TAKE A LOOK AT this, one full year after started, and look at the progress YOU helped with this blog! All of you ROCK!
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 5,600 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 9 years to get that many views.
As we prepare to return to DE, and before New Year’s even hits, I as almost everyone realizes, that family 
is the most important facet of a New Year’s resolution, and one
that seems to matter most.
In looking at our pictures here you see delicious food, 
and circles of family that can’t remember that last time we were all together in these numbers. 
This becomes the most valuable item and gift over the holidays. You can roam anywhere, discover far away places, and feel confident in doing so when you know you have family tucked inside somewhere. 🙂 
Don’t hesitate to check out the What and where Should I read section of this blog, as new texts and reviews are being added every day. The Goodreads widget you see on the bottom right is perfect, as you can see a snapshot of the new books we churn through each day – 🙂
Onto Delaware and then we will see where out adventures will turn next 🙂
Whoa, D.C. has a ton of things not seen, and I tried to focus on taking pictures of them before I headed back to Delaware. On a windy, yet unsnowy Friday, I headed out with a list of items I needed to see – the Martin L
uther King 
Memorial, 
Arlington Cemetery, the American Art Museum
, and seeing what Georgetown was like – and along the way, I snapped moments at the Vietnam Memorial
, the the wall for Vietnam Veterans , as well as the Lincoln Memorial , as well as the American Art Museum to drop off an autographed version of Natalie Merhcant’s book to Adrienne Gayoso – who helped present with me in Las Vegas yet was sick the whole time leading up to that. I felt she so deserved that instead of me, definitely!
I was home by 2:45 PM so not bad at all! 🙂
My first snow today in AGES! YEAH! I love it! 🙂 So before we are off to see the film The Hobbit, here are some teaser notes from my trip to Delaware:
Left 5:46 AM December 21st – starting mileage – 14297. At 10:43 I crossed The Tropic of Cancer! – I find myself crossing into the Mexican Bridge #1 – Neuvo Leon – around 7ish PM and heard the most interesting thing on NPR – it was AWESOME – it was… I am being called to get a shower to catch the 11:05 Hobbit film so I will continue in a bit! 🙂
The Hobbit, in 3d and Imax was AWESOME! EXCEPT – someone stole my Steeler gloves – AGH! I placed them down I THOUGHT, in the movie theatre, went back, and GONE – so now on a trek for new ones – not happy about that – BUT – the film was exhausting, but awesome to see on a big screen, and leaves off with…well I will not ruin it for those of you that did not see yet –
Going back to talking about the trip here, FYI – total tolls in Mexico – 788 pesos – so rounding to 800 pesos leaves you with a total of 61.4568 dollars USD when using today’s currency exchange, from Mexico City to the border then to that original 788 pesos of tolls you add 3.00 USD to cross the Bridge into the border – and ta da! 🙂 You’re in! – now looking at gas costs… $417.94 from Mexico to Delaware – one way, so add that double, and then the tolls double, looking at 960.00 total roundtrip USD it seems, or close to that…so yes, cheaper to fly, – amazing when you go back and look over he costs of everything to get to home driving! 🙂
Looking back at the mention of NPR on the way to the states, the NPR broadcast of interest was mentioning the author of Raven Boys, Maggie Stiefvater, Young Adult Lit fiction writer. This is ironic as I met her at the ALAN Conference this year at NCTE, and she talks about some of the best Young Adult Lit Novels. She did this on December 20, 2012, but this particular trip north this must have been a repeat broadcast, as I was in truck north towards Delaware, I heard this broadcast and remembered seeing her talk about her book this year at ALAN, Raven Boys. WOW! I was excited to hear some of her favorite books which you can find at the above link.
