I should be in bed..

but I’m going to write a blog post instead.  Matt will be calling me about 11:00 so I might as well stay up.  It was a busy day at school and every time I left the library, I caught student out of class and I ended up writing one office referral on one of them.  I have some girls that are going to do poetry reading for UIL and they are very excited about it.  I haven’t even had time to finalize their collections, but they are coming to the library to look in books every chance they get.  They are really cute.  I’m looking forward to working with them.  I also have two boys that are going to do poetry as well.  I have another student (or maybe two) that will do impromptu speaking as well.  I hope that I’m able to coach them so that they do well in the competition. 

Matt is the best boyfriend ever.  He mowed my lawn for me this morning.  (I haven’t mowed it myself in months now.) He also came up to school and helped me by shelving books for me.  I think I’m going to have to keep him.  He will come over Wednesday and grill some filets. 

I had orchestra rehearsal tonight.  It was a bit daunting as two of the clarinet players were gone so it was just me and another guy.  We managed pretty well in spite of the others being gone.  Thankfully I have the next two weeks off from band.  I really needed the break as I was getting kind of burned out.  I’m enjoying orchestra quite a bit. 

Tomorrow is another busy day with lots to do.  I guess I should get to bed.  Matt just called so we’re good for tonight.  It’s so nice to have a boyfriend who realizes it is important to talk to each other.  If we don’t see each other, we at least talk daily. 

Fiesta is Done

The weekend has gone by too fast again.  It was nice to have Friday off from work.  Matt and I went to Cracker Barrell for brunch.  The band directors at school gave me a gift card there for helping them out this year so we took advantage of it.  The rest of the day we just took it easy and watched the big parade on t.v.  We went out for dinner at a Thai restaurant on Friday.  Saturday I slept in some, and then headed to the mall for my eye appointment.  Verdict is that I can use bifocals if I want to, but it’s not totally required if just want to keep taking off my glasses to read stuff up close.  I went ahead and opted for no-line bifocals.  I almost got a pair glasses with purple frames, but I ended up getting something more neutral.  I did, however, buy a separate pair of prescription sunglasses that have purple frames.  So $400 later, I’m poor again.  The glasses will take 7-10 days to get in.  Surprisingly, my left eye is getting better, but my right eye isn’t.  But it’s not necessarily worse either.  So I can still wear my current glasses with no problem as the difference isn’t all that much.  It will probably be good to have a back up pair. I also got some new clothes while I was out.  I got a black blouse and pants to wear for my concert in addition to another outfit and shirt.  Matt and I went to dinner Saturday night at a local burger joint which was pretty good.  I hadn’t eaten there yet.

This morning we planned to go to one of the missions for church, but because of a fiesta event, they only had one mass this morning instead of two so we had to go to what Matt calls the “blue-hair choir” church.  It is the one closest to my house that doesn’t have a very good choir.  While I was in church I had an “Oh Shit” moment when I realized that my band music was in the library at my school.  Because of the alarm being set, I couldn’t get in without someone else’s help.  I called the secretary and the principal.  My principal finally got hold of the secretary for me and she met me there.  I got the music, but had to wait a while because she couldn’t get the alarm set.  I didn’t want to leave her by herself.  So by the time she got someone to talk her through it, I was running way behind.  I rushed home and changed clothes, put a few curls in my hair, slapped on some make-up and headed out.  I was 10 minutes late to rehearsal, but at least I made it in time.  The concert went ok, but I’m just glad it’s over.  I hadn’t had the chance to eat, so Matt and I went out to our new favorite Mexican restaurant called La Gloria.  I had a margarita and it was really strong.  I took a quick nap at Matt’s place and then headed home.

On the way home, I stopped at Walmart to pick up a few things and there were about 5 police cars and a fire truck out front.  I heard from one of the check-out people that someone had been shot.  Glad I didn’t get there earlier.  So now I’m not doing much of anything other than watching t.v. with Matt. 

