Wow, has it really been since July that I have posted?? I'm horrible at this blogging thing...I really am going to try to be better, but I always say that, so who knows! It's a Navy Reserves weekend for Sean, and I couldn't get back to sleep after he got up at about 5:00, so I'm trying to take advantage of this extra time and update the blog...yay! Well, a lot has happened since I posted last, but if you are reading this it's probably because you know me and you already know what's going on in my life (for the most part at least), so maybe that's why I'm not very motivated to write frequently. Nevertheless, a quick rundown should suffice....
end of July - went to the Dominican Republic for vacay with great friends, had lots of fun
August - had 18 week ultrasound and found out sweet baby is a BOY!:) We both really wanted a boy, so we were very excited and it was SO fun to see him move around, trying to suck his thumb, etc. His name is Landon Edward, and we can't wait to meet him in person!
end of August - started the '10-'11 school year with a sweet group of 4th graders(love them!) and some great co-workers
Labor Day Weekend - went to Chicago for a bit of a "babymoon"....had a blast sightseeing with Sean, enjoying beautiful weather, eating great pizza, going to Cubs game, etc.
Busy weekends ever since filled with Aggie football (oh how it breaks my heart almost everytime, but I still come back for more - always full of hope and anticipating a big victory to turn the season--no,the decade--around), a wedding, Sean's 10-year high school reunion, birthdays, etc.
I am now 27 weeks pregnant and about to enter the third trimester. I'm still feeling good and very blessed with a great pregnancy. Landon is moving around so much, and I absolutely love that feeling. I am counting down the days until I get to hold him in my arms instead of my belly! I just want to SEE him and cuddle with him! :)
We have decided to do something a little different for his room...we are painting the ceiling a pale blue color that matches his bedding and leaving the walls the same neutral taupe color. I just have a pretty simple taste when it comes to wall color - I like all the rooms in our house to flow together - but I felt like it would be pretty boring to do absolutely NO painting in a baby room, and we heard the idea to paint the ceiling and loved it. I think it will be really neat. We are painting today after Sean gets home, so we'll see! I'm also about to get ready and go to Michaels or Hobby Lobby to get some wooden letters and paint for his name to hang on the wall above his crib...I think it will tie everything together. We are picking up his furniture next weekend when my parents are in town...I can't wait! I think everything is finally starting to come together! :)
Well I better get going...the Ags play at 11:00, and I have to be back from my errands and ready to root them on before kickoff. I'm hoping--no, planning--for a big Aggie victory against Mizzou today. Admittedly, that just might be part of the reason why I couldn't get back to sleep this morning...I think I really am addicted!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
Could it be??
This is going to be a quick post, but just wanted to stop by to say that I'm PRETTY SURE that I have felt the baby move. It started a week or so ago...I just felt it once or twice over a span of about 3 days...it was a fluttering feeling, like the baby did a somersault or something. I wasn't sure if that was it or not, so I didn't want to get my hopes up and go out and tell the world or anything. Well, I have felt that same feeling more and more frequently over the past few days (like 3-4 times per day now). It's still VERY slight (I kind of have to be paying attention to notice), but it's that same feeling, and I am about 90% sure it's not anything but the baby. I'm only about 13 weeks along right now, so it's very early to be feeling movement, but I'm not really surprised - the doctor told me I'm really sensitive/in tune to things happening in my body. He concluded this because I was feeling a certain cramping feeling really early in my pregnancy (and worrying about it of course) that is normal but most people don't notice. Anyway, this is getting a little wordy just to say I'm feeling movement, but I feel like people are going to think I'm crazy since it's so early, so I have to explain! :)
Friday, July 2, 2010
a HUGE tiny Blessing
I'm so excited to say that we are moving on to the next chapter in our lives...parenthood! Yes- Sean, Baby and I will be a family of 3 in January. I'm so happy to nearly be finished with the first trimester, and the pregnancy is going really well so far. I'll stop right there, though, because I guess I should start at the beginning of the story...
I actually found out on Mother's Day, so that was really neat. Upon seeing the word "Pregnant" pop up on the test, I immediately dropped to my knees by my bed in prayer. I was so happy and scared at the same time, but I was also thankful that I have a loving Heavenly Father who I can trust to guide me through this entire journey...from now, to the birth, to the first steps, to the first day of kindergarten, to high school graduation, to his/her wedding, and everything beyond and in-between. After that I was just excited and at peace with the whole thing. It was so fun telling Sean we are going to have a baby, and he was just as thrilled as I was.
Then came the phone call to my parents...it was so soon since I hadn't been to the doctor yet or anything, but I just couldn't resist the opportunity to tell my mom on Mother's Day...I wish it could have been in person, but it was still so much fun on the phone. At first she didn't believe me - she has been waiting a looong time for this - but when Sean chimed in and said we were not kidding, she finally believed us and started crying tears of joy...in the middle of WAL-MART...LOL:). I couldn't believe it took Sean's convincing her to believe me...that would have been a pretty mean joke on Mother's Day! I guess I can't blame her too much, though - I do enjoy a good joke, and she always says I'm a pretty convincing "storyteller". ;) Anyway, then she gave the phone to my dad (they were out in the parking lot by then, haha) and we told him. He was just beaming with joy as well...it was so fun telling them the good news!
Next we went to dinner with Sean's parents for Mother's Day. We had fun telling them too. Larry (Sean's dad) gave us high fives from across the table...it was really cute how happy he was. :) We are so blessed to have such loving and supportive parents. This baby is going to have some FUN grandparents! Not to mention the awesome Aunts and Uncles-to-be! Kami actually predicted that I was pregnant before I even told her...I have no idea how she knew...I guess it's just that sister's intuition. :) Our awesome families truly do make this experience even more exciting than it already is...I love each and every one of them so very much!
Since then, I started feeling more and more pregnancy side effects as the days went on. Luckily, summer was just around the corner, so I only had a few days at school where I really wasn't feeling great. I feel so fortunate, though, because I never even got sick...I was just queasy pretty frequently throughout the day, and that could usually be helped by laying down for a few minutes. Probably the most annoying thing was my lack of appetite. I normally LOVE eating...I mean, I'd say it's a hobby of mine...but not for the past 6 or so weeks - I pretty much just ate because I had to. It was never really good or enjoyable. Now if I were on a diet or something....PERFECT! But I'm definitely not (other than just trying to eat more nutritiously), so I'd prefer to have my full appetite. I didn't really have that many cravings - I loved watermelon for awhile, but that only lasted a few weeks - mainly it was just food AVERSIONS. All of a sudden I cannot stand most meats...I can handle beef in small quantities, but chicken, pork chops, fish, etc. = BLAH! All of a sudden those things sound (and look and smell) so gross to me. I guess Baby must already be a true Texan, preferring beef and all. Fortunately, my appetite came back and the queasiness went away almost completely as of about a week ago (just in time for my bday!)...I'm still not eating chicken, fish, etc., but hopefully that will come back to me soon as well. Overall, I feel like Baby's been pretty good to me - especially since the majority of the queasiness, etc. went away at the 11 week mark, which is BEFORE the end of the 1st trimester! Other than a weird deal where I felt like I was about to faint in the shower yesterday, everything has continued to go very smoothly this week. Woohoo! Thank you sweet Baby! :)
Now for one of our first baby pictures....this is the ultrasound pic from 8 weeks. It's not all that clear, but if you look closely you can see his/her head at the bottom and feet pointing up. I think it's cute already, but I'm a little biased. ;)
I had an appointment on Wednesday and was hoping to get another peek at the baby to see how much it's grown, but I was disappointed to hear that my next ultrasound won't be until the 18 week mark. However, I did get to hear the heartbeat which was so fun! It was beating so fast! I think most moms get emotional and maybe even tear up a bit when they hear the little heartbeat on the doppler device for the first time, but what did I do?...I laughed! The nurse probably thought I was crazy, but I couldn't help it...I have no idea why! Nevertheless, I just loved hearing that precious little heartbeat, and I wish I could have listened longer! I have another appointment on July 28th, but the one I'm REALLY looking forward to is on August 16th at that 18 week mark. That's when we'll (hopefully) get to find out whether it's a boy or girl! I can't wait! It is my first day back to work, so that definitely gives me something to look forward to at the end of the summer!
