Welcome to 2011, Lauren Dawson

So for my birthday I went from this.....

To this.....

And it is AWESOME.

Ok, you might be thinking.... holy *r*p, Lauren!  How old was that phone?  I have a distinct memory of dropping it off the top bunk at the Pi Phi sleeping dorms after a long night out.  I only had a top bunk my sophomore year.  You do the math.... 

I must admit.  I have been embarrassed to whip that thing out since 2006.  I mean, it still had t9.  Ouch.

I am loving my new phone and I already don't know what I did without it.  Now I need recommendations on Apps.  Any great ones that you love?

Thanks Chris for a very unexpected and life changing gift... :) 

Ps... My brother Chad and his girlfriend Katie came out to visit us this weekend.  Detailed post to come.

The Greatest Dog Ever

Holly and me when she was only a few years old.

 Holly was born on November 30, 1995. We found her after I had conducted over a year of research in an attempt to find the perfect dog. This research was required by Dad, who after owning "the livestock” wanted no more mutts: if we were going to get a new dog, Dad said, we were going to do our homework first. That is because Buddy and Sox—i.e., the livestock—had not been easy dogs to take care of. Buddy was a lab-mix who was an escape artist. He managed to escape from every situation he was placed in—ranging from squeezing through a sliding glass window of an Aerostar van to hurdling over a chain-link fence armed with electrified wire manufactured to contain horses (yeah, we were desperate). Our vet suggested that a playmate may convince him to not run so much. Sox, a free puppy chosen from a litter in the back of pickup, was our pick to fit that role. Sox’s breeder told us that his brother, Bandit, was the “pick of the litter,” and that he was the one we should take. But I fell in love with Sox, who, while were looking at all the pups, fell out of the truck onto his head. He would never recover. This dog literally ate firewood for breakfast. We would let him out back in the morning, and he would grab a log off the woodpile and start going to town. Once, when we took Sox in for boarding, the vet asked us what kind of food we fed him so that he could continue his routine in order to not upset his diet. Dad didn’t stop laughing until we got home.

Although we loved Buddy and Sox regardless, Dad said this time we were going to do it right. We were going to find a good indoor dog who was smart and liked children. I settled on a Beagle: small, energetic, and loyal. Our family friends suggested looking at a Beagle-Terrier—a mix that had all the attributes of the Beagle, but was a bit smarter and lacked the famous Beagle howl—and the search was on. And, they told us, they had a Beagle-Terrier, and he was “The Greatest Dog Ever.” I am sure they truly believed that he was—but then, they never met Holly. Holly truly deserved this title.

We tracked down two Beagle-Terrier puppies—Holly and her brother—and took Holly home they day she turned five weeks old. Despite one vote for “Precious” (Kathryn . . .) we decided on “Holly” to reflect that we had gotten her as a Christmas present. She was barely a pound the day we got her, and when we set her down in the snow so that she could go to the bathroom before we started our drive home, the three inches of snow on the ground came up over her head. She was the smallest, sweetest puppy I had ever seen. I was the happiest ten-year-old in the world.

Holly and me, the night we brought her home.

Holly shortly after coming home.

 

From the beginning it was clear Holly was unlike other dogs.  For one, she was super smart—I mean, human smart.  She was housebroken in what seemed like a day.  Ryan and I walked home from school for lunch the first week after we got her to let her out, and she quickly picked up the routine: if I need to go out, I sit at this door.  Smart.  And she didn’t like other dogs.  Our vet said this was probably because she was taken away from the litter at a very young age and never learned to socialize.  We all knew, however, that this was because she was operating on a different level.  When we went for walks and other dogs would sniff her or bark at her, she would just ignore them and keep walking.  After they would pass she would glance up to us as if to say, “What an idiot.”  She always considered herself on the same page as humans, and throughout her life we would always be amazed at how Holly could communicate with each of us.

 

Holly taking her place for one of the family get-together’s.  Holly required a seat, just like everyone else.

 

Holly and me on one of our numerous fishing trips.  Holly was the only girl allowed at the cabin.  I am pretty sure she was also the only dog in Chase County, Kansas who got to sleep on a mattress each night!

 

A hooded sweatshirt was more appropriate for Holly than a collar ever would be.