NIOSA

Last night Matt and I went to one of the big Fiesta celebrations called NIOSA which is “Night in Old San Antonio.”  Basically it is a big carnival of food and outrageous hats.  Tickets to get in are $12 per person, but Matt received complimentary tickets this year.  Once in, you buy tickets that you use to redeem for food.  Most items are from 5 to 10 tickets which means it’s $2.50 to $5.00.  It is an international food extravaganza with much of it Mexican food of course.  The first stop was for anticuchos which are steak kabobs with peppers and onions.  They were by far the best.  Next was a hot freshly made corn tortilla with butter, cheese, and salsa.  There were about half a dozen ladies standing on a platform above patting out the tortillas and cooking them.  We also ate puffy tacos and chicken on a stick.  Matt enjoyed sausage on a stick and I had a French cream puff cupcake for dessert. 

Aside from all the food, NIOSA is just a big party where people come to show off their medals and creative hats.  Different events at Fiesta produce medals and people collect them over the years and then wear them out at events.  The other big thing is outrageous hats that people wear.  I’m not sure if there is a contest or something, but there were a lot of people that took pictures with people and their crazy hats. 

It started to get pretty crowded around 8:00 where you can barely get anywhere and you just have to move with the crowd.  The best way to enjoy it is to get there early and leave by 7:30.  I was dead tired by the time we walked back to Matt’s apartment which is about a mile from the event. 

In other news, my cold isn’t really getting better it seems.  Today I was coughing quite a bit and constantly sniffling.  I also felt pretty drained all day.  I stopped at the store after work and picked up some cold medicine, but it hasn’t helped so far.  I stayed home instead of going to Scrabble which was probably smart, but I wish that I would get over this cold soon.  At least there’s no school tomorrow so I will get to sleep in and rest. 

Well, I’m going to try more medicine and see if it helps.  Here are pictures as requested by Leann.

The ladies making tortillas: 

Crazy Hats

Matt’s sausage on a stick:

The crowds at NIOSA

More testing

This is the big week for state mandated tests which is loads of fun for everyone.  (Note the bit of sarcasm in that statement.)  So needless to say, I’m not getting much done this week.  But that’s to be expected.  We have Friday off from school.  It seems that the whole town shuts down on Friday for the Battle of the Flowers parade that is part of the Fiesta celebrations going on this week. 

Tonight I had band rehearsal and it was long and painful.  I’m still frustrated by the fact that we’re playing too much music and not really playing any of it very well.  I’m ready for this upcoming concert to be over. 

Tomorrow is NIOSA.  I will try to remember to take pictures and post them for Leann.  Thursday is Scrabble practice.  Friday is up in the air, but I know that I’m going to enjoy the day off.  Saturday I have an eye doctor appointment so that hopefully I can get new glasses. 

My cold is getting better, but I still have a cough and am stuffy.  I feel like I haven’t gotten enough sleep.  With the animals wanting to go in and out all night, it’s difficult to get the sleep I need.  I asked my aunt if she and my uncle were still interested in buying my house back in Canyon.  She said that she thought that they would be but would check with Steve (my uncle).  I hope that they do so that I can not worry about it any more and then look into getting something here.  First order of business when I do find a house is to have a doggie door installed. 

Well, I’m off to bed so I can gear up for another lovely day of testing. 

A Spring Cold

Somehow I ended up with a cold this weekend.  I may have picked it up at Spurs game or something.  My throat felt a little sore after the game, but I chalked it up to screaming for the Spurs.  By Saturday evening, I was feeling really kind of blah.  Sunday morning wasn’t much better and I felt drained all day.  This morning I was hoarse and still had some sneezing.  Once I got to school I didn’t do much this morning other than sort through piles of catalogs that I haven’t touched most of the year.  Around 11:30, I headed to the band hall to start working on the inventory.  I’m actually seeing the light at the end of the tunnel at least as far as the band inventory goes.  I still have 12 trombones to look at and then all the percussion and miscellaneous items. 