Well, this has been a really long post, but I think I have summed up most of the pregnancy so far. But in the interest of "keeping it real"...I just keep on thinking about how different our lives are going to be from here on out. Some things I will REALLY miss...like being care-free, going out and having fun with friends...having free time to myself...lots of things really, and yes, most of them are selfish...I just kind of feel like the days of my youth are ending, and I don't know if I'm completely ready for that. BUT I know that this precious little one is going to make up for all of those things and more. I think it's like this with almost any major life change. It's always a little bittersweet closing one chapter of our lives and opening another...but in this case it's mostly SWEET. One thing I know for certain...I'm already more in love with this baby than I ever thought I could be, and I know that love is only going to grow infinitely from here. And that's a cool feeling. :)
I actually found out on Mother's Day, so that was really neat. Upon seeing the word "Pregnant" pop up on the test, I immediately dropped to my knees by my bed in prayer. I was so happy and scared at the same time, but I was also thankful that I have a loving Heavenly Father who I can trust to guide me through this entire journey...from now, to the birth, to the first steps, to the first day of kindergarten, to high school graduation, to his/her wedding, and everything beyond and in-between. After that I was just excited and at peace with the whole thing. It was so fun telling Sean we are going to have a baby, and he was just as thrilled as I was.
Then came the phone call to my parents...it was so soon since I hadn't been to the doctor yet or anything, but I just couldn't resist the opportunity to tell my mom on Mother's Day...I wish it could have been in person, but it was still so much fun on the phone. At first she didn't believe me - she has been waiting a looong time for this - but when Sean chimed in and said we were not kidding, she finally believed us and started crying tears of joy...in the middle of WAL-MART...LOL:). I couldn't believe it took Sean's convincing her to believe me...that would have been a pretty mean joke on Mother's Day! I guess I can't blame her too much, though - I do enjoy a good joke, and she always says I'm a pretty convincing "storyteller". ;) Anyway, then she gave the phone to my dad (they were out in the parking lot by then, haha) and we told him. He was just beaming with joy as well...it was so fun telling them the good news!
Next we went to dinner with Sean's parents for Mother's Day. We had fun telling them too. Larry (Sean's dad) gave us high fives from across the table...it was really cute how happy he was. :) We are so blessed to have such loving and supportive parents. This baby is going to have some FUN grandparents! Not to mention the awesome Aunts and Uncles-to-be! Kami actually predicted that I was pregnant before I even told her...I have no idea how she knew...I guess it's just that sister's intuition. :) Our awesome families truly do make this experience even more exciting than it already is...I love each and every one of them so very much!
Since then, I started feeling more and more pregnancy side effects as the days went on. Luckily, summer was just around the corner, so I only had a few days at school where I really wasn't feeling great. I feel so fortunate, though, because I never even got sick...I was just queasy pretty frequently throughout the day, and that could usually be helped by laying down for a few minutes. Probably the most annoying thing was my lack of appetite. I normally LOVE eating...I mean, I'd say it's a hobby of mine...but not for the past 6 or so weeks - I pretty much just ate because I had to. It was never really good or enjoyable. Now if I were on a diet or something....PERFECT! But I'm definitely not (other than just trying to eat more nutritiously), so I'd prefer to have my full appetite. I didn't really have that many cravings - I loved watermelon for awhile, but that only lasted a few weeks - mainly it was just food AVERSIONS. All of a sudden I cannot stand most meats...I can handle beef in small quantities, but chicken, pork chops, fish, etc. = BLAH! All of a sudden those things sound (and look and smell) so gross to me. I guess Baby must already be a true Texan, preferring beef and all. Fortunately, my appetite came back and the queasiness went away almost completely as of about a week ago (just in time for my bday!)...I'm still not eating chicken, fish, etc., but hopefully that will come back to me soon as well. Overall, I feel like Baby's been pretty good to me - especially since the majority of the queasiness, etc. went away at the 11 week mark, which is BEFORE the end of the 1st trimester! Other than a weird deal where I felt like I was about to faint in the shower yesterday, everything has continued to go very smoothly this week. Woohoo! Thank you sweet Baby! :)
Now for one of our first baby pictures....this is the ultrasound pic from 8 weeks. It's not all that clear, but if you look closely you can see his/her head at the bottom and feet pointing up. I think it's cute already, but I'm a little biased. ;)
I had an appointment on Wednesday and was hoping to get another peek at the baby to see how much it's grown, but I was disappointed to hear that my next ultrasound won't be until the 18 week mark. However, I did get to hear the heartbeat which was so fun! It was beating so fast! I think most moms get emotional and maybe even tear up a bit when they hear the little heartbeat on the doppler device for the first time, but what did I do?...I laughed! The nurse probably thought I was crazy, but I couldn't help it...I have no idea why! Nevertheless, I just loved hearing that precious little heartbeat, and I wish I could have listened longer! I have another appointment on July 28th, but the one I'm REALLY looking forward to is on August 16th at that 18 week mark. That's when we'll (hopefully) get to find out whether it's a boy or girl! I can't wait! It is my first day back to work, so that definitely gives me something to look forward to at the end of the summer!
Well, this has been a really long post, but I think I have summed up most of the pregnancy so far. But in the interest of "keeping it real"...I just keep on thinking about how different our lives are going to be from here on out. Some things I will REALLY miss...like being care-free, going out and having fun with friends...having free time to myself...lots of things really, and yes, most of them are selfish...I just kind of feel like the days of my youth are ending, and I don't know if I'm completely ready for that. BUT I know that this precious little one is going to make up for all of those things and more. I think it's like this with almost any major life change. It's always a little bittersweet closing one chapter of our lives and opening another...but in this case it's mostly SWEET. One thing I know for certain...I'm already more in love with this baby than I ever thought I could be, and I know that love is only going to grow infinitely from here. And that's a cool feeling. :)
Saturday, May 1, 2010
YAY for MAY! :)
I am so happy to say that we have made it through the TAKS test and are now on the home stretch to sweet sweet summer! I love May - such a fun and exciting month! This school year has FLOWN by, but I have to say that this past week was rather loooong. 2 days in a row of walking around my classroom for hundreds of miles "actively monitoring" during the TAKS test while bored out of my mind is not what I call fun...I don't remember the Writing TAKS being nearly as boring as these 2 tests were (math and reading), and that was just 2 months ago - I guess it helped that writing had 2 parts to it, and it was only 1 day. Anyway, on Thursday and Friday I had a sore throat and body aches - It was not fun, but I still went to school because unless I'm feeling completely miserable or it's something that's highly contagious (definitely don't want to get anyone else sick), it's just easier to tough it out than to do all the lesson plans and prep work for a sub and just hope that I didn't forget anything and that everything runs smoothly, and then have a ton of catch-up work to do when I get back... Not worth it! Also, I was supposed to get a new student from Ecuador who supposedly doesn't speak English, so I figured I should probably be there for that. I had already told my students about it and had practiced my "Bienvenidos a mi clase!" in my best Spanish...but alas, he never showed up! My students were so disappointed. Oh well, maybe Monday...? We shall see!
The week definitely wasn't all bad, just long. I went to a wine bar on Wednesday with a sweet new friend/co-worker to chat for awhile and get to know each other better, and that was really nice. Then yesterday after school my team and I went to a Mexican food restaurant for dinner...we always have so much fun and lots of laughs together. I have been so blessed in my career - I love my school, love my co-workers, and love my students...such a good situation, and I simply cannot thank God enough for that and the many other blessings he has put into my life.
The week definitely wasn't all bad, just long. I went to a wine bar on Wednesday with a sweet new friend/co-worker to chat for awhile and get to know each other better, and that was really nice. Then yesterday after school my team and I went to a Mexican food restaurant for dinner...we always have so much fun and lots of laughs together. I have been so blessed in my career - I love my school, love my co-workers, and love my students...such a good situation, and I simply cannot thank God enough for that and the many other blessings he has put into my life.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Splendid Spring Break
Spring Break has been absolutely wonderful so far with only 1 exception...it has gone by waaaay too fast - it feels like it just began and it's already Thursday! But that's no big shocker - I could tell you that was going to happen before it even started. Well actually there are 2 exceptions to the splendid spring break because we did have a little trip to the hospital this week, but I'll tell more about that in a minute.
I haven't done anything too spectacular this week...just a bunch of little things that have been fun and relaxing. On Saturday, I helped host a baby shower for my friend Amanda. My friend Amy and I had a great time putting it all together, and everything turned out fabulous! I can't wait until Amanda's baby Cole is born! Anyway, that afternoon Sean came back from his business trip in NYC with a little blue box from Tiffany (woohoo! This boy definitely knows one way to my heart!)...I opened it up to find a cute little porcelain keepsake box with New York landmarks on it...it's like the ultimate New York souvenir--love it!
