Catching up on my blog

So I meant to put up more Puerto Rico pictures. Maybe I'll just randomly add them for the next year. We'll see.

Sunset on the beach. It was so pretty.

Pinchos with Teresa.

Jen and Alfalfa... why did I miss printing that when I picked out pictures to print? (I think that I didn't actually get all of the pictures onto that CD of pictures I burned in PR... But I think the rest were still on my camera.)

It was something of a cold welcome (from the weather) when I returned to the States.

It even snowed a thin new layer. Can you see it on the path?

But at my college, there were crocuses. (The crocus pictures appear to be from the day after the snow pictures.)

Friday, I went to visit a university. I don't think the car liked the interstate travel, (and I know I didn't like part of it,) but she did make it the whole way there and back. The worst part was trying to find the college, and then finding the visitor center and then getting parked where they wanted. After that, I went with a group of people on a tour of the campus. This would be my third tour of a college, and the group size was the best (the first time, there were three people total, the second there were alot, and this time, there were a good amount. Truthfully, the size of group two and group three could have been similar; I might be more used to that kind of group now). After that I got to talk to a lady from the Education department. That was the best part. On the way back, I got to see a mountain that I grew up seeing from my favorite side (at least to look at). In the area I live now, we get to see the back of the mountain. Just not as nice as the front. And there were fields. Probably wheat fields. I loved them growing up. I still like wheat fields. They can be beautiful, especially on the right side of the mountain. Bias. So biased. But I did live on that side of the mountain longer than I lived here.

Then I returned to the city of my current college. I went to a Fiesta. That was fun. I got to listen to the announcements given in both Spanish and English. I got to make a paper flower. Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the paper flower - it's big - and I'm not going to take one right now.

Yesterday, I went to a workshop on teaching math and science to young children by playing with blocks. It was a lovely time. So much of Education seems to be caught up in knowing how to label things ("Actually, though it looks like they are just playing, they are really learning about..."). Of course, the Preschool teacher must be taught how to label (when the student does this, they are demonstrating understanding of the concept of concervation) as well as teaching the preschooler to label ("Wow, that's a nice arch you put into your building"). And the process of teaching people to label is called education. So when I get educated, am I being labeled? (No, you are being taught to label. But doctors get their label by being educated, right? Anyway, I had fun.

Today, I drove on this stretch of road for the first time in a long while. You remember the picture I put up earlier about "road closed due to snow?" The snow has melted. I think some vehicles were getting through last week or the week before, but today, I drove the car through. It was a very happy moment.

Then this afternoon, I went wild flower hunting. These little ones (above) were pretty. There were many of them, though probably there will be many, many more.

The avalanch lillies were harder to find, but more rewarding.

The goats - they weren't hard to find. But can you find the brown goat in the shed eating busily?

Uh-oh. I'm afraid that I missed an online math quiz. Quiz 11. Yup. I see for sure. It was due last Tuesday. I got confused when I looked at the assignments, and I thought there was only an exam and no quiz that week. Until today when I suddenly remembered they can both be due. Oops. But at least it was an honestly missed assignment (let's overlook the fact that I don't know the material the quiz was to be on very well).

So if I really want to study... my suspicion is that if I "waste paper" and print out the math "lectures" (online class), maybe I will actually get through them! Computers are so distracting. The fact that I'm writing this now should be sufficient evidence (even if I did decide it was okay to write on my blog now).

My recent hobby is backing into parking spaces. Of course, I choose spaces without cars close on either side. Maybe I should have perfected (i.e. gained confidence in) parking forwards in solo spaces with a car on either side before I decided to back into spaces.

Spring Break

(Can you see the spitting turtle - not live, he's a garden decoration.)
Beach!

Penny-Penny! Finally I can see you again.
And Esmirilda, who has grown and bloomed alot.

Filling in for sick student.

boating

I've been driving the roads between my house and the highway, and I have thought of taking pictures, but then I thought, no, I won't unless I get stuck (if I stopped in the wrong place, I thought I might get stuck). I did get stuck one night, and my dad said it would have made a good picture, but I didn't take one. My car was leaning to one side (when I opened the driver's door, it swung out near to the mud puddle). Thankfully my boots were in the car. I had gotten one front tire stuck in the snow on the side of the road. My dad helped, and I got out. Headlamps are great, by the way. I used one when I was digging out.

Last Sunday, I went sailing boats with my dad and siblings. The mud puddles were great. Some of the road is drying up now.

(Hurry! Go to class or you'll be late!)

Thankful

Oh sorry sight that met my eye,
The snow was falling from the sky.
It's March the 3rd, 'tis March, my friend.
When will the snowfall ever end?

Upon a bush, I saw a bud.
I got to walk on squishy mud.
So why still come the snow and cold?
This winter weather's getting OLD!

Content in this? Oh, you are right.
My attitude is no delight.
I must be thankful (for the snow?)
Thankful (inside, there's warmth, you know).

I'm thankful snow will sometime end.
I'm thankful spring is 'round the bend.
I'm thankful snow can look quite nice.
I'm thankful the highway is clear of ice.

I'm thankful mid-semester's here.
I'm thankful that the car is near.
Inside the car more homework waits
(Due on various approaching dates)

So now with peace again in sight,
I'll walk through grey and brown and white.
Homework again, but don't forget
I can still be thankful yet!

Not sure what it is, but the cats like to be on the hood of vehicles (in the garage or not).
Where the road and our driveway intersect.
Study break. (Yes! I was wearing sunglasses to study in my car. The sun was bright and the car was very warm.)
Pretending to study. (Heavy winter coat attempts the job of a sun shield.)

(I ended up opening the window one or two days this week because it got too warm in the car.)

Sunset. (Friday a week ago, maybe?)

More Footography

Once this winter with Priscilla.Today! The snow is melting! See the grass? And the dirt? And the dry sidewalk! One sight I like is dry pavement.
But there's still alot of snow. My backpack is in the middle, for scale. This is from the school parkinglot. Earlier this week, a big yellow bulldozer or something (I don't know what it's called) was putting snow from another parkinglot pile into the back of another truck. I'm not sure where they take it. :)

Last night, I practiced driving my dad's manual transmission truck. Some day it may bring me to school when the car can't make it. So anyway, my dad was there to teach and I was there to practice, and we stopped on a little hill, because that's one way to practice. Of course, if it is an icy hill, the practice is even more challanging. (Don't worry, it was in our neighborhood. We actually only were passed by one vehicle going the other way.) Anyhow, I did get stuck on (or at the foot of) the hill (though I probably wasn't really stuck, because until you prove that you can go neither forward OR backwards, you aren't completely stuck). So I got to try the four-wheel drive. It works well.