No. 13

No. 13 was a big departure from my usual.

A co-worker was recently thinning her collection, and I snagged several that looked intriguing. Lydia's Party by Margaret Hawkins was one of them.

I wouldn't have bought this one, but for free, sure!

It was interesting. It's about a woman - Lydia - prepping for her annual girlfriends' dinner party. The chapters go back and forth between Lydia and her guests, and we learn about each middle-aged woman and their history individually and as a group.

I can't say I loved it - it was a bit depressing. But I did enjoy following their journey through the party, life and death.

Now back to my mysteries... :)

CE2 cheese buffet

Yesterday was the First Annual CE2 Staff Cheese Buffet!

A couple weeks ago, Tammie said she was dreaming of cheese - of going to Grocery Outlet and buying a bunch of cheeses to try. I told her about my friends' cheese-buffet tradition, and we decided to have one in CE2.

We put it on the calendar, delivered invitations and started planning our feast. Pesto, smoked salmon, cookies, olives, hummus, fruit, crackers, bread and about a dozen kinds of cheese (It only looks small because that's a giant conference table)!

We also had fondue and raclette!

Our alternative ed team had a glorious lunch:

We should definitely do that again :)

Graduates!

I've been lax in posting photos of our awesome CE2 graduates!

Our students work independently, and as they complete their required credits, they graduate. First up this year, Sean:

Omar:

Sabrina:

Abdul:

Adonis:

A HUGE congrats to our first Class of 2016 grads!

Nail-biting basketball, hiking, bells and cards

I know it's already the next Friday, but here are some highlights from last weekend that I'm just getting around the posting. Ever have one of those weeks? Too much going on!

My weekend kicked off with a nail-biter of a THS girls' basketball game. Tigard faced Central Catholic at home in the playoffs, and we were on the edge of our seats! It came down to the final seconds, but they pulled it off.

Final: 39 to 36. TIGARD WINS!

The girls played again Wednesday night and creamed Sheldon in the quarterfinals! Up tonight: Canby in the semifinals. GO TIGARD!

Saturday was an early wake-up call for our BCEP hike on Dog Mountain. I really wanted to stay in bed, but it ended up being a great day :)

Sunday was an even-earlier wake up - handbell morning!

We shared the morning's musical duties with a brass ensemble. I loved the instrument combo and especially enjoyed listening during rehearsal to trombonist Tyler. Beautiful! 

Since it's March, I had to wear my St. Paddy's socks:

After a nap and some chores, my family came over in the evening for pizza and cards while Brad worked on the taxes. A weekend packed with goodness :)

No. 12

No. 12 was Joanne Fluke's Devil's Food Cake Murder, another Christmas gift from Eryn:

Hannah Swensen, the cookie-baking, body-finding, mystery-solving main character, is always torn between two men. Norman and Mike are totally different and both fight for her affection. The who-will-she-choose subplot continues throughout the series, and this one ended with a big cliffhanger! I need to find out what happens next :)

BCEP: Dog Mountain (3/5/16)

This weekend was full of fun, including a Gorge hike. Brad's again helping his climbing buddy with his Mazamas BCEP class (basic climb school). James is nice enough to let me tag along on some of the hikes - a great excuse to get out and do one of my favorite things!

This week was the optional pre-hike to Dog Mountain on the Washington side of the river. Eleven of us - students, assistants, fake assistant and leader James - met up at Gateway Transit Center and then carpooled to the trailhead. We were booted up and on the trail shortly after 9 a.m.

The forecast called for tons of rain and wind. Thankfully, the system was late and we stayed warm and dry! The sun came out, giving a wonderful view up and down the Gorge.

We took a fairly quick pace up the steeper side of the mountain, and since the weather was so nice, we had a nice, long rest at the top:

That view was worth the burning calves on the way up!

Happy hikers:

Summit picture with the whole team: Ryan, Brad, James, Jess, Nathan, Jim, Liz, Srinidhi, Suzi, Anona and Finn:

I really enjoyed getting to know all the new students - and having a great excuse to get outside!

I almost stayed home, scared of the forecast. Instead, I showed up and had a great day!

:)

Sweaty gift

For Christmas, my very generous parents gifted me a 10-class pass to Fierce Fitness Kickboxing - my favorite indoor exercise!

It came with this awesome card by the multi-talented Brittany Johnson:

I was in the middle of a membership, but that expired last week. So I've now cashed in my card and am so happy that my parents gave me the gift of sweat!

A few weeks ago, my cousin, Jessie, asked to join me for a class. She's a natural! We had a great time, and she's since gotten her own 10-class pass and works out with me every week!

Last week, Brad and I went to the special $5 Friday class for some extra fun:

Have I mentioned that I love kickboxing?? :)