On Sunday I went to church with Natalie, and Sean had to go to the Reserves. He came back home that night and suddenly got nauseous. He could not stop throwing up that night and couldn't keep any fluids or anything down, so we decided to go to the hospital at about 3am to get him hooked up to some fluids and anti-nausea medication...poor thing was miserable! Thankfully it worked and we went home around 6:30 to get some rest. He was feeling much better the rest of the day - just a little weak. That same thing happened a few years ago when we lived in San Diego and nothing worked until we went to the hospital, so that's how we knew to do the same thing again. We still don't know whether it was food poisoning from something he ate at lunch that day or a stomach bug. Either way, I'm glad it went away fast and he had all day Monday to rest up before going back to work.
On Tuesday I met Sean, Natalie, and my father-in-law downtown for lunch. We had a great time eating and visiting, and afterwards I made Sean play one of those old games at the front of the restaurant that tells you what you were meant to be - it told him he was supposed to be a doctor...guess he has a long way to go, ha!
Yesterday I met up with my friend Hayley for happy hour...we had a great time chatting it up and drinking margaritas, which was fitting for St. Patty's Day since they are green! I just love Hayley--we always have so much fun. She is so down-to-earth and easy to talk to.
I wish I had pictures to share of all these little adventures -- one of these days I will get better about taking pictures, promise!
Actually I do have 2 pictures taken from my iphone at the rodeo a couple weeks ago...one with Hayley:
And one with Sean:
That counts for something! :)
Today my Mom is coming to visit for the next couple days...we are going to relax, shop, etc....I'm so excited! I love hanging out with my little Momsie--in addition to being my MOM (that word says it all - that bond can never be broken!) who I love so very much, she really is one of my best girlfriends! She knows me better than almost anyone, and I can just talk and laugh with her for hours! Anyway, I will end this aimless little spring break blog post with a quote I heard on Grey's Anatomy a few days ago that I just love and think is so true:
"It's the accidents that always turn out to be the most interesting parts of our day, of life -- the people we never expected to show up, the turn of events we never would've chosen for ourselves. All of a sudden you find yourself somewhere you never expected to be, and it's nice. OR, it takes some getting used to...but still, you know you'll find yourself appreciating it somewhere down the line. So, you go to sleep each night thinking about tomorrow - going over your plans, preparing your lists, and hoping whatever accidents come your way will be happy ones." :)
I haven't done anything too spectacular this week...just a bunch of little things that have been fun and relaxing. On Saturday, I helped host a baby shower for my friend Amanda. My friend Amy and I had a great time putting it all together, and everything turned out fabulous! I can't wait until Amanda's baby Cole is born! Anyway, that afternoon Sean came back from his business trip in NYC with a little blue box from Tiffany (woohoo! This boy definitely knows one way to my heart!)...I opened it up to find a cute little porcelain keepsake box with New York landmarks on it...it's like the ultimate New York souvenir--love it!
On Sunday I went to church with Natalie, and Sean had to go to the Reserves. He came back home that night and suddenly got nauseous. He could not stop throwing up that night and couldn't keep any fluids or anything down, so we decided to go to the hospital at about 3am to get him hooked up to some fluids and anti-nausea medication...poor thing was miserable! Thankfully it worked and we went home around 6:30 to get some rest. He was feeling much better the rest of the day - just a little weak. That same thing happened a few years ago when we lived in San Diego and nothing worked until we went to the hospital, so that's how we knew to do the same thing again. We still don't know whether it was food poisoning from something he ate at lunch that day or a stomach bug. Either way, I'm glad it went away fast and he had all day Monday to rest up before going back to work.
On Tuesday I met Sean, Natalie, and my father-in-law downtown for lunch. We had a great time eating and visiting, and afterwards I made Sean play one of those old games at the front of the restaurant that tells you what you were meant to be - it told him he was supposed to be a doctor...guess he has a long way to go, ha!
Yesterday I met up with my friend Hayley for happy hour...we had a great time chatting it up and drinking margaritas, which was fitting for St. Patty's Day since they are green! I just love Hayley--we always have so much fun. She is so down-to-earth and easy to talk to.
I wish I had pictures to share of all these little adventures -- one of these days I will get better about taking pictures, promise!
Actually I do have 2 pictures taken from my iphone at the rodeo a couple weeks ago...one with Hayley:
And one with Sean:
That counts for something! :)
Today my Mom is coming to visit for the next couple days...we are going to relax, shop, etc....I'm so excited! I love hanging out with my little Momsie--in addition to being my MOM (that word says it all - that bond can never be broken!) who I love so very much, she really is one of my best girlfriends! She knows me better than almost anyone, and I can just talk and laugh with her for hours! Anyway, I will end this aimless little spring break blog post with a quote I heard on Grey's Anatomy a few days ago that I just love and think is so true:
"It's the accidents that always turn out to be the most interesting parts of our day, of life -- the people we never expected to show up, the turn of events we never would've chosen for ourselves. All of a sudden you find yourself somewhere you never expected to be, and it's nice. OR, it takes some getting used to...but still, you know you'll find yourself appreciating it somewhere down the line. So, you go to sleep each night thinking about tomorrow - going over your plans, preparing your lists, and hoping whatever accidents come your way will be happy ones." :)
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Telluride
Wow, has it really been since September that I have posted?? I am horrible about this, but I will get better...someday. :) Anyway, we got back Wednesday night from an absolutely wonderful trip to Telluride, CO. We met Kami and Donny (my sister and brother-in-law) and a couple of their friends (Brian and Heather who we'd only met once before, but we will definitely have to hang out again because they live in Houston and they are so much fun!) there. Donny's dad owns a beautiful home there:
It was ski-in, ski-out with several luxurious guest suites, 2 hot tubs, upstairs/downstairs kitchens and living areas...really just too much to even name. One of the neatest things was that all of the wood and stone in the house was from some sort of cool place or story. For instance, the logs were all involved in a forest fire, so that's why they have the dark markings on them.
We had a blast skiing and hanging out in Telluride. On Valentine's Day while we were eating lunch we noticed that Ed Helms (Andy from The Office, also from The Hangover) was eating at the table next to us with a couple other guys. After debating back and forth for a while (should we try to get a picture with him, should we not? The guys were obviously leaning towards NOT, but the girls were just too tempted!), Kami was brave enough to tell him we were big fans and ask if we could get a picture. I'm so glad she did because he was very friendly! He asked where we were from and we talked for a bit. We assumed he was just their for vacation so we didn't ask, but it turns out he was in town for some sort of comedy show that he was doing with some other guys. We didn't know that until later on when we saw the sign for it, and we called to try and get tickets, but it was sold out. :( mwah mwah. Oh well, it was still really neat to meet him because we are all huge fans of The Office!
Pictured L-R Heather, me, Andy (well I guess it's actually Ed but it seems much more natural to call him Andy), and Kamster!
We did a little shopping around Telluride that afternoon, and that evening we had Valentine's Day dinner at Allred's. Allred's is a really neat restaurant on the mountain (you have to ride the gondola to get there!) where Will, our next door neighbor from when we were kids in San Antonio, is a chef! It was so great to see him, and of course the food was delicious! I wish we would have gotten a picture with him because we ended up not being able to get together after that. At least we got to see him for a short time....what a small world this is! I miss those childhood days in San Antonio with the "Winter Hill Gang."
Most of the remainder of our time in Telluride was spent snow skiing. I hadn't skied since we went to Big Bear in California a couple years ago, but it's just like riding a bike - it's easy to pick right back up where you left off. We had so much fun...I really love skiing, and I've decided I want to try to go at least once every 2 years from here on out.
The whole group:
Sean and I on the "See Forever" run:
On Wednesday morning we left for our flight back to Houston. At least we only had 2 days until the weekend, so it kind of eased us back into the real world, but it was still sad to leave. I just love traveling...can't wait to start the countdown to the next trip! For now, I just have to focus on getting my students through the Writing TAKS successfully...I will say it was nice to come back to my little ducklings on Thursday! I kind of missed them even though I only missed 2 days of school. I call them my little ducklings because when they follow me in line it reminds me of ducklings. Some of the boys aren't too crazy about the idea of being called "ducklings" but I stick with it anyway. Hehe :)
It was ski-in, ski-out with several luxurious guest suites, 2 hot tubs, upstairs/downstairs kitchens and living areas...really just too much to even name. One of the neatest things was that all of the wood and stone in the house was from some sort of cool place or story. For instance, the logs were all involved in a forest fire, so that's why they have the dark markings on them.
