This weekend we packed up the entire family and went to Morgantown for Ricky’s graduation. Ricky now has a Diploma and cape that allows him to fight the war against tooth decay. All joking aside we are really proud of him for all the work he has put into becoming Ricky L. Cremeans Jr. DDS.
Winter, Teaching, & Washer Go Bye Bye
Greetings and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers!
It has been a long, cold, and snowy winter here at the Stapleton household but we managed to survive. Events have been few and far between since the last entry (beyond everyday life) which explains the lack of posting. I ended up having a fairly light few months of travel, and Jess has been making her way through her first year in the school system. Shes been a trooper this year while continuing to have several migraines a week but manages to work through it on most days. That’s pretty good since the school system will give you a migraine whether you are prone to them or not. As some of you may have heard the children are not the problem in many cases. We are going to try some med changes this summer while she is off to see if we can get things working a little better. Most of her body pain from the wreck is gone now but the new migraines the wreck brought with it are still a constant struggle. I have no doubt that she fights through pain that would make most people including me curl up in the fetal position.
On a brighter note Jess has found a position for next year at the new Huntington Middle School.  However due to changes in how the special education rooms are classified in the state she has to get another certification in addition to her Masters in Special Education. (I am beginning to think that academia is a pyramid scheme) As a result she begins classes at Marshall on May 24th, when she completes this round of classes she will have a Masters plus a bunch o freaking hours (That’s a technical term, when does she get that PHD thing?)
In Other News Since The Last Post
- Our marriage outlived the first major appliance purchase. Our washer of 10 years suffered a systems failure that would cost the price of a new one to repair. So we purchased one of those new tree hugging washers.
- We celebrated several birthdays (Sandy, Rick, Mom, & Nana Banana)
- The new season of Doctor Who started and I am watching it for the first time ever as it first runs in HD on my AppleTV (Jess didn’t think that was important. What?)
All in all not a lot going on. We are just doing that day-to-day stuff that makes America run. We hope that this entry finds you and yours doing well.
That’s the news and I am outta here!
A short somewhat informational few paragraphs about what has been going on at the Stapleton Mansion or Just Catching Up whichever you prefer.
Greetings and Salutations Faithful Stapleton Blog Readers
As usual I have let the blog do way to long without a lengthy entry. I hope you are finding my weekly twitter digests filling in the gaps and seeing what we have been up to. Since the last lengthy entry was on October 11th lets see what we have been into.
The rest of October, November, and the first half of December was filled with nothing but business travel. Jess continued to teach and learn the ropes at Huntington High School. She really loves her kids and her job; I am happy she gets to use her gifts everyday. At Christmas I took 13 days off and had a good time enjoying all the new AV gear that I got for Christmas. Jess and I bought a HDTV & Blu-Ray player for our Christmas present to each other. To which I spent my vacation time fully enjoying. (I never really get to just veg)
Also for Christmas I got my Direct TV HD-DVR and my long-awaited AppleTV which gives me access to the 2 terabytes worth of video I have in iTunes. You see I have been working for the last 2 years to get all my DVD’s into and electronic easy to move format. To that end every DVD and former VHS tape that I own is now in iTunes its like my own little Video on Demand system. This makes up my media utopia of having everything at my fingers tips wherever and whenever I want it. Good geek stuff!
Christmas 2009 Photos
That brings us to the end of my vacation and Jess’s Christmas break.
Jess did not work too much of her first week back to school due to the weather. So she was home when her Reduction in Force (RIF) letter came from the CCBOE. She was understandably upset but upon further investigation this is just one of those things that you go through in teaching. She will almost definitely have a job next year maybe even in the same room. Keeping the same room would really be great for her she loves her kids. Since they can stay with her for many years up until age 21 the relationship is quite a bit different the normal student teacher relationship. She can conceivably have the same kids all day everyday for up to 7 years.
That pretty much brings us up to the end of January. Sorry to be so boring but just telling you about working everyday would not be to thrilling. We hope that this posting finds you and yours doing well. Until the next update that’s the news and I am outta here.
Merry Christmas!
A surprise in a Christmas Card
While opening the mail today I received a little surprise. In the Christmas Card from my Uncle Phillip and Aunt Delores they stuck in this old picture.
I can not tell you the last time that I thought about Trigger the horse in the picture. He was kept on my grandfather’s Farm in Jackson County.
Thanks for the old memories and bringing a random smile to my face today.