Happy December!

So I'm a few days late, but I figure it's not that big of a deal. ;-) The past 3 weeks have just flown by, and I know that time will continue to do so. I've got 9 days left with students (with 3 concerts to run, and another 1 or 2 to attend) and one day of inservice. I've also got a Winter Party for DDF this Tuesday and a few other things to get taken care of before the end of the semester. I fly out to Memphis on the 22nd and get back on the 30th. I'm actually only there from the 23-29, but that would be the joy of getting to fly in and out of Homer! Honestly, it's better than driving back and forth to Anchorage (especially with what time my flights are), just means lots of quality time in the Anchorage airport overnight.

I'm excited for the family time. I haven't seen the Memphis folk in almost 5 years, and there are babies now! Mom and Dad are driving down, which also means that they get to bring Cady (cause it just wouldn't be a holiday without her!) and Jenn, and everyone else. It's going to be a lot of fun. I'm almost all done with Christmas shopping - just a few more things to get, as well as shipping a box to Jenn so I don't have to put everything in my suitcase.

Work's going pretty darn well. I'm excited for the Winter Concerts, and I think that next semester is going to bring even better things for my bands. Teaching Physical Science has definitely been a completely and totally different experience, but I suppose that I am my father's daughter - it's fun to see the students get it, especially when they realise how it impacts their lives. I know I'll be doing it second semester (I'm already starting to plan), but I have no idea what's going to be going on next year. I'm considering taking the Social Studies Praxis, just so that I'm qualified in Psychology (the minor doesn't cut it, apparently) but I wouldn't be doing that until late spring/summer, so I have a bit of time. I'll just go around and pick up all sorts of certifications. ;-)

In other news... my Packers are 12-0, which is pretty amazing. I've gotten to watch a lot of their games so far this year, and although I understand the need to not blow EVERY team out of the water, some of them have been just a little too close. ;-) Also, I'm in third place in my fantasy football league. I'm doing much better than I did last year, but just like happened last year at this time, I'm getting slammed with injuries. Not so much fun. Jenn's first, which means that we'll likely hit somewhere in the playoffs (which start next week). She's already got a bye, so I'll have to beat up on somebody (hopefully) to get to play her at some point.

DDF has been taking a little bit of a backseat (which is good since something needed to), at least competition wise. We've won the two tournaments that we've gone to this year. We have three more up in Anchorage (Jan 20-21, Jan 27-28, and Feb 10-11) before we get to State (Feb 16-18). Of course, my birthday falls between the last tournament and State, so I have a feeling that I'll just celebrate my birthday a little bit late. We also have our big fundraiser of the year the weekend that we come back from Winter Break (Jan 7), and the one open weekend in January is the Alaska Music Educators Association Conference that I get to help run, since I'm the president of the Alaska Band Directors Association. It's been really interesting watching how it all comes together.

I can't wait for Winter Break. Getting to see the family will be awesome, and I've also got things that I want to get done here. Mary and I were talking about going skiing, and I have some things I want to do at the schools to try to cut down on the extra time that I'll need to be there during January and February (since oh right... I won't have the time). Oh yea, and I can spend time with Ben. That'll be good. :)