We had a blast skiing and hanging out in Telluride. On Valentine's Day while we were eating lunch we noticed that Ed Helms (Andy from The Office, also from The Hangover) was eating at the table next to us with a couple other guys. After debating back and forth for a while (should we try to get a picture with him, should we not? The guys were obviously leaning towards NOT, but the girls were just too tempted!), Kami was brave enough to tell him we were big fans and ask if we could get a picture. I'm so glad she did because he was very friendly! He asked where we were from and we talked for a bit. We assumed he was just their for vacation so we didn't ask, but it turns out he was in town for some sort of comedy show that he was doing with some other guys. We didn't know that until later on when we saw the sign for it, and we called to try and get tickets, but it was sold out. :( mwah mwah. Oh well, it was still really neat to meet him because we are all huge fans of The Office!
Pictured L-R Heather, me, Andy (well I guess it's actually Ed but it seems much more natural to call him Andy), and Kamster!
We did a little shopping around Telluride that afternoon, and that evening we had Valentine's Day dinner at Allred's. Allred's is a really neat restaurant on the mountain (you have to ride the gondola to get there!) where Will, our next door neighbor from when we were kids in San Antonio, is a chef! It was so great to see him, and of course the food was delicious! I wish we would have gotten a picture with him because we ended up not being able to get together after that. At least we got to see him for a short time....what a small world this is! I miss those childhood days in San Antonio with the "Winter Hill Gang."
Most of the remainder of our time in Telluride was spent snow skiing. I hadn't skied since we went to Big Bear in California a couple years ago, but it's just like riding a bike - it's easy to pick right back up where you left off. We had so much fun...I really love skiing, and I've decided I want to try to go at least once every 2 years from here on out.
The whole group:
Sean and I on the "See Forever" run:
On Wednesday morning we left for our flight back to Houston. At least we only had 2 days until the weekend, so it kind of eased us back into the real world, but it was still sad to leave. I just love traveling...can't wait to start the countdown to the next trip! For now, I just have to focus on getting my students through the Writing TAKS successfully...I will say it was nice to come back to my little ducklings on Thursday! I kind of missed them even though I only missed 2 days of school. I call them my little ducklings because when they follow me in line it reminds me of ducklings. Some of the boys aren't too crazy about the idea of being called "ducklings" but I stick with it anyway. Hehe :)
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Classroom, Labor Day weekend, etc....
As you can imagine, the past few weeks have been very busy with school starting and everything....hence the reason for not posting in about a month. However, I am finally coming through with a couple pictures of my classroom as promised. Keep in mind that my room is in an old portable with those oh-so-stylish brown paneled walls.... so you have to cut me a little slack there....it's not so easy to make that look cute! I have given it my best shot, though, and I will continue to add things and make improvements throughout the year.
I absolutely LOVE my students, my school, and my team. I can't imagine myself wanting to change grades or schools or ANYTHING anytime in the foreseeable future. I really do love my job -- the only downside is the looong hours I have been working, but I was expecting that, so no surprise there!
Last weekend we went to the first A&M game and then to San Saba for the rest of Labor Day weekend. The whole weekend was so much fun - we didn't want it to end! The Aggies played a great game, and we had a lot of fun sitting with Shannon, Jonathan, Evonne, and Brannon.
After the game and a brief visit to the Chicken, we drove to San Saba. The "Franklin" side of our family was in town and we had so much fun visiting with all of them. My Uncle Jerry's friend had flown in from Houston, and on Sunday morning he took us for a plane ride around San Saba. It was really cool to see our house and everything from the air.
After that we went down to the river and sat in lawn chairs in the shallow part, chatted, and relaxed. Then we cooked out and had some delicious doves and fried fish. On Monday we relaxed a little more, played some 42, and got ready to head back to the real world. It was a wonderful weekend and I can't wait to go back! :)
Last night we went to the Woodlands for a Brad Paisley concert with Shannon and Jonathan...it was really fun, I just love Brad Paisley. Now we are just watching some football, I'm grading papers, and about to go run some errands. Tonight we are going out with Shannon, Jonathan, Evonne and Brannon. Evonne and Brannon are in town from San Antonio. Should be a fun night! We're eating Mexican food and I feel like it's been awhile (at least a week! haha) since I've had Mexican food, so I'm getting really excited. :) Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! XOXO
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Back to school, back to school
I really need to be at the school working on my classroom right now, but I haven't written on this thing in a while so I decided to stop by for a quick hello before I go. :) The past couple weeks have been busy as expected....I have been to teaching workshops out the wazoo...some have been really good, some have been 'eh'. They all kind of start to sound the same after a while....I have gotten some really good ideas though. I have spent every available moment this week (mainly those few precious moments in between workshops and a few hours each evening) working on my classroom or buying stuff for my classroom, and I still have a lot more to go. Yes, it is indeed back-to-school-time for me.....overall, though, I am loving every minute of it! I have my list of students and I cannot wait to meet them. Wednesday night is "Meet the Teacher" (or in my case, "Meet the Students") so I will meet several of them then....I am so excited to see their precious faces! :) I will try to get some pictures of my classroom when it's finished and post them on here. I'm hoping to get the majority of it done today and tomorrow afternoon, but that's probably just wishful thinking! That's okay, as long as it's done by Wednesday I'm good to go. Alrighty, I better hop to it....hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!! xoxo
Saturday, July 25, 2009
busy busy busy
Summer is rapidly coming to an end, which is very bittersweet to me. I can actually count on one hand the number of days left before school starts in which I don't already have an obligation or something planned. I'm happy because I'm excited about setting up my classroom and meeting my students and everything....I'm a little bummed because I know it won't be long before I will be missing summer and longing for a vacation!
Last weekend we had a mini-vacay in San Antonio at the Westin La Cantera Resort with my wonderful fam. We had so much fun, and I don't think any of us wanted to leave! On Friday night we went to La Margarita in downtown SA for some delicious Mexican food and, of course, margaritas. On Saturday morning we got up for a wonderful breakfast and then everyone kind of did their own thing....Dad and Colby went golfing, Mom, Kami, Alli, and Donny went to the pool, and Sean and I went to Fiesta Texas. Yep, 25 yrs old and I'm still a roller coaster junkie :). We didn't get to do as much as we wanted because it was so crowded, but we still had a lot of fun. If you want small crowds and short lines, Saturday is definitely not the best day to go to an amusement park. Of course we knew that, but it was really our only option this time and I was still determined to get my roller coaster fix! Then we went back to the hotel and everyone met up in time for happy hour (or "happy time" as Mom likes to call it!). The floor we were staying on had a room with some yummy hors d'ouvres and wine and beer during happy hour. Afterwards, everyone went down to the pool and hot tub and lounged a little and had a great time cutting up and having fun. Then we got ready for dinner and ate at one of the restaurants at the resort, followed by a friendly game of shuffleboard which I think my Mom and Dad won pretty handily...I never knew they were such pros! On Sunday we got up and ate some breakfast, lounged around and watched a movie, and went down to the pool for a little bit while the guys played more golf. Then we went to one of my fave SA restaurants, Alamo Cafe, and afterward everyone went their separate ways to start the work week. Here are a few pictures...
I spent this whole week at a teaching workshop called Summer Writing Academy. It was pretty long, but I actually enjoyed it for the most part. I learned some great ideas for teaching writing and had fun getting to know a couple of the girls that will be on my team as well as a few from other schools in the district.
Last night we went to the Astros game with my father-in-law. We had great seats and the Astros won, so it was just an all-around good time!
Today I am going to make myself work out because I haven't in a while and I feel so "blah!" For the majority of today, though, we will be continuing to unpack our apartment. It is going so slow! Fitting the contents of a 3 bedroom house into a 1 bedroom apartment has been quite a challenge, but we're making progress little by little. We have a storage unit, but it has filled up rather quickly. I'm glad that this is only a short-term living arrangement. Hopefully (as long as God agrees that it's what he wants us to do!) we will be buying a house before the end of the year and moving in while I'm out of school over the holidays. But in the meantime....we've gotta get back to unpacking and setting this place up the way we want it for the next few months. Hopefully we will get a lot done today and tomorrow.
