A Worthy (and fun!!!) Cause

As my dear (albeit few) readers know... I have been able to travel these past two summers to Sierra Leone. As much as it pains me not to go this year, I am preparing to get some full-time summer work to help get Eric and I on the path to both be able to return in the summer of 2011. (More on this later.)

This year though, a team is returning (with a small portion of their bags reserved for letters and pictures for all my dear friends there), and they are in the process of helping raise funds for their trip.

A silent auction is once again being held... and this time the website is amazing! (Think ebay-esque.)

Check it out here:
http://www.idonatetocharity.org/store/auction4africa/

They have all sorts of items for bid- gift cards marked at a price below their value, services such as babysitting, massages, and yoga sessions, and beautiful Salone batiks and pictures and "experiences" for sale. They are willing to mail small items (i.e. gift cards). So take a minute and check it out, whether you're looking for a good deal or a good cause to support. The auction closes on March 7th at 9:00 p.m. MST.

Thanks!

Date as Old as Time

Well not really... but it was a lot of fun! Eric and I ventured out on a sleety Friday night to go downtown to see Denver Ballet's Beauty and the Beast. It was Eric's first ballet and my third, and though we disagreed on whether a ballet or symphony is more enjoyable, we both had a good time. It was good to finally get to see a production of my favorite story ever it. We even scorned the weather to dress cute, but unfortunately we have become terrible picture takers and so we don't have any evidence to prove we were there. We then went out to this fun brewery for a late, late dinner... so late in fact that we fed a meter we didn't have to. At least my lovely city got some free money I guess. If you live in Denver or are visiting, I would definitely recommend the ballet as a lovely experience.

Love, Marriage, and Cleaning Wedding Rings

Happy "the day after" Valentine's Day. I hope you've felt love today as well. To celebrate and enjoy the day together, Eric and I made some yummy cheese fondue. Cheese with green apples is definitely my favorite! Since love has been in the air, I thought I'd throw out a request for help. Living in Denver, my wedding ring has taken a beating through all the constant applications of hand lotion. I try to take it off, but that also can be unfortunate (i.e. last February).

So here's my request! How do you keep your engagement/wedding ring clean! Any at home solutions that work well???

Thanks :) And now I'll make you hungry...

If You'll Pardon Me a Teacher Post

You do have to admit. They are less in number. Thank the fact that I am becoming a boring 5th year teacher.

So due to this phenomenon; the fact that I love teaching reading and could never learn enough; and that my principal and director graciously allowed me to go glean some new information, I headed down to the DTC to attend this reading conference.

It was a wonderful breath of fresh air. You could hear the reading jargon in the background noise, the happy buzz of teachers who wanted to be attending these meetings (getting a couple of classroom days off probably didn't hurt), and the reading ideas flowing continually.

The conference gave me some good new/old ideas to think and try on in the classroom. And it gave me an opportunity to reflect on the joys of why I became a teacher, which ironically enough don't involve politics or bureaucracy.

My mini-vacation over, I will return tomorrow grasping tightly this joy as well as my new ideas!