Photography

I have always really enjoyed pictures. I love looking at them, taking them and sharing them with others. I really want to take a photography class to enhance my skills. I feel like I have a pretty good eye for it, but I also think I have room to learn more, better develop my eye. I love being outdoors, and love taking pictures of nature. Its such an easy subject to capture. Dont get me wrong, my nephew's are pretty awesome to take pictures of, but they are not pose-able yet :)

Here are a few of my favorites I have taken over the years. Some are scanned because they are older, but I hope you enjoy them!

This was taken at Garden of the Gods this July while on our honeymoon. Garden of the Gods is one of my most favorite places - its absolutely breathtaking.

This was taking in "Little Mexico" in San Diego. The color quality is not as vibrant as it is in the original picture due to scanning. This was such a fun area of town, and was my first experience with the Southwest.
Beaver Lake... another favorite spot in Colorado. It is always absolutely gorgeous every time I have made the trek to this beautifully hidden lake.


This is just a random lake I was driving by near Vail, Colorado. I hiked just a bit to find the best spot for the picture, and am proud of the results.

Another shot of the Garden of the Gods. Gorgeous.

My nephew's first birthday. Lovin' him some cupcakes....


He loves the marimba, and as a crawler, would do anything to be near it. Now he plays it like a pro. Uncle Mike is his favorite by far!
Snuggle time with Uncle Mike :)

And the perfect blackmail pictures... temper tantrums... such a faker :)

Just another day....

I despise day's where I come home more stressed than I left.

Today started off typical... until I drove to practicum. I was running a few minutes behind this morning but wasn't too concerned- I only have a 5 minute drive. During the torrential downpour we experienced this morning my car just decided to die. At a red light while rocking out to Moses Prey, my battery light went on, followed by all the dashboard lights and a second later, my car completely died. I had no time to react- it just died. Of all the days to forget my cell phone! So, in the pouring rain, dress shoes and khaki's and stranded in the middle of the intersection I put on my hazards and run into the gas station nearby. The attendant delightfully greeted me with a "out for a jog in this weather?" and I explained that my car just died in on a very busy street and I needed to call for help.

"Bummer- here's a phone".

I called the police to help direct traffic (because those driving in rush hour morning traffic LOVE cars that breakdown in their route tremendously!). I waited patiently, in the rain for 15 minutes. Literally hundreds of cars drove by- not a single one stopped to help. A sheriff drove by- no offer for help. Two, count them TWO tow trucks drove by- not even a glance in my direction. Now had they not had to drive around my car to get through the intersection I wouldn't have been angry- but they had no choice but to see me or rear end me. Finally, two very nice men offered to push me around the corner into the gas station so I was no longer blocking traffic. To them, I am so grateful. They however, did not have jumper cables and soon left.

I spend the next hour or so at a gas station, trying to remember every phone number in my cell phone to get some help. I asked everyone who walked into the gas station if they had jumper cables, and if they did, if they would give me a jump start. Not a soul for about an hour. Finally, a man, very reluctant to help caved in and jumped my car. Very kind in a terribly cold rain. He said I reminded him of his daughter and he would be "pissed" if anyone ever treated his daughter that way. I am very thankful for his kindness.

I had just enough power in my battery to get me the 1 mile to my practicum site. I was able to get parked and my car completely died. I spent the rest of the day at the Middle School working diligently and feeling sad at the lack of trust that is present in our world today. It breaks my heart that people dont just stop to help another. We live in a world where we rush through life- but for what? I am no one to talk or point blame- I am not the first to help someone on the side of the road. Its just sad to think how much we hurt ourselves by rushing through life, thoughtfully trusting nothing; no one.

I try my best everyday to live by the golden rule-today I was reminded why.

What a day....

I am tired of my mind running wild more than it should. If only I ran as much as my mind does....

I am list person. I carry small post-it notes with me everyday so that I can jot down everything I need to get done. Recycling a post it note feels much more rewarding than crossing things off a list... the list looks messy, and that bothers me. I am often teased, but back-off, it works :) I may be slightly OCD when it comes to organization, but I accept that!

This "list" thing seeps into all areas of my life, not just school. I have lists of life goals. I have mental lists of top 10... move over John Cusack! I have folders within folders, I color coordinate labels, folders, etc for topics, subjects, and whatnot. I am bothered when people are not organized in the same fashion as I am. I have re-organized countless materials to my organization. Its a guilty pleasure.

My love for organization leads me to my difficult day. My jump drive is my life. It is beautifully organized into many folders, folders within folders and folders within folders within folders; you get the idea. After loosing track of time I left Mr. Sony in a computer in the computer lab. You can all figure out what happened next. After anxiously sitting through my class, I went back to the lab, and of course, it was gone.

I didn't know what to do with myself. I sent out a search party, but had many failed attempts. I had a long list of things to do, and all that I needed was on Mr. Sony jump drive. I checked my email every 5 seconds, played around on Facebook, and paced around. Literally, I could not sit still for longer than 10 seconds.

Thankfully, my faith in humanity was restored and a wonderful woman returned to the lab with Mr. Sony jump drive. It is refreshing to know that there are good people out there! A bad day turned good!

Blogging

As my life gets busier, and finding time to catch up with friends becomes more of a challenge than it ever should be; I figured blogging may be the best way to bridge the gaps.

School is very busy. I am enjoying a school based practicum in a nearby district. I am placed in both an elementary school and middle school which has been an enjoyable experience. I still find myself wondering where I should be in the future. Each level has a wide array of pro's and con's, but they all balance themselves out in the end. I still have such a strong passion for working with children with Autism, and am working towards my BCBA certification. If anything, this certification should make me more marketable globally.

I have become even more involved in the School Psychology program this year than I have been in years past. I am chairing the Mentoring Committee this year, which has a broad focus. Not only do we work with the new first years, but also in recruitment efforts, and the interviewing process. This has been a really fun and rewarding experiencing. I have learned a lot about building committee's, and have the opportunity to share with others my love for the UNO School Psych program.

I have developed a knack this year of having ideas that spring into larger than life projects. Some call it innovative, but some day's I call it a curse! From my EdS project (cyberbullying/online aggression and victimization) I have developed a strong research interest in the topic. Not only is this my EdS project, but I am also doing an evaluation of teachers, and other school personnel's view of cyberbullying policies. Hopefully I get a large number of respondents! I think the findings will be very interesting. Wish me luck :)

I love being a married woman, although I am having a terrible time learning my new name! Too many times to count where I have been called Mrs. P, and wasn't aware that other's were addressing me! It always makes me giggle. Mike's a pretty awesome husband I may add. He is currently married to a figment of his imagination because I am never home. I can't wait for the chaos to end so I can spend more time with him. And despite the fact that he hardly gets to spend time with me, he is super supportive and loves me just the same. I am a lucky gal. I may also interject that if he asks me again "Have you heard?" and bursts into the Bird is the Word Song as seen on family guy, I may revoke all Family Guy privileges! I fall for it every time to make him laugh, but I don't know how much longer I can do it :)

Life is great :)