Also, this awesome broadcast about how the Orchestra from Baltimore is extending into Latin America, and how Latin America understands the cuts to the music program should not occur, as it brings a sense of unity together for everyone and I felt this rang the same tune of how Latin American views and approaches education, and escapes the roadblocks I experienced in the states for students to reach their fullest potential…this broadcast I felt was one of the most awesome broadcasts ever and has rippling effects on other areas of the arts and education the states could benefit from paying attention to how education should change to impact future generations forever. The last comment the conductor states in this broadcast is powerful and should carry farther than the radio waves…
I also recalled noting it was 46 degrees Fahrenheit in Texas, at 11:50 PM on Saturday night, I had to stop on my second day as I could drive no more – my mileage being 150180, and also remarking I had crossed the Navidad River, in Texas…Navidad – perfect for the holidays.
I remember also that I got slightly off track in Louisiana, I did indeed hit route 12, but LOCAL route 12, not Interstate 12, which somehow luckily only put me off track by a little, I spied a local trooper for the town, in McDonald’s, and asked him how to get back on track to Route 10 to ultimately 12, and sure enough, I luckily was only about 15 minutes away from where I needed to be – whew! 🙂 (So far, no one noticed or said anything about my expired license sticker – super yeah!) I also remember purchasing my FAVORITE drink here in Louisiana, near the STATE route 12, Yoo Hoo, my GOSH did it taste good to have that !
Finally, I noticed I had a final mileage the beginning of the third day of travel, my arrival date, I had 15316 mileage starting out at 6:05 AM from Virginia to Delaware, and thought, overall, when I had my truck heading to Mexico back in late July 2012, I had around 142000+ miles on my truck, and with having my truck in Mexico and these road trips back and forth, my current mileage of 15316 was not half bad 😉
I still hate the fact that a truck stop in Texas, there is a live tiger, it just feels wrong. The website states he is in great shape, treated well etc, yet it still feels wrong….:(
Hope everyone is enjoying their break! 🙂
Don’t forget to check out the book review part of my page to see the latest books that are coming out to be published, (I am working on the stack of 50+ that are being edited and ready to be published soon – getting there!)
Currently, Almost Home is awesome while 
Skinny and Burning Blue did not disappoint at ALL! 🙂 
Cheers as we roll into a new year, I hope to add 4-5 new books to my list of have read! Looks like we are preparing for a storm, so get ready and be safe.
…which make the holiday AWESOME!!! The day before Christmas I was able to get my Delaware’s license, (which has been stolen in Mexico), my truck registered, and YOU WILL LOVE THIS…I am withholding the name, BUT, I was asked if Mexico City was separate from Mexico, and if Mexico itself was outside of the United States, – I am saying no more about this as there could be much to say 🙂
During this day, I was able to see Alison and laugh, smile, and crack up, see the 
Betts, 
saw Mrs Vaughn
and family, visited my brother, then with family in Takoma Park, and overall, realized how rich I was with the friends I have made and how lucky I am and how easy it is to take that for granted. It is 8:33, and I am ready to head over to the Christmas gift extravaganza at my Aunt and Uncles, wonderful day! Sent 
out cards to a bunch of people and may more needing to go out later, so bit by bit! 😉 Merry Christmas!
