So y'all have heard me rave about the 1000 Places to See Before You Die book, and get all excited about marking things off. You've been along as we've seen"River Walk", "Menil Collection", "Taj Mahal", and "Texas Hill Country" and a few others.
So please tell me why it wasn't we who were picked to take 14 weeks to go traveling and hit these hot spots?! It's just not fair! If you get the Travel Channel (we don't) check out the new 1000 Places show and let us know what you think.
It's Wednesday night, and I'm still not scheduled to sub tomorrow. This is the first time since the week before spring break that I haven't had a sub job! There's always the chance I'll get called in the morning, but it feels weird not having one! God has been so good to give me so many opportunities. It's been especially fun since I've been teaching Spanish. The teachers apparently like me so much that they told the principal they want me to apply for the Spanish position coming open in August. Too bad I'm moving...
No other big news to report. We're obsessing over house-hunting online and are ready to go visit them in real life soon!
Lia is getting married!!
Another engagment! Right now we have 4 wedding invitations between April and July on our frig. And now 2 in December! We haven't had this many weddings at a time, well...ever!Yesterday morning we went to Enchanted Rock, which is a state park full of granite rocks. It's about 17 mis north of FBG, and often so many people go that the park must shut down by 11am for lack of parking! We were glad for the overcast skies, though once on the top, the high wind and raindrops made it seem awfully cool! The views of the countryside were very beautiful. It is definitely atypical of what you would picture in Texas landscape.
When we arrived to Fredericksburg, our first stop was Hondo’s on Main where we had some great burgers. They had a live musician playing who came to talk with us during a break; turns out he went to WFU before pursuing his music career! Small world!
After lunch, we were re-energized and ready to do some shopping! This is the type of shopping in which you find all these unique and fun things you would love to have in your home, and can only justify buying when on a trip away.
In general, I'm not a huge shopper. But I do really enjoy going to small towns and browsing through the eclectic shops. I found many, many things I could have spent my money on! Brett is definitely not a shopper, but was happy to stroll with me, since these shops were unique. However, he did start to wane; watch the progression:
Brett finishes in the store & waits outside.
Brett walks in the store and immediately spots a chair.
Brett needs something to sustain him and keep him entertained.
So we headed to our bed and breakfast and our room, The Fountainview!
Although we haven't had as many activities in the evening this week, it seems as though it's been busy. Much of that is probably because I've been subbing everyday for a teacher who is lucky enough to be serving jury duty! She's going to be out part of next week, too! Must be some case!
Anyway, I've been teaching Spanish to K-2. Yep. That's kindergarten through 2nd grade! It's been fun, but I don't think I'd want to teach those little ones full-time. I love that all the little girls hug me as though I'm their best friend, though. Makes you feel good!
Tonight has been a very low-key night, mainly full of NCAA ball. It's because tomorrow we have fun plans that I'm super excited about! I hope to write about it on Sunday! Hasta luego...
Do you ever go to that title on your file bar? I do. I'm obsessive about it. I have tons and tons of folders that are very organized. And I rename everything so that it's concise and exact and tells me what I want to know. I can't help it.
I hate seeing a bookmark named "Gale. Discover America Series. Home." What is that? I don't know. So, now I must go change it.
And I don't like it when bookmarks are not in the proper folder. For instance, I had to change one today: "Xpress Parking at IAH" does not belong at the BOTTOM of the "Travel" folder; it belongs IN the "Houston" folder which is in "Texas Travel" which is underneath the entire umbrella of "Travel".
Organizing is so great! It makes me happy (not weird, like some of you are thinking)! So does internet access at the school where I am teaching.
Our internet is down. I'm hijacking from someone else for a few minutes until it goes away. I love my mac because it automatically finds all kinds of wireless connections. The problem is, most people are smart enough to use passwords. And the one person nearby who doesn't, has a wireless connection that goes in and out! Makes it rather inconvenient for us who would like to piggy-back off their wireless for a bit! We are getting a new router sent, but if we are absent for a while....you now know why!
Have a great weekend! It's officially Spring!
As you may have noticed from my frequency in posting, I enjoy blogging. It's a way I can record the daily grind and idiosyncrasies of my life and those around me. Plus, I don't have many friends here, so I have to find someplace to use my 30,000 words each day!
