No I did not die... I've just been MIA

Well, I've had some pretty big changes in my life lately - hence the prolonged absence. Last time I left off hinting at a highly anticipated interview at Cheyenne Mountain Charter Academy. Long story short, the position of history teacher I applied to was filled the day I submitted my resume, but they wanted to meet with me anyway. The fact that I graduated from Hillsdale College was a huge deal with them and my educational philosophy fit perfectly with their school's. Three days after my meeting at The Vanguard School (name of the CMCA's High School) I received a call saying that the original position I applied for opened up again. One interview later & I'm officially a High School History teacher!!!!! I now teach 9th grade Honors Classical History and 10th grade Honors European History at one of the top performing schools in the entire state of Colorado.

God's hand has been undeniably present in every detail of this whole series of events. From unknown network connections, to unexpected referrals from previous teachers of my own, to the circumstances surrounding the positions' opening... it couldn't have played out any more perfectly. I never thought I wanted to be a teacher, but the longer I worked in corporate business environments, the more I found myself wanting the atmosphere, colleagues and intellectual expectations I love so much in academia. Now I am so excited to be sharing my love of history with these children who are so incredibly well behaved and just as excited to be at Vanguard. I love giving them little teasers for the end of the year when we'll get to studying WWI and WWII history!

I've had an unusually rough start to the year, mostly because A) this is my first year of teaching, so I have an incredibly steep learning curve to climb and B) when I assumed the position, school had already been underway for 2 weeks. I inherited a position that was abandoned by the former teacher, patched together by substitutes and other teachers until I was able to step in. Most of all I sympathize with the children. The sense of disorder, lack of consistent information and irregularity of authority figures in the History classroom must be disconcerting to them, let alone hindering to good academic performance. So I'm basically staying a day ahead of my students. Sometimes I'm literally 30 minutes ahead of them. Want to know how? For example I gave my 10th graders a test yesterday. I literally made the test the half hour before class and the copies were still warm when I handed them out at 7:45 am. These last three days have been particularly difficult as progress reports have gone out, so I am learning how to handle the righteous indignation and wrath of parents to failing students! eeeeeeek!!!

I have never really been able to comprehend how some people can be workaholics. I like my personal time, family & friend time and of course sleep. Never before have I dedicated so many hours to work so effortlessly. Time just seems to fly by and I never have enough! I'm regularly spending 12+ hour days in Colorado Springs and it feels like its only been 8 hrs. Speaking of which, yes the school is in CO Springs, while I am still living in Denver. So these last three weeks have been perfecting my hour long commute abilities at the disgustingly early hour of 5 am. A move to COS is planned shortly, so bye by Denver.... hello COS!

I'm excited to move to Colorado Springs. I found a great house with three other teachers from the high school and its only located 10 minutes away. I'm the 7th Hillsdale College Alum to come on board at Vanguard and beyond the High School there are dozens of other Alum who live in and around COS. I am so grateful to have good acquaintances nearby and other individuals who understand Hillsdale! Finally! The Springs area is beautiful. Denver and the Rockies backdrop was something new, beautiful and fascinating, but the Springs takes all that and makes it even more dramatic. It has more of a western feel because the soil has a red clay hue to it. Temperatures are cooler due to a higher elevation. There are gorgeous rock formations around the area, most famously the Garden of the Gods. More so, its beautiful because Colorado Springs lies at the very base of the Pike's Peak and the southern stretch of the Rockies. Denver lies a good half hour's drive from the base of the Rockies, but I look out my window at school and they're so close I keep thinking the sky is purple!

I'm excited to make the official move in the first week of October and begin making Colorado Springs my home. I can attend school sports events and support my students. Spend time with other Hillsdale grads and fellow teachers and resume a regular social life! and most of all work on some of my life goals more resolutely now that I have the comfort and security of a full time job that supports my academic endeavors. I'll still pursue wine on the side as an amateur - taken from the Latin roots "for the love of". Posts from now on may still be a bit irregular as I continue to smooth out the kinks and other road blocks I encounter on a daily basis, but I'll write updates as often as I can!

