Now I've got it

Okay, did better today. Temps were in the 40s but we had some overcast, so I wore a wool jersey with the long sleeve castelli over it and the wind vest in my pocket. Leg warmers and regular gloves. It was chilly. I didn't end up using the wind vest.

I rode up to the end of 305 in 1 hr 14 minutes with 2 stops. One to put my ear warmer on. The second to take it back off and to also take the castelli sleeves off.

The return trip took me 51 minutes. Rode the Procaliber today. Race season starts in one month!!!

Today at school I met my student's personal physical therapist. The school district is currently without one. She showed me some movements and positions to incorporate into his day to give him a bit of a workout.

Next time she's going to show me how to make sure I'm not hurting myself while helping him...back and knees especially.

Santa comes on Tuesday.

Tonight we're off with K&P to watch da Bears.

Achy

Had a "full" week of work this week. Tues thru Thurs - mornings in the regular preschool classroom and afternoons in the special needs classroom with my one on one. I'm not quite 100% recovered from the flu. No fever since Sunday, but my tonsils have been tender since the weenend and I feel like a sinus infection may be brewing. My sisters are laughing at me - that I can't take the preschool germs. I'm sure I do need to build up my resistance. There's so much snot and sneezing and holding hands and picking noses. I'm surprised I made it this long without any sickness.

Tonight I'm feeling the physical assistance that makes up a good portion of my afternoon. Now that he is getting comfortable in class with the other students, he wants to be 'normal' like them as much as possible. That means washing his hands at the sink instead of me wiping them down while he stays in his chair. He wants to walk everywhere instead of using his chair, play on the playground, ride bikes...some things I can help him do and some things the school does not yet have the right equipment. It is great that he has the drive, I'm glad I can help. That is certainly the point. But I am a little sore today. My back and neck are tender.

The OT paid us a visit today. It was neat to watch him work with my student. I learned some things I need to start doing and some other things I need to do less. I will be sitting in on his IEP that is going to be the week of Thanksgiving.

I still can not believe how lucky I am to have ended up with the teacher and the other aides that I have. They are all wonderful, patient, interesting, gifted women. And I am so grateful for having been matched up that little kid. My first experience in education could have been much different.

78 to 55

There was a PCC (Prescott Cycling Club) hike scheduled tonight to see the full moon from the tower at Lynx Creek Ruin. I met Debbie and Katrina there on my way home from work. The temp in the Cruiser read 78 degrees at 4:15. Parked at Sevenmile Gulch and hiked part of the 305 to the trail that leads up to the ruins. The day I rode up the same trail, I noticed there were numbered markers along the way. It was great hiking with Debbie, because apparently, each number is posted in front of a particular bush or tree. If you take a map with you, the map tells you the name of each species. I didn't need a map today b/c Debbie knows them all by heart. pinon pine, ponderosa pine, prickly pear, alligator juniper, mountain mahogany, skunkbush...it was pretty cool. She shared alot of other interesting factoids about Prescott. As we were getting close to the top, Toby joined us with his dog Oreo (first time meeting Toby and Oreo). Turns out Toby lives in our neighborhood on the other side. He gave me a few suggestions on how to bike around the area without having to take the busy roads.

It was a pretty cool hike. Fun going with people who know the area. The view from the top was awesome. I can't believe we live here. It was 55 degrees when I pulled out of the parking lot at 6:30.



In other news. Finished my second week of substituting. With the exception of one full....difficult day at a middle school, I have been at the District Preschool working one on one in the afternoon with a student who requires the use of a wheelchair. This is my first experience at this type of work, and I am guessing that I am spoiled with the student that I have ended up with. Such a good, sweet kid. And a wonderful, constantly positive mom. She is quite an inspiration given their situation. And she's so young. I don't know where she got her patience and outlook. Maybe from her son. It started out as a 3 week assignment, but the teachers, the mom, the director, and the student (according to his mom) all really like me. So I will be staying on long term.

Lady of Leisure

My status is going to quickly come to an end. I applied for an Instructional Assistant Substitute position with the Prescott Unified School District (PUSD) a few weeks ago. I've been leaving the guy doing the interviews a message once or twice a week and finally got through to him yesterday. We set up an interview for today. It was about 45 minutes. Super nice guy. He's is the director of the district preschool. The adult to student ratio in his classes is 1 to 9. Is that normal for preschool? It seems pretty good. He said PUSD as a whole has the most positive and warm and welcoming atmosphere than any district he's been a part of.

Anyway, he is advising the district office to add me to the pool of subs! He will do a reference check and then they'll fingerprint me, hopefully next week, and do a background check which can take up to 4 weeks. Then I can start subbing! I will be filling in for teacher's assistants. It sounds like I will be working mostly with kids with special needs. Should be interesting. I'm sure Ashley (and Zach of course) will be able to give me a few tips.

I have really enjoyed the absence of work in my life. It made me realize how many things we blew off around the house. It's nice to be able to take care of things during the day so Zach can come home and just relax. I have not been bored at all. In fact I've been way busier than I thought I would be. I suppose if we weren't searching for a house I might not feel this way. It's probably good so I'm not so sad about leaving home.

The one problem that I have with not working is that I can not deal with the fact that I am not earning any money. And not to earn money so that I can just go blow it....Earn money so that I can budget it.... save for vacation, save for emergencies, save for a new car, save for retirement. I feel like I am cheating us out of our retirement....almost like I'm losing money.

I better take advantage of my last few weeks of freedom...although, if I don't feel like working one day, I just won't accept the job!!!!!!