Luckily it is leap year because otherwise I would have failed my "blogging twice a month" goal. This month has been so busy and I feel like I can hardly keep up.
This past week I was so overwhelmed by the kindness shown to me for my birthday. I have had a hard few weeks dealing with lots at work and such. My birthday was the perfect pick-me-up.
My students were very sweet to me on my birthday. They kept trying to "secretly" plan when to sing to me and burst into song several times throughout the day. (I only let them sing once though.) A couple of students even brought me gifts which was so nice (necklace, lotion, a pie, etc). I got several cards and my students tried and succeeded at making me feel loved.
Andrew was very impressive with his gift giving this year which isn't new. He was very thoughtful with the gifts he got me. He got me a new watch after watching mine break in half recently. Andrew also got me a pizza stone and I can't wait to use it TONIGHT! I have always wanted one. I hope it's as good as people claim. My favorite gift was probably my blog made into a book though.
The whole purpose of blogging for me is so I can avoid scrapbooking. Scrapbooking to me is very time consuming and something I don't want to do right now. Maybe later on in life I will be interested, but for now I have no desire. (You should have seen me last week in a scrapbooking store. It was a low point and involved 4 separate purchases and 4 products not doing what they were supposed to. I ended up leaving VERY frustrated). Blogging is my way of "documenting" our life and what goes on. Andrew made a book of every one of my posts from 2014 and there were a lot. He spent over TWENTY hours doing this for me. What a man.
One of my best friends brought me swig sugar cookies for my birthday. Our landlords left me happy birthday cupcakes on the counter. I got several texts from friends and family. The posts on my Facebook wall made me realize maybe I actually do like Facebook? Andrew took me to Cold Stone to get the concoction that I'm addicted to. We had pizza. (enough said.) To top it all off, we had a family dinner to celebrate both my birthday as well as Andrew's. We are struggling to eat all the goodies and treats I was showered with.
My birthday came at the perfect time this year. This week has already been so much better. Now if only birthdays came semi-annually...
Monday, February 29, 2016
Monday, February 15, 2016
Month of Celebrations
February is kind of a whirlwind around our home. There is always so much to celebrate. February 14th--Valentine's Day. February 20th-- Andrew's birthday. February 25th-- My birthday. All attempts to maintain a budget during this month go out the window.
So many places do birthday deals and we look forward to using these deals. We usually hit Red Robin twice during our birthday month. (Once for each of us) Besides, we can't redeem our free birthday burgers on the same visit, so we are kind of forced to go twice. :) We went to Red Robin over the weekend and I'm still dreaming about the campfire sauce.
I'm still feeling Tucanos. We went this afternoon because they have a free birthday meal as well. After doing some research we figured out that entrees only cost $15.99 during lunch hours, so that is when we went.
We were lucky Valentine's Day was on a Sunday because we couldn't go out. Instead, I made chicken enchiladas (Andrew's request) and rice. We also spent the afternoon making sugar cookies together. These can be quite time consuming and I ended up having to remake the frosting which prolonged the process. The end result was heavenly though. Sour cream does wonders.
Now that our birthday meals are taken care of, we can relax. It has been a busy month. I survived round 2 of parent teacher conferences by the skin of my teeth. No matter how prepared I am for conferences, I don't know that I will ever be fully mentally or emotionally prepared for the 2 fourteen hour days. No more parent teacher conferences this school year. That deserves a celebration in and of itself! I don't think the timing was coincidental, but I was recognized during an assembly for all my hard work as a teacher. I was surprised and embarrassed to come stand and hear nice things read about me, but the free Cafe Rio was worth it. And who doesn't like to hear compliments? (The card is currently on my fridge and may never come down.)
This season we have enjoyed going to the BYU men's volleyball games with my family. It makes the games more fun to know someone on the team and my cousin Jake Langlois is so fun to watch. We can't wait for the next game.
So many places do birthday deals and we look forward to using these deals. We usually hit Red Robin twice during our birthday month. (Once for each of us) Besides, we can't redeem our free birthday burgers on the same visit, so we are kind of forced to go twice. :) We went to Red Robin over the weekend and I'm still dreaming about the campfire sauce.
I'm still feeling Tucanos. We went this afternoon because they have a free birthday meal as well. After doing some research we figured out that entrees only cost $15.99 during lunch hours, so that is when we went.
Very satisfied with his Brazilian Limeade
Why didn't we take pictures before eating? Food coma.
Now that our birthday meals are taken care of, we can relax. It has been a busy month. I survived round 2 of parent teacher conferences by the skin of my teeth. No matter how prepared I am for conferences, I don't know that I will ever be fully mentally or emotionally prepared for the 2 fourteen hour days. No more parent teacher conferences this school year. That deserves a celebration in and of itself! I don't think the timing was coincidental, but I was recognized during an assembly for all my hard work as a teacher. I was surprised and embarrassed to come stand and hear nice things read about me, but the free Cafe Rio was worth it. And who doesn't like to hear compliments? (The card is currently on my fridge and may never come down.)
This season we have enjoyed going to the BYU men's volleyball games with my family. It makes the games more fun to know someone on the team and my cousin Jake Langlois is so fun to watch. We can't wait for the next game.
We'll start the budget again next month perhaps? Until then, do you think I can keep Andrew's presents a secret? I already blew one...
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Goals
So... apparently I have been a slacker this new year. I recently realized (Sunday night) that I had yet to make one goal for this new year. Yikes. It's better late than never, right?
I plotted and planned a family home evening to throw together some goals. I told Andrew to be thinking and we came up with some good ones, so stay tuned.