Mexico City, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware I go! 🙂 http://mapq.st/Zv1810
Okay, my thing was waking up Friday morning, and heading out at 4:00 AM to make it to
Delaware in a record breaking 2 days, UM, I had to adjust my thinking…Reality sets in over the holidays, I woke up at 4:14, finished mopping and cleaning the apartment from the night before EVERY room mopped, swept, papers organized, and leaving with the apartment clean, the cats taken care of, and Kinah safely being vacationed at her dog resort, I was anxious about so many things – would the border be okay? Would my truck suddenly come up with mysterious issues? Would my money actually work all the way to the U.S. without problem? 🙂 I get to see my family, the family outside of Mexico! 🙂
I headed out, 5:45 AM, filled up my truck to the hilt with gas, (and presents) had extra pesos in hand for the tolls, and well, I figured out 45 minutes later, it it harder to get out of Mexico with all the directions I had than anything else…but I did it after awhile… and by say 7:00 I was on my way north…:) YEAH! Recalling that first day, I remember it was BORING, but boring is good in MEXICO! 🙂 I only was in a stalled line of traffic once, and wondered when I would make the border…and well, I found myself listening to Mexican radio stations, then switched to my Christmas cd’s, and texting a few times to Moct when I reached San Luis Potosi, then Monterry!, then finally the bridge #1 around 7:00 PM? (I think that is right!), the inspection was easy, and I hit immediately 35 North to 59….I was excited it was the same day, and I was in the states! – as it got dark and I was close to Nuevo Laredo, I kept hearing everyone’s voices – get there before dark, get there before dark, is was a sinister from of something from Wizard of Oz running through my head…
but I made it, so onward and originally I thought, I will make it to Louisiana for sure, um again, adjustment needed. I made it to Victoria, Texas and totally died asleep in my truck, at a truck stop, exhausted. I thought enough to bring a pillow and a thick blanket as I wanted to be as versatile and ready to go to meet my appointment with the DE DMV by the 24th of December….was I crazy? Yes, was I excited? Yes, this was a cool adventure, lol. I remember vaguely waking up on Friday morning, around 6:00 AM – heading out – wondering how far I would get – however, I loved the warmth of Louisiana, noticing it was 60 degrees out and December ! – wait until you see the pics I took for all those of you that asked last time “Why didn’t you take pictures as you went through the states…” lol… I was DRIVING..but I satisfied some of your desires so I will post later JUST FOR YOU…lol….I traveled and drove and made it until I could go no further, which was at the truck stop outside of Virginia – the bottom most part of VA and top of Tennessee, and my GOSH – welcome to the cold, hovering around 40 degrees F I was thinking, I have become a wus with warm weather but was glad I brought a blanket! Brrrr..FROST! I forgot about FROST, lol….
Saturday morn, same deal – getting up, heading out at 6:00 (internal clock going!) and excited, thinking I’d be through VA in no time and in DE by , noon, um, NOOOOOO…VA, um, is FOREVER – F O R E V E R….4:00 PM seriously, I arrived at 4:00 PM, what the HECK? This was the longest part my my trip. LONGEST – by far… – maybe because I was close or because VA is huger than I thought, I DEFINITELY underestimated the size and time it would take me to get through… I have a ton of little notes I will add to the next post to my trip along the way – that I will need to refer to, but I remember getting out of the truck arriving in DE, and feeling I had just rode a horse after a long time, for days and I felt saddle worn and punch drunk from the 18 hour driving days, but I was glad to be here on the 23rd! 🙂 By the way, I have to get to the DMV – so I will finish this later, but here is a final note, even with my bank cards, credit cards (Thank you Bancomer!) not working halfway through the trip, I managed to grab a private stash of cash to cover my gas and tolls if this happened, so it worked out well. Today? Glad by butt has returned the circulation and lost the pain, planning to do DMV, visit an awesome awesome Alison Schwinn (sorry, she is my favorite so I am going to gloat on her awhile), then head up and pack – travel to see my cousins in Takoma Park with Mom for a few days, and then back to DE to visit a few very missed people! (okay, well many).
Irony – the amazing job Mr. Fields did on servicing my truck, I have never added a drop of oil to the truck, or antifreeze, or ANYTHING in the time to Mexico and the time back, which is a heck of alot of miles… if you think about the states and the time spent traveling, that truck is AMAZING, but the job Mr Fields did to allow me ZERO, NO problems whatsoever on this amazing scenic, adventurous, and painful trip at times, lol, is even more amazing.
I love making this trip as I see so many cool things along the way, have an opportunity to see cool places and things I would not see from a plane, and think about how lucky I am to be have the friends, and to be going to people I love, on either end. I always get the barrage of, “Are you crazy?!” or “That is nuts!”, but after this trip, I have so far realized how amazing of a roadtrip it has become and gives me a chance to reflect on despite the bad things that occur, there are always good things that can come out of it and be represented if you only make the time, and take time to look for the positive. The notes I will add to this will be awesome, and thought I want to go back and edit this to add the pics, additional notes, etc, I am going to push and refrain myself at the same time, to put this in a new post, to try and get as many visits and experiences out to you before a holiday 2012 ends…Curious, I’d love to get a few comments about what you are doing for the holidays and WHERE you are for the holidays below in comments… it would be a great way to end the first full seasonal year of this blog! 🙂
Way cool phrase, and it was on an AWESOME gift a student gave me today. I will post the picture here later – thanks Alice, I LOVE IT….:) 
Yeah yeah, I know, 1:56 AM in the morning, WHAT POSSIBLY could I have to say of any significance that early in the AM? Exactly, it was not me but the actions of others that is so important -which seems to be the case most of the time.
