So I joined facebook and there are all these people from High school. I guess we are all talking cause it has been 20 years. Some of the people are ones I have wondered about but some of them are ones I didn't know too well or talk to too much. It is weird. I get friend requests from people I barely know but how do you hit the reject button?

So our neighbor girl was assaulted coming home from school. Apparently some girls on her bus were bullying her and then got off at her stop and beat her up. They had the bullying stuff on video- weeks of it. I guess these two other girls are foster kids and our neighbors are not filing charges or anything and get this these girls still ride the bus with her. i guess they were looking for someone to pick on and Tegan next door has pink and black hair and is a little different. She is a nice kid, and Joelle likes her, but they do not have a whole lot in common. I am glad we decided to keep Jo at OLL. All I can say is I do not care how sorry I would feel for the other kids- I would be pressing charges. I can't believe they are still on the bus- let alone still at the school. yes feel sorry for them, but I think they got away with it and that does not send the right message.

weak end

This weekend was a nice one. First the weather was nice and that is always good. On Friday we didn't do much. We ate left overs and rented movies. On saturday I cleaned a bit and Mitch worked in the yard and watched OSU.I also went to meadows.
Today Joelle went with friends to the UP soccer game. UP is once again in the college playoffs. It was round two today. They beat Texas 2-0. It was on cable and OMG! Joelle was on tv. There was a shot of the crowd and there she was. She was on quite a bit actually. I went to the gym and that was nice. Mitch also went to the gym.
Tonight Joby and Arlys brought over dinner for my birthday. It was yummy. We had turkey, potatoes, stuffing, salad and veggies.To top it all off we had german chocolate cake. It was really nice of them to bring it over since Mitch works on Sundays.
I made a big pot of chicken noodle soup today. It turned out pretty good. We will be eating it tomorrow night. My game is at 7:30.

I have really been enjoying the gym. I like to go for about two hours. It is great to do time on the eliptical and the climber and then do weights. After that I go to the locker room and sit in the steam room and then the sauna- it is so relaxing. Then I take a nice hot shower. It makes it super easy to fall asleep and I feel really good when I am done. I also get email updates from the gym on my fitlinx account which keeps track of my workouts and gives me points that are worth rewards at the club- free lunch, free dinner and that kind of thing. I have a locker and towel service so it is really convenient.

who would have thought...

So last night while I was at the gym and grocery shopping Joelle and Mitch went to a hockey game. Joelle is now a hockey fan. Jo's friend Sam called earlier and invited her to the game and when Sam and her dad got to our house to pick her up Sam's dad invited Mitch- who of course went! They had a good time. Jo was not exactly thrilled to have him along, but I guess it was OK once he bought her cotton candy. lol. What are to odds of catching a puck at a hockey game? Pretty low is my guess, well Joelle came home with a puck. She was super excited and had a great time.

Joelle has a lot of friends. It is really amazing. I was always one to have a few close friends, but Joelle has friends - tons of friends. There are at least 10 sixth graders at OLL who are her friends some a closer than others, but it would not surprise me if she asked to have any of them over or if any of them called or invited her to do something. Then there is the soccer team- she is friends with the entire team! She would invite any of them over and vice versa. Then there are girls in other classes and some that do not go to school with her or play soccer. (she still writes to her friend Emma from preschool). So now since she is older there are limits as to how many people are invited to parties and Joelle is getting all kinds of invites. Then it is keep it quiet because I could not invite everyone on the team or in the class and I do not want to hurt any feelings. Jo is a pretty good kid and she has always been nice to everyone- she never went through the stuff I see the little girls doing- you know I am not going to be your friend anymore or anything like that. I hope it continues through middle school as those are tough years, but so far so good. I really think being involved in sports and having a lot to do all the time really helps with that. She has been on a team from early on and I think that helps. I hope she continues down the path she is on.

Things really have been busy but going well over all. We've been playing soccer and going to the gym and all that stuff. Mitch beat me in racketball on Friday night. Tonight I just did cardio, swam a few laps. sat in the spa and then did my favorite- sauna and steam room. It was great. I went to safeway and actually saw lefsa in the deli- wow eh? I almost bought some. Then I camer home and looked it up online- go here if you want to stroll down memory lane and read Ole and Lena jokes... yuk yuk yuk

When Ole went to watch the Olympics, he saw a man, carrying a long pole. Ole walked up to him and asked, "Excuse me, but are you a pole-vaulter?" The man looked surprised and answered, "No, I'm a Swede, but how did you know my name was Walter?"

What a day!

So it is real. Barack Obama will be our next president. I was so happy this morning when I saw the cover of the newspaper.
I went to school with a spring in my step and hope for the future. One of my boys came skipping in smiling ( Megan knows which boy- the one she thought was adorable) He immediately asked me if I had heard that Obama won. I laughed and said no I had not heard that. Then he laughed and said I know you did! It was cute. So half the class was excited and half was disappointed. I have not voiced any opinion either way. They do not know who I voted for- only that I am happy it is over. And so it happened that before the bell even rang I had students in tears. One of the kids had said that Obama is a muslim and that muslims kill people. another said that Obama wants to kill babies and a girl told a boy whose father was a marine that his dad kills people. So rather than being able to highlight the historic moment of having the first African American president and talking about how anyone in America could become president I had to focus on the need for understanding and tolerance. Once everyone was calmed down we went on with our school day. After school I talked with a few of the parents about what their kids had said. The principal offered to come and talk to my class, but we decided it would be better to have Father Michael come. He will be in my room next Friday talking about tolerance and other faiths. Kids are the future and usually I am surprised by their insight and kindness, but today was a rough one for me. To come to work with such hope for the future and then to have my students saying such hurtful things to each other was hard. Although we have come a long way, we still have work do to and it will not be easy. Already people are praying that Obama does in fact become president and that he is not assassinated. There have already been death threats and in Portland there was a cardboard cut out of Obama hanging from a tree on a college campus. I hope that we can live up to the promise of the future, that we can end the divisions and come together as Barack said in his speech last night that we are more than red or blue states, that we are the United States and yes we can. We have no other choice.


The above photos are;

The alleyway in which Barack Obama spent his first night in NYC. He later washed up with a homeless man at a hydrant. The alley will surely become a historic site with a plaque stating Barack Obama slept here.

The crowd to see Obama in Chicago

A political button available in Texas.

Surely our country has come a long way..... but there still is work to do.

A new day!

i am not going to say it was a landslide I don't think I have to. I can't really voice how happy I am. I believe things will get better. I was watching the returns tonight at the gym and I am so happy. The last eight years have been hard- first with Gore winning and then with the Kerry troubles in Ohio. Somehow I don't know if it is real just yet. I am uncertain about how happy I can be I am halfway worried that I will wake up in the morning to hear that Mcain won. It is almost too good to be true.... so pinch me. Oh and enjoy the music. ;)