The problem with being a blogger, though, is that you then find yourself constantly blogging in your head. I go through my day constantly typing out the next great post, rewriting, wondering what I can add, and coming up with witty comments to make my public laugh (I do have a public, right--where are my commenters?--oh, that's right....she's in Thailand...!). It's not always a conscious thing I do, but it happens. I'm sure that I had an incredible post all thought up today, but now that I'm sitting down to write, it's gone. I can't come up with anything profound or hilarious to say. So, you'll just have to trust that I had a great post for you in my head sometime during the day. And beware, those of you wanting to start a blog: those free moments when you daze off into nothingness will instead become times when your brain starts to write, anxiously awaiting for you to press "Publish".
I would have posted last nite. I intended to, but we got home later than expected. The first part of the journey from my parents' home that usually takes 35 minutes took us 2 hours yesterday. Bummer, huh? We had great music and random things to talk about, so we were able to avoid festering in anger because of the situation!
We love going to visit my parents because we do things like watch tv, take naps, and watch Madi play with her toys. Real rebels, huh? It was the perfect weekend for us after a very busy week. Plus, who doesn't enjoy watching tons of basketball games that are tied until the last minute?
And now we begin another week! Can you believe it's already past mid-March!?
Dear Dad,
I want to let you know that you are so special to us! You are an incredible example to everyone around you, but especially to Brett and me. Thanks for the wisdom you impart and the advice you give that helps us make decisions. Thank you for being a spiritual leader we can look up to and strive to be ourselves. And we are appreciative of all the hard work you do for family so that we can enjoy fun weekends, vacations, and holidays together. Thanks for being such a great dad! We love you! Happy Birthday!
That's what Brett and I were thinking after we left RodeoHouston last nite! It was a blast! It's impossible to go to a rodeo and not love Texas and cowboys/girls!
The rodeo itself is highly entertaining. If you've never been before, you'd be surprised! You don't watch only one event, but get to see several such as the bronco riding, barrel racing, steer wrestling, and bull riding. Our favorite event was actually the calf scramble. It was hilarious to see 28 young people running after 14 calves. Once they were caught, those calves were so stubborn, the kids had an even harder time dragging them to the middle of the arena! It was great fun!
After the rodeo, the stage was dragged out to the middle, and Toby Keith comes rolling out in a Ford truck! We sang along to classics like "American Soldier", "Whiskey Girl", "Beer for My Horses", "How do you like me now?", "A Little Less Talk...", and, of course, the title of this post!
One of the happiest things in life for me is finding the perfect gift for someone. It doesn't have to be big, just perfect. Most of the time, it happens when you aren't even looking for it. Then that's really fun, because you can give it at an unexpected time!
Folks, take a look at this perfect gift. I was at a party warehouse trying to find something to send my brother who teaches overseas. He likes random things to pass out to his students. I had a box of 100 pencils in my hand and stumbled upon these erasers: Ping Pongs!! (I admit that if you don't know him this might not seem perfect, but it is.) I found two sets. And the lady gave them to me for free because they were the only two in the whole store and should have been in a big package. I can't wait for him to get it! I'm more excited about these little erasers than the whole big box he's gonna get--and it's got some good stuff inside!
My favorite part of the whole weekend 
(besides the fact that it's now lighter later!) deals with a bunch of Brett-sized boots! That's right. They are 6 feet tall, and there are lots of them. These 85 boots have been made into works of art and dispersed throughout the city in order to promote the Houston Livestock and Rodeo! Each boot has a different theme that ranges from Texas A&M to a map of Houston. I think they are really cool, so Brett and I headed downtown in order to take pictures of two sets we knew were nearby. It's been a perfect 78 degrees with wind, which made for a very spring-like afternoon for us! Check back later this week for our real adventures with RodeoHouston; it's gonna be fun!
That's short for Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. And that is where we spent our evening.
A Sunday on La Grande Jatte
I love to stare at my typical favorites, but found one tonite that I liked that is very different from my norm. I can't imagine hanging it in my home, but I like the story behind Jean-Leon Gerome's "Pygmalion and Galeta".