I came home and heated up leftover pizza for dinner and I’m thinking about taking a short nap before I have to leave for orchestra rehearsal.  Though I don’t want to go, I really need to since I haven’t been in a while.  Tomorrow is band rehearsal, then on Wednesday, Matt and I are going to NIOSA (Night in Old San Antonio) which is part of the Fiesta celebrations that are going on right now. 

Well, my bed is calling me for a nap right now. 

Great Game

The Spurs vs. Lakers game was really awesome.  I think I’ve become a basketball fan.  The Spurs played well and kicked the Lakers butt.  The energy level is simply amazing.  Surprisingly, there were a lot of Lakers fans there wearing their jerseys.  That was kind of annoying, but they left with their tails between their legs.  I think it took a lot of courage for them to wear their Lakers Jerseys amidst all the Spurs fans.  Matt said that sometimes brawls break out in the stands during games against the Lakers.  I didn’t see any of that.  There was a couple in front of us where the guy was a Lakers fan and the girl was a Spurs fan.  They ended up leaving early when it was obvious the Lakers were going to lose.  A guy behind us kept yelling “hell yeah” every time the Lakers score.  When the Spurs were leading by about 20 points, he got pretty quiet. After the game I stopped by the fan store there and bought my first Spurs shirt.  It’s girly with a feminine cut and and shiny Spurs logo.  I’ve been wearing a shirt that Matt let me borrow, but it’s way too big on me. 

I wish that clothing that’s too big was my problem today.  I’m going to have to go shopping to find some jeans that fit.  I’ve gained a little too much weight since I started dating Matt.  So I’m going to go to the mall today and see if I can find something.  I also need to schedule an eye appointment.  I need new glasses as well.  Getting old and fat stinks.  I hope they re-open the pool soon.  They’ve drained it and I guess they are doing some repairs.  I need to start swimming soon. 

Well, I think I’ll go get ready so I can head out.  Matt is coming over this evening and then we’re going to the movies.  I’m taking him out to dinner after the movie. 

Better

Getting sleep seems to always help.  I sent an apologetic email to Matt this morning.  He apologized again for being late.  I wasn’t able to meet him for dinner since I had a meeting after school, but I went to the Scrabble practice tonight.  I even played a game with Matt and he beat me pretty good, but nothing too outlandish in terms of scoring.  I think I blocked a few good plays against him.  I won two of my games tonight and lost two.  I had 4 bingos and one of them was worth 98 points when I played “flamiest.” 

Tomorrow Matt and I are going to the Spurs game against the Lakers.  It should be a really good game.  He said there are always fights in the stands.  I hope we are sitting around Spurs fans.  Matt will come over and grill before the game.  Saturday we are going to see The Hunger Games and then go out to dinner.  He finally read the book so we can go see it.

We are now trying to investigate different churches to see who has the best choir/music program.  It may take some doing, but I am hoping that we can find a church that has a decent music program here in San Antonio.  I wish I could take my church back up and move it here – then it would be perfect!  Hopefully we’ll find something more tolerable.  The church we went to last weekend had a somewhat decent choir, but it wasn’t just great.  It was kind of crowded as well – which is a good thing, but perhaps not quite the right atmosphere.  Also, the priest was just a visiting priest so I don’t know what the regular one would be like.  It seems most of the homilies around here center around God’s love for us and so on and so on.  I haven’t heard any truly gripping sermons yet. 

Well, it is now way past my bedtime so I better head that way.  Going to be another busy weekend, but it doesn’t involve school-work, so it’s a good kind of busy. 

Maybe it’s PMS

I don’t if it would be worse to be going through menopause or dealing with the lovely monthly mood swings and “visitor” I still get to enjoy at this point in life.  I’ve been a little moody lately so I guess I can blame it on PMS.  Matt and I haven’t actually had any kind of fight and I really haven’t gotten mad at him which is saying a lot for our relationship.  Sure, I’ve been a little irritated from time to time, but nothing that has caused me much consternation.  But tonight one thing just built off another. 