Okay – this is a blog, a place where it is okay to release innermost feeling, reactions, and thoughts, at least for me, so here goes…:)
Today – FRIDAY – YESSSSSSS…..:) Yesterday (actually 2 days ago now since this is officially Saturday Morning…) – I stayed in the wee hours replacing the items back from the event we had, a premiere of the film Despues De Lucia, the director was here at ASF, and I have to say, that was awesome., it was excellent having that many people together for such a cool film and issue to be discussed – and the opportunity to see a great film – so I put the chairs, desks back, vacuumed a little, and just needed to spend some quality time in the library, lol. I set up the Christmas tree for the next day – for the Repentino. staff Secret Santa exchange – I have to admit it was late but FUN to set up a tree! – hung snowflakes on the ceiling, then went shopping late at night for candy canes, extra candy for holiday messages we were sending out as a fundraiser, and collapsed.
Friday morning, I arrived at the library around 6:00 AM ( I know) – and began the process of filling about 25 bags that still needed filled for delivery, thanks to a fellow teacher we moved the couches from upstairs back into the fiction room, and I just got settled in with getting ready for a busy day of Secret Santa with Repentino. staff, a breakfast I was putting on for the Advisory group, and yes, I was assigned (by volunteer) breathalyzer duty at the front gate ( um, long story if you are not familiar but after a huge party, it was a measure to make sure students were more aware of their actions and reactions, as well as their responsibility, after a large planned party). I have to say – I was very proud of the students, they seemed to be in better shape regarding their responsibility in this area than last year and Mega Kudos to them! – however, the bad things was I was missing Advisory and my Repentino. staff in helping them deliver messages and YET – they handled themselves QUITE well without knowing specifics etc, and I was so proud of them!
To make an even longer story short – the highlight of the day was my students in Repentino., after we got the pizza back (they left, came back after not seeing me at the gate for pickup, but I WAS THERE – lol, just by the luck of the draw somehow missed them, and then never received a call, so getting the pizza back the second time was a dream come true – the brief (30 minutes) we had together did not last long enough – I want to sit down as a whole staff and tell them how much I appreciate their seeing the way through the toughest times, but the gifts I got them did not come in yet today, so I think I will have the chance to do that before they leave (lucky them!) – some people’s Secret Santas did not or were not able to come, but this lets us have another few days for more presents! –
Many highlights – Miguel provided me with a gift of two photographs he took and doctored, they are my first photographs for the apartment
and let me tell you, they are gorgeous, I will take a picture of them and post, it will not do them justice but perhaps they are one of the best gifts I have received in a long time I can remember! 
Alia gave me a gift of coffee mugs that ROCK – again, I will post pics before Sunday – I love them – they are super cool, 
almost too cool to drink out of – Kim gave me the awesomest gift of the holidays – CHOCOLATE – and on to top off that, Hershey Kisses…:) MY GOSH!
yet the staff as a whole did the awesomest thing, even in not knowing exactly how to organize or where to start – even without me – they did and jumped in and did what they could – an awesome lesson for life – they are risk takers and if they are willing to do that – to jump in and see where it takes them, they have captured the very essence of what Repentino. is, that makes me VERY proud of them! –
Highlights all day were the times I could advise on Extended Essay, Personal Projects, and just reflecting on the light work of the holidays in general, i was stretched in different areas all day but today, it was okay….
