This just in...

I got an A! I got my grade report for my course yesterday, but got to read it today (because I paid an extra $50 to get it done fast). Whoo hoo! All that hard work paid off! Yeah, procrastinating pays. not really.

So a few days ago, I got a letter from my friends at the Vermont Department of Education telling me, sorry, but you're too late and we won't accept your license renewal paperwork. I had emailed them prior telling them my situation- that I got an extension until August 11 (when the dept of ed wanted my grades by). I didn't get a response, so I finished my course and paid the extra money to have my grades looked at quickly so I could send it to the lovely pencil pushers in Montpelier. Right after I completed my course and was awaiting the results, I get the letter. Crushed. Angry. Bitter. No, not the lemonade ingredients. So AHA today I emailed the woman at the Dept of Ed and gave her my grades "regardless" (just in case) and told her that if I needed to go through the wonderful (yes, that is the sarcastic word I chose) relicensing process again, if they could tell me exactly what I needed to do. If I needed to start from square one and take another professional development course (i.e. a master's course) or not. I ended with a nice "Thank you for your time and I hope you are enjoying the beautiful sunshine today" (that was an honest statement, not sarcastic). So I await with baited breath AGAIN for the lovely pencil pushing paper filers in the wonderful capital city. Blah.

On another note, I finally went to the local library tonight and picked up some books I've been wanting to read. No, I did not get the "Fifty Shades of Grey"... I'm not that kind of girl.... I wanted to finish "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" series with the last book "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest". I also wanted to pick up a book or two by Vermont author Archer Mayor who writes detective novels set here in Vermont. What got me interested in him is the last time I gave blood, one of the giveaways was for a chance to be a character in his next book. How cool is that??? I have started enjoying mysteries more and more and hope to enjoy these.

Other than working at the park, making dill pickles on my days off (yumo!) not much else is going on with me. Hope all is well with you wherever you are!

I'm done

The title says a lot. Here's the list-

1. I'm finished with my graduate course to (hopefully) keep my Vermont teaching license! I finished August 10 at just before 10pm. I had to send it to an online page to have it checked for plagiarism (of course there wasn't any) and then emailed it to the school. Yippee! I can now read books for pleasure again!
2. Today, for the second time this summer, I was out raking the hay for my dad. Beautiful sunny day- not too warm. A bit of a breeze. Great for drying hay. Didn't the clouds turn gray and start rolling in and start raining?? grr... The National Weather Service said only a 10-20% chance of rain. Well, I was in that percentage. Just wish the Megabucks had those odds.
3. I just mailed 4 letters today to the 4 school districts that I had been substituting in. Only 2 call me on a regular basis, but I thought I should send the other two a letter as well. The letter told them I would no longer be available for substituting. My rationale is this- my current job has me working until October 8th or 9th. My winter job at Pico doesn't start until December at some point. That only gives me about 2 months or less without work. I don't want to put my name in just for 2 months. Not sure what I'll do, but I won't be working in the school system.

I think that's pretty much it. Tomorrow, I'm hoping to head down to Bennington and Brattleboro area to visit some breweries and also to go to Wilmington where I first worked as a flagger. While I was down there, I found some broken pottery pieces that I'd like to return to the Town. I know someone would appreciate it. I can't believe it's been a year since Irene happened. It will be good to see the reconstruction down in that area as well. I also want to get my own "I am Vermont Strong" license plate. It will mean more to me to get it down there then just at my local store up here. In case you don't know what that is, here's a link and a picture of the plate. I'm sure some of you out-of-staters could buy one, too!
http://www.iamvermontstrong.com/ and http://vtstrong.vermont.gov/

Blog update- Rochester and Toronto

This past weekend, I went to a family picnic (not my family, but my friend's family) in Rochester, NY. I went to school in Rochester for 2 years and had forgotten what a long drive it is out there. It also doesn't help when you're stuck in traffic in Lake George for an hour. At any rate, my mom and I got there, got scolded for being late (honestly, I wasn't in a hurry to get out there- sorry Becky, Rose and Suzi) We had fun watching the kids beat up the adults in whiffle ball. I guessed the closest in the "Guess How Many" game and won a big back of cheese balls that I traded for a container of skittles. And I had to try to keep my Pie Princess Crown by eating a piece of pie the fastest (for the girls). However, I lost (graciously), but I got to crown the winner. I have no picture to prove this fact, so you're just going to have to trust me on that. Here's a picture of some of the family-

The next day, I had to get up early so I could heat to Toronto to a Blue Jays came with 14 or so other people. I had never been to Toronto (only Niagara Falls on the Canadian side). Suzi had prepared breakfast to go for us all (and luckily I had made myself an instant coffee prior- they don't drink coffee, poor souls) and off we went. After making a few pit-stops, we got to the border and had to wait 10-15 minutes through traffic. Not bad, since it's a major border crossing. Off we went, around the lake (Ontario) to Toronto. I didn't realize that we had to drive around the lake to get there. It was a nice ride.

Toronto is a nice city (what I saw of it). It was clean and kind of reminded me of San Francisco for some reason. Maybe the walking/biking path along the waterfront and the cleanliness. Anyways, we parked in the garage (underwater!) and walked along the waterfront to the stadium. Here's some pictures to show you the area- it was a bit cloudy that day.





Toronto!



It's pronounced "Ro-gers" with a soft g


 

The Main gate



who knew they liked baseball in Canada?

Suzi and Dave, the masterminds behind our trip

the view from our seats (huge stadium!)

Starting pitcher, J Happ

the Blue Jay's man, Edwin Encarnacion

Third Baseman Yan Gomes- The first Brazilian Major Leaguer

Jeter (booo)


 



Blue Jay's Win! 10-7



and here's a great highlight from the game- http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/rajai-davis-nabs-great-catch-excellent-leap-even-131847363--mlb.html?fb_action_ids=10150971162972003&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_source=timeline_og&action_object_map=%7B%2210150971162972003%22%3A10150992461997601%7D&action_type_map=%7B%2210150971162972003%22%3A%22og.recommends%22%7D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D&code=AQD-kLlKJxTmvMZNkSl85yrQBqEVCQdcwRs7Xyq7gTgArGCWdYDY2KQm0cWDkW5aJ4oUR9bsqBQpugeQ4t_AQ2L1P1-MJsDrv3BZzYfFTwt5hM_nk5k_U0V-hg6Wr7lsB5rBsd1p4PXZvUFfbBDkqe36MepqP_dWLZa5zGBBi0iYfWIdssHLDeni0EqruxP1EfE

Monday, my mom and I headed back east to home. It was a whirlwind trip, but it was great. Good to see everyone- especially my friend who just had baby #2- William Chesterton Griffen. Such a cutie! Did some errands in Burlington today- gave blood, bought some presents, a bit of food. Back to 10 hour days tomorrow! It was nice to have a weekend off!