Christmas 2008

Here are some pictures of our Christmas tree and house decorations. We decided to go easy this year, since it's our first in a real house...but next year, who knows what Jon may do...

Guinness Saga

Here are some of the pictures of the Guinness saga/run-in with the garden edging. The first is of the wound after surgery, then her laying around and finally Jon carrying her around which happens all the time now.

Sisters Reunited

Downhill Half

I completed my second half-marathon yesterday however, I forgot to bring the camera along so there are no pictures to prove that I did this. However, I do have the snazzy number, sweaty running shirt, and sore legs to prove it. This race is endearingly called the downhill half because it starts in Georgetown, elev. 8500 ft and ends in Idaho Springs, elev 7500 ft. It definitely was not all downhill and losing elevation does not equal easy (as some people tried to convince me). However, there were some significant downhill portions which were great as I was running along 8 miles into the race. But now I can't stand or sit without assistance and I'm convinced that my quads will rip to shreds with any sudden movement. Here is the one picture we took once we were home...I'm still smiling because the pain has not set in quite yet...

Guinness

Our lovely companion who is sick and tired of road trips.

Adventurous Eating (Part II)

I just had to post a few pictures of our night out eating sushi. I never would have gone if it hadn't been for my brother Chris insisting on buying me gift cards to a nice sushi restaurant. I have been putting it off for months and finally last night I decided it was time. So thankfully my sushi expert friend, Christy, was available to learn Jon and me in the ways of Sushi. She ordered us a wide variety of items and then laughed at us as we tried (unsuccessfully) to take as small of bites as possible. Jon of course was way more experimental than I was but I am happy to say we did not order off the regular menu, only the sushi menu (minus my house salad...I didn't want to starve). I tried three different rolls and some eel (that was cooked, thankfully). I did not hate the eel (I also did not love it), I had a vegetarian avocado roll which was great (no raw fish :), I had one with crab (upon entering my mouth I instantly broke out in a cold sweat and wanted to spit it out but of course the waiter choose that moment to come over and check on us so I had to plaster on a smile take two bites and swallow), and finally I had one with tuna which was surprisingly good. Jon tried some other crazy things that were not in a roll so you just had to eat a whole piece of raw fish. I refused to be a part of that...so here are our pictures. Chris and Leanne thank you for forcing me to try new things!Jon eating the eel.

Anne pretending to put an entire crab roll in her mouth with the scary legs sticking out...obviously I did not really eat that one...this was just for the picture.

Anne and Christy celebrating the end of the meal!

Lake Trip

Jon and I just got back from a fabulous trip to my family's lake house. It is normally a great place to just relax, enjoy the sun, read, ski, boat, hang out with family...it's a great place. This trip however, was quite unique...we survived a horrendous storm that I was sure would be the end of us all (well at least our 30 year old cabin for sure). Our cabin was thankfully spared however, we did see hundreds of trees uprooted, boats flipped upside down and smashed into houses, chairs and trampolines flying through the air...all in a matter of minutes. And in the aftermath we got to experience life in a disaster area, no electricity, no running water, chainsaws, generators...it was crazy but we made the most of it, cleaned branches, raked endlessly, even dragged trees out of the lake all while playing cards at night to a lantern and candles. Not quite the vacation we had been expecting but it was fun and I now have a new appreciation for peeing with the lights on. Here are some pictures of our beach taken right after the storm.

Guinness checking out the damage

Our view from inside where we watched the fury.

Our boats miraculously stayed put and the pontoon cover held with only 3 buttons attached!

Our Iwo Jima flag.

NikeTown 5K for Kids

A year ago one of my friends and fellow teachers and I decided that we wanted kids in our school to be more active and to expose them to the 'culture' of running. So after a year of putting it off and trying to avoid it we finally started a running club at our school. We met just once a week and took the kids to run on a trail in their community. On the first day of running club not a single student was able to run more than a mile, many could hardly walk to the trail entrance without stopping for a rest. However, as our culminating event this past Sunday we woke up extra early to run the NikeTown 5k. We met at the school at 6:45 and made our way to downtown Denver to run 3.1 miles with about 1000 other people. This was by far one of the coolest things I have ever done. To watch these kids with their limited experiences marvel at the fact that 1000 people would choose to do this, to watch them all start the race, struggle up the hills and then to see their faces as they crossed the finish line was an amazing experience. I heard so many kids talk about how proud they were of themselves and their teammates. One student in particular commented on how this is the first time he has really felt like he accomplished something and that in the past all he has done is run from the cops, he didn't realize that he could run for a different purpose. I am just so proud of all the students who chose to participate, here is a picture of the kids after they finished.

Home-Owners...well almost

Jon and I are embarking on the wonderful journey of home-ownership...I had no idea that

Chicken Hearts

I sometimes get lumped into the picky eater category due to my distaste for lake/sea creatures (I'm sure this comes from years of catching catfish in our dark green/brown lake then watching a member of my family cut it open with a rusty knife) however, let the record show that last night I ate a chicken heart. I'm sure this will catapult me above Clif and Angie who don't eat things like tomatoes and cottage cheese.

Dreams

Recently three members of my family had the unique opportunity to have one of their dreams come true...they got to ride in the prologue of the Tour of California. A professional bike racing event, and possibly one of the largest cycling events in the U.S.  I've never seen (well heard) three grown men so excited. The prologue was a 2.1 mile time trial starting in Palo Alto where Chris and Leanne now live. They got to start just like the pros, riding down the little ramp while their name is announced just an hour before the pros. They unfortunately didn't come close to beating any of the pros times however, they did get to pretend for a day that they were professional cyclists. So click this link and you can see Adam, Chris and my dad starting their race! (They are at about 10 minutes into the broadcast).

Leibman Prologue!!!

A rare opportunity...

Recently, about 40 faculty members (including me) participated in Arapahoe High School's annual Faculty Dance. Each year for the Winter Pep Assembly, the teachers dance to a few songs representative of a specific decade. This year it was the 90's. We practiced for two weeks after and, sometimes before, school to prepare ourselves to dance in front of 2000+ students. Each of these videos are essentially the same. The first is taken by our tech guru, the second by our librarian, and the third from a student's cell phone (of which was posted on YouTube within 20 minutes of the completion of the pep rally)...each one a different perspective. I'll let you figure out where I am...(if you really can't find me, listen for the lyrics "Alright, stop! Collaborate and listen..." and listen for Queen's "Under Pressure" music.) Some of you didn't think I could dance. I convinced my students that I couldn't. They must not be very good dancers themselves because they were giving me a lot of complements.

Even more recently, I participated in my high school's teacher talent show (as if you didn't think Vanilla Ice was enough). Although I was running a 102-degree fever and trying to suppress coughing due to bronchitis, I didn't perform all that bad. Wait until the end, I butchered part of a less technical section. Thanks to those who don't know the piece very well, many weren't aware of the slip up. Enjoy my talent!