A Not So Jolly Holiday

While life is still good in many ways, we’ve got some hiccups happening right now.  Matt is angry and frustrated with things happening at his work.  His department knew that they were potentially on the chopping block when the director offered up the potential to cut the department to save money during budget talks.  They thought, however, that they would ok as the foundation would be able to help cover salaries of the department manager and another position.  On the day of their Christmas party, one of the employees was told she be reassigned.  The following week they got news that the manager was expected to retire or move by April.  Starting in February, they are cutting the department’s hours.  Some of the staff will probably be reassigned to other departments or branches.  Matt is very discouraged and is planning to start job hunting soon. 

My dog Max that is now about 16 years old is not doing well.  We’re going to have to have him put down tonight.  It is a difficult decision, but he obviously now in pain as he cries out at night and can’t get comfortable.  He’s been incontinent for a while now and he’s not able to walk any more.  He has had a good long life, but it is painful to make the decision none-the-less.  Thankfully Matt will take care of it for me.  I don’t think I can handle it. 

In spite of this, I got a tree put up finally though I opted for the smaller tree this year.  Matt and I hung the lights outside the house yesterday.  I guess we’re still going to try to have some Christmas spirit.  I need to do all my present wrapping in the next day or so.  Luckily all the shopping is done.  I just need to get some groceries to get us through the week.  Josh is coming home tomorrow so I need to get cereal and sandwich stuff so that he won’t starve. 

Three days and counting

The students are starting to bounce off the walls and I’m starting to lose my patience.  Luckily there’s only three more days left until Christmas Vacation.  I have most of my shopping done with the exception of a few things that will have to wait until payday on Friday.  I finally decided on Matt’s present.  It isn’t exactly what he asked for, but I’m pretty sure he will use it and like it.  We haven’t put up the tree yet.  I guess we’ll do that tomorrow.  I also need to do some baking this week. 

Tonight I went to confession for the first time in a while.  I’ve been needing to go and I prefer the communal penance services.  I almost talked myself out of it, but I made myself go.  Of course I always feel better afterward.  I signed Matt and I up for the marriage preparation seminal that is coming up in January.  Hopefully then we can officially set the wedding date with my church back in Canyon. 

I still have 8 books to read for my good reads goal for the year.  I’m halfway through one that I started today at school.  Hopefully once the break starts, I’ll find more time to read.  I’m going to try to finish the YA novel tonight. 

We’ve been doing Secret Santas at school this week.  Yesterday I got a package of chocolate-caramel candies.  Today I got a purple and white garter for my wedding.  The person I have is the art teacher.  Yesterday I gave her some do it yourself Christmas ornaments.  Today, I gave her some fuzzy Christmas socks. 

I think I’m going to watch Big Bang Theory, then read a little, and get to bed soon. 

Christmas Shopping

Why are men so hard to buy for?  Perhaps it’s not all men, but Matt is proving to be difficult this year.  Last year was pretty easy – I ordered his gift (A grill) before Christmas so it wasn’t really a surprise. This year, he tells me that all he wants is socks.  He said he wanted a weather radio so I did order that for him (along with some socks).  We might end up getting each other bikes, but I want to get him something else.  I’m pretty sure he plans to buy me a new Kindle (so he can have my old one) and a new Keurig coffee maker that I can take to school.  I thought about getting him a new Kindle as well, but he says he doesn’t want one.  I thought about getting him a laptop, but I’m not sure if he really wants that either.  He did tell me about a bowflex thing he wanted as well as a slingbox, but I’m not sure about either of those.  I did buy him a nice long sleeved shirt.  I also have book on order that I think he’ll like.   I need to figure this out pretty soon – especially if I order stuff online.  Turns out that two day shipping on Amazon right now is actually 4 day shipping. 

Counting down the days

I’m ready for Christmas break.  Not Christmas – I still have lots of shopping (online) to do, but I’m ready to have my break from school.  I know we just had a week off for Thanksgiving, but I didn’t get to spend that week at home.  I’m looking forward to being a slug for about two weeks.  I do have to get some things done.  Matt still has boxes of stuff here that needs a place to go (such as the attic).  School is fine – I’m just tired of it right now.  Today I finished getting all the books from my grant order processed and on the shelves.  Next I started pulling some old books for weeding.  At the end of the day I started getting a headache and was feeling kind of blah.  I took some tylenol and came home right at 4:15.  I tried to nap for a bit, but I was too cold (having been freezing all day in my library).  I had to leave for band rehearsal a little before 7:00.  Rehearsal was ok, but I feel like I’m getting a cold or dealing with allergies.  I just took a benadryl and hope it kicks in soon. 