I planned a lovely dinner that I actually had to cook.  This means it wasn’t something I just popped in the oven, but I actually had to boil pasta, coat chicken in flour, cook it, add sauce mixtures, etc.  I also made a salad and cooked corn on the cob.  (I drew the line at fresh corn and having to shuck, however.)  Don’t forget I also made a cake.  Matt said he would be here at his usual time between 6:30 and 7:00.  I erred on the cautious side and had dinner ready at 7:00.  When he didn’t show at 7:00 I started eating.  He didn’t get here until 20 after 7:00.  So needless to say, my mood wasn’t starting out the best.  Time is a big thing with me.  I believe that if you tell me that you’ll arrive between such and such time, that you’ll be here by at least the latest time mentioned.  I wanted to have a nice dinner with him in my nicely clean house and he doesn’t show up when the food is ready.  I guess it shouldn’t bother me, but time sends a nonverbal message about a person’s importance.  I believe that when someone is consistently late, they are telling the other person that their value is lessened.  Once or twice – that’s traffic or something came up.  Multiple times, it’s a message.  Or maybe I’m overreacting.  He did apologize for being late, but only after a few comments I made about it.

So I ate, and then he ate.  I watched American Idol.  He read The Hunger Games.  We kissed a little.  Then we played a game of Scrabble.  My mood had lightened some, but I guess not completely.  It didn’t help when he got a 149 point bingo.  When he followed that with another bingo worth 99 points, that was it for me.  I’m not saying he should throw the game, but for a competitive person like me who started out a little moody to begin with, it’s just not a good mix.  Somehow we finished the game.  I got two lousy 60 point bingos, but my mood went downhill fast.  He commented on me being so surly.  That’s interesting when he can get really moody when he doesn’t have good games himself.

I’ll get over it.  It’s not something to dwell on and perhaps it really is more hormonal than truly emotional.  But it’s the first time that my mood has gotten the best of me in a long time.  I guess I can’t have sunny days all the time – even here in SA. 

The Joy of a Clean House

While I don’t always enjoy the process of cleaning, once everything is done, I love having a clean house for at least a few days.  It’s back to the way it was when I was trying to impress Matt.  Now, I’m not quite the slob I used to be, but my closet looked like a Payless Shoe Store exploded in there and there was just general untidiness everywhere. 

Today was busy as always.  I went to a training session this afternoon and thankfully I was able to leave earlier than I usually leave from school.  I went to the bank to deposit some checks and then went to the store to get a few things for dinner.  Since I actually had extra time, I baked a dessert for dinner tonight – a blueberry crumble cake since Matt’s favorite fruit is blueberry.  He’s coming over around 7:00 for dinner.  We’ll probably watch American Idol and just hang out. 

I love cleaning… NOT

Actually I love having a clean house – but not so much the process to get it clean.  Surprisingly, since I’ve moved to San Antonio, I’ve mostly picked up after myself.  Granted, my closet looked like a tornado hit it, but generally I stayed caught up with dishes and laundry.  I went to the store tonight to pick up a few cleaning supplies, but mostly I’ve played Scrabble and explored Pottermore online.  That’s my new time waster.  Can you believe that the Sorting Hat put me in Slytherin??  I figured I would certainly have been put in Ravenclaw.  Maybe I am evil deep down. 

Matt came to the school to help me in the library again today.  He shelved books for me and then helped me sort through piles of magazines.  Then we went to check some inventory.  Fixed assets has been a pain and it’s only going to get worse.  It’s not as though I don’t have anything better to do.  In just a few weeks I’m going to be dealing with UIL competition, textbooks, library inventory, and wrapping things up at the end of the year. 

Well, I’ve made a lot of progress tonight.  The house is pretty clean and there’s only minor details to deal with tomorrow.  I should have practiced my music tonight, but I guess I’ll work on that tomorrow. 