Okay, so the worst of days – ;( (there is a good ending though) – Thursday, when I set down my camera, my small red Digital camera, and went running around to help someone, it “disappeared” – that drove me crazy thinking I misplaced it but no, checking every crevice, every space – it was lifted….the sad thing that weighed on my mind was the pictures and video I had taken, that was worth more than the camera honestly, so coming into Friday I had that on my mind….but…
what drove the nail into the coffin of the day, (so to speak) – was this – being within the vicinity that complain – backtalk – criticize, and carry a sense of the adult is right and the student is inferior – sorry, this drives me CRAZY – like getmeoutofherebeforeiwanttogoinsane crazy – and as much as I tried to ride these incidences out today, THANK GOODNESS for the Repentino. staff gathering because otherwise, the day would have been a wash – I take these kind of criticisms personal as I feel I represent the students too and when they are put down, or unduly criticized, or just complained about in general, I feel I am being put down and it takes alot out of me. I dealt, and dealt, and then – was amazed to see…
Individuals that criticize, gossip, say comments with no regard to those around them, or the results of such comments, do not thin to say thank you, do not think to look on the bright side of anything amid frustration, these are not important people to me, in fact, they resemble the size of a pin needle – and to get through the day with such actions as these ? – I would rather run a marathon – TWICE – lol. Okay anyways, you get the idea, so with this type of cloud over my head, I ended the day in the best possible way – I was lucy enough to be able to sit down with one of our staff – the last one in the library – and discuss her blog – about Autism, and is was so coool! It made the end of a Friday just, well, better….but I still went home emotionally EXHAUSTED – I had stopped on the way to grab dog/cat food, and walked in the door, and instead of walking Kinah – as I should have, I literally collapsed in bed – collapsed and woke up around 9:30 PM Friday night – so that goes to show you how tiring the negative aspects of personalities can affect others – kind of like second hand smoke, lol.
I woke up, still angry because I let someone else’s ugliness mar my day and while walking Kindah – two – okay three, things made me feel so much better. 1- talking and venting to a friend on my phone that I have not do so for awhile – thank you D.L! – 2-meeting two awesome people waiting to get their dinner in Wok This Way – on Cordoba in Roma Norte, and it was one of the most relaxed and just shoot the breeze conversations about Kinah, Mexico, teaching, ASF, just in general, it was refreshing. And yes 3rd – I thought about what the best part of the day was for me, and I realized it was the students – today, that helped offset the other half of the Y*(#(#*)$#&(^Y$*@#&$(G@#BEVD day that had gotten to me, lol.
There is a lot of truth about holding your tongue a moment occurs until you cool off or have a chance to sleep it off, because if I would have said what I wanted to say? I think the day and night would have looked different from behind a set of prison bars…. 🙂
I am thankful for the students that continue to refocus my goals, motivations, and energy – specifically today, my advisory and Repentino. staff, and I would like to request a royal fart on those that continue to spread their gossip, ugliness, negativity, and bleak outlook on others around them. If life is that bad for them, and they cannot even a string of silver lining, instead of infecting others around them, they should just let me hire a friend names Guido to put them out of their misery…or show them life is better than they are seeing it, lol. Amen, sermon finished for now….What did I say earlier, one more week? 🙂
As a testament to the power of students, check this out…:)
and some favorite links of mine – Digital Is, Good Reads, and Flickr!
Some updates you will see on my book review page!
AWESOME Book Review site at a perfect little library in Delaware
http://whatwevebeenreading.blogspot.mx
I like the library in Lewes, DE, as I first volunteered there when I moved to DE, back in 2005. Think of a library full of skylights, that resembles a glass parlor where they make glass, and surrounded by gardens, and you have the Lewes, DE library!
James Patterson’s I Funny
Patterson combines the genuine passion to draw readers to read, he succeeds. Funny, committed, and graphically as well as plotfully interesting, this is worth reading, picking, up, and passing along. The hook near the end grabs your heart and will not let go, as it takes you by surprise, James Patterson style. Since he has a contest that he is currently doing with the glasses, of course, this makes this cool to wear comedian glasses. 🙂
Throw in a staff of funny people and what do you have? 🙂 Many I Funny!
PAVEing a Blog 