I need to sign Matt and I up for a Catholic engagement seminar so we can officially set our wedding date.  They have a weekend retreat coming up in January.  Once that’s done, I think we’ll be able to finalize a date for July.  I’m hoping for the weekend of July 12, but it’s still up in the air right now.  I need to start figuring out a budget for the wedding as well.  I got off pretty easy last time, but I think it will be a little more expensive this time.  Even though I don’t particularly want a big wedding, I have a feeling it may turn out to be more than expected.  Matt is now up to four groomsmen so I’ve got to see if my friend Kim will be a bridesmaid again.  Surprisingly, my bridal party is the same as it was in my previous wedding with the exception of my former friend Robin.  My friend Pam is now my maid of honor.  The other attendants will be my friend Kirsten who lives in Nacogdoches, my cousin Amanda who lives in Garland, TX, and my friend Kim who just moved to Tennessee. 

Well, I think I’m going to play a quick game of Words of Wonder and then call it a night. 

Engagement Pics

Since I couldn’t post them from the iPad, here are some pictures I posted on facebook.

Our trip to Albuquerque was very pleasant.  I read a few books, goofed off online and played a lot of Scrabble against Josh and Matt.  We did go out shopping on black Friday but it wasn’t too bad.  The line at Kohl’s was only 25 minutes.  I bought Josh some clothes for Christmas.  I still need to order his other gift from Amazon, but I need to balance my checkbook first. 

Everyone at school was happy to hear the news about the engagement.  They loved my ring.  I’m still behind on work, but I’m still busy.  I got another email from the district today.  They want to come film my Scrabble club again for a local commercial about choosing public schools over private.  I don’t know that I would choose public school in this day, but it pays my bills these days.  Working for a private school might be less stressful, but the pay would be much less. 

I’m down to 10 books that I need to read to meet my goodreads goal.  I’m halfway through one of them right now.  I think I might make it. 

I'm Engaged!

It's official. Matt and I are engaged. I've been sitting on this information for two and a half weeks which has been difficult. So the last two or three people that actually read this blog will get the story. This blessed event actually started on my birthday and a very bad mood. All day long Matt would tell me that my present was that he was going to mow the yard. He did mow the yard, but I didn't think that was a very good present since he normally does that anyway. The only thing he did for me on my birthday was take me out to dinner. That was nice (in spite of the restaurant messing up my order), but that was it. No flowers, no other gift, no promise of I'll get you something later. We got home and then he proceeded to sit on the couch and watch sports. I had enough so I decided to go to bed a little after nine. I was in bed watching the Big Bang Theory when he came into the bedroom. I told him that he didn't need to be up there. He said that yes he did. He then dug into his dresser and pulled something out. He sat on the bed and said it was my present. I opened a velvet bag and discovered that he had given me his Rolex watch. I asked him why he was giving me his Rolex. He said that he wanted me to sell it so that we could use the money to buy an engagement ring. I asked "Really?" He said "Yes." So that started the process of figuring out the best way to sell the Rolex and get enough money for a ring. At that time he said that he thought we should wait to tell people until we actually had a ring. I reluctantly agreed, though I did tell my aunt. Thankfully, I did because we were able to sell the Rolex to my uncle for more than we'd probably get on ebay, at a pawn shop, or a jewelry store. I decided that I would also try to trade in my wedding ring from my previous marriage to help cover the cost as well. We started looking at rings the day after my birthday. We went to the largest, but best reviewed jewelry store in San Antonio. Their selection and pricing overall seemed good, but they were unwilling to take a ring for trade. The next day we went to another local store who advertised that they bought jewelry, but they only wanted to give me $650 for my ring that originally cost $2300. We tried another locally owned store in the mall and found something I liked, but with my ring as a trade, they wanted $3700 on top of that. We thought that was too much, even with the $2000 we were getting for the Rolex. The salesperson invited us to come back later in the week when the owner was there since he had the ability to make a better deal. Next we went to Jared but we both didn't like the atmosphere at all. It seemed they were trying to upsell from the moment we walked in the door - pointing out all the magnificent jewelry they had. We both decided that would not do business there after we left. Matt thought that we could possibly afford an extra $1000 for the ring so we decided to check out the store at the mall again last Friday. The owner was there so we looked at the setting I liked again and checked out several round solitaire diamonds to go in it. I choose the diamond I liked best and then set to negotiating. I had given the owner my ring to examine and told him that we had $3000 to spend in total after the trade. He asked if that needed to include taxes and I said yes. He crunched the numbers and said that he could do that so we applied for financing (six months, no interest) and he was able to have the stone set and the ring resized while we waited. So I had my ring last Friday, but Matt still wanted to wait to tell people. I had to finally wear him down and compromise so we set the "roll out" date for Thanksgiving. Of course he had a double standard it seems. He ended up telling some of his out of town friends when he talked to them on the phone. I decided that I could play that game so I told my three friends that were going to be my bridesmaids last weekend. My friend, Carol, also knew early on because I was going to have her start checking with Father Phan (my priest back in Canyon) to see what dates would be available this summer. Matt originally wanted to get married in May, but I reminded him that I was still in school until June. He then said June, but I think we have decided on July since it will be easier for one of my bridesmaids and for the music if I can coordinate it during band camp. I got to start wearing my ring when we left for Albuquerque on Monday. It feels a little weird, but I think it is beautiful. My aunt took some pictures of us so that I could post them on Facebook. Can you believe that I'm actually getting married? A part of me is still in shock. I never thought that moving to San Antonio would have such a positive impact on my life. Matt is an absolutely wonderful man and I am so lucky to have found him! I can't put pictures on this blog right now since I'm posting from an iPad. If you're friends with me on Facebook, there will be some pictures there.