Tonight we are going to hang out with our friend Hayley (who is in town from San Francisco) and some other friends from college, so we are excited about that! Hope everyone has a great weekend! XOXO
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Lazy Saturday
Today has been a nice lazy Saturday. Other than a quick jaunt on the treadmill this morning, I pretty much haven't done anything except meet my friend Katie at a place called Hungry's for lunch. The food was very yummy and I really enjoyed catching up with Katie. We haven't known each other for very long, but the few times that we have been able to get together we've gotten along great...she's just one of those people who is really easy to talk to and I love that. She will be teaching in Katy ISD next year as well, and she has plans to move out there within the next couple years - I can tell we're going to be great friends :)
So I was bad as usual and didn't take any pictures last weekend...not a single one! And there's not really a fun story to tell that sticks out in my mind particularly, although it was a very fun weekend. So in case anyone was eagerly awaiting the stories and pictures that I mentioned at the end of my last post (and I'm sure you all were....ha!), sorry to disappoint. I guess I'm just not that good at this blogging thing yet! I don't ever think to myself 'Hey, I should take some pictures right now to put on my blog! ' But I really should start doing that because I know it's a great way to record memories and share with family and friends....my whole purpose for starting this thing in the first place! Oh well, someday I'll learn...
Anyway, quick recap of last weekend: Friday - we swam, played water volleyball (which Kami, Dad, and I beat Mom, Sean, and Donny in - quite handily I might add), Kami and I went fishing with Donny and Sean (we didn't last long - it just wasn't that exciting to us and the gross bait didn't help matters either), and we had some delicious fajitas. Saturday - swam some more, Donny and Sean went fishing again (minus the girls this time), went to my grandparents' house for a fish fry (yum!), watched the fireworks at the park, played poker. Sunday - went to church, ate lunch, and packed up to head back to Houston. On the way back to H-town we stopped at Sonic and got a cherry limeade chiller (which is cherry limeade mixed with vanilla ice cream) and ahhh, I was in heaven! They are so good! Thursday I tried the strawberry limeade chiller and it was equally as good - I can't decide which I like better.
This week really flew by - I can't believe it's already the weekend again! Some highlights of the week: On Tuesday we went to our small group Bible study in Katy...we really enjoy that group. On Wednesday I met Sean and Kresta (my cousin John's lovely wife) downtown for lunch, and we randomly saw my dear friend Shannon, so she joined us as well! Wednesday night I joined Shannon and several other friends from Kappa at dinner - it was great catching up with them - I hadn't seen a couple of them since college! Thursday night we went to the Astros game with our friends Ryan & Amy, which was really fun - it was actually the first baseball game we've been to this year! Amy teaches 3rd grade in the school that I will be teaching at, and I am so excited - another person that I can already tell is going to be a great friend!
I guess that about sums it up for the week. Tonight we are going to dinner with our friends Ryan and Amanda. We are eating Thai food, which neither Sean nor I have ever tried before, so should be interesting! I've heard it's good though, so I'm not scared. :) And I will leave you with a picture that Kami took of Momsie and I before we left on Sunday. Thank you Kami - without you, this would just be another pictureless blog post.
So I was bad as usual and didn't take any pictures last weekend...not a single one! And there's not really a fun story to tell that sticks out in my mind particularly, although it was a very fun weekend. So in case anyone was eagerly awaiting the stories and pictures that I mentioned at the end of my last post (and I'm sure you all were....ha!), sorry to disappoint. I guess I'm just not that good at this blogging thing yet! I don't ever think to myself 'Hey, I should take some pictures right now to put on my blog! ' But I really should start doing that because I know it's a great way to record memories and share with family and friends....my whole purpose for starting this thing in the first place! Oh well, someday I'll learn...
Anyway, quick recap of last weekend: Friday - we swam, played water volleyball (which Kami, Dad, and I beat Mom, Sean, and Donny in - quite handily I might add), Kami and I went fishing with Donny and Sean (we didn't last long - it just wasn't that exciting to us and the gross bait didn't help matters either), and we had some delicious fajitas. Saturday - swam some more, Donny and Sean went fishing again (minus the girls this time), went to my grandparents' house for a fish fry (yum!), watched the fireworks at the park, played poker. Sunday - went to church, ate lunch, and packed up to head back to Houston. On the way back to H-town we stopped at Sonic and got a cherry limeade chiller (which is cherry limeade mixed with vanilla ice cream) and ahhh, I was in heaven! They are so good! Thursday I tried the strawberry limeade chiller and it was equally as good - I can't decide which I like better.
This week really flew by - I can't believe it's already the weekend again! Some highlights of the week: On Tuesday we went to our small group Bible study in Katy...we really enjoy that group. On Wednesday I met Sean and Kresta (my cousin John's lovely wife) downtown for lunch, and we randomly saw my dear friend Shannon, so she joined us as well! Wednesday night I joined Shannon and several other friends from Kappa at dinner - it was great catching up with them - I hadn't seen a couple of them since college! Thursday night we went to the Astros game with our friends Ryan & Amy, which was really fun - it was actually the first baseball game we've been to this year! Amy teaches 3rd grade in the school that I will be teaching at, and I am so excited - another person that I can already tell is going to be a great friend!
I guess that about sums it up for the week. Tonight we are going to dinner with our friends Ryan and Amanda. We are eating Thai food, which neither Sean nor I have ever tried before, so should be interesting! I've heard it's good though, so I'm not scared. :) And I will leave you with a picture that Kami took of Momsie and I before we left on Sunday. Thank you Kami - without you, this would just be another pictureless blog post.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
25th birthday, etc.
I turned 25 on Friday, and I have decided I want to stay there. :) I like 25, it's a nice age - old enough to be an adult, but young enough to still be, well, young. So the plan is: I will still celebrate birthdays (because where's the fun in not celebrating birthdays!?), but I'm staying at age 25 for at least a few more years.
Ha, if only that worked! ;) And it's not that I'm saying anything above 25 or 30 or even 40 is "old" - it's just that anything beyond 25 is venturing out into the unknown for me. You see, for my entire life thus far, it has seemed like each year life has gotten better and better...and I fear that it can't stay like this forever....I feel like at some point, and I don't know when that point will be, I will reach my "peak" and things will start going downhill! :-0
But, God is so good and I will just continue to pray that He will continue to pour out the blessings. :)
It was a good birthday...after Sean got off work we left Houston for San Saba. Along the way we stopped at Coldstone and got their "birthday cake remix" creation, which is my absolute favorite. And the guy making it knew that it was my birthday, so he upgraded me to the "Love it" largest size which is easily big enough to feed 3 people. He thought he was just being nice and generous (and he was), but little did he know that I would eat the WHOLE thing. Anyway, then we met my parents in Killeen for dinner (thankfully we had 2 or 3 hours of driving time in between for my ice cream to settle), and afterward we all drove the rest of the way to San Saba. There waiting for me was a delicious German chocolate cake (my fave!) prepared by my wonderful parents... so I proceeded with my indulgences of the day and ate some of that. Probably about a 5,000 calorie day, but hey - it was my birthday, I obviously wasn't counting :)
Here is a picture of me with my German chocolate cake....
Ha, if only that worked! ;) And it's not that I'm saying anything above 25 or 30 or even 40 is "old" - it's just that anything beyond 25 is venturing out into the unknown for me. You see, for my entire life thus far, it has seemed like each year life has gotten better and better...and I fear that it can't stay like this forever....I feel like at some point, and I don't know when that point will be, I will reach my "peak" and things will start going downhill! :-0
But, God is so good and I will just continue to pray that He will continue to pour out the blessings. :)
It was a good birthday...after Sean got off work we left Houston for San Saba. Along the way we stopped at Coldstone and got their "birthday cake remix" creation, which is my absolute favorite. And the guy making it knew that it was my birthday, so he upgraded me to the "Love it" largest size which is easily big enough to feed 3 people. He thought he was just being nice and generous (and he was), but little did he know that I would eat the WHOLE thing. Anyway, then we met my parents in Killeen for dinner (thankfully we had 2 or 3 hours of driving time in between for my ice cream to settle), and afterward we all drove the rest of the way to San Saba. There waiting for me was a delicious German chocolate cake (my fave!) prepared by my wonderful parents... so I proceeded with my indulgences of the day and ate some of that. Probably about a 5,000 calorie day, but hey - it was my birthday, I obviously wasn't counting :)
Here is a picture of me with my German chocolate cake....
