Can't Think of One

You know, I have a lot of things rolling around in my head right now that I want to post on here, but there just never seems to be enough time to sit down, gather those things into one coherent story, and post it. If I could only quit my job, there would be so much more free time. Yeah, right. I've got a while until Darren gets home, and besides, who wants to do laundry anyway?

Let's see, I promised to post about my MS 150 training and fundraising. So far, I am doing all right with training. I am taking an hour-long class on Tuesday and Thursday evenings to help with speed. It's at a health club, and we take our bikes and trainers. It's a lot of fun to ride with other people, and since it has been cold and rainy for almost a month now, it's nice to be warm and dry indoors. I've also ridden some on Saturday mornings, and need to add longer rides, along with Sundays. I would like to do some core strengthening exercises, because that would really help me out. So much to do, so little time! I joined The Woodlands Cycling Club, and it's nice to have a new group of friends. We ride together in the class and on the weekends, and Darren and I hung out with them for the Saints-Bears game. About that game, don't go there. it would have been wonderful to see them in the Superbowl, but it wasn't meant to be. I do not care about the Superbowl now; we are going to go to the Houston Auto Show on Sunday. I just want the Bears to lose. I'm not a Colts fan, though.

My fundraiser is going well, so far. I think I have raised almost $200. We are required to raise $400, and I still plan to put up an envelope at school for my co-workers to hopefully donate. My students have started to give me their spare change, so I hope I make it! If anyone is actually reading this, and wants to contribute to my cause, there is a link in the sidebar. Even $5 would help!

About the job thing, I have decided that fifth grade is no longer the place for me, and will try very hard to make the move to elementary next year. I want to only have one class of kids, and get to know them better. The attitudes this year are hard to deal with, and I just need a change. I looked into buying a Kumon franchise, but after looking at their financial information, i don't understand how you can possibly make money with it. I would have to take off so many days this spring to go to Chicago for training, and there were just too many hoops to jump through in their process. The idea of owning my own business again was very appealing, but it seemed like there would be long hours for very little (if any) profit.

Zach is thriving in his new class. He seems to be getting in trouble a whole lot less, and comes home so much more enthusiastic about school. There sure is a lot more homework, though.

We went to Dallas this past weekend for my cousin's wedding. My parents left Friday morning, and we drove up Friday night after work. The three-hour drive up I-45 sure is boring! Our hotel room was really nice, and we got up Saturday morning, ate lunch in the hotel restaurant, and set off for some sight-seeing. We went to Dealey Plaza and explored that area, then toured the Sixth Floor exhibit, all about JFK's assassination. That is one of my dad's favorite mysteries, and Darren enjoyed himself, as well. Zach was most excited about all the trains that ran behind the parking lot. Why can't Houston get on the ball with a commuter rail system?

After the museum, we drove to Fort Worth and walked around Sundance Square for a bit. Being the responsible parents that we are, we took Zachary to a pub called the Flying Saucer for a beer (he opted for a vanilla shake from Starbucks). The wedding was at 3:30, so we headed back to the hotel to get ready after that.

The wedding was at a cathedral in downtown Dallas, and since it was a Saturday afternoon, there was a full Mass. The priest went to high school with my cousin, so that was a nice touch. It turns out that the bride used to work with me at Bombay in Baton Rouge in 1999/2000. Small world. The reception was at a catering hall that was nice, but dark. The DJ came in from the big city of Eunice, Louisiana for the occasion, and it was fun. What was odd was that the wedding party didn't dance or mingle much. They just sat at the tables while the older people danced. We enjoyed getting to catch up with my cousins, and Zach had a blast running circles around the dance floor.

After the reception, we went back to the hotel, and tried to decide what to do for the evening. We thought about walking around the West End area, but it was cold and windy. My cousin called, and we went and met a few people at their hotel bar. It was nice getting to catch up with Colette and Michelle. I used to visit them every summer during high school, and we'd see each other from time to time in college. I think the last time I saw them was at Colette's wedding in 1999. No one has died or gotten married since then, so there has been no reason to get together. They are so nice, and I miss talking to them. Our other cousin, Robin, was MIA that evening.

