I don't really want to work on final grading......so I will blog

Well I don't really feel like blogging, but I REALLY don't feel like doing final grades....so this is my excuse. Lots of fun stuff has happened in the last couple of months. I officially finished my first semester of teaching of the classroom and it was a really great experience. My students were so fun and eager to learn, and there was always great discussion. I would like to take credit for that, but I really think that the reason is because most people are pretty interested in their health. My supervisor said that the class is gaining popularity and that by fall two more classes will be added, so that is great news for me!

Brandon is coming up on his last couple of weeks of first year. The worst is over! We plan on celebrating by taking a trip to Whistler in less than three weeks. Then we will head to Utah. I'm so excited to see everyone. It's weird, but one of the things I am most excited for is celebrating the 4th in Utah. Last year we celebrated in SF. We tried to watch fireworks over the bay, but it was 50 degrees outside and the fog was so thick we could hardly see anything. I want to sit on the porch on a warm evening eating watermelon and homemade ice cream and watch little kids light fireworks.  Lots to look forward to!

Some highlights from the past few months included: a ski trip to Kirkwood, a visit from Emily so we finally did the tourist thing in our own city, fun hikes and bike rides, a quick trip to Utah for a wedding, our first time in the ocean, and a half marathon

Fun stuff lately

We're just keepin on chugging along over here. Brandon is down to his finals week for the hardest quarter of dental school. He is dealing with the stress by studying on the beach and trying to plan adventures for his week off (hiking Half Dome in the snow? Hm).
This weekend I get a bit of a break from lesson planning because my classes are taking their midterms. I was going to try to get caught up for next week so I can spend more time with Brandon once he is done. So far, not so good. Man I can't wait until next semester when I already have my lessons all planned! I shouldn't complain. I love my job. Next week I will have to be in class Monday and Tuesday, but after that I can do all my work online so we can have more fun the second half of the week.

Stuff we have been doing lately:


Taking Moos for walks on the beach; never happening again.

                                                                            Riding:

                 
                                                        SO many fun hikes with Louise:

(cute salamander)

   Latest painting; I don't know where all these are going to go. Probably stuffed in the back closet.

Stuff I am looking forward to:
1. Skiing and partying with Brandon next week
2. An awesome kayaking excursion with Elise that we got through Groupon to this place:

3. A visit from Emily in April. Yay!
4. Wildflower season in Marin. It's already started a bit and it's gorgeous.

Beginning of the new year

Well 2013 is off to a great start. Brandon and I are both pretty busy with school but it's going great for both of us....so far. This quarter Brandon has a lot more lab work than last semester. So he is gone as much or more often, but when he gets home he doesn't have to study as much.

I am now teaching my Physiology and Nutrition class on site and online. The whole teaching on site thing is still pretty new for me, but so far I am loving it! I teach in two different buildings; one is right on the waterfront at Fisherman's Wharf, and the other is downtown San Francisco, right off Market Street in the financial district. Two cool places! How many people get to walk along Pier 49 or Market Street on their way to work? Ok maybe the other 400,000 people who work in the same block but whatever. My students are really great and they seem interested in the subject matter...at least, they participate a lot in the discussions.

The toughest thing for me so far has been to create interesting lessons that will keep the students' attention for three hours (that's a long class!). I have added videos, games, and hands-on projects to the lessons to help get the students more interested in science and math. I think this semester will be the most time consuming, just because I am putting together class presentations and making quizzes.

My director talked to the head of the athletic department. She wants to make my class mandatory for all of the athletes (yeah AAU has an NCAA basketball team, among other things. Weird.) and she wants me to guest lecture! So I think I have a bit of job security here.

In other news, I am trying my hardest not to fall in love with SF. But the people here are SO awesome, the city is cool (because I only have to be there twice a week), the restaurants are amazing, the shopping phenomenal, and the open spaces. Oh they are so gorgeous! Last week Brandon and I took a motorcycle ride down to Santa Cruz through a valley that I picture to look just like the Salinas Valley that John Steinbeck describes in East of Eden (Salinas is only probably half an hour further south). Our friends saw a mountain lion on that road only a couple days later :( I was jealous.