 

Holly was easily satisfied over the years.  For her, it didn’t get much better than a good game of tug-of-war.  And she could spend all day chasing a tennis ball if you would sit there and throw it for her.  She had so much energy that my Grandpa nicknamed her “Chainsaw.”  She was always ready for a walk, and she was the one picking the route.  When I had her in Manhattan during college, we would head out every night, and at the end of our block Holly would pull me in any one of three directions depending on how long of a walk she felt like that night.  No matter where we would head, she always ended up at home.  She had a better grasp on our neighborhood than I did.

 

Holly’s first experience with “Tug-of-War.”  Holly’s favorite toys were a rope and a tennis ball.

 

“Chainsaw” wanting us to throw the ball!

 

Holly cut her foot one day chasing the ball and had to wear a cast for what should have been a couple of weeks.  She chewed it off after only a day, and was ready to chase the ball again!

 

As a member of the family, Holly participated in the family holidays just like everyone else.  She was always included in the family photo that graced each year’s Christmas card.  And on Christmas morning, she would beat us all down the stairs and sit in front of the gifts Santa had left for her.  She would always get to open her gifts first so that she could enjoy some of her new treats while everyone else opened their gifts.  Santa would always bring her new some milkbones and, of course, a new rope and ball!

 

Apparently this Christmas there was something more interesting to Holly than taking a picture with a lit-up snowman . . .

 

Holly was always included in the family photos.  And I made sure she was always sitting next to me!

 

Holly checking out her new toys Christmas morning.  Notice, our gifts haven’t been touched yet.  Holly always got to go first!

 

Yes!  A new rope!

Holly surveying everyone’s gifts after we are done opening.

This was so below her.  She is not happy.

During her final years, Holly slowed down quite a bit.  Five years ago, she was diagnosed with a tumor that the vet reluctantly told us would be nearly impossible to survive.  Holly defied all odds and made a full recovery.  But, in the years following, she would chose to curl up next to us on the couch rather than run after a tennis ball.  And although each time I came home from D.C. over the past year-and-a-half Holly would be a bit slower than the last, she would always be so excited to see me, and greet me with the same enthusiasm she used to show when chasing down a ball.

Holly and me after she was diagnosed with a tumor.  We took this picture as I headed back to K-State, thinking it might be the last time I would see her.  She would outlive this picture by more than five years.

In her later years, Holly got a new bed one year from Santa rather than a new rope or tennis ball.  This would be a staple for her throughout her final years.

Holly curling up on the couch last year.

I flew home to Kansas City on Thursday night to spend a long weekend at home and catch a basketball game in Manhattan.  I had expected for Holly to come running to meet me at the door as she always did when I walked in, but Ryan told me that he would have to go get her.  She was having trouble getting around, he said, and he would have to carry her down the stairs.  He brought her downstairs and set her a few feet in front of me.  She mustered all the energy she could to wag her tail and make a step in my direction.  Although she was hurting and had trouble breathing, she managed to greet me with the love and enthusiasm she had her whole life.  It is amazing the bond dogs share with humans.  It was time for Holly to go, but somehow she knew I was coming home.  She held on long enough to see me one last time.  Before going to sleep Thursday night, I went to Holly’s bed to pet her and tell her that I loved her.  I told her that it was okay; that I knew it was time and that she could let go.  Holly went to sleep and never woke up.  She was 15 years old, and she lived a great life.  She truly was the greatest dog ever.

Holly and me shortly after we brought her home.  We would be inseparable throughout her life.  I am going to miss you Holly!

Coupon-ing... is that a verb?

I have a new obsession.  Saving money at the grocery store.  Since we moved here, I have been good about looking up the ads online and planning our meals around what is on sale.  But I have to tell you, it has just gone to a whole 'nutha level.

A few weeks ago, Chris and I were enjoying our exciting lives.  Chris was studying and I was stalking facebook and blogs, when BAM!  Extreme couponing came on TLC.  Has anyone seem this??  Ok, so these people are crazy, but I have to say, I got really into it.  Really into it.

So I started doing some research and I found this awesome site called couponmom.com.  When I found it, I was thinking... I am not a couponer, nor a mom.  Can I hang with this website?  But I decided to take the plunge and signed up for a FREE membership.  I get loads of spam anyway, could this really hurt?

It is the best thing ever.  Let me tell you of the awesomeness of coupon mom....
Step 1:
Get your coupons out of you newspaper (don't clip yet!)
Step 2:
Record the date on the top of each coupon insert
Step 3:
Look up your local grocery store on couponmom.com
Step 4:
Clip the coupons it says (They combine the store sales with your coupons).  It even tells you which coupon pack and what date the coupon was sent to you on.
Step 5:
Make your list
Step 6:
Take all your coupons to the store and watch your total decrease.  A LOT.