Sunday, we ate breakfast, packed up the car, and drove to Bedford to see my friend Jenny from high school. She and I were inseparable in high school, then parted ways during college. We were in each other's weddings, but she moved to Dallas in 1997, and we've only seen each other a couple of times since then. She has a son named Brice, and he and Zach hit it off immediately. What's so funny is that she e-mailed me Saturday to say they were sick and couldn't get together with us, but i didn't get the e-mail. Jenny was a gracious host, though, and if she didn't want us there, she hid it well. I can't wait to spend more time with Jenny and Brice in a couple of weeks, when we both head to Lafayette for Mardi Gras.

Well, I need to go heat up dinner and work on laundry. Until next time.

Year-End Wrap-Up

Well, 2006 is officially coming to a close, and blogging sounds like more fun that finishing my grand office cleaning project. I do need to start getting ready for our party later, though.

Anyway, I was thinking about our year, and what we've accomplished/where we've been. It's not a huge list, and there are still some things that I had hoped to do, like lose a massive amount of weight, that haven't happened. There's always next year, right?

Here's my quick and dirty list:

Places I Went This Year:

--New Orleans, LA in March and June
--Austin, TX in April and June
--Newport, RI (new place for me) in May
--Boston, MA in May
--New Braunfels/San Marcos, Gruene, TX in July and September (new places for me)
--Chicago, IL in August
--Columbia, SC in October
--Baton Rouge, LA in August
--Lafayette, LA many times

So, no place exotic, and two of the trips were for weddings, but they were all fun. In the next year, I anticipate going to Dallas in January for a wedding, South Carolina for a baby shower or birth, and maybe Chicago twice in the spring for some training. Still no trip to Europe in my future. I will be riding to Austin on a bicycle in April. Scary.

Stuff I Accomplished (in no particular order):

--made some new friends
--cleaned out the garage, office, pantry, laundry room, our bathroom
--got a dog
--bought a new bike/found a hobby that Darren and I could enjoy together
--made some friends with kids Zach's age
--took a trip alone (very weird feeling to be without Zach)
--reconnected with an old friend from high school
--got contact lenses
--got caught up on uploading pictures/ordering prints (TODAY)
--took tap dancing lessons

Well, uh, I guess that's about it. Not such an impressive list, but that's all right.

Goals for the future are:

--Lose weight
--Get pregnant (hmm. could counteract lose weight)
--Make it to Austin on my bike
--Get caught up on my photo albums
--Get two cars in the garage
--Buy a Honda Pilot
--Buy a Nintendo Wii (we don't have any video games, and have decided to buy this as a reward for finishing the MS 150)
--Make a career change/get a new teaching position in art or elementary school
--Clean out my closet

OK, time to shower. Have a great night, and don't drink as much as I plan to.

Wake me up when October ends!

October has always been my favorite month, because of my favorite holiday, Halloween. It's also when we get a few cooler days here in the South, and our electric bill finally dips below $200, because the air conditioner no longer has to run constantly. We do get a few trees with colorful leaves, and have to switch to long-sleeved shirts and jeans, as opposed to shorts and t-shirts. However, this year October has been more hectic than usual, and November promises to be crazy, as well. How did life get this fast-paced for us? I am so thankful that we have many friends who want to do things with us, but we don't have a free weekend until sometime in December.

With me working full-time, there's not a whole lot of time during the week for us to hang out at home, or really accomplish anything there. I've accepted that, but it would be nice to have a little time on the weekends to sit around and read a book without feeling guilty about it. If only the cat would learn to do laundry...Thank God Zach isn't into sports yet, and I refuse to join any organization that meets on the weekend. I've decided to ride in the MS 150 in April, but don't have time to ride my bike.

Anyway, here's how my month has gone: On the first Wednesday, I was the hostess for our monthly sorority meeting. It was supposed to be a fundraiser for the chapter, with me doing a Creative Memories presentation. Everyone showed up late, and didn't seem interested in the scrapbooking stuff, so I didn't push it. I didn't mind too much, but I had spent money on promo items, and time setting them up. Two days after that, I flew to South Carolina to help my sister and her husband get settled in their new house. We worked really hard, but it was so nice to go somewhere and only be responsible for myself! I need to go visit her more than once a year. That weekend, we went to the Renaissance Festival with some friends, and I didn't enjoy it as much as I usually do. It was hot, and it is so hard to go someplace like that with a large group of people. It's also gotten very expensive for the food and rides. Later that same day, we got a dog.