So have a cheerful weekend, I thank God for His infinite love and blessings, thank you all for your faithful prayers on my behalf & go Vanguard Coarsers!

Just One of Those Days...

...when you kinda feel like this...

So in an effort to lift the mood, here are some pretty nifty things:

One of my favorite blogs, Cup of Jo, posted this neat shark photo. I don't know how she stumbles across the coolest things.

Perfect timing for a chick flick night with mom or sisters. Will you be going to see "The Help"?

Check out this really neat BBC series of Sherlock Holmes meets the 21st Century.

Doesn't this clever composite make you chuckle?

I found this most adorable tea shop in Downtown Denver. Treat for myself on Monday??

Hope you have a prickly free weekend!

Playing Catch-up

I have been a busy little bee lately. Sorry about my long absence! So much has been happening lately, I don't know where to start. I guess I'll feature each of my recent adventures in regular posts this week - it'll help me collect my thoughts more easily.

As for now, here's a little something that has peaked my interest lately, Downton Abbey is a fascinating British Edwardian Drama miniseries. I love the wit and polite banter between characters (especially when they're really insulting each other!) And the web of love triangles and drama! (not to mention the costumes)

My folks came to town this week and we did so much around Denver! I'll post about our Dom Perignon Brunch at the Brown Palace Hotel tomorrow for Wino Wednesday. Following that I'll post about a day trip to Colorado & Manitou springs with my mother.

Other fun Denver activities we did:

The Molly Brown House is beautifully restored, and she's such an aspiring and philanthropic leader!

Visited St. John's Anglican Cathedral. Such beautiful architecture, though the liturgy isn't entirely adherent to the BCP but none-the-less a great candidate for a home church here with a large choir and young adult population. They label themselves as "progressive" so we'll have to see where this goes.

Sweet Nothings

There's this adorable English Tea Shoppe nearby that I love shopping from occasionally so I can have my occasional ration of clotted cream, Cadbury digestives and Shepherd's pie mix. (not together of course - eeewww) Last time I was there I saw this adorable Royal Wedding souvenir, except it was an apron instead of a poster- I simply must indulge and buy it the next time!

What an original way to label your herb garden. Very vintage chic.

I've been looking for a light summery salad to place on the menu for the upcoming parents' visit to Denver, and I think I found it. How does a watermelon, basil and Feta salad sound to you??

We seem to have been getting quite a bit of rain lately here in Denver. I asked a colleague about it and evidently every July (though typically later in the month) there is a "Monsoon" period here. Not your biblical sized floods of course, but rather a brief thunder and lightning storm that passes through every afternoon. Lately its been 3:00 on the dot and never ceases to entertain me. I was sad to leave some of the apocalyptic thunderstorms Michigan has in the summer, but glad to find Denver has its own little lightning shows. You will literally see blue skies and puffy white clouds in one direction, with a menacing black wall in the review mirror behind you.

Countdown to the final installation of the Harry Potter series! So bittersweet...

Speaking of Harry Potter, I have always had this thing for Neville Longbottom. No, seriously! I really felt connected to him because of his genuine nature, quirkiness and overall nerdiness. Granger is a great character, but she's what I call a goody-two-shoes nerd. Neville is my kind of nerd - a little more relaxed. He needs a girl who appreciates his love of herbology. So who said nerds can't grow up to be seriously attractive??? Judging by the evidence below, I rest my case.

Eat & Drink Local

Yesterday was full of new experiences!

Visited the Cherry Creek Farmer's Market on a spur of the moment side trip. Next time I go back, I'm definitely arriving at an earlier hour as it was partially packed up by noon. There was a French restaurant stand, an Austrian Baker, fresh fruit, vegetables, eggs, flowers, herbs, a Goat Cheese maker, homemade Empanadas, a cupcake stand and so much more! Oh the joys of living in a city! Perhaps next time, I'll be bold enough to take more up close character photos. The market was full of such personalities (and dogs galore!)