The Boulevard Montmartre on a Winter MorningToday I substituted for a math teacher. I had no clue what I was doing and she's going to have to reteach most of her lessons. Oops. (Can she really expect me to know how to teach to graph square root functions?!?!) I figure it's okay, though, since this was the kids' last day in class before Spring Break; she would have had to reteach it all over again once they come back, right?
So now I must tell you about the strange question I was asked. Most of you know that I have "issues" with my left eye (being that I can't see out of it!). People who don't know me notice the difference in my pupils and sometimes ask me questions about it (see this post, enlarge the pic, and you'll notice). Usually it comes out as "You're eyes are different. Why?" and the oh-so-subtle, "What's wrong with your eyes?". I've gotten used to it.
But today, one of the students asked his question a little differently, and it made me laugh. He came up and asked me, "Have you been hit hard on the head lately?"! I knew where this must be leading, but innocently answer "No" and asked why he asked that. He replied that my eyes were weird and he knew that people who get hit really hard on the head sometimes have problems like me! I told him he was very observant to have noticed. Don't you just love kids?!
Jill was my roomie in college. The four of us from G105 Senior year all lived on the same hall freshman year and have been friends ever since that time. Her wedding will be so fun to attend, and it will be incredibly creative! They are planning a fun nighttime wedding to ring in 2008! Should be great! Congratulations, Craig and Jill!!
Brett and I have had this argument several times today, and I think that we should let the masses decide who is right.
It's Sunday. One of us made a comment about "this Sunday, we should..." something or other. Which Sunday does "this" describe?
Today or the coming Sunday?
Please post your responses in the "Broke the Silence" section. You may do so anonymously if you choose. We'll reveal who was right in the following days.
I feel as though that is how our Saturday was: not too busy, not too lazy. In case you were wondering, my pain is somewhat better, though eating is pure misery. I don't have as much of the excruciating constant pain; now it's just painful, constant pain! But, that meant that I was more mobile today...and in a better mood!
We did some things around here (including giving my hubby a stunning haircut!), and Brett suggested taking a walk at the park, which we did. After 3 miles we finally came to the car again, and I was tired! I'm glad we went, as it was absolutely beautiful here today. We even spent the day enjoying the open windows and screen door! This evening we popped in Pride and Prejudice. Have you seen it? It's such a GREAT film! It's one of my favorites, and even Brett likes it!
Before I talk about my birthday, I'd like to ask everyone to be praying for my chest. I know, that sounds weird. But, apparently I have pill esophagitis, which basically means that I have inflammation all throughout my chest as a result of a pill getting stuck along the lining of my esophagus. It's incredibly uncomfortable and painful even when breathing, but especially while eating and drinking. I'm taking meds for it, but am really needing a quick resolution, as I've been in pain since Monday and am quite tired of it!
But I certainly wouldn't let inflammation get in the way of a great birthday!! Thanks to everyone who made my day incredibly special! I had lots of calls and emails and comments, which made me feel like I am loved!
Brett and I went out for a lovely dinner at a local Italian place. It was delicious, and before we realized it, we'd been there for almost 2 hours (maybe because it takes me about 5 mins to eat one tortellini?)! It was perfect, though! I topped off the evening with raspberry sorbet; I love icecreams!
And I even got a few presents (besides my trip to FL!) and some flowers! In addition to the gifts I am modeling in my picture and some yummy cookies and a cool vacation journal, I got some money and a gift card that I am very excited to use! My favorite gift, however, is from Brett: at the end of March we are going to see Wicked! It's the traveling Broadway group who will be here, and we are going opening weekend! Now we truly are celebrating my birthday all month!
Thanks again for helping make it a special day!
Jonathan,
By now your birthday is actually almost over where you are, but nonetheless, we hope it is a spectacular day! We'll keep celebrating for you over on the side of the world for the next 15 hours or so! Thanks for being such a great tour guide and host for us recently. We can't wait to pay back the favor. Hope Kiran picked out something good to give you!
Today is Merritt's birthday everyone. Yay! While I have no doubt that Merritt would surely post about it at some point today (see earlier post with countdown), I thought I would beat her to it. If you can't celebrate with us, please comment to this post and tell Merritt how much you love her because she would like that just as much. To all you lurkers out there (and you know who you are!), today is your day. Step up to the plate. Yay for Merritt!
