School Started and So Did I

I'm just going to get right to the point. The first day of school was horrible. I knew teaching middle school was going to be challenging, but come on.

My day starts with me having first period off for conference. It's a little early to have a conference and I wasn't happy about it at first, but now I love it. I can get in to school mode before I have a class and get a few extra things done first thing. Next I have my first class, Pre-AP. Since I'm teaching 7th grade Language Arts and Texas has a state exam called TAKS, we have the students for 90 minute blocks. They're in my class for 45 minutes, I give them the passing period break and then they come back to me for another 45 minutes. Think that's bad? Haha! I only teach 3 classes. Sounds better, right? Next is my 4th period. All language arts teachers have this period off to plan with each other. Some days we just meet grade level and others we meet with the whole school. Then I have lunch, and then my other two classes. My 5th/6th period is Pre-AP too, but my 7th/8th is not. This is where they put all of the kids that may be regular students, those that need additional help, behavior problems and even special ed service kids. And did I mention it's the end of the day? Lets just say that the whole night after my first day I spent on the couch and in bed, CRYING!!! I know, suck it up. Well, guess what? I did!

I have just completed my second week as a teacher with success. I guess I just had to get through that first day. And I just want to address one thing. The only person that reads this blog that I went to school with is Tommy Norris (and of course Jason), so let me get this out. I know what you're going to say, and I just want to say to you....DON'T! Haha. For all others, this just means that I was the reason that all of my teachers probably went home and cried their first day of teaching middle school. Oh well. Lesson learned.

I can't wait to post pics of my classroom, and although I have a few, I want to wait until my class looks perfect. Something else I've learned is that I never knew how long I would be at school after the final bell rang. I could easily stay there till 10 or later and be working the whole time. But, I refuse to do that. I do have tons of work to do and so now I'm just waiting for this to become routine. I never want to lose sight of what's important to me because I'm working too much.

Jason's been in Colorado for 7 days elk hunting. I've been all alone, but maybe it's been better since I just started this job and it's requiring so much of my attention. But, I would still rather have him home. As of now he is still empty handed, but he's not letting that stop him. He goes out everyday looking for something.

One last thing. As I mentioned before, I went to see Grease, the musical. I went with a bigger group then last time. Some I knew, some I didn't. I loved it. I think I could become totally addicted to going to musicals and am considering buying a season pass for next summer. I read the comment you made Becky, and please, feel free to fly/drive here to see one with me. We'll have a blast!

And the best part was this:

Taylor Hicks was in it. He was Teen Angel and sang Beauty School Drop Out. It was great.

Look Familiar?

Wasn't it right about this time last year that I posted a picture like this?





Um, and how weird is it that I got him doing the same pose, and in the SAME clothes! HAHA!

Girls Night Out

For those of you who have never gone to see a Broadway musical, I highly suggest it. Although we weren't able to go to New York to see one, we went to see one through the Dallas Summer Musicals. Our choice? Legally Blonde, of course!

It was really good, and much longer than I expected. I guess this was the first musical I have been to that I can remember. I know that for field trips in elementary school we went to see one, but I can't remember what it was. Anyway, I definately remember this one. There were four of us that went. And if you're wondering if you can take you camera in and take pictures of yourselves, or any of the action, I'm here to tell you that YOU CAN NOT! I pulled my camera out to take a picture of us and next thing I knew one of the ushers was standing beside us ready to take my camera away. He said I could get it back after the show with a redemption ticket he would give me. Lucky me, he didn't have any tickets on him. I quickly shoved it in my purse where it remained for 3 weeks after, just in case.

So, the only pictures I got were:

Me and Sarah

(I just realized that my eyes looked weird. I swear they are normal! Must be the glare!)

And, Michelle and Katy

Up next, Grease, September 4, 2009! :)

Family Fourth

This year was the very first year that Jason and I have been off together at a decent time and were able to enjoy the day. Jason got home from work around 6 and we let our dogs play with our new neighbor's dog, Chevy, for a little bit, then we went to Denton to Michelle's house. The last couple of years she has had a get-together at her house for the 4th so instead of breaking tradition we went there.