I only stopped on my way to the Colorado Winefest. It was a feast for the palate and incredibly educational on the flavor of Colorado wines. I didn't really know what to expect, but I found that most Palisades wineries made excellent Rieslings, Meads, and particularly soft and drinkable Cabernet Sauvignons and Merlots. I apologize for my sad excuse for pictures I had promised. Looks like I only was able to divert my attention for one snapshot. A few of the wineries that stood out from the 56 represented include:

Two Rivers Winery - excellent Merlot and Syrah

Graystone Winery - fine Ports

Maison La Belle Vie Winery - particularly good Riesling. On my "to buy" list!

Hermosa Vineyards - fine whites; makes a unique wine with the rare Rkatsiteli grape from Georgia

Meadery of the Rockies - fine Meads with a unique twist; try this for great dessert wines

As for other things, I stumbled upon this charming necklace on Etsy. I'm all for shout outs to the things and places you love. I'd have a hard time choosing between my loyalty to Michigan or California. Decisions, decisions...

Almost finished outfitting my porch for summer. The string patio lights definitely give it so much character. All that's left is seat cushions, a table for the mini BBQ and fresh cut flowers. I think tomorrow I will take my coffee out on the porch with my book! Hooray for mornings off! (for this short while that is...) I'll post a picture when it's more complete.

Lo-Do

The nice thing about having two part-time jobs is getting random days of the week off as your "weekend." This week for example, I work through Memorial weekend and yesterday, Wednesday, was my day off. I actually liked having a weekday off - I had a greater sense of productivity and adventure because the world was awake and open for business.

So yesterday, I ventured to Downtown Denver, more commonly referred to as "Lo-Do." My time was limited however (partially due to unpleasantly high parking costs), so I restrained my wanderings to 16th street. You know what's amazing?? They have a free public transit line that runs all the way up and down 16th. It definitely helped make my time more efficient, though I do prefer to walk outside and soak up the culture around me. It'll take a couple more times for me to fully figure out the vibe of Lo-Do, but for my one brief visit it showed great potential.

I have the unfortunate habit of comparing every major American city I visit to the wonderful experiences I had in European cities such as London, Oxford, Paris and Vienna to name a few. Perhaps I need to revisit some cities like San Francisco, Chicago or NYC and experience them anew through the eyes of an independent adult without parents or siblings around (college years don't count - you're still somewhat dependent at that point and still growing in many ways). Well then, I guess Downtown Denver was my first foray into my beginning adult metropolitan experiences. Though I technically live in Denver, I'm on the outskirts of the city limit and its more suburban than anything with mass amounts of traffic, big box stores and chain restaurants. Lo-Do offers the things I look for living in a big city: privately owned businesses with unique themes, a higher class and quality of living than you find in Target or Walmart, and the sidewalk population is a blend of modern commercialism with indie and artsy threads woven throughout.

On this first visit I patronized a couple of unique establishments. Wines off Wynkoop is a small wineshop that you can only access by alley-way. I felt so "in on the know" walking back to the shop doors. Bonus, Wednesday happened to be a special discount day - save 15% off domestic whites when you buy 2 or more! Next door, past the alley, is the Tattered Cover Book Store. It reminded me so much of Blackwell's in Oxford! The place is so characteristic of a family owned bookstore with well worn hardwood floors, a mix of used and new books, leather furniture just begging you to sink into with a hot Mocha Cappucino. It's a good thing I don't live anywhere nearby, otherwise I'd be spending hours relaxing there. I simply must bring my camera next time to take some pictures of my own & share with you all! They also have a really great line-up of events and visiting authors on a regular basis.

Both of these stores show what makes small privately owned businesses so characteristic of downtown areas. In order to stay in business, they have to work incredibly hard to attract new customers and retain loyal customers with different promotions, events or rewards programs. They don't have the automatic clientele loyalty to a brand such as Starbucks, Barnes & Noble or Beverage More may have, so these small businesses make up for it in other ways. In all honesty though, its those personal touches and going the extra mile for the customer that makes me so much more loyal than to any chain store.

So I'll have many more small business experiences to share with you next time I go Lo-Do. What are some of your favorite unique downtown shopping experiences?