Vacation Time!

It’s a cold, blustery day here in San Antonio.  I’ve grown so accustom to nice, balmy weather, it’s almost a shock to my system.  Thankfully, this will only be temporary – a few days, but I’m staying inside today.  I have a lot of things that I need to get done, but it’s been difficult to get out of my bed.  I have my laptop on my lap, the tv on, and books at my side.  What more could I ask for? 

Unfortunately, I do need to start on my laundry so I’ll have things to pack for our upcoming trip to Albuquerque.  It’s a good thing that I held on to my sweaters when I moved.  It’s pretty cold there right now, but I think it will warm up some while we are there. 

I need to read a dozen more books before the end of the year.  I have a goodreads account and challenged myself to read 50 books this year.  I have 38 down, but need to get a few more in.  I think I can do it – I just ordered four books from Amazon and bought two more at the bookstore the other day.  I’ll get several of them read as I travel.  Airplanes and airports are good for reading. 

Well, my battery is about to die on my laptop.  I guess that means I need to go downstairs and plug it in.  I’m getting hungry so I’ll see what I can come up with for lunch.

TGIF

It was a relief to end this week.  With the excitement of the news broadcast earlier this week, I stayed behind on getting things done that I needed to.  Of course that meant that I would get further behind because I had to babysit again on Thursday.  I had the ESL students and the first class was only four students, but the three boys in there were jerks.  They pretended that they didn’t understand anything I was saying to them like “sit down” but had the ability to ask me in English if I knew the bad words in Spanish.  I’m sure they cursed me out, but I was fed up by that point.  I was trying to get ready to go to a meeting where I had to leave by noon, but I kept getting bombarded with students. 

At the library meeting yesterday, 10 schools were awarded grant funding to start their own Scrabble clubs at their schools.  I’ve started a trend it seems.  I’m excited that other schools are getting on board and I hope we can have some interschool competitions in the spring. 

Tomorrow I’m going to take my car to the tire place and have the tires rotated and balanced.  My tire light has been staying on but I think that was due to the cold front we had come through this week.  Luckily the weather is warming back up.  It was a beautiful day today.  I actually had to turn the air conditioning back on at the house this evening. 

Tomorrow I’m also going to mail Josh my old iPhone since his phone is cracked and he still has another year to go before he can get another one. 

I’m glad we only have one more week of school before Thanksgiving break.  We are looking forward to going to Albuquerque.  I just found out that my sister is going to be moving to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in the next month or two.  That will make it nice for visiting and going to ride roller coasters. 

My 1 minute of fame

The local news came to our school today and filmed a story about my Scrabble club.  I think my principal was very pleased that we got some positive news footage for once.  My students were very excited about it.  They had to bring permission slips to be filmed, but I had almost 20 students in the library when they came to film.  If you want to see the story here’s the link: Scrabble Story.  I had to leave school early to watch it as it aired on the 4:00 newscast. 

I have to go to band rehearsal tonight and I really don’t want to go.  With the time change, it’s dark by the time I leave and I’d rather just put on my pajamas and get comfortable.  But I guess I better get my clarinet and head out so I won’t be late. 

Happy Birthday to Me (And Josh)

Well, it’s not quite our birthday yet – but just a few more hours and I’ll officially be 44 (yes, I feel somewhat old) and Josh will be 23.  I celebrated tonight by buying Matt and I new iPhones.  I got the 5s and Matt got a 5c.  Josh will get my old iPhone 4 since both of his phones are currently broken.  He has another year on his contract so this will give him something to get him by until then.  I tried going to the AT&T store to get the phones but the ones we wanted were out of stock so we headed to the Apple store instead.  Luckily, they had what I wanted so it was fairly quick and easy to get everything.  We had dinner at the mall at an Italian restaurant.  The food was very good and I brought some leftovers home for lunch tomorrow.  I also went to Victoria’s Secret and got a new bra.  Maybe that’s too much information, but you have to understand that I wear them until they practically fall apart.  I figured it was a birthday present to myself. 

We have no plans for tomorrow other than Matt will take me out to dinner tomorrow night.  I plan to sleep in for as long as I want tomorrow morning.  We may wait to go to late church around 1:00 pm.  I already sent Josh an Amazon Gift card for his birthday since I wouldn’t be seeing him this weekend.  Though he is somewhat close by, he is busy with school right now.  Besides, we’ll see him in a couple of weeks when we head to Albuquerque for Thanksgiving. 

I think I’m going to go play with my new phone some more and then read until I fall asleep.