Some of the rules we have learned during our trial run at the grocery store...
1. Don't buy things just because they are a good deal.  You end up spending more.
2. Produce and meats don't generally have coupons, but still buy them.  Your body needs them :)
3. Think of the meals you generally make when looking at coupon mom.  Example: ritz crackers were on sale and we had a coupon.  We are now making ritz cracker chicken (a favorite in the Dawson house)


Week 1 - We saved $38.55  BOOM!

Yes.  Our life is looking more and more like my 80 year old Grandma Bea.  Don't judge.  She raised 4 boys on a bread delivery man's salary.  She rocks and has taught me everything I know about saving money.  Although I have just started listening :)

The Scent of Rain and Lightning

For all our blog followers out there, I think I neglected to tell you that I got a Kindle for Christmas.  I am LOVING it.  I read so much more and so much faster.  It is awesome, so if you were debating whether or not you wanted an e-reader, get one.  You won't regret it.  I think the public libraries are working on getting e-checkouts, so even if you go to the library a lot, you still might like it.

I just finished the book The Scent of Rain and Lightning by Nancy Pickard.  It is a murder mystery/family drama set in Kansas.  It makes references to small towns all over Kansas, Denver, and yes, even good old K-State.  I would have been pleased with just that, but the story line is really good and it kept me wanting more the whole time.  The author is from Merriam, Kansas which is really cool.  The descriptions of Kansas were exactly right, and it made me miss Manhattan like crazy.

Shout out to the Moore's... this town reminded me of Hiawatha.  You guys should read it :)

Rock the Red

Well it happened again—being a K-State fan is exhausting. Every year, just when we think we may have a sporting program on a role, we get smacked in the face with the reality that is the life of a KSU fan. Our football team enjoyed some early season success, only to have a catastrophic blowout on defense during conference play. And our basketball team, tabbed preseason as a national-title contender, is now, well . . . struggling. So Lauren and I, although not giving up on the basketball team yet, did what any self-respecting sports fan would do: We jumped on a bandwagon. We picked the local team that had the best chance to win a championship (the Washington Capitals) and adopted them as our own. Thus, we are now hockey fans! And armed with some new Caps gear (that’s right, I am using the team’s nickname—we truly are bandwagon fans) and some tickets we got for Christmas, we headed to our first hockey game this past weekend.

Pregame fuel.  Nothing says "We like watching full grown men stomp on each other with razor sharp skates" like some grilled cheese sandwiches!

  Lauren and I in our new Capitals gear, about ready to hit the road.  In case you were wondering, yes, that is an Alexander Ovechkin jersey (aka, "The Great Eight"--he is kind of a big deal, I like to call him the "Michael Jordan of hockey").

As this was our first hockey game, we wanted to make sure we were not late.  Not a problem there.  We jumped on the metro and headed to Chinatown (where the Verizon Center is) and got to the arena about an hour-and-a-half early.  We were pretty much the only ones in our seats when we got there, but we didn't miss a minute of warmups!

Yep, pretty much no one here . . .

I'm a bit lonely . . .

Crickets . . .

Of course, we had to get a picture to commemorate the occasion, but, as you can see, there is no one around to take it.  So, enter the failed attempt at a long arm shot . . .

Wow, that is a big eye!  Let's try that without the camera fully zoomed in. . .

That's better!

We saw all of the warmups.  For all of you gamers out there, hockey warmups in real life are exactly as depicted on one of the greatest Nintendo games of all time, Blades of Steel. 

"Blades of Steel" for Nintendo.  Notice the players circling in the warmups, and . . .

The actual warmups.  Those Nintendo programmers nailed it!

On a side note, I say "one" of the greatest Nintendo games, because of course the greatest game of all time is a tie between Super Mario Brothers 3 and Contra.  Contra was a favorite in the Dawson household.  All Contra fans know the thirty-lives code by heart (Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A), but growing up, my brother, Ryan, could beat the game without the code.  So when we played multiplayer, he didn't enter the code, and thus we each had only five lives.  I would blow through my five lives in the first level, and then "borrow" (steal) lives from Ryan so I could keep playing (Select + B).  This would cause a huge argument that usually progressed something like this:

Ryan:  Chris, I told you, stop stealing my lives.  If you want to keep playing don't die so easily.