It took several days of persuading Darren, but he fell in love with Roux instantly when he saw him. He's somewhere around seven months old, and is a mix of Chocolate Lab, Golden Retriever, and Springer Spaniel. He has a very sweet disposition, but is digging up our backyard. He stays in a crate while we are at work, and I feel really guilty about that. I don't want him to disturb the neighbors by barking (which he doesn't do), or dig his way to China. I also don't trust him in the house. The poor cat is traumatized, and is now living upstairs. The dog was a stray for a while, and came to us with mange and pinworms. He has to have daily medication, which isn't a big deal, but is a big expense. Roux is coming with up this weekend to Louisiana. I sure hope my dad's beautiful yard looks the same when we leave!

This past weekend, we took some friends to see Cowboy Mouth at a bar in Houston. It's been two years since we saw them in concert, and it was a great show! I always feel revived after I see them live. They are so much better live than they are on CD. Zach spent the night with another friend that night, so Darren and I went out to breakfast before meeting up with them Saturday morning. It was so weird to get to talk to each other without interruption! We decided to clean out our garage last weekend, and after we pulled everything out, realized that we needed to go and get some storage shelves. Lowe's made a nice sum of money off us that day. We skipped two birthday parties last weekend to be able to work on the garage, and we're not finished yet. We have a lot of trash that needs to be thrown away, and some items that need to be sold or donated. It looks a whole lot better, though.

I got a flu vaccine on Tuesday, and have been at home ever since. I should know better than to take that shot; I get sick every time. It started with diarrhea Tuesday night, and by yesterday morning, I had fever and my whole body hurt to move. I am feeling better, but still have fever. I had to waste two of my precious 7 days of sick time that I get each school year, and am taking a half day tomorrow to go and get a permanent crown put in. What fun!

I am excited about going to Lafayette this weekend for homecoming. I hope we run into some friends there, and Zach is excited about going to a football game. Saturday is also our eleventh anniversary, so maybe we'll get to go out and eat alone.

Our Tenth Anniversary Weekend

Darren and I went to Austin Halloween weekend for our tenth anniversary. We reserved our hotel room on Orbitz, and it turned out to be really nice. We left Saturday morning, and arrived in Austin around 1:00. We checked in to the hotel, then went and climbed Mount Bonnell (not as impressive as it sounds). After that, we went shopping in a funky neighborhood, and tried to find the place where we went on the Haunted Hayride eight years ago. That dude ranch is now a gated neighborhood, and we saw them driving the hay wagon around. After that disappointment, we went and found this convenience store that stocks every brand of beer legal in Texas, then drove to Driftwood to eat at the Salt Lick. It is the coolest place to have barbecue, and just as good as I remembered. They don't have a liquor license, so everyone takes their own beer, and sits outside to wait for a table. There is a band that plays, and the food is definitely worth the wait! Later Saturday night, we went and took pictures of the state capitol building, and had coffee at this place called Mozart's on Lake Austin. It was just so nice to be somewhere where the whole town doesn't shut down at 9:00!

Sunday, we went on the Duck Boat Tour. It was corny, but fun. The vehicle was something that the British Navy had used in World War II, and it moved at about ten miles per hour. Also, it had transmission problems. Our tour guide was very entertaining, and made us wear duck whistles, to blow at pedestrians that we passed. After our slow drive around town, we drove into Lake Austin and made a big circle. We worked up an appetite with that tour, and went and had lunch at the Hula Hut. It was okay, and the service was bad. We drove around downtown, then went to the Whole Foods Market to wander around. We then went to the Arboretum, which is an outdoor mall, and it had most of the same stores that we have here in The Woodlands. We had fajitas at the Iguana Grill out on Lake Travis, but it was too dark to see. We went back to the hotel and went to bed after that.

Monday, we checked out and had breakfast at the Magnolia Cafe. That was the best Eggs Benedict I have ever had! We were sad to leave Austin behind and head back to Houston. Everyone there is so much more relaxed, and there is so much to do. I would still love to live there someday!