Thank God I'm a Country Girl!

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a cowgirl in the making. This weekend, Hulali-pop was introduced to Mary Souza (light one) and Matisyahu, our calves. And you can certainly tell that there is NO FEAR in our little one, but it appears as if Matis is wondering who the HEY this kid is! As soon as she saw the calves come her way, she started reaching for them, pulling their fur and all. NO FEAR. Of course this thrilled her Uncle Kalena to no end and ensured subsequent animal petting zoo sort of opportunities on our "ranch". What will it be next? A ride on Tammy? Goat milking? Her very own piglet? I'm voting CHICKENS! Chickens with eggs so my baby can have organic eggs! And fertilizer for our garden! Oh, the thrill of it all :-)

Where I've Been

My daughters can attest to the fact that, as a mother, I have been missing in action. It's been a crazy week of planning and implementation but finally today was the last day of a literacy conference I co-chaired (my blogger friends are going to have to teach me how to insert webpage links here...). It was attended by 602 attendees, each paying $175 - $215 to attend and listen to the best professionals in the field of literacy instruction. Not too exciting unless you are a teacher.

These are just some pics from the opening session and special guests. The first pic is one of me and Georgia Heard, author and educator, poet and mother. She was fantastic. (http://books.heinemann.com/authors/410.aspx). I had to give an opening speech and BOY WAS I NERVOUS! When was the last time you stood on a stage in front of 600 TEACHERS! Yikes.

It's a crazy world out there for teachers (and students!). So many challenges, federal mandates, dysfunctional family issues (students AND teachers), and so on and so forth. But I have to hand it to each and every educator who flew from as far away as Canada and New York and everyone else (thankfully more than half of the attendees were our own teachers in Hawai'i!) to partake of professional development.

I sit here with a glass of red wine, thankful it's over, glad it was successful, and anxious to be with my family (and dogs) again.

Hotties

Just some of the hotties in my life.

My Truck has a Boo-Boo

I am so sad. The last time I dented a vehicle was when I was 17. Or so. And forgot to hit the brakes approaching the car in front of me. But I learn my lessons well. And I haven't really had any car accidents since. Until two weeks ago, when a short yellow pole, hidden by a car that was parked in a totally UNPARKABLE location, blocked my view of said pole when I turned right. It was painful for me. My truck is in pain as you can see. Needless to say, I went straight to the auto body repair shop to fix the damage, which I might add, is costing me far more than I think it should. GEEZ! It was just on that wheel well as you can see. $1,200+. I am going to take advantage of my auto insurance and I hope it doesn't cause it to go up. That just wouldn't seem right. Pay them EVERY SINGLE YEAR with no claim. If they penalize me I am going public (more public than this). Do you feel my pain?

25 YEARS...then and now...

...nuff said

Preparing for School

I can recall sticking my tongue out many a time during my childhood. What other way to retaliate against the evil forces? I was never so brave as to "flip the bird" or utter vulgar words. No no no. I thought sticking your tongue out was about as nasty as one could get. And so it goes that my little mo'o is perfecting the art as we speak. Good girl! And in a pink shirt, too! So fem!