Chris:  I would stay alive but you take all the good guns.  Every time there is a "Spread Gun" you take it and only leave the "Fire" for me! [everyone knows the fire is no good].

Ryan:  Chris, I would let you have the Spread, but you will just die and then neither one of us will have it for Jo-Jo the Dancing Bear. [this is the nickname we game to the boss at the end of sixth level]

Chris:  I'm telling Mom.

Ryan:  [scared mom will make us turn it off]  Fine.  You can have the next Spread.

You get the picture.  In case you have no idea what I am talking about, this should provide some context:

The Contra Packaging

The Spread Gun.  Easily the best gun in the game.

Let me introduce you to Jo-Jo the Dancing Bear.

Anyway, back to the game.  Hockey Games = Fun.  Ottawa went up 1-0 early, but the Caps came back to score three goals in the third period to win 3-1.  We saw a few fights (sort of) and a few broken sticks.  We even met "Captain Capital," a slightly inappropriate, emotionally unstable, 35-year-old fan sitting behind us who wore a red cape (sorry, we never had a good chance to snag a picture).  Overall, we had a great time!

A view of center ice.

Goal!!!! 

Final Score!  Caps Win!!

We are certified hockey fans now and can't wait to attend another!  Go Caps!  Rock the Red!  We will keep you informed of how the Capitals do in the Stanley Cup playoffs.  But, now that we are rooting for them (bad luck!), I would not expect too much!

The Chinatown metro stop, outside the arena where the Caps play.  This is a neat area of D.C.

Back to School

Back to school, back to school, to prove to dad that I'm not a fool (Billy Madison... anyone??)

So I have finally decided to take the plunge.  I am heading back to school to be a school librarian!  All my other teacher friends have long since gone back to get their masters, and I put mine on hold.  It financially makes sense to get it, but I was waiting for Chris to be done with school, and honestly, I was still dreaming up what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.

I love teaching.  I get a thrill out of being so important to the kids in my class and and, in some cases, being their biggest advocate.  I love, love, love teaching math (anyone who knew me in fifth grade would never believe this...).  I love watching kids get passionate about civil rights issues in social studies and stand up for what they know is right.  I love watching their eyes light up when we prove that every action has a reaction, and teaching them life lessons through books like Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing :).

So you may ask.... why not get your masters in curriculum and instruction?  I have always known that I wanted to have options other than classroom teaching.  I might be a classroom teacher forever, but I really don't know how I will feel about it when we start a family, have a house, yadda yadda yadda.  I just wanted to be able to do something a little less emotionally draining if I needed to one day.  And the great thing about education is I still get the pay increase for having my masters, even if I want to stay in the classroom.

There are a ton of choices when you want to go back.  I could have decided on reading specialist, special education, gifted and talented, administration, ect.  I decided on "Educational Technology" with an emphasis in Library Media Specialist because I am passionate about reading and getting kids to love reading again.  Because of state testing and all that comes with it, I think a lot of kids have lost that love of picking out a "just right" book and loving every word.  Also, I am going to be taking a ton of technology courses, and that is where it is all going.  Teaching teachers the awesome powers of the smart board??  Yes please!

I am going to Pittsburg State and I start this summer.  The program is offered completely online and it will take 6 semesters.  I was getting really antsy to start and even though Chris is still in school, I decided to go for it!

So, if you are still reading this, there must not be anything good on TV.  But thank you for making it to the end:) I'll keep you posted on how everything is going.

 I will leave you with my first "young adult fiction" recommendation:

Blood on the River by Elisa Carbone -  If you want to learn more about the "Jamestown" era and the start of our county, this is a great book.  I am finishing reading it to my fourth graders and it is historically accurate and they are eating it up!

Also... don't worry.  I won't turn into a grouchy librarian.  I am thinking book blogs, digital textbooks, and grants for things like kindles and i pads... cool?

Forganics

My brother Ryan was recently on the production team for a documentary about local farmers and eating organic entitled Forganics.  If you have a few minutes check it out, it has been posted to the Garmache website.  I especially like the voice-over work (yeah, that's Ryan!).  I am sure he would not mind if you pass his name along to any movie producers you may know!  Enjoy!



The teaser for "Forganics."  If you follow the link above to the Garmache website, you can watch all five parts of the film.  Ryan says it was made to watch in any order, so after you watch the introduction you can move to any section you want.