This is Erik, cleaning up from the kids' sidewalk chalk to make way for the fireworks:

Adrienne, another Walgreens "chick" always knows how to entertain the kids. Here she is handing out the "Snaps" with Cole cheesing in the background:

Michelle and Reed with his sparkler:

So, after we spent some time with Michelle we met my dad, Sherry, my dad's best friend Brad and his wife to watch the fireworks show at Fouts Field:

Me and dad. Dad's sunburnt from being at the lake all day.

Jason and Brad

And can you believe it? The ice crema truck came by. Who can resist that?

At the end of the night, everyone came back to our house

I Copied

OK, I have to admit, when I look at other people's blogs that I do know, I look at their followers list, many of whom I don't know. One headline stood out to me. It said "For all you Taylor Swift/Coldplay fans". That's me, and I had to look. What I found was amazing.

I have always been a fan of music. I grew up performing to it and today, even though I can't carry a tune, it doesn't stop me. I sing everywhere, and throw a few dance moves in there just for fun. I especially love watching music being performed. Here, at this link, it is amazing what people can do with instruments.

I say I stole this link, but I'm pretty sure that the person that put it on YouTube WANTS everyone to see it. So, consider it my good deed for the day to share this masterpiece:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v3d6SFcDys

Oh, and thanks to Tommy and Becky for having interesting blogger friends for me get this from!

Spring Time Projects In Full Swing

This year we got started early on some projects around the house. With me being done with school and Jason working day shift (finally for the first time since we've been together) we've found plenty of things to do to keep ourselves busy.

This first project actually has a story behind it. I got bronchitis, for the first time ever, and had it for the whole month of April. The first week I had it I was taking cough medicine with codeine in it and I pretty much just melted into what ever I was sitting or laying on for several hours. And here's where the story begins...

Jason's side: He came home from SWAT practice and asked me if I wanted to go ahead and put rails up on the front porch to close it in. We talked about it and he even called his mom to ask her a few questions about and even went across the street to see how they built theirs. He then asked if I wanted to go to the lumber place with him, which I declined, so he went by himself.

My side: I woke up and heard something loud out front. I went outside and Jason and our neighbor Shaun were sawing away at wood for the railing that was halfway done.

Regardless, it's something we had talked about in the past but never quite got to yet. I think it came out pretty nice.

Before:

After:

And now with the addition of new plants, plus what's already blooming, it looks like this:

We also laid down a walkway that leads to our backyard and put in a huge deck (no jokes, please).

Jason's stepdad and mom helped get us started:

And Jason's dad helped us finish it:

And now:

We still need to add rails around it, but for now it's great. Every single night we sit on that step and play with our dogs. Then we do a perimeter check on all of our plants and flowers. Jason made a beautiful garden area under the tree in front of the deck with hydrangeas, our wedding flower.

I think we're done for now. At some point this year we'll probably put the rails on the deck up, but with triple degree weather here it makes it kind of hard.

Panther Pride

I GOT THE JOB!!!!!!!! I'm officially a 7th grade Language Arts teacher. I just found out last Wednesday.

I went on an interview 2 Wednesdays ago and I was up for either the 8th grade or 7th grade position. Luckily, this is the school I student taught at so I was a bit more comfortable than most. That is, until I walked into the interview room. It was every person I had previously worked with sitting at a table across from me, or a "jury of my peers", as I joke. I had never been so nervous. I think at that moment I would have preferred complete strangers.

I left the interview feeling confident, but knowing that there were more qualified people that they would see that day. The principal told me that I would hear something that afternoon. I went on to work, late, and checked my phone every 5 minutes. (Did I mention that we're not allowed to have our phones in the pharmacy, "allegedly"?) Finally, between 4 and 5 the principal called me and said I was up against one other person for the 7th grade position. Is that better than getting told I do/don't have the job, or worse? Anyway, they wanted to see me the next day. I went in again and this time it was only grade level, subject specific teachers in the room. I answered all their questions and even fired off a few of my own, and as i got ready to leave, I walked out of the room and saw my competition. Are you kidding? Here's how it went...I student taught the first semester of this past school year. My competition student taught the second semester next door to where I student taught. Two rookies. May the best woman win.

