whoops

Soo I guess I'm pretty horrible at keeping this blog thing going. Well to catch you up on the month of February...it was cold. Alright! On to March! Haha just kidding- well the most memorable thing in February as far as the program is concerned was the Winter Retreat at the same Coast Guard house we went to in the beginning of the year. Our first retreat was right when we got here- so it was full of team builders and things to help us get to know each other and everyone felt a little awkward being in a house full of 27 other people you didn't know. This time around, we knew each other! There were fun things planned like trivia and a talent show (I sang with Sam and we did a parody on Disney's "A Whole New World" which Ash and I wrote and titled "A Whole New Tool." It was about doing outdoor service projects in the winter and all the joys that surround it :-P) Overall it was a great time although the morning we left we found a dead seal on the beach that had been killed by a coyote. To be honest it was actually REALLY COOL to be able to trace the fight and it was the closest I had been to a dead animal. Yes of course it was sad, but its all a part of that little thing we call the circle of life. Also in February a group of my friends and I went to the city and stayed with my friend Rya for Valentines/Presidents Day weekend. We went to Serendipity and sat about ten feet away from Reggie Bush and Kim Kardashian- Maria's favorite story is when she was waiting for the bathroom and Kim walked up to her and asked her "Are you in line?" to which Maria responded.."Yea"..STAR STRUCK!! haha. All in all February was a fun month (minus that whole stomach flu thing that 20 people in our program passed around- I was NOT one of them (its the OJ mom :-) Just kidding I don't even drink OJ...I should get on that...

So up to March! This month we have had a lot of Herring Run restoration days because its almost that time for the little cute and cuddly herrings to go from ocean to river beds to spawn and their path need not be blocked by overgrowth and trash. We have also done quite a few cut and burns with the Seashore where we..cut..and burn brush and overgrowth in the woods to eliminate or at least reduce the chances of a natural fire causing all sorts of ruckus. We have had a few service days on farms or community gardens on the Cape removing invasives and putting up fencing to keep deer and wabbits out of plots! The fence day was fun because I got to use a sledgehammer- which of course meant I sang that song all day..and people here have not gotten sick of me singing yet so I'll take every chance I get! We also finished up our last wetfest (no more flush the kids!) and that signifies that every service we now do will be outside because ITS SPRING! And even though it doesn't feel like it..we still turned our clocks back and told the sun to stay up later for us and forced ourselves into flip flops on the first day of Spring (Ok..maybe that was just me but I felt it necessary and if mother nature doesn't want my little toes to freeze then make the weather warmer!) It worked because I am currently in flip flops on my front porch basking in the sun while I type this...so you all can thank me for single handily making the weather nicer.

Other than outdoor services I have been teaching middle schools students about the Junior Solar Sprint and just last week I went to an alternative school in New Bedford with students who have either been expelled from their original schools or have other behavioral issues that merit them attending this one. The minute I walked in I was told to lock all of my valuables so I was a little intimidated to say the least, however once the students came in my fears immediately disappeared and it quickly became my favorite school. I taught four separate periods, each one causing my heard to swell more and more- they were so into the Sprint and excited to start! It was a pretty cool feeling bringing something interesting into their lives when you could tell that school was maybe their one escape from a harsh reality they faced outside of those walls. Compared to the other "normal" schools I have been to- I could see how these students did not take it for granted. If I ever decided to teach- I would prefer to teach in a school where I can see that I have improved someone's day just by being there and caring.

That pretty much brings us up to this week- which has been my Spring break. While others in the house have packed up their summer clothes and headed south- I have stayed riiigghhtt here. The thought of having a house to myself was too appealing! My parents came up for the first weekend and I took them out to P-town hiking the sand dunes, showed them my favorite beach (Cahoon Hollow or White Crest as known by the locals), went for a bike ride and all that good stuff. I must say they did pretty well even though half way up the first dune they said short of breath "So the beach is right over this one and then we are done right?!" Um...nope...only four more miles though! On the last day we met up with my cousin Rachel and her hubby Nick in Providence for lunch which was really nice to finally meet up- she's originally from Alabama and I was so pumped she was only going to be an hour away- Life just gets in the way ya know? The rest of the week looks like this- Sleep in, practice guitar, work on songs, write this blog, search for jobs, and food shop before my friends come this weekend! YESS!! It's safe to say this is the best spring break I have had yet because all of these things have been on my to- do list for awhile now- burdening my soul each day I didn't complete them.

Alright time for me to take advantage of this awesome day by biking 20 miles to Woods Hole and back- wish me luck!
Keep on keeping on.