Woooooooooooooo Hooooooooooooo!!!

I am officially employed! I accepted a job offer on Monday teaching 7th and 8th grade social studies at Mapleton School District just north of Denver. I am sooooooo excited!

Erik and I are getting ready to head out for Muskegon tomorrow and we are looking forward to seeing all of our friends and family before the big move.

We have spent the past week at my Dad's house in South Carolina. We have had such an awesome time doing NOTHING! It's been wonderful!

Don't Forget to Wash Your Balls

We've always known Roscoe is a little OCD, and our trips to the dog park confirm this: See dirty ball in mouth. See ball getting washed. Roscoe, our prissy little mutt.

Random Florida Shots

Just wanted to post a few photos from our stay in Florida. We got the opportunity to spend some time with Erik's nieces... Rachel will be 3 next week, and Gianna is just 7 1/2 weeks old. The orange visor is part of an outfit we bought her at the biker rally - the onesie that goes with it reads "When I grow up, I want to ride a Harwee."

Roscoe and Trixie got to enjoy the ocean at the doggie beach - Roscoe's fur reacts quite nicely to the salt water, don't you think?

Florida-Bound

We leave early tomorrow morning for Venice, Florida. It should be a mellow week hanging out with Erik's family so I doubt I will have anything interesting to post. Till next time...

Tipping the Scales

Seriously - I think we have gained 5 pounds in our very short stay here in New Orleans. We wanted to try everything and I think we did: Po'boys, Boudin Sausage, Muffuletta, Jambalaya, Red Beans & Rice, Gumbo, and Pralines. It's time for a serious diet, but it was worth it.

The French Quarter

We spent a few house roaming the streets of the beautiful and eclectic French Quarter before boarding the Katrina tour. It was great to check out the district in the morning hours when all is quiet and mellow.

Hurricane Katrina Tour

Erik and I were both a little leery about signing up for a tour in general, let alone one based on Hurricane Katrina... it just seemed a little invasive. However, we learned a lot about what really happened, and we got a true insiders point of view on the storm and the aftermath. It was truly amazing to see the devastation first-hand, and heartbreaking to see the infamous spray-painted markings on the outsides of houses. As you can see in some of the photos, the search and rescue teams used spray paint to indicate the status of the house and any people inside. The "X" has four quadrants : at the top is the date that the house was checked, at the left is the task force that searched the house, at the bottom are any hazards that may be present, and at the right is the number of dead. (Though you can't see it well in the photo, the house/duplex in the bottom picture was searched two different times. The top marking shows that it was checked on September 8 by a task force out of Arizona and they were unable to enter due to the high water level. Once the water receded enough to go in, the house was re-checked on September 24 by a Florida task force. This time, they found 2 dead in the attic on the right side. The word "hole" is written across the front door as this is where recovery teams had to look in order to recover the bodies. It apparently refers to a hole in the floor of the attic created by an axe used in the search efforts).

While we are certainly sensitive to the immeasurable human loss, it was absolutely painful to see the markings about pets. Several houses had additional information about the number and breeds of dogs found. Super sad. (The brick house, third from top, shows this with the marking "dog" on the front porch).

One final thought on the whole thing: It has been nearly 4 years, and I hardly think about Hurricane Katrina these days. I had no idea how much devastation still remains. The destroyed neighborhoods, the markings on the houses, and the general vacancy of some of the hard-hit areas left me uneasy, yet gave me a true respect for the people of this city who endured the storm and continue to rebuild their lives.

Saint Louis Cemetery #1

New Orleans cemeteries are unique because almost all of the dead are in above-ground tombs. I suppose it's only logical considering the high water table in the city. The small cemetery we visited was just 2 blocks north of the French Quarter and is the oldest in the city. Despite only being one square block, there are over 100,000 people entombed there.

The most interesting tombs were those that appeared to be associated with voodoo - surrounded by candles and other small trinkets as offerings. I am SO glad we went during the daylight hours - this is certainly not a place I would be able to stomach in dim light.

The Big Easy

We have arrived in New Orleans, and we don't have any major plans for the evening other than chowing down on some po'boys. My first impression of the city... I love it!! It's beautiful, old, diverse, and somewhat mysterious. The one thing I noticed right off the bat is that it smells like a hangover. You know the smell... like walking into someones bedroom after a night of hard drinking. I guess I should have expected that since New Orleans IS known for its late night revelry. Speaking of, I feel as if I am visiting this city about 10 years too late. Gone are the days of drinking all night and flashing complete strangers (Erik is quite pleased that I have matured). Tomorrow we have a full day planned, and I will post some photos as soon as possible.

We are still arguing over whether or not carrion counts as an actual wildlife sighting. Since I believe it does, I am chalking up another armadillo, along with a coyote and a baby alligator. May they all rest in peace.

Texas Messed With Me First

We made the drive to Dallas via Amarillo and Wichita Falls. This is my first (and hopefully last) visit to Texas and I feel compelled to report that my assumptions about the big state were correct. I feel no desire to visit again in this lifetime. No offense to anyone who lives, works, or travels there, it's simply not the place for me. The Texas nationalism freaks me out, as do the big hats, big pickups, and BIG support for Sarah Palin. I'm sure Texas has some great things to offer - Ron Paul, Austin, BBQ... but is is enough to lure me back? Probably not.

My main objective in Texas (and cause for much excitement) was the opportunity to spot an armadillo. I have never actually seen one of these creatures other than in pictures, so I had my eyes peeled. I DID manage to spot one, but the poor guy was belly up on the side of the highway. Erik and I have been arguing over whether or not this constitutes an actual armadillo sighting. I say it does.

And for you Pee Wee fans... I have had that darn song stuck in my head for days now! "The stars at night... are big and bright (da da da da) ... Deep in the heart of Texas..." Did I mention it was 100 degrees when we arrived? Are you kidding me!?

Mom and Cub

We got ANOTHER visit from the bear last night and this time we managed to get a better photo. Unfortunately, they're really dark because we couldn't turn any lights on for fear that we would scare her off. We were so intrigued with watching the big momma, we hardly noticed when her tiny little cub came walking up the deck a few moments later. Truly amazing.

The New Pad

Just wanted to share a few photos of the new house and stress again that we would LOVE some visitors!!!

The Bear

We are so excited that we have finally had the visitor we have been waiting for! A small bear has visited us twice in the last three nights. The first night, he took off with both of the squirrel feeders we keep on the deck... Erik found them the next day about 100 yards up the hill behind the house. Last night, he came again, but grabbed the feeders and plopped down right in front of us to eat. It was amazing to see - even if I did freak out a little. We did manage to get a photo, but I will have to post later because I forgot the USB cord.

On the job front - I had another phone interview yesterday that went quite well, and I am waiting to hear back on the one I had last Friday. Still in limbo! :)