I'm kidding, but that really is the way it went. I waited all day Thursday and Friday, and by the weekend I wasn't so confident. Monday rolled around and by Tuesday night I couldn't sleep. I knew I blew it. I woke up from little sleep on Wednesday morning and put on a brave face and called the middle school to "follow-up". The secretary said, "When they make a decision I'm sure they'll call you!" I got in my car, and the check engine light was on. Of course it was! What else could go wrong? So I called and complained to Jason about it, and about 10 minutes before I was supposed to be at work my phone rang. It was a representative from Northwest ISD calling to extend an offer. My reaction? I screamed in the phone "ARE YOU KIDDING ME???" He said, "I'll take that as a yes?" Idiot!! After that all I heard was blah blah blah. He said some things that I'm sure were important, but my heart was beating out of my chest and I was trying to drive between my own lines and try not to use the other lane's lines to the best of my ability. I'm not even sure when I start. Oh well, I got the job.

It's bittersweet. I'm leaving the comfort of the pharmacy for something I've worked so hard for so long for. I'm going from the top the bottom. It's gonna be hard, but I'm sure I'll survive. And it doesn't hurt that I student taught with the 6th graders too, so I know most of them. Stay tuned, I'm sure I'll have great student stories. You know what they say, kids say the darndest things.

We Celebrated with The KING!

The King of country, that is. That's right. Jason got us tickets to the hottest show in town...the George Strait concert at the brand new Texas Stadium.

The best part about this concert was that we saw George Strait the weekend before we got married, and now, 5 years later and a day after our anniversary he was back in town.

It was amazing, and hot. I got a sunburn walking from the car to the stadium.

Here's what it looks like:

So, before I add more pictures, I want to talk about our seats. Once we got inside the first gates to get into the stadium we saw Blake Shelton, who was also performing at the concert, talking to a local radio station.

Then we got inside the stadium. It is completely open on the inside, and magnificent. Very different from the old stadium.

It also has the world's largest HDTV located inside (everything's bigger in Texas).

Jason was online to buy these tickets at 10am the day they went on sale and he was not happy with where we sat. I have to admit, we were up on the third balcony, and the people on stage looked very small, but who cares. As it turns out we were on the suite level, so we got the luxury of having a full service bar, snack bar, pro shop and restroom all to ourselves and only a select few that were in our section. And, with the giant HDTV in front of you like this, who needs front row!

It was amazing. Julianne Hough was supposed to be first but she didn't make it and they had LeAnn Womack come out in her place. She was really good. And just so you know, I took all these pics from the giant screen.

Next was Blake Shelton

Next was Reba McIntire

(This is what she looked at from where we sat, and zoomed all the way in on my camera

And on the big screen...

And for her encore presentation, of course there was a wardrobe change. And let me just say that with my hair color I never through I could pull off red, but if Reba can do it, so can I!

And finally, the KING:

Thanks Jason. Happy Anniversary, and long live the KING!

My poor Nacho

My poor little Nacho. Since Monday she's been acting funny. My definition of funny for my dog would be other people's definition of normal. Anyway, she's usually hoping around, trying to get in everyone's lap and can get onto the couch and bed just fine. But recently she's been sitting in once place all day or hiding out in the kennel and she yelps if you touch her lower back. Tonight she refused to eat and I KNEW something was wrong. We took her to the animal ER and it turns out she pulled a muscle in her back. My poor Nacho. They gave her a pain shot there and then gave us some pain medicine to give her that's "bacon flavored". Bacon is her favorite flavor! How'd they know? Anyway, she has to stay still for at least one week. Based on my reaction to all this today, I can't imagine what's it's gonna be like when she's not here. It's so weird to not have her at my feet every second. Get well my little Nacho!

April showers bring birthdays...and flamingos?

In fine birthday tradition, Jason's dad made it here again for Jason's birthday, and for some turkey hunting. Congrats to him. He finally shot his first Rio Grande Turkey.




We also did some afternoon fishing. This was a perfect opportunity for Grandpa to catch up with grandkids.







