Friends Over the Years

Sometimes people come into our lives and never leave. They contniue to be an important part of our lives as the years go by. These friends are the ones that we feel the close ties to. They are the ones that we can always talk to and it seems that no matter how far we may drift apart, we can always pick up where ever we left off that last time we were with them. I am fortunate to have a friend like that. Her name is Mary. I met her back when I was just out of high school. I went to St. Cloud Business College for legal secretary. I had wanted to be a beautician, but my mom thought being on my feet all day would be too hard. So off I went to become a secretary. Mary also had chosen the same school. Mary was from Wayzata. The city girl met the country girl. We immediately hit it off and soon we were sharing a room. The joke around the dorm when we couldn't be found, was that we were probably out somewhere sharing a coke. Needless to say, Mary and I had many fun and crazy times in St. Cloud.

As the years went by, we were always there to support each other in good and bad times. Of course there was both. As I think back, I'm not sure which made us stronger. We were there for each other's weddings, birth of children, and get togethers every summer after I had moved to Wyoming. Mary and her step-son Kurt and daughter Jessica even visited us in Wyoming. We have the kind of friendship that never judged, often gave advice, and where the other was always there when a shoulder to lean on was needed. Neither of us is perfect, nor do we claim to be, but we really appreciate the friendship we have had over the decades. Now we get together to share stories of our grandchildren and to catch up on how our kids are doing. We still laugh about some of the good times from our past, often wonder what happened to some of the people we knew back then, and most of all truly appreciate the great friendship we have.

In December, Mary's son Shane was married. Mark and I traveled to the cities to attend the wedding. It was the weekend after the snowstorm, and the trees around the cities looked like something from a winter wonderland picture. They glistened and sparkled with snow and ice. We had a wonderful time at the reception as we danced to songs from our younger days. Mary and I got together for a picture, remembering one from our younger days when we attended a wedding for a friend. It's amazing how our friendship withstood so much. Maybe it was what our friendship withstood that made it grow so strong. I hope everyone has at least one friend that is as special to you as Mary is to me.

Here's a couple pictures of the two of us with our 'guys'. Mary and Doug and Me and Mark. We're lucky to have these two great guys in our lives today.

Hands-on Math Lesson

The day before we left for winter break (previously known as Christmas break, but trying to be politically correct), my kids in math class had an assignment to follow a recipe. We used a no-bake cookie recipe. Being we have so many kids in school with peanut allergies, I had to find a recipe without peanut butter in it. It was a bit tough, but I did find one. So we made our recipe and then served our cookies to staff arond the building. We had lots of fun. Of course the kids loved the cookies with chocolate and sugar in them.


Here's a pic of me and the kids. The other is of Val, who teaches with me, and one of the whole gang.
Here are some more pics of the kids. Here are some pics from our morning reading group. We sort deviated from our regular routine and read stories about making snowmen and then the middle school kids came a caroling. They also brought hot chocolate and candy canes to the kids. Our parent group, PATHS, Parents and Teachers Helping Students sponsered it. The Paths also gave all staff members a $10.00 gift card to Target. Very nice!

Our students made their own snowman using marshmallows, pretzels and raisins. Everyone had fun. This last picture I just have to share with you is one of Val's socks. She truly was in the Christmas spirit!

First Post for 2008

Yes, I am still alive and kicking in Minnesota. I just checked my blog and couldn't believe that I hadn't blogged since October! Boy that's pretty bad. Guess I have a lot of catching up to do. First off, it should be easy for me to blog now, no more excuses. You see my hubby bought me a laptop computer for Christmas. He remembered when we first met that I would bring my computer from school at the time to work on over the weekend and that I liked the ease of being able to do that. So he got me my very own. He's a sweetie. Guess I'll keep him.
Here's a picture from Christmas Eve when I opened my new computer. I don't know if the picture caught my true surprise or not, but I WAS NOT expecting to get a computer. Now I have to learn how to do everything it can do. It's a wireless, so I can sit anywhere in the house and use it. Hmm, I wonder how far I can go outside and still use it? Haven't tried that yet, it's been a bit too cold in Minnesota to do anything outsied lately. But then this is Minnesota.

Well, stay tuned and check back, as I will do some more blogging to catch you up on what I have been up to. Oh, by the way, Happy New Year to everyone. I hope 2008 brings you happiness, good health and many wonderful memories.