panama

well during my spring break 2 weeks ago i went to panama to visit my friend, pete, who is in the peace corps. we spent a little time in his community, then a couple days at the beach and ended the trip in the city. it was so amazing getting to see his community- they have no electricity and everything is very simple as far as agriculture and living. the people have thatched roof homes with either bamboo walls or adobe walls, mostly. there are pigs, chickens, and dogs alike just wandering in and out of houses! the people were sooo hospitable. pete's project is to teach them how to use latrines to turn their human waste into rich soil for crops because much of the soil in panama is overworked and eroded away. the beach was beautiful and relaxing. i got to see the panama canal, some towns along the way (i rented a car), and got to experience some discotecas and great panamanian music. :) it was such a quick trip and really made an impact on me. i was so proud of pete and all he is doing in his community- he loves it. it was the greatest spring break ever!! :) here are some pics-

1) beach in farallon, panama

2) sharpening the machete pete sent home with me...so far i've used it to chop some weeds in my backyard!

3) pete and i at beach

4) panama canal

5) i didn't realize how hilly and dry panama is. pete lives up in the hills, and it is really pretty driving up there

quick update

just an update to say that i got in to the ft. worth junior league and am really excited about that. i am debating about going to new orleans for a bit of mardi gras...it's my second favorite holiday (first is christmas), and i figure while i still have friends that live down there, it would be a good time had by all. i am going to panama over spring break to visit my dear friend, pete, who is in the peace corps. i will get to see how he lives in his village and then check out the beach scenery as well. :) school's moving at lightning speed- i feel like there's always more to teach and do that i run out of time for! 

we had an ice day a couple weeks ago, so here's a shot of that. hope everyone is well. love much and cheers!

Happy New Year!

I hope the new year finds everyone well- i know it has gotten off to a wonderful, refreshing start for me. i brought in the new year in my favorite place in the whole wide world, new orleans, of course. it was absolutely amazing getting to see dear habitat friends, most of whom have spread across to all parts of the country in all walks of life, be it school or career -focused. i returned to texas on a very early flight after a very late night out, made a couple new years' resolutions, and so far have been able to work on them successfully. :) school has been going very well- i constantly feel blessed to work where i do. i love my students and get to work with some pretty cool people as well. something i am pursuing and should know about within the next couple weeks is the fort worth junior league. i have always heard positive things about the junior league in general and figured it would be a great way to meet new people and get involved in the community. so expect an update on that in a few weeks. i also have decided to get back into running- i didn't realize how quickly i could lose the ability to run 7 miles! plus i don't think the holiday season of food and festivities helped too much. so one of my friends was telling me about the cowtown 10k i think at the end of february, and maybe i will build up to it again. there's just something so satisfying about building up to a goal. one of these days i think i will try a half marathon, but i've got a loooong way to go before that! well i guess i could go on about more things, but i think instead i will post some pics from the trip to new orleans.

the last is of jackson square- i love it- it's so picturesque, complete with horse-drawn carriages in front. the second is of one of my favorite little stores in new orleans- the flag shop! and the first is of my dear friend jackie, also a former habitater; we'd been planning this trip for months! we had an amazing time. :)

 i hope everyone's year has gotten off to a great start! love much and cheers-  

happy holidays!

well it is official: we are on christmas break! i am so pumped because that means family togetherness and new years new orleans '09! it also signifies the completion of my first half of a year of teaching in texas again- i have enjoyed it immensely. i have the most amazing students! i think i always say that, regardless of what school i am at, but it's so true! 

i don't have much to update, but i'd like to take the opportunity to send christmas wishes everyone's way and a very happy new year to you all as well. cheers!

turkey trot

well after karla and i did the 5k, i decided i wanted to do the turkey trot 10k. so i build up to it for several months, and on thanksgiving morning, dad and mom came to support me running the turkey trot! the weather was perfect, and the run was great. it was very hilly! it was about 6.2 miles...apparently not all 10k's are created equal, because i believe the dallas turkey trot was around 7 miles. anyways, it was pretty cool, so here's 2 pictures from that. oops i meant to post them in a different order- the one where i look cold is before (it was cold!), and the one where i am sweaty and smiling is after (it got warm!) 

life is going well- school's good, the house is good, it's cool living close to the fam again. i am meeting up with some habitat friends over new years in new orleans, so i am very pumped for that! i am ready for christmas break! :) i hope everyone is doing great- grandpa if you read this, i can't wait to see you when you come down for christmas! 

much love and cheers-

long time, no update!

Grandpa you inspired me to update my blog! I am sorry it has been so long. Things are going well- very busy. We had today off from school, which was nice to get a chance to catch up on things, like grading mainly. I am enjoying my classes and school, but it's hard for me to stay caught up! I just took on Freshman Cheer Coach a couple weeks ago as well, so I go to the freshman football and volleyball games with my cheerleaders. I am glad to get the opportunity, because you know me- go, go, go! I like to be involved. This is also a great way to get to see my students involved in sports play while coaching my freshman girls. So all in all, I am happy for getting to work with cheerleading! I feel very responsible again. Not that I wasn't in New Orleans, but this is definitely a different kind of responsibility. In New Orleans, I would work really hard at work, but then when I came home, it was all play. Here I work really hard at work, go to the gym, and come home and work really hard on more work. While I can get overwhelmed by the pressure at times, overall I enjoy having a job with outside responsibility. New Orleans felt like a vacation sometimes! I think in everything you must find a balance. And I am certainly still trying to find a balance now. 

Aside from school, I am helping with Ft. Worth Habitat for Humanity every once in awhile here; not as often as I'd like, but that's because of school and other things that come up. Karla and I ran a 5K the other week, which was really fun. I would like to do the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving, which I believe is a 10K, so I need to work up to that. I keep up with close friends from New Orleans, and one of my friends and I are planning a New Years New Orleans '09 bash. Then I am going to a really good friend's wedding that first weekend of January. Then it's back to school the Monday following. I realize the holidays are right around the corner- school is flying by! I am ready for cooler weather- for the perfect Cowboys-watching weather. :) 

I hope everyone is doing well. Here are pictures from the 5K (hopefully Karla won't mind me posting these) and a couple pictures from my backyard I took today. Who knew such pretty flowers would bloom in October! Cheers and much love- 

pics from carter build

so this first pic is day 1- we started with the floor system, and this photo is from about 12:00pm. the second pic is friday (the same week- 4 days later)- the house is completely finished. all the subs in, flooring, sod- it needs a fence and punchlist touch-ups. the third is the crew working on the house, and the green shirts up top were our habitat staff crew leaders.

can you believe it? a whole house in one week! it's mind-boggling. mind you, the days were long- on thursday night we didn't leave till like 11:30. but it's possible!