This is not Facebook, the news, or any of that. It is just my attempt of blogging...

I have never created a blog before. I am going to try blogging and see what it is all about.
Weather:
Winter is finally coming to an end and we are finally seeing signs of SPRING!
Sunny days can bring a smile to my face. The thing that we need to remember is that Spring can be a mixed bag here in the Inland Northwest. It might be nice with a blue sky and temps that encourage us to break out the flip-flops and shorts. That can change quickly. Yesterday was a beautiful day but we had some pretty heavy winds. Be ready for a change in weather. If you can't adapt to our ever changing weather, go back. That's right, I said it. Go back. It is not like California, Arizona, Texas, or Alaska. This is the Inland Northwest and those that complain that "it was clear and sunny then five minutes later, it was pouring down rain..." should reconsider life here in Washington.

School:
I am currently taking a MA220 course at Whitworth University. This is a math for elementary teachers class and apparently the way that you and I learned to do math is not the way that the teachers of today are being encouraged to teach math. When we learned how to do math as kids we didn't understand "place value" and that has created a whole batch of fools. I am doing pretty good with place value but that must just be because I am smart like that. This new math that I am supposed to teach in my classroom requires additional steps taking a simple problem and making it much more complex. Apparently carrying and borrowing do not teach place value so we have to put about 3 extra steps in addition and subtraction problems to make them "simple" for the children to understand.
Seems silly to me. I just need to get through this class and I will be on to the next one in a few weeks.

car:
Some of you might know this, others- not so much. At the end of December my dad was bidding on a motorcycle on ebay. He won it and asked me to help him with transportating the thing back to his house. The motorcycle was located in Seattle (5 hours away) and since my Explorer averaged better fuel economy than his Expedition, we were going to tow the trailer over there, get the motorcycle, turn around and come home all in one day. I was willing to help because riding a motorcycle in December was not an option. Too cold.
We headed out at about 5:30 in the morning. coffee helps get me going that early. Two and a half hours in to the trip the O/D Light on the dash of my Explorer starts flashing. The last time that happened I had to put a $2,750 transmission repair in the thing. we pulled in to this little town and found a Ford Dealership. I explained what was going on and they assured me that with the explanation I had given, the transmission had internal damage. Great.
The service department told me that if I had paid just $300 more than the repair I would have gotten a brand new transmission with a 10 year/100,000 mile warranty, but since the dearler had just done a repair, it only had a 12 month/12,000 mile warranty. I was just over that. super. They told me that it would take about a week for them to do the work. I don't have a week. How about a rental vehicle to tow the trailer with? Nope. Nothing in this town available. How about a truck to rent and we will come back to pick up the Explorer? Nope. Nothing available. Let's take a look at the vehicles available for sale.
Found one.
They gave me way more than the Explorer was worth as a trade because they charged me way more than the vehicle I bought is worth.
I ended up getting a 2005 Dodge Durango Limited with a HEMI! It drives nice, has lots of room inside and a lot of pep!
We made it to the location of the motorcycle just as it was getting dark. Loaded the now bike in the trailer and headed back home. We finally made it back to my house at about 2:30 in the morning. I am not sure there is enough coffee to make up for this long day!
I also almost ran over a police officer on our way home but that is because his fellow officer had flagged me through.