Taxes Done

I didn’t go to Scrabble practice last night.  This week I’ve skipped just about everything – orchestra, band, Scrabble.  I stayed at school until almost 6:00 working on the fixed assets inventory yesterday.  I’ve been really tired.  I don’t think I’ve been getting enough sleep or something.  So last night I finished filing taxes for myself and Josh.  Luckily I’ll get a little bit of a refund - $567.  It’s not as amazing as last year, but most of it was spent on moving expenses anyway.  Josh is getting $33 back.  A good chunk of money he earned from my uncle was sent before he was officially on the payroll and having taxes withdrawn.  So that hurt him a little – but at least he doesn’t have to pay.  When my money gets here, I’m going to get new glasses.  I have insurance, but I’m sure I’ll have to pay extra for things like scratch-resistant lenses – which is a must for me.  I’ve discovered that I can’t read things up close with my glasses on.  I can read just find without them.  I don’t know if that necessarily means I need bifocals or what.  If so, I guess it is yet another sign that I’m getting older. 

So American Idol was interesting last night – thought not all that surprising.  I figured the judges would use their save when needed.  I think Jessica is very talented and shouldn’t have been in the bottom. 

Matt came over this evening and I cooked dinner and now we’re watching Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.  We are supposed to play scrabble at some point.  I’ve been playing my brother online a little bit.  I won the first game – but barely.

I have to do a lot of house cleaning this weekend.  I’m getting another house inspection by my realtor on Wednesday.  I guess it’s good since I’ve needed to do some major cleaning for a while.  Ugh.

Hump Day

I have so much to get done in my library before the end of the year – I just don’t know if it is going to happen.  I suppose it will have to, but I may start spending extra hours after school as needed.  Today I had math classes in the library doing a research project on a famous mathematician.  I thought it was pretty neat since math teachers rarely find it necessary to use the library.  I created the project and worksheet and provided several links for them to use.  The math teacher was very appreciative and seemed to enjoy the project.

I had a library meeting this afternoon so I was able to get out and get to the grocery store.  I’m amazed at how much I still spend when it’s just me.  Well, it’s not really just me.  Matt is here quite often. 

So yes, Matt is really tall.  He is 6’6.  I’m 5’4 in shoes.  But it is nice and quite handy to have a tall man around.  My air conditioning is finally fixed.  The guy came on Tuesday and Matt was here in the morning to wait for him. 

Tonight Matt is cooking burgers on the grill.  I’m watching American Idol and then Matt will watch the Spurs game in my bedroom.  I guess we’re almost like a married couple.

Easter Break Trip (With Pictures)

Matt and I headed out around 6:45 p.m. on Thursday evening and drove to Sweetwater.  We made pretty good time arriving a little after 11:00 p.m. and that included a dinner stop.  We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express after getting a decent deal via hotwire.  We drove the rest of the way on Friday morning arriving in Canyon around 12:30 p.m.  We went to the Panhandle Plains Historical museum that afternoon.  Matt got to visit with a colleague that now works there.  We toured the museum and then I had my one meal for the day since it was Good Friday.  I showed him all the places that I lived in Canyon in addition to the schools that I attended.  We went to the Good Friday service at St. Ann’s that evening.  After the service, we caught up with my friend Carol and visited for about an hour afterward.  We headed back to the house and watched a movie with my cousin who is renting the house from me.  At midnight we headed to Wendy’s to get food since Matt had been fasting all day and I only had my one meal. 

Saturday was a full day of activities.  First, we had Donut Stop donuts for breakfast.  At 11:30 we went to Taco Villa for lunch and met with my friends Cristal and her husband, Matt, and then later met up with my friend Lacy.  Lunch was really good.  After that, we went to Toyota to have my oil changed and it was the fastest service I’ve ever experienced.  It only took 10 minutes to have the oil changed.  From there, I took Matt to the Cadillac Ranch after briefly stopping to pick up some spray paint at Home Depot.  I tagged a few cars and we got another visitor to take pictures of us.

 
Next, I took Matt to the Big Texan Steak Ranch which is home to the infamous 72 ounce steak dinner.  (See picture)
We didn’t stop to eat, but checked out the tourist stuff and gift shop and paused for another picture.
I then took Matt by the house where I grew up after first moving to Amarillo and the house I lived in from 6th grade until I graduated from high school.  We stopped by my dad’s shop and my brother happened to be there so we visited for a bit.  After that, we headed to my brother’s house since we had plans to go out to dinner.  We visited with Martha (my brother’s wife) and entertained the kids until it was time for dinner.  We went to eat a Mexican restaurant called the Plaza.  After dinner, we colored Easter Eggs with my niece and nephew. 