Then, we celebrated Jason's birthday with Jason's favorite, brisket and ribs he smoked in the smoker.




The end of April brought with it my dad's 50th birthday. Jason did the best thing ever. He asked my dad if he wanted to go shooting one morning with him and while shooting all their guns he presented my dad with his new gun we bought him for his birthday. All I know is that it's a hammerless gun and they both call it the "hand-cannon". Needless to say, my dad was thrilled.

We went to have a birthday dinner at dad's house and got to check out his new media room.





Next came May, which includes my birthday and our neighbor Sarah. We decided to celebrate our birthday's together with a trip to Texas de Brazile. We had good food, good laughs and a huge bill! Oh well, it was good eating!

I conveniently only have a picture of Shaun and Sarah. We took one of me and Jason, but since I am the author/editor of this blog you get what you get. :)



Oh, and speaking of Shaun and Sarah, have I mentioned FLAMINGOS???????? Yeah!! So, here's the story. Shaun and Sarah make fun of me because when I come home I open the garage door, drive in and close the door before I even get out of the car. They ask if it's because I don't want to talk to or see anybody. The answer: No, I just work retail and we have really nasty bathrooms so I am usually about to explode when I get home. Anyway, they pulled up one day as the garage door was closing and said, "Notice anything new in your yard?" I looked around and found this:




Can't tell what it is? Well here, let me explain it to you. It's this metal yard "art" of a hula flamingo, of all things. That's a grass skirt it's wearing that sways to and fro in the wind. So tropical! Oh, but that's nothing. What about THIS:



What is that you say? Well, let me tell you. It's a set of two inflatable flamingos. But wait, there's more. They are 6 feet tall! That's right, they tower over me. How'd you like to pull up to your house and find this. But wait, there's STILL more. Look what else they do:



That's right. This picture is taken at night. Yep, they light up too. How lovely. What will they think of next? And, to top it all off, part of the joke it that you have to leave it up for a week. Great! To make it worse, the next weekend Shaun and Sarah went out of town and we went over to feed their dogs and the people across the street from them came out and shouted, "Hey, nice flamingos!"

Revenge.......we haven't done anything back to them. We may or may not have something in mind. Some things are best left unsaid. Anyway, just for fun I was thinking: hot pink spray painted lawn, or what about a big inflatable pool right in the front yard? Heehee. Nunya!

Fallen Hero

In Jason's line of work he's put in the line of fire everyday, whether it's a verbal confrontation or actual gunfire. Unfortunately someone in Wise County fell victim to the ignorance of someone who was only thinking of himself. Sergeant Randy White of the Bridgeport Police Department was killed in the line of duty while trying to move traffic off of the highway to make way for a police pursuit. Little did he know that he was a target for the idiot behind the wheel.

Jason didn't know this particular police officer, but that didn't mean that he wasn't anymore of a brother than Jason's co-workers in his department. It hits so close to home when this sort of tragedy happens, and as it turns out, Jason pulled up to Sgt. White within 2 minutes of his car being impacted from behind. Jason went with Sgt. White to the funeral home and gave his time to the Bridgeport police department so that they could mourn the loss of their friend. Jason attended to funeral along with hundreds of uniformed officers from all over the United States. Please God, keep our officers safe!

Sergeant Randy White E.O.W. April 2, 2009

http://www.wcmessenger.com/fallenhero/

Nothing New

I thought after I graduated I would be calm, a little lazy and have all this free time on my hands. WRONG!!! I'm just as busy now as I was before. The only difference, Jason's schedule is closer to mine so I see him every day rather than every other day or every third day.

I still work full time at Walgreens and I'm stull tutoring for reading at the middle school one day a week. Also, Jason has all these projects he's working on outside to get us ready to enjoy the spring and summer from our backyard. Pictures to come.

Anyway, this is the time of year that teaching positions are posted. Wish me luck. I've already applied to a couple of school districts, but I really want to be at the middle school I'm at now which is the same one I student taught at. Regardless of what happens, you can read about it here!