Writing goals can sometimes be discouraging for me which may be why I put off writing any until last night. Reflecting back to last year, I don't think I got to half of the goals I set. I even did what all websites suggest and posted the goals in my room for me to view multiple times daily. Finally, about halfway through the year, I ended up throwing the goals (I wasn't doing) away. Oops...
There is always plenty to work on and several things I'm working towards. This year Andrew and I focused on 5 categories to set goals in: physical, spiritual, educational, personal, and family. The first 4 categories we each came up with our own goals. We came up with 4 family goals together.
Goals can be quite personal, so lucky for you, you don't get to hear all of my goals. (I'm sure you're upset)
Physical
Spiritual
Educational
Personal
Family
Now you have a taste of some of the goals I have for this year. I basically only have 11 months to complete these, so I better get going. Wish me luck.
I plotted and planned a family home evening to throw together some goals. I told Andrew to be thinking and we came up with some good ones, so stay tuned.
Writing goals can sometimes be discouraging for me which may be why I put off writing any until last night. Reflecting back to last year, I don't think I got to half of the goals I set. I even did what all websites suggest and posted the goals in my room for me to view multiple times daily. Finally, about halfway through the year, I ended up throwing the goals (I wasn't doing) away. Oops...
There is always plenty to work on and several things I'm working towards. This year Andrew and I focused on 5 categories to set goals in: physical, spiritual, educational, personal, and family. The first 4 categories we each came up with our own goals. We came up with 4 family goals together.
Goals can be quite personal, so lucky for you, you don't get to hear all of my goals. (I'm sure you're upset)
Physical
- Run a half marathon.
Spiritual
- Start and finish the New Testament.
Educational
- Pass the Science Praxis.
Personal
- Blog at least twice a month.
Family
- Go on a trip together just the two of us.
Now you have a taste of some of the goals I have for this year. I basically only have 11 months to complete these, so I better get going. Wish me luck.
Sunday, January 17, 2016
December Came
Back in late August/September, Andrew was informed he would be laid off at the end of December. What a great way to end the year, with a BOOM.
As soon as Andrew found out that he would be losing his job, he immediately started applying for jobs. He had some interviews, but nothing seemed to workout. One place was interested in him, but told us the pay was $15.00 an hour and so Andrew said, "see ya" in the most professional way possible.
This job hunting process was frustrating. One of the places that invited Andrew back for a second interview didn't even bother to get back to him. After 4 phone calls, emails, and who knows what else to attempt to follow-up, we finally gave up on that company.
In September, we were very hopeful. We still had several months for Andrew to find a job and his company kept hinting that they would hire him on in another department. Well, that never happened. When December finally hit, we were worried. Let me rephrase that. I WAS WORRIED. I'm the worry wart in the relationship. We balance each other out nicely. When Andrew gets worried, he hides it much better than I do and I hope to be more like him.
Deciding our holiday plans was a nightmare because we were unsure of our future. Andrew had a really promising interview the second week of December and we were banking on him getting that job. When we got the disappointing "thanks for interviewing, but we don't want you" email, we were back to square one. (Hey, at least they emailed!)
We were blessed to get severance for the month of January. I'm also working, so we knew we would be fine, but I'm not planning on being the breadwinner. Because we had such a fun year, Andrew had 0 vacation days left in December. We didn't want to risk him losing his severance. His company ended up letting him go on vacation a few days early which was very nice.
We spent New Years in Spokane with Andrew's family. While there, my brother Joel told us that Andrew should apply at his company because they had an opening in QA. Andrew did, and that day got called for an interview.
The day after we got back from vacation, Andrew interviewed. The interview went well and he was invited to lunch with the CEO a couple days later. Andrew was offered a job and of course took it. He was only unemployed for 4 days!
This is a complete career change for Andrew. His degree is in chemistry. At his old company, Andrew was building chemical instruments and testing them/tweaking the problems. Now Andrew is finding bugs with computer software programs. He has NO experience, but has been learning quickly. He seems to really enjoy what he is doing. His new company treats him like an angel and I'm more than slightly jealous. (Catered lunch 2x a week, a new Mac, etc.)
We feel so blessed. We are thrilled to save a little extra this month because Andrew gets severance plus pay from his new job. Sometimes things don't workout how you want them to, but it's for the better. (My stress levels would have loved a new job in September!) Through this process, I have learned that I need to be more trusting. Here's to hoping this job is long-term, so we don't have to go through this process again anytime soon. :)
As soon as Andrew found out that he would be losing his job, he immediately started applying for jobs. He had some interviews, but nothing seemed to workout. One place was interested in him, but told us the pay was $15.00 an hour and so Andrew said, "see ya" in the most professional way possible.
This job hunting process was frustrating. One of the places that invited Andrew back for a second interview didn't even bother to get back to him. After 4 phone calls, emails, and who knows what else to attempt to follow-up, we finally gave up on that company.
In September, we were very hopeful. We still had several months for Andrew to find a job and his company kept hinting that they would hire him on in another department. Well, that never happened. When December finally hit, we were worried. Let me rephrase that. I WAS WORRIED. I'm the worry wart in the relationship. We balance each other out nicely. When Andrew gets worried, he hides it much better than I do and I hope to be more like him.
Deciding our holiday plans was a nightmare because we were unsure of our future. Andrew had a really promising interview the second week of December and we were banking on him getting that job. When we got the disappointing "thanks for interviewing, but we don't want you" email, we were back to square one. (Hey, at least they emailed!)
We were blessed to get severance for the month of January. I'm also working, so we knew we would be fine, but I'm not planning on being the breadwinner. Because we had such a fun year, Andrew had 0 vacation days left in December. We didn't want to risk him losing his severance. His company ended up letting him go on vacation a few days early which was very nice