The next day we went to Brownwood for the Mahan reunion, which was enjoyable and also, let's see...interesting. Family reunions always are pretty interesting, aren't they? I hadn't been to one in a while, so it was Sean's first one to have the pleasure of attending...we had some fun and quite a few laughs. ;) But it really was a good time, and very nice to see some relatives I hadn't seen in years. The next day, we took my Dad to his golf tournament in Brady (which he and his partner won - yay!), Sean had to head back to Houston for work, and I went with my Mom to Dallas for Market to place some orders for Mbellishments. This was my first time to go to the Dallas Market - last year I went with my Mom and Kathy to the market in Las Vegas. We had a great time, but it was very tiring! Yesterday I hung out with my Mom at Mbellishments for awhile, went to the golf course and rode along with my Dad for awhile (Wednesday is their big golf day), and went to Digg's (the new restaurant in town) with Shi'Ann and our families. It was great catching up with Shi - we hadn't seen each other in a few months. It turned into quite a humorous experience as well - we came across a fellow who had had a little too much to drink and was very entertaining - sometimes you've just gotta sit back and laugh! And somehow Shi'Ann and I both ended up being named "Sharon" by the end of the night. I guess you had to be there. ;)
Sean is coming back to San Saba tonight after he gets off work, so I'm really excited about that! Donny and Kami are coming too. It's going to be such a fun weekend! Hopefully I'll have some fun stories and pictures to post after we get back to Houston on Sunday. Until then, Happy July 4th weekend everybody! :)
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
It's been awhile!
Wow, has it really been this long since I posted last?? To be honest, I kind of forgot about the ol' blog for awhile. I guess it's just because after the move from San Diego I was in a totally different place and a totally different routine....actually I'm not in much of a routine at all....it has been something different pretty much every day for the last couple months...
I guess my biggest news to report since my last post is that, 2 or 3 weeks ago, I got a job teaching 4th grade language arts at a GREAT school in Katy ISD. It really is SUCH an answered prayer. I had been praying about it quite a bit every day. There were times that I felt so discouraged...As a matter of fact, the night before I found out I got the job was probably the most down I had felt in my whole job search. But lo and behold, the very next day God came through as He always does. Honestly, if I could have picked any teaching position I wanted, I would have picked 4th grade language arts. I think it's such a great age, and I love spelling, grammar, reading, writing, etc. I will also be teaching social studies to my homeroom...I love social studies, so I'm really excited about that too. I know that preparing my students for the TAKS test will be stressful at times, but I welcome the challenge. I think life would be boring if we never had anything to really challenge us.
Another big happening in our lives is that we signed a 6-month lease on an apartment in Katy, and we will be moving in in a couple weeks. We had originally planned to buy a house right away and skip the apartment thing, but we need to be all moved in somewhere before August (since that is going to be such a busy time for me with school starting and everything), and we decided we didn't want to rush the whole home-buying process. Sooo, we will be in an apartment for 6 months, and we will have plenty of time to find our "dream home" with as little stress as possible. Having a dog, it is going to be tough going from townhouse life with a backyard back to apartment life with no backyard, but I think we can handle it for 6 months. And our apartment has a garage so that will help to make the transition a little smoother.
In other news, I met my team yesterday (the 9 other 4th grade teachers I will be teaching with - yes, NINE...it's a big school!), and they are all so sweet and fun! I can tell it's going to be a great year! I'm so excited and ready for school to start, but I don't want to rush it too much because I know the rest of the summer is going to FLY by. I have several trainings and professional learning things I am going to be attending over the next few weeks, in addition to moving into our apartment. I think this afternoon I'm going to go to one of the teacher supply stores and start picking up a few things for my classroom...little by little, I'll get it all put together. The entire 4th grade is in portables, so that makes it a little more challenging to make my room look cute, but I'm determined to make it as nice as it can possibly be...it just might require a few more posters, etc. to cover up those lovely 70's-style brown paneled walls. ;)
Well I guess that's about all I have to report for now, but I promise to post a lot more frequently than once-every-2 months from here on out :)
I guess my biggest news to report since my last post is that, 2 or 3 weeks ago, I got a job teaching 4th grade language arts at a GREAT school in Katy ISD. It really is SUCH an answered prayer. I had been praying about it quite a bit every day. There were times that I felt so discouraged...As a matter of fact, the night before I found out I got the job was probably the most down I had felt in my whole job search. But lo and behold, the very next day God came through as He always does. Honestly, if I could have picked any teaching position I wanted, I would have picked 4th grade language arts. I think it's such a great age, and I love spelling, grammar, reading, writing, etc. I will also be teaching social studies to my homeroom...I love social studies, so I'm really excited about that too. I know that preparing my students for the TAKS test will be stressful at times, but I welcome the challenge. I think life would be boring if we never had anything to really challenge us.
Another big happening in our lives is that we signed a 6-month lease on an apartment in Katy, and we will be moving in in a couple weeks. We had originally planned to buy a house right away and skip the apartment thing, but we need to be all moved in somewhere before August (since that is going to be such a busy time for me with school starting and everything), and we decided we didn't want to rush the whole home-buying process. Sooo, we will be in an apartment for 6 months, and we will have plenty of time to find our "dream home" with as little stress as possible. Having a dog, it is going to be tough going from townhouse life with a backyard back to apartment life with no backyard, but I think we can handle it for 6 months. And our apartment has a garage so that will help to make the transition a little smoother.
In other news, I met my team yesterday (the 9 other 4th grade teachers I will be teaching with - yes, NINE...it's a big school!), and they are all so sweet and fun! I can tell it's going to be a great year! I'm so excited and ready for school to start, but I don't want to rush it too much because I know the rest of the summer is going to FLY by. I have several trainings and professional learning things I am going to be attending over the next few weeks, in addition to moving into our apartment. I think this afternoon I'm going to go to one of the teacher supply stores and start picking up a few things for my classroom...little by little, I'll get it all put together. The entire 4th grade is in portables, so that makes it a little more challenging to make my room look cute, but I'm determined to make it as nice as it can possibly be...it just might require a few more posters, etc. to cover up those lovely 70's-style brown paneled walls. ;)
Well I guess that's about all I have to report for now, but I promise to post a lot more frequently than once-every-2 months from here on out :)
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
So long San Diego!
Well this is it....today is the day we start the final journey (in Sean's truck this time) from San Diego back to TEXAS. It's bittersweet because we'll miss living in California, but we're so excited to be going back to our wonderful home state of Texas where we will be surrounded by family and friends. The past 11 or 12 days I've spent here in California have been busy and fun. We went to LA for both of the weekends, and I must say...I love LA. If we were to ever live in California again (which I'll admit is unlikely, but ya never know!) I would definitely want to live in LA. Not that San Diego isn't great... I just feel like I've had my fill of it now and could definitely move on to bigger and better things :). Anyway, we got to go to the Jimmy Kimmel show the first weekend we were there and then Jay Leno this past weekend. We got to sit in the front row at both shows and then had a fun-filled 3-second-long tv appearance sitting in the Mercedes convertible during the Miley Cyrus concert for the "Mercedes Outdoor Concert Series" on Jay Leno (I don't know how we got chosen to do that, just lucky I guess, but it was pretty fun!). We also went to Universal Studios, got to visit Chris (Sean's high school friend who lives in LA now) who took us on a tour of Warner Brothers (which is where he works), and we went out with my precious friend Olivia whom I absolutely love and will greatly miss my trips to LA to visit her. We also got to dine with several great friends here in San Diego while we were here. All in all, it was a great finale for our time in CA. Now it's time to pack up and head on to TX....we'll be spending the night in Las Cruces, NM tonight and then driving the rest of the way to San Saba tomorrow. Can't wait to see all of our loved ones in the Lone Star State. Texas, we're coming home! :)
Monday, March 23, 2009
I *heart* Mbellishments
I would like to issue a retraction to my last post. Namely, my comment about there being a lack of shopping in San Saba. To clarify, by "shopping" I meant mainly clothing. In no way did I intend to imply that there is a lack of home decor and gift shopping. In fact, my Mom and her friend Kathy own a fabulous shop on the square called Mbellishments. If you are ever in the thriving metropolis of San Saba, I recommend stopping by. It really is such a cute shop, and my Mom never ceases to amaze me with her creative ability to design beautiful displays. They do a great job keeping the store stocked with beautiful home decor - from simple, elegant styles to the latest trends. They also have jewelry and CUTE gift items. Okay, I'm sounding a little too much like a commercial now so I'll stop. Anyway Mom, I hope you can rest a little easier now that I have acknowledged that fabulous shopping DOES exist in San Saba. ;)
Friday, March 20, 2009
home sweet home
I'm calling my parents' house in San Saba "home" for now while we're in transition and Sean is still in San Diego finishing up his time in the Navy, and it really is great to be home. It's so nice to come back to San Saba (my old stomping grounds in jr. high and high school) and live the laid-back lifestyle for awhile. Due to the lack of restaurants and shopping, I don't think I could live here permanently, but it sure is a nice place to visit so I'm really glad my Mom and Dad live here. I think there's also just something special about being "home" no matter where your family lives, whether it be in the city or country. It's just nice to be back in familiar surroundings with some of the people you love the most and have known the longest. Kami is coming into town for the weekend, and we're planning on playing some golf, 42, laying out by the pool with pina coladas, maybe watch a movie, etc. It'll be lots of fun :)
Sean's job search is going pretty well considering this bad economy - nothing totally solid yet, but he has a few "irons in the fire", so we're thankful for that. I'm just ready to find out where we're going to live so I can start my job search and we can find a house! School districts should be starting their hiring process right around this time, so hopefully I'll find out what city I need to apply in very soon. On that note, I passed my teacher certification test a week or two ago so I can check that off the list, yay for that!