***TWILIGHT***

OK, I have to admit, I was NOT going to read this series of books, the first being Twilight. The reason? I'm not sure. I guess because I'm the type that doesn't get caught up in what's popular,and tend to like things that are less popular. But, being in the middle school, and hearing students talk so much about it, and then seeing my mentor teacher from when I was a student teacher reading it, I thought I had better give it a try.
I originally bought the first of the 4 book series while shopping one day because it was paperback and fairly cheap. I brought it home and laid it on the desk, never to touch it again. Well, a couple of weekends ago I found myself home from work with a sinus infection and decided that I should just "give it a try, even though I won't like it."
I can't even describe what happened to me next. I read in the morning before work, I would skip eating lunch at work to read during my break, I would read while I cooked dinner and after dinner and well past my usual bedtime. I mentioned to Jason that I had finished this book in 4 short days, and he reminded me that he knew because I had paid no attention to him those 4 days. Unbelievable. The book is remarkable. And, just this week I bought the other three books. I can't wait to get started. The only problem is.....one of my co-workers spilled the beans about what happens in the fourth book (you know who you are!). So now I have to hurry up and get there so I can find out the whole story.
I didn't think I would enjoy this genre, the whole vampire love story, but I have to say, so far I have been blown away. I HIGHLY recommend it, although, I think I'm the only one on the planet that hasn't read the series yet, but I'm getting there!

Where did December go?

If I'm not mistaken it was ME a few weeks ago asking if December was over yet, and now here I am still talking about it. I didn't realize how fast life goes even when I'm not in school. Silly me, I thought things would calm down when I graduated, but just like everyone said, I've just found other things to take up the time that school did.

Anyway, the question I get asked often about the holidays is how I celebrate. I was raised with a little bit of everything and I've taken that into my adult life. My dad is Jewish and my mom was Baptist, but as a family we decided to live as Jews. But, living right in the center of the Bible Belt of the United States we were definately alone in our quest. So, my parents not wanting me to feel like an outsider, they allowed me to believe anything I wanted and to learn what other children learned at church and anywhere else.

When the holidays roll around people are usually looking my direction and wondering how I celebrate, and the answer is simple: I celebrate both! Some say it's not fair, but Jason and I are a blended religion family; he was raised Mormon. And, my dad's wife is not Jewish either, and I think she brings in a little of her Christmas spirit in with the holidays. No big deal though. My dad and I have settled it with having "Hanumas". This is our combination celebration that incorporates both.


I sometimes get a hard time about celebrating both, and people think I get extra presents, but let me be the one to tell you here and now, once you hit about 16 or so, holidays aren't about you anyway! It's all about the little kids, and I love that!

I want to be honest and say that due to my own personal beliefs I really only celebrate the bright lights and shopping part of Christmas, you know, the commercialized part. I respect anyone that believes the religious part of Christmas and think it's beautiful that America can come together and think about what they value and spend time with those that they love. And, I've been lucky enough to experience the real joys of Christmas in my life, but once I walk through my front door, it really comes down to what I believe and feel and what Jason believes and feels. And, can I just say, Jason feels nothing about the holidays. He is SCROOGE to the max. Not me! I want it to look like Santa threw up on, and in, my house. Lights everywhere! Although, I have toned down a bit on the glittery everything and kind of just started sticking to the basics. So, wanna know how a Jewish girl and a Bah-humbug husband decorate their house:

First, meet Santa Nacho. I really don't dress her up, but my aunt gave this to me last year and I just had to do it for the picture. Doesn't she look so happy?



I think I interrupted her from putting gifts under the tree



The tree leading to our bedroom




The Mantel



The tree (in case you've been counting, this is the 4th tree!)


And I know you can't tell by some of the pictures, but where you see a tree, there's usually a Menorah not too far from that:



And of course there are lights in the house


And we still celebrate Hanukkah



And, this is how Jason's family celebrates Christmas: (It looks like alot, but there are about 20 of us)


We spent New Year's Eve at our friend's Michelle and Erik's house. It's always a good time there, and I'm glad we could ring in the New Year with some good friends and some good laughs!

(PS...I know, I still have Grad pics to upload! I'm still working on it!)