The same road, a different voice

New Sheriff in Town

2009-02-04T09:24:00.000-08:00

So here at Early College High School, we have a new principal. Her name is Lorelei Gilmore and she seems like a very wonderful lady. I'm hoping for good things from her.

However, let's be a little frank in her job description. She is the principal of "Secondary Alt Programs" in Salem-Keizer. This means she is the head of and in charge of Structured Learning Center, Downtown Learning Center, Early College High School, Bridges, S-K online, the dentention center, and a few other programs that add up to 13 separate entities. This makes her hallway about 40 miles long. Why, oh why, did the district decide that one principal to rule them all would be a good idea? Oh, yeah, that's right. We are alternative programs and we are not funneling funds over here. When is the educational system going to realize that the alternative education population is one of the fastest growing populations? There are many answers to the questions, I realize that, but I'm tired of people not realizing that all students are not the same. All paths are not the same. It's time for a reprioritizing of our educational programs and philosophy.

What's a little strangeness between friends?

2008-11-16T18:04:00.001-08:00

Here are some awesome pics of my former colleagues and myself. They were created using a little tool called a mac.

This is the Jay Leno pose.

Just kind of a strange one.

I have no idea who this is!

Beauty has no name.

Lovely children

2008-11-16T06:54:00.001-08:00

I'm so in love with my friends who have 3 children already. (I'm mainly talking about April and Joy) I'm stunned to think that they have that responsibility and privilege to be taking care of, really, a whole family. And that's not to say that those of you with one or two children are chopped liver. Not so much! You are all super moms to me.

Kyle has a lovely daughter and I have a wonderful stepdaughter. She is a happy child who deals with what she has to because we tell her there is no other way. It's a hard way to raise a little girl quite honestly. However, we are all working together and doing our best. I hope she can have what she needs in life. I hope she'll always look at me with love. I hope middle and high school aren't too ghastly to her self-esteem. My greatest wish is that she grows up to be a responsible and happy individual.

That being said, if you didn't know, Kyle and I are trying to have another child. I honestly expect it to be a little of an uphill battle but this too shall pass.

We'll keep you updated!

Naked Finger

2008-11-10T07:01:00.000-08:00

So the other day, I took off my wedding ring to put some product in my hair and I forgot to put it back on. Needless to say, Kyle had a few choice words for me about how we weren't married anymore, I didn't want people to know we were married , my finger must have been getting a cramp in it, yada, yada, yada. But it did remind me of a heartstopping moment that happened right after we got engaged.

I was still teaching at the Community Schoolhouse (moment of silence for the death of a dream...) . I was upstairs in the girls bathroom ( again putting product in my hair) and I left my ring on the counter. Like I said before, I had only been engaged for less than a week and actually wearing my ring less than that because it had to get resized. So I just didn't notice it wasn't there. About an hour later I looked down at my finger and thought, "Oh crap! Where's my ring?" So I looked around and tried to think about where I could have left it. Did I leave it at home on the counter? Did I take it off last night for something? I even called Kyle and casually asked if he remembered me putting my ring somewhere. Really casuallike. He said no and I blithely said, "Oh no problem. I must have left it at home." Well, after about 30 minutes of frantic searching I finally realized I had been upstairs in the bathroom and it is extremely likely that I took my ring off upstairs. I ran upstairs thinking that there may be students in the building and even though I loved them all, that didn't mean that an expensive diamond ring would get turned in.I burst through the bathroom door, turned the corner, and there on the counter was my ring!!! Luckily, Kyle doesn't read this blog. :)

Stupid templates

2008-11-05T06:52:00.000-08:00

So I decided that I needed to look super cool like Tonya and change my blog background but then it deleted all my cool things. Curses!! Now I have to update the widgets but I don't have time. Curse you beautiful background!

Celebration and an Ad

2008-11-05T06:26:00.000-08:00

Hooray! Change has indeed come to the U.S. However I will have to say that I don't have incredibly high expectations in anything changing for a couple of years, what with the economy and the global market and opinions. However I would like to say huzzah to Barack Obama, our Presidential Elect.

Also, here's a little ad for a wonderful restaurant here in Salem. I realize that the image may be copyrighted. No copyright infringement intended. Just some friendly PR.
Go there if you haven't been:

1405 Broadway Ave. NE
Salem, OR
(503) 399-9992 - phone

Yummy! Yummy! Yummy!

ELECTION DAY!

2008-11-04T06:51:00.000-08:00

Hooray! It's election day! I'm super psyched for this day and I hope all of you voted or will vote today.

My beloved is taking the day off because according to him, "It's my Super Bowl." Don't you love a nerd?

Some honeymoon pics

2008-09-27T21:48:00.001-07:00

Here are just a few honeymoon pics. I'll try to keep them brief.

The first is hippos on the hand. (And Kyle said I would never be good at photography!) This was at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Washington.

The second is our darling girl at the same zoo but in the butterfly zone.

The last one is Kyle in front of the cabin we spent the second part of our honeymoon in. So much fun! I had a hard time going to school after it!

State Fair 2008

2008-09-27T21:33:00.000-07:00

So if you didn't know, I am totally obsessed with the Oregon State Fair. I love it a ton and I go every year. It's really quite sick considering I usually spend over a $100 each time I go but I still love it so. This year my dad and I went 3 times;we saw Weird Al, Willie Nelson and Garrison Keillor. Good times. Here is a picture of Kyle and I on the fair lift ride thing and a picture of my dad waiting for us down below.

By the way, my dad lost like 30 lbs! He looks so much better.

The First One Again

2008-09-14T14:55:00.000-07:00

Hello there all you happy people staring at a computer screen mesmerized by what you see. It is me, Kristina Pemberton and I'm back in the saddle again. Desperately doing everything I can to not have to lesson plan, I am starting my blog once again.

Hmm, where to start? Here are some pics from our honeymoon. This was a two parter honeymoon. The family honeymoon started at the Great Wolf Lodge and Resort then traveled to Seattle. The second part was just Kyle and I at a cabin near White Salmon.

This first picture is from Riding the Ducks. If you haven't done it yet, do it!It is a picture of us as we are waiting for the Duck to launch. I guess we had a duck with us while we were waiting!

*Still trying to get this layout thing under control. Look for a lot of funny posts in the ones yet to come.