cOOkIeS!!!!

hello lower 48....
today might have been one of the best days ever... and not because a first grader complimented me (I think) when he said that I looked like an eagle flying. It might have been the best day ever simply because I got great music AND great homemade cookies all in one package. If you want some incredibly delicious oatmeal raisin or oatmeal butterscotch cookies - you know how to find me. The only problem is that by the time you get here, they will probably be all gone. but i'll eat one in your honor if you let me know....

so my buddy craig from the WEL program sent me out the new Eric Hutchinson cd and the cookies - with chocolate I should add. It was glorious. And the cd was in this super fun artistic case that he drew and painted and everything.  when i picked it up from the post office i was seriously skipping home. (and it should be noted that it was maybe 30 degrees today and windy - freezing cold). i kept waiting for someone to ask me what happened? why was i so giddy? but alas, i was home and got to tear into the cookies seconds later. so here's a pic of my buddy craig and me....
so what else has been going here? hmmmmmm... i would like to say that life has been so busy with crazy exciting bear fighting adventures or i've been freezing my igloo and plan to hibernate for the winter or something... but instead i've been objected to 'no child left behind' nonsense because my school is under strict watch by it and i've been simply trying to keep my head above the water.
my classroom is getting better though - i only average sending two students to the office a day as opposed to five - and i have a teacher's aid, so another set of eyes is much appreciated.
the weather here is starting to get so cold - as in it snowed the other day and now there's frost everywhere, but it is breathtaking. absolutely breathtaking. today i was walking to the post office and store and crossed over the infamous 'rainbow bridge' here in selawik. i looked to my left to see the mountains in the distance completley covered in snow. it incredible. the light was hitting the side of this one mountain, so it completely lit up. i wanted my camera, but then realized that there was no way it would do it justice. that's how i feel about the sunrises and sunsets out here too. i think i've mentioned it, but they are by far the most brillant colors i've ever seen in the sky. i love it.
here are some pictures, but i'm telling it - it does not do it justice for out here....
Awhile ago I went on that amazing boat ride and saw the prettiest rainbow ever. once again - the pictures don't do it justice, but I got the pics from one of the lady's on the boat with Jenny and me, so here's a few.... the mountains in the background, the rainbow, the perfect sky. Here it is:

No justice, but oh so pretty!

I'm going to put on my pj's and crawl into bed soon - but big news! I'm going to graduate from SIT in May. I'll be back in New England before you know it... back to the Bratt. It looks like writing my capstone on global warming from the cultural perspective is going to be a go, so I'm stoked. it's funny though - here i am in nowhere alaska, and sometimes, it just seems that when you allow yourself to follow your intuitions, it almost seems like you end up exactly where you were meant to be.

i'm off to rest - hanging out with third graders all day with very little sleep the night before means i'm exhausted....

oh and here's to great music, delicious chocolate and lots of good cookies.

Cristina