdeal. It's how she roles.

June 8

I'm really not clear on what you're trying to tell me here
For some unknown reason, a friend's phone has been sending out multiple texts on its own. Like, malfunction-style. I'm not even sure what the conversation was about, but this is how it went down, creeper-style:

June 7

Crazy day
I remember this day to be crazy. Really crazy. Like, one of my student's got in a car accident right outside of our school. Then my boss breaks her shin bones RIGHT in front of me. And lastly, I had to make a difficult decision about my career.

The last part is what I want to focus on. Although the decision was difficult and emotional, I will now be a 7th grade Language Arts teacher at my old junior high school. I've been doing the same thing for 9 years, and although I love it and feel comfortable with the respect that I have, I know that it's time for me to step outside of my comfort zone. I need a challenge and this was the perfect time for me to do it. Once the decision was made, I felt like this:

June 6

I'm a dork, don't hate
I love bookstores. I really do. I like books. Lots of books. And I am super excited about summer vacation because it means that I get to start reading again. And what better way to jumpstart my reading than with a friggin BOOK LIGHT!!!
Yeah, $12 of awesomeness.

June 5

I'm getting worse at this...
I don't know what happened. I was really pumped about this idea of posting a picture a day for the entire year, but then life happened and I lost track of this blog. I went a week. Then I went two weeks. This time it's been two and a half weeks and I haven't posted. This isn't to say that I haven't thought about posting or even taken pictures each day. Because I have. This blog has been on my mind. But it just got away from me. The meaning of this blog and the excitedness that I had for it has waned a bit.

But all of that aside, I'm back. For now. And I have a lot of catching up to do. So here it goes....

So basically... who has two thumbs and needs to get back on the ball???

June 4

Happy birthday?
I went to a 3-year old (not 2-year old) birthday party yesterday. While shopping for a card, I came across this in the kids' card section. Am I missing the humor or is this completely inappropriate? The card stocker must have been on autopilot. For the record, the card had nothing to do with a stripper.

And this cake was rad. The birthday boy's mom MADE it. Super cool, right???

June 3

Breaking point
I have spent the last week trying to make the end of the school year fun and unforgettable for 120 sixth graders. I have pushed myself past frustration and exhaustion because I want the class of 2011 to have memories that they will look back and smile at. And I've done it pretty much by myself. Sadly. Since this blog isn't about the negative, I will add that I think that these kids have had an amazing start to their end-of-the-year activities. Next week will be the finale to their 6th grade and elementary memories and I hope to continue making that a positive experience for them.
In my I-just-need-a-little-more-help moment, I laid down on some benches in the shade while I let/forced another 6th grade teacher to take over the reigns of promotion practice. And this was my view...

June 2

Who AM I??
Bowling nights are becoming frustrating for me. I started out doing fairly well in the beginning of the season, but for some reason, I hit a major slump midway through the season and just haven't been able to score much higher than 100 each game.
But not this week. The first two games sucked. The last game? Not sure what happened, but I definitely scored my highest score in my bowling history yet! A 175!!!! I was so excited!! I got a mark on every frame, except the last one, which was when I started thinking about my actual score. Story of my life...

June 1

Probably illegal
So the take-down process of my classroom started today. The great thing about 6th graders is that, with the proper rules in place, I can get them to take care of most of it. In fact, they WANT to help. So instead of getting up on 6 different tables and pulling down 30 different globes hanging from the ceiling, I prefaced the request with "how not to be inappropriate while standing on a desk," and had them take the globes down themselves. It was a win/win situation. They did all the work, and they got to stand on their desks.