Well, I'm off to eat dinner. Have a great weekend everyone!
Sean's job search is going pretty well considering this bad economy - nothing totally solid yet, but he has a few "irons in the fire", so we're thankful for that. I'm just ready to find out where we're going to live so I can start my job search and we can find a house! School districts should be starting their hiring process right around this time, so hopefully I'll find out what city I need to apply in very soon. On that note, I passed my teacher certification test a week or two ago so I can check that off the list, yay for that!
Well, I'm off to eat dinner. Have a great weekend everyone!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Bittersweet Endings and New Beginnings
This past week has been crazy, but good. Last Monday the movers came to pack up our house, and then on Tuesday they came back and moved everything to storage (until we have a new place in TX for it to go to). It was crazy to see our house empty. It reminded me of when we moved in a little over a year and a half ago. We spent the first week or so unpacking boxes and setting the place up to our liking. We each had our separate "jobs"...I was in charge of the kitchen--unpacking boxes, washing dishes, organizing cabinets, etc.--and arranging home decor. Sean was in charge of unpacking and organizing the office and garage (which he did a great job at - I'm so lucky I married such an organized person). We pretty much shared the responsibility for all the other duties. It was a lot of work, but in the end everything turned out so nice. We loved our house - it was a perfect set-up for us, and we had a great neighborhood and surrounding area. So it was really weird to see the house bare again. It was kind of a bummer to be "undoing" all of our work. On the other hand, it was kind of nice to go through everything and get rid of stuff we don't need....that's one of the good things about moving, it's a great opportunity to get organized.
Anyway, after spending Tuesday night on an air mattress, on Wednesday morning we said a bittersweet goodbye to our home on 377 Callesita Mariola, completed some last-minute errands, and headed East. We made it to Las Cruces, NM that night and Lexi enjoyed her first stay in a real hotel. I'd love to know what she was thinking throughout this whole process - she probably thinks her mom and dad are a little crazy. The next day when she was looking out the window as we made the long drive through the desolate land of west Texas, Sean and I joked that she was probably thinking that leaving San Diego was a pretty bad mistake on our part. We finally made it to the beautiful Hill Country, though, and I think she has already returned to her roots as a true Texas girl. :) Thursday night, we had a delicious dinner of steak and potatoes with Mom and Dad and then played some good ol' 42. My Dad and I beat my Mom and Sean pretty handily so that was fun, but I owe the credit to my Dad's uncanny knack for winning that game.
On Friday we headed to San Antonio for our precious friend Evonne and Brannon's rehearsal dinner and wedding. My friend Adria and I did a couple readings for the ceremony. Bonny was a gorgeous bride and it was a beautiful wedding. We stayed at La Cantera resort that night, which I love. I almost forgot how much I adore San Antonio - I would love to live there again someday...maybe Sean will get a job there. :) Anyway, we had a great weekend with wonderful friends. I would put some pictures up, but I don't think I have the camera cord here with me.
Sean flew out of San Antonio yesterday to head back to San Diego. He is not actually out of the Navy until May, but he has so many leave days to use between now and then that he will be spending about 10 days of March with me in Texas (doing interviews, hiring conferences, etc.) and he will actually be finished and ready to move back for good at the beginning of April. I will be heading out there at the end of this month to spend the last week or 2 in San Diego with him and then we will make the drive back to TX again, in his truck this time. It is a crazy time right now with so much change, and so many things up in the air, but it is also very exciting. We are so thrilled to be moving back to our home state, closer to our family which are of course the people that matter to us the most. Also, it is during transitions like this that I am reminded how great of a team Sean and I are. I love him so much, and I'm so blessed to have him as my companion through all of life's joys and challenges.
Anyway, back to the original topic at hand, I still don't think it has settled in yet that we don't live in that house anymore. It will probably hit me soon, and I will get all sentimental thinking of all the memories we have there...little moments with just the two of us and Lexi where we just enjoyed each other's company and grew in our relationship together...lonely times when he was on deployment...joyous times when he got back...all the fun times and memories we made with several visits from friends and family...ok so I guess it's hitting me now. But life goes on and more memories will be made, and I am so excited to see where this new chapter in life takes us.
To be continued...
<3
Anyway, after spending Tuesday night on an air mattress, on Wednesday morning we said a bittersweet goodbye to our home on 377 Callesita Mariola, completed some last-minute errands, and headed East. We made it to Las Cruces, NM that night and Lexi enjoyed her first stay in a real hotel. I'd love to know what she was thinking throughout this whole process - she probably thinks her mom and dad are a little crazy. The next day when she was looking out the window as we made the long drive through the desolate land of west Texas, Sean and I joked that she was probably thinking that leaving San Diego was a pretty bad mistake on our part. We finally made it to the beautiful Hill Country, though, and I think she has already returned to her roots as a true Texas girl. :) Thursday night, we had a delicious dinner of steak and potatoes with Mom and Dad and then played some good ol' 42. My Dad and I beat my Mom and Sean pretty handily so that was fun, but I owe the credit to my Dad's uncanny knack for winning that game.
On Friday we headed to San Antonio for our precious friend Evonne and Brannon's rehearsal dinner and wedding. My friend Adria and I did a couple readings for the ceremony. Bonny was a gorgeous bride and it was a beautiful wedding. We stayed at La Cantera resort that night, which I love. I almost forgot how much I adore San Antonio - I would love to live there again someday...maybe Sean will get a job there. :) Anyway, we had a great weekend with wonderful friends. I would put some pictures up, but I don't think I have the camera cord here with me.
Sean flew out of San Antonio yesterday to head back to San Diego. He is not actually out of the Navy until May, but he has so many leave days to use between now and then that he will be spending about 10 days of March with me in Texas (doing interviews, hiring conferences, etc.) and he will actually be finished and ready to move back for good at the beginning of April. I will be heading out there at the end of this month to spend the last week or 2 in San Diego with him and then we will make the drive back to TX again, in his truck this time. It is a crazy time right now with so much change, and so many things up in the air, but it is also very exciting. We are so thrilled to be moving back to our home state, closer to our family which are of course the people that matter to us the most. Also, it is during transitions like this that I am reminded how great of a team Sean and I are. I love him so much, and I'm so blessed to have him as my companion through all of life's joys and challenges.
Anyway, back to the original topic at hand, I still don't think it has settled in yet that we don't live in that house anymore. It will probably hit me soon, and I will get all sentimental thinking of all the memories we have there...little moments with just the two of us and Lexi where we just enjoyed each other's company and grew in our relationship together...lonely times when he was on deployment...joyous times when he got back...all the fun times and memories we made with several visits from friends and family...ok so I guess it's hitting me now. But life goes on and more memories will be made, and I am so excited to see where this new chapter in life takes us.
To be continued...
<3
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Valentine Pics
Natalie went home yesterday after a really fun weekend. Other than going wine-tasting in Temecula on Friday (which was super fun as usual), we didn't really do anything big - just hung out and relaxed all weekend, which was really nice. We did a little shopping, went to see a movie (Taken - it was really good), ate way too much food, and that's about it! Sadly I forgot to bring my camera to Temecula, so no pictures from that, but I did manage to snap a few on Valentine's Day.
Roses from my sweetie :)
Cookies & Chocolate-Covered Strawberries
Natalie sippin' on a little bubbly
Sean cooking yummy steaks
And last but not least...
little Lexi girl :)
Roses from my sweetie :)
Cookies & Chocolate-Covered Strawberries
Natalie sippin' on a little bubbly
Sean cooking yummy steaks
And last but not least...
little Lexi girl :)
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Happy (early) Valentine's Day!