Yes I look hideous. But this is the tallest lighthouse on the West Coast.

Also, my latest painting attempt: Mt. Tam.

The last month...

Well I have a lot to catch up on. Christmas break happened, final grading happened, a trip to Tahoe happened and a new semester started.

Christmas break was three whole weeks of wonderful, minus one horrible night of stomach flu. It was great to have Brandon back, to see family and friends, to see snow, to ski, and to not have to cook for myself. We spent most of the first half of the break with my family and the second half with Brandon's. We ate at two of the best restaurants in Salt Lake (Red Iguana and Cafe something I can't remember), saw the lights at Temple Square and Thanksgiving Point, saw The Hobbit and Les Mis, watched John dominate a basketball game, snowmobiled at Daniel's Summit with the Nakkens, made divinity with Grandma, Christmas parties, skiing five times with fun friends, Antelope Island .......I think that covers most of it. Too bad I forgot my camera charger back in SF. It was hard  to come back to San Francisco. Oh yeah, and we took Moos on two 12 hour car rides. Fun.

Surprisingly, once we got back to San Francisco I wasn't so sad. I was excited to ride my bikes, try out my new paint set, and explore places I have wanted to go to but haven't gone yet. Last weekend Brandon and I took a little ski trip to Squaw Valley at Tahoe to see what California skiing is all about. They had some new snow and it has been unseasonably cold, so conditions were great. Squaw is beautiful and has some fun terrain. We hiked to the top of Granite Peak to ski some steeps and chutes.

 View from the top of Granite Peak

 View from the bottom. The red arrow is pointing at the tiny black dot that is me about to jump off a big avalanche break off and the green arrow is where we dropped in.

 I have also explored a couple of new bike trails since coming back. The first is the second highest peak in Marin right behind George Lucas' house. The hills in NorCal right now are a fresh spring green, which is way weird. But it made for a beautiful ride.
The second was up Steeley Ridge in Pacifica to see the point where San Francisco Bay was discovered in 1769. It's so crazy that it took so long to find it....probably because it's always SO foggy.
The winter three week intersession also started and I was surprised at how excited I was to get back to work. This session is still online. I don't start teaching in the classroom until February 1st but I am really excited about that too.

Last and least, I have attempted to paint with oils. Much harder than acrylic. Mostly because I am impatient and just like to get the paintings done quickly. But that doesn't happen with oils. Here is a thank you card I made and a painting of Timpanogos. I got pretty frustrated on this last one and don't think it's done yet. But I am going to take a break.

                                                         

Not much happened this week. I had to submit my final progress grades for all 75 students before they turn in their final project and take the final exam. That was fun. I had to tell each and every one of them everything they were missing and how to make it up. And for some of them, a lot of stuff is missing. I have had students not turn in a single assignment all semester come to me and ask if they can pass the class. So frustrating. And I am too nice. I also learned that I will be teaching six classes next semester; half online and half on site....and one of them is math! It's going to be the blind leading the blind here....

In other news, for the past four days San Francisco has been soaked by the biggest storm I have ever seen. In some areas it is estimated that 12 inches of water fell. Winds approached 75 mph. Crazy. Oh and we got a Christmas bush. Trees out here are crazy expensive and I found a rosemary bush that looks kind of like a Christmas tree. We will only be in San Fran for less than two more weeks plus we use rosemary all of the time so it's a win-win-win situation.

Also I painted a scene from a picture I took of Swan Lake from Yellowstone in June. The photo didn't catch the colors well since I can't figure out how the heck to use my camera correctly. I blame the touch screen and my fat fingers. I really want to take an art class next semester so I can learn better techniques and have some actual instruction. For now I will keep practicing. Also Moos knocked over my paint set five times.