Summer Flowers

Today included a trip to the local nursery. One more day of finals, then teacher check-out day, then bring on summer!

Peonies

I had lunch at Sandy's on Saturday while she, Sophia, and I worked on a project. I picked up a bunch of Peonies at King Soopers to give to Sandy. She sent me this picture later that evening. They opened up beautifully. I'll be curious to hear how long they last.

EA Sports "Active" for Wii - Two Thumbs Up

This past Tuesday, I bought EA Sports' "Active" game for the Wii. This morning I completed my third workout and definitely give this game two thumbs up. There are about 30 different workouts to choose from (plus 3 sets of workouts for each day of the 30-day challenge); they vary in length, type, and intensity. I chose a sports related workout today which included basketball, baseball, volleyball, and tennis. It also included a ton of variations on squats and lunges. Jumping lunges = Uff-da!
Eric is in the middle of his first workout right now. I think he would agree that this game provides a good workout (judging from the cursing under his breath and yelling at the television). His only complaint is that they don't allow a left-handed setting, so some of the excercises are a little akward. I like that they provide short videos at the beginning of new exercises so you know how to use the correct form. You can end the video as soon as you understand how to complete the move.
Another great feature is the ability to pick your own workouts. You can pick certain exercises, intensity levels, calorie goals, etc. Both of us feel this game provides a higher intensity of workout than the Wii Fit. I think we're going to buy the add-on package so we can work out at the same time. If you are a stay-at-home mom with a Wii, this would be a great way to fit exercise into your day.

Peachy

Life could be a little bit peachier after a tough week. Let's just say we're one runaway dog and broken down pickup truck short of living a country song. Oh well. Summer Keri will soon be arriving and life gets a lot more fun when she's here.
Managed to encourage (drag?) yet another couple of classes of seniors through the fun-filled world of Statistics. Actually I've had pretty good classes this semester- senioritis and all. The seniors finished yesterday- their graduation is at Red Rocks this Friday. (Remember that Flat Stanley's adventures included a visit to Red Rocks.)
Eric heads up to Minneapolis tomorrow afternoon to begin DC-9 training. I fly to Minneapolis in less than two weeks. I'm looking forward to catching up with family in Minnesota and Iowa. Maybe I can bring back some of my Aunt Marita's delicious raspberries... yum.

Here are a few recipes I tried out today. We thought all three were great.
Grilled Pork with Blackberry-Sage Sauce
Kathie's Zucchini Muffins
Oatmeal Cookie-Peach Cobbler

Edit: All three of these recipes came from the June 2009 Cooking Light magazine. I just received it in the mail this week- it appears they haven't posted them online yet.
Stay tuned...

Who influences you?

You know you have two great friends if they're still a big influence in your life 13 years after meeting them. Today I watched more episodes of ER via Netflix, thanks to Janina's admission that she saw every single episode. I have to admit I dropped out the last few years. I've spotted a few bit players in season one who have since made it big: Ron Rifkin, Kathy Griffin, Lucy Liu, and Kristin Davis. However, I'll leave the real-life dissecting to Janina- I'm a little too squeamish.
I also bought a book called "Get Creative With Type" by Brian Tippetts. Colette studied graphic design in college- I loved seeing the creative projects she worked on. Ever since, I've been a graphic designer wanna-be. However, I mainly "scrap-lift" projects I see.
[Summer 2007 in South Padre, Texas]

[February 2008 in Dallas, Texas]

I'm thinking teenage boys don't have much interest in reading my blog, so I think it's safe to post the photo mini-album I made for AJ before I give it to him on Monday.


Here's the content:

May Days

Strawberry cake I made when some teachers came over to my house a couple of weeks ago. (This is weird, but does anyone else get reminded of mac and cheese when you smell a dessert with strawberries cooked in it?)

Pi Mile Run/Walk:

Eric and Hess:

Afternoon light streaming in through the kitchen door:

The Fancy Tiger craft store- I first visited it a couple of weeks ago to check out their stash of Amy Butler fabric. Loved it and took my mom back this past weekend.

The Fancy Tiger filled with a unique collection of fabric and yarn:

Yesterday, I walked over to the hill overlooking the Botanic Gardens just north of our neighborhood. For about a week, I've seen people stopping to check out a huge nest. I thought it may be full of eagles- turned out to be an owl nest according to those with binoculars:

A family who was checking out the nest when I was there:

Last, but not least: baby geese! The one on the far left was sprinting to catch up with its family.

Jump, Jump!

Some of our students are on this jump rope team which will be trying out for "America's Got Talent" in late May. Hope they make it to national TV- they are amazing to watch at our assemblies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0xsSLJIMf4