11/18/08

Celeste and Hannah

I also spent an evening with my two best friends, Celeste and Hannah this weekend. We have been friends since freshman year of high school. Actually, Hannah was the first person to say hi to me when I moved to Columbus in the 7th grade :) Celeste and I shared a special bond in junior high as well when I let her borrow my plastic, yellow, Pepe coat at a birthday party!

Celeste, Hannah, Autumn McBride, and I started a quartet freshman year and sang together all through high school. We had many good times...lots of sleepovers at Celeste's, choir trips, American government "study sessions," the list could go on....we have grown so close and I am very thankful for these girls. Many high school friends drift apart, but we have managed to stay in touch despite the distance between all three of us. Celeste and her husband Scott have just recently purchased a house in Columbus where she is teaching junior high music (bless her heart!). Hannah and her fiance (soon to be husband!!!) Shaun live in Lincoln where she is finishing up school and working at a shelter. We email one another weekly and get together whenever we can. These girls will always hold a special place in my heart!

Our weekend in Lincoln



Nate and I spent last weekend in Lincoln spending time with family and friends. Nate actually had a few middle school students in the Sing Around Nebraska honor choir, so I tagged along with him and spent some quality time at the Coffee House downtown working on school work. The Coffee House is my favorite place to work in Lincoln, it is relaxing, quiet, and inspiring. The coffee is also fabulous!

In addition to spending time downtown, we were able to spend time with Amy, Pat, and Deni. Deni is two years old and has grown up so much. She displayed this when she went to pick out her clothes for the day. I tried to help her get dressed, but she insisted that she wear those pretty pink tights and a blue long sleeve shirt. She did not want to put pants on over her tights. She assured me that the tights would keep her warm and that I shouldn't worry. She has also started talking like crazy! We now have to be careful of what we say because she will repeat anything. For example, Nate told Denelle to call me 'Poopy Pants Elle,' so Deni took this very literal and ran circles around the kitchen table yelling, "POOPY PANTS ELLE, POOPY PANTS ELLE!" She soon realized (on her own, even!) that this was not the right thing to say, so she quit saying it :) She really is a smart girl, we are so proud of the little girl she is growing into. Amy and Pat are amazing parents...we only hope we can be half that good when we become parents.

On our way back to Ogallala on Sunday, we stopped in Grand Island to have lunch with Nate's mom to celebrate her birthday...Happy belated birthday, Linda! Nate's brother Scott and his beautiful little girl, Alexis, joined us for lunch. Alexis is three and is also growing up so fast! This little girl can hold a conversation with the best of them and she has such an imagination. She know has a friend who goes everywhere with her. Her friends name is Hunny, she is 45, has gray hair, and is always the one who is causing trouble! She is such a loving little girl...she asked Nate and I if we would stay with her until Monday. We miss her so much! Scott has done a great job raising Alexis, and you can really tell that she is his pride and joy.

Well, that's all for now! Hope all is well...

Cheers,
D

11/15/08

Poetry is everywhere...

In my Creative Writing class, my students are learning how to create found poetry. Found poetry requires a person to look for poetry in written or spoken words. In found poetry, the poet gathers a collection of words, phrases, etc. to create into his/her own poem.

For those of you who know me well, you know that I geek out with poetry. It is a true passion of mine. But, in all my years of writing and studying poetry (I've been writing it since I was 11) I have never written a found poem. So, I thought I would try my hand at it today...please be graceful with them, they are a work in progress :)

Life, According to a Coffee House Bathroom Stall
Snippets from a chalkboard in a bathroom stall at the Coffee House
in downtown Lincoln, Nebraska

Life always comes down
to making your own choices

I am the master
of my fate

I am the captain
of my soul

Find
something that brings you closer to complete

Be too happy to be
perfect

May your organs
fail
before your dreams
fail

Know thyself

Untitled
More snippets from the bathroom stall chalkboard at the Coffee
House in Lincoln, Nebraska


there is too much
grey
and not enough
black and white

ours is a World of
Nuclear Giants
and
Ethical Infants

if I change myself
I change the world

power to the Peaceful

11/11/08

Icky dog....

I sure have posted quite a bit about Sampson...it probably seems a bit ridiculous...but, we live in a small town and we have no children.....you do do the math :)

On Saturday morning we let Sampson outside like we do every morning. However, when we went to let him back inside we couldn't find him and saw that the one of our gates was open. Luckily he did not get far. We found him at the end of the street....covered in poop. So we brought the stinky dog inside, gave him a bath, and then tortured him with the hair dryer (as you can see in the photo). It was just about the most exciting part of our weekend :)

Well, we are headed to Lincoln on Thursday night to spend some time with family and friends. Nate actually has a few middle school kiddos who made it into Sing Around Nebraska, so he is going up there for that and I am tagging along. My parents will be in Lincoln on Friday so we'll be able to eat lunch with them and then spend time with Amy, Pat, and Deni on Saturday on Sunday. I'm also looking forward to seeing my two best friends....Hannah and Celeste! We are so excited for this break from the daily grind. I will try to post more photos after the trip. Hope everyone is doing well...thanks for taking the time to check up on us!

Cheers,
Danielle