I'm taking a break from some "iteachTexas" reading to give a quick update on the happenings here in the life of the Stewarts. Today is a pretty good day so far (other than the fact that I'm feeling the beginnings of a headache after doing all this reading)....I had a dentist appt. at 8am and got a good report - they said I have a "great set of teeth and excellent oral hygiene." I was very happy to hear this because, between you and me, I haven't been flossing nearly as often as I should....I mean probably like once every couple weeks if that....very bad, I know, and I'm trying to get better about that, but the dentist didn't give me much motivation today. At least I'm really thorough when I brush my teeth - I guess that's what saves me. Anyway, now I'm doing some iteachTexas work and then I'm going to vacuum, sweep, mop and dust....woohoo. At least I did all the bathrooms yesterday since that's my least favorite part of cleaning. THEN, I'm going to make Valentine cookies - YAY :)! Then Sean and I are going out for an early Valentine's dinner. Tomorrow at 11:30 Natalie (Sean's sister) is coming since she has a 4-day weekend...I'm so excited - we have lots of fun together and she has become like a real sister (not just "sister-in-law") to me. We're going to go to Temecula to visit the wineries that we joined the wine clubs at when we went together this past Summer. Going to Temecula is one of my absolute favorite things to do, wine tasting is so fun and all the wineries have such a fun atmosphere. Well I guess that's about all that's going on around here for now. I'll post pictures from the weekend in a few days. Happy Valentine's Day!!! XOXO
Friday, February 6, 2009
catch up
So I have definitely been neglecting the ol' blog the past week or so. I guess it's just that not very much has happened that I have felt compelled to write about. So I guess I'll give a little update of the happenings of the past week to catch up my readers...all 3 of them. :)
Last Friday I taught 4th and 5th graders at my favorite school here...it's a little private school and the kids are so good it's amazing. It reinforced my desire to teach that age (3rd - 5th grade, but preferably 4th) permanently. Then Sean and I went out for margaritas and mmm they were yummy.
Saturday we had some people coming to look at the house in the morning, then that afternoon we went out and played some tennis. We hadn't played in a really long time, but I guess the Australian Open inspired me so I convinced Sean to come play a match with me. It was a hard-fought battle, but alas I emerged victorious :).
Sunday was the Super Bowl....it turned out to be a really good game, but such a disappointing outcome (we were really pulling for Kurt Warner and the Cardinals). BTW, the episode of The Office afterwards was hilarious. "BOOM, roasted." haha
Tuesday I ran some errands and stopped by White Magnolia to visit with Betty, my old boss there. It was nice catching up with her...hopefully we will be able to get together one last time before we move.
Wednesday we watched the A&M basketball game against OU which was a heartbreaker...we came so close to upsetting OU (which is #2 in the country), but we just let it slip right through our fingers at the end. Those Aggies are always breakin' my heart...oh well, I think we are supposed to have a great baseball season....still not completely writing off basketball yet though :). And football, ohhh football...you break my heart the worst of them all. But it's okay, I think next year is our year (that's always what I think)...we will be AWESOME! Yeah!
Yesterday I went to 2 classes at 24 hour fitness...sounds pretty hardcore of me but it's not. I had never done yoga before and I'm pretty flexible so I like stretching, so I decided I'd give it a try and see what all the hype is about...well it was okaay but I just didn't feel like it gave me a workout at all. Maybe I wasn't doing it right. And hot yoga is probably a much better workout because I've heard you sweat a lot, but it seems like that would be so uncomfortable...nevertheless, I'm sure I will try it someday - I have not given up on yoga altogether just yet. So then I went to my regular camp24 class that I really like with my friend Loren. I hadn't seen her in a while so it was really good to catch up with her.
Today I need to do some more reading for my teaching certification work and we talked about going to the Buick Open at Torrey Pines, but it's all rainy and yucky around here (so rare for San Diego) so I'm not sure if we're still going to do that or not. OH and this weekend sometime I am definitely watching "He's Just Not That Into You"....it looks so good. Well that's about all that's going on around here for now.
Oh and here's a birthday shout-out to my Mom whose 46th birthday is today....Happy Birthday Momsie!!! I love you! She and my Dad are celebrating in Vegas...luckyyy.
Until next time....love to all, xoxo.
Last Friday I taught 4th and 5th graders at my favorite school here...it's a little private school and the kids are so good it's amazing. It reinforced my desire to teach that age (3rd - 5th grade, but preferably 4th) permanently. Then Sean and I went out for margaritas and mmm they were yummy.
Saturday we had some people coming to look at the house in the morning, then that afternoon we went out and played some tennis. We hadn't played in a really long time, but I guess the Australian Open inspired me so I convinced Sean to come play a match with me. It was a hard-fought battle, but alas I emerged victorious :).
Sunday was the Super Bowl....it turned out to be a really good game, but such a disappointing outcome (we were really pulling for Kurt Warner and the Cardinals). BTW, the episode of The Office afterwards was hilarious. "BOOM, roasted." haha
Tuesday I ran some errands and stopped by White Magnolia to visit with Betty, my old boss there. It was nice catching up with her...hopefully we will be able to get together one last time before we move.
Wednesday we watched the A&M basketball game against OU which was a heartbreaker...we came so close to upsetting OU (which is #2 in the country), but we just let it slip right through our fingers at the end. Those Aggies are always breakin' my heart...oh well, I think we are supposed to have a great baseball season....still not completely writing off basketball yet though :). And football, ohhh football...you break my heart the worst of them all. But it's okay, I think next year is our year (that's always what I think)...we will be AWESOME! Yeah!
Yesterday I went to 2 classes at 24 hour fitness...sounds pretty hardcore of me but it's not. I had never done yoga before and I'm pretty flexible so I like stretching, so I decided I'd give it a try and see what all the hype is about...well it was okaay but I just didn't feel like it gave me a workout at all. Maybe I wasn't doing it right. And hot yoga is probably a much better workout because I've heard you sweat a lot, but it seems like that would be so uncomfortable...nevertheless, I'm sure I will try it someday - I have not given up on yoga altogether just yet. So then I went to my regular camp24 class that I really like with my friend Loren. I hadn't seen her in a while so it was really good to catch up with her.
Today I need to do some more reading for my teaching certification work and we talked about going to the Buick Open at Torrey Pines, but it's all rainy and yucky around here (so rare for San Diego) so I'm not sure if we're still going to do that or not. OH and this weekend sometime I am definitely watching "He's Just Not That Into You"....it looks so good. Well that's about all that's going on around here for now.
Oh and here's a birthday shout-out to my Mom whose 46th birthday is today....Happy Birthday Momsie!!! I love you! She and my Dad are celebrating in Vegas...luckyyy.
Until next time....love to all, xoxo.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
pictures from shan's wedding
Earlier this month we went to San Antonio for my friend Shannon's wedding, and we had so much fun. From the delicious bridal luncheon at Hotel Contessa to the Rehearsal Dinner at La Margarita (mmm, LOVE that place) to the beautiful ceremony at one of the incredibly historic Missions in San Antonio (Mission San Jose, I think) to the fabulous reception, the whole weekend was wonderful. I am finally putting the pictures on my computer. I didn't take nearly as many as I should have...I am trying to get better about that now that I have a blog to be accountable to :)
Evonne, Adria and I before the ceremony
Sean and I in front of the Mission
Some of my dearest friends and I at the reception... love them!
I can't wait to do it all over again at Evonne's wedding on February 28th! :)
Not much is going on around here today...Right now I'm just procrastinating on doing some reading for my teaching certification work. Yesterday I substitute taught 5th graders and actually enjoyed it. Big improvement from my 2-month long nightmare teaching 8th grade math in the slums of San Diego...so glad that's over. As far as my future permanent teaching job goes, the more I think about it, the more I want to teach 4th grade. I really like that age...they're still cute and funny, but they're more independent than the really young ones. But I would also be open to 3rd or 5th grade. Comments/Suggestions welcome. Anyway, I guess I better stop procrastinating and actually get some stuff done today. Have a blessed day! :)
Evonne, Adria and I before the ceremony
Sean and I in front of the Mission
Some of my dearest friends and I at the reception... love them!
I can't wait to do it all over again at Evonne's wedding on February 28th! :)
Not much is going on around here today...Right now I'm just procrastinating on doing some reading for my teaching certification work. Yesterday I substitute taught 5th graders and actually enjoyed it. Big improvement from my 2-month long nightmare teaching 8th grade math in the slums of San Diego...so glad that's over. As far as my future permanent teaching job goes, the more I think about it, the more I want to teach 4th grade. I really like that age...they're still cute and funny, but they're more independent than the really young ones. But I would also be open to 3rd or 5th grade. Comments/Suggestions welcome. Anyway, I guess I better stop procrastinating and actually get some stuff done today. Have a blessed day! :)
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