We went to church on Sunday morning.  I have to say that I really miss my church.  I have to find a church here in San Antonio that has a strong music program.  The choir was wonderful and the service was great.  After church, we came back to the house for about an hour and then we went to Feldman’s for lunch.  I had the chicken fried chicken and it was very good.  After lunch, I took a nap since I didn’t sleep very well the night before.  We drove out to Palo Duro Canyon around 3:00 and the weather was really nice.  We didn’t hike or anything this time, but will definitely come back another time.  But I did get another picture of Matt.

We spent the rest of Sunday watching movies.  We ordered pizza for dinner since Matt had given it up for Lent.  We also drank a lot of coke because we both gave it up as well.  We headed back this morning around 10, but stopped for lunch in Lubbock where we met a good friend of Matt’s who just moved there a few months ago.  We got back to San Antonio around 7:00 this evening. 

I really enjoyed being able to see my friends and family, but I think San Antonio has become my home.  Canyon just seems so small now.  It was also a bit chilly and windy on Saturday.  I don’t miss the wind at all.  Now it’s back to work and life here in SA. 

Still here

I'm still here, just out of town with little Internet service. I promise to write a real post with pictures when I get back to SA tomorrow. It's been a great visit so far.

Time Moving Fast

It seems like things are just going way too fast this week.  Having missed all day yesterday for jury duty and then dealing with technology assessments all day today, followed by band rehearsal tonight, I feel like I’m not going to get everything done that I need to do.  Tomorrow will be more testing and then I have make-ups on Thursday.  After school on Thursday I have to go to another school to proctor a UIL writing contest.

I may have found someone to check on my animals for me.  The assistant band director said that her brother would probably do it and she could help him as needed.  Matt is also going to ask a lady at work.  I think that we will be able to get it covered at least so it looks like we’ll make it back to Canyon for Easter.  I guess I’ll go ahead and book the room in Sweetwater. 

I still haven’t heard from the air conditioning guy about fixing my air conditioner.  I submitted the repair request this weekend, got a call from my rental company yesterday and was told he would be in touch, but haven’t heard anything yet.  I hope he calls tomorrow as it will be the only day I’m available. 

Jury Duty

So I had jury duty today.  This is first time I’ve actually gotten through the entire process before getting dismissed at the end of the day.  I’ve received about 7 or 8 notices throughout the years and only twice (before today) have I actually appeared in the jury pool.  The first time, I was dismissed before any jurors were called to a courtroom and the second time I was postponed since I was taking students to the state tournament during the potential trial.  Today, however, I actually got to witness the process of questioning the jurors and it wasn’t really like I imagined.  I thought that they individually asked jurors different questions, but mostly it was the lawyers making speeches and asking for general agreements and then asked for specific dissentions.  I stayed quiet though one of the questioning attorneys noticed that I mouthed the words “preponderance of evidence” when he was asking how civil cases are decided by jurors.  But I was number 24 out of 32 and wasn’t selected.  The last person selected was around number 20 or 21.  I think it would have been interesting to serve on a jury, but am kind of glad that I don’t have to give up my week at school.  It’s going to be a crazy week.

I don’t know if Matt and I are going to get to go back to Canyon for Easter.  The person that I thought would be able to pet/house sit can’t do it now and I don’t have anyone else.  I will try to see if I can find someone at school, but I don’t know that I will be able to.  I’m going to be really disappointed if I don’t get to go back home.  It’s not so much missing the city, but I really wanted to go back to my church and see some of my friends.  And of course I wanted to get a meat burrito grande at Taco Villa. 

I used the community pool for the first time this spring.  I really need to go more often and get my stamina up.  I was winded after one lap down and back.  Matt is here watching the basketball game and I’m sulking about not getting to go to Canyon – maybe.  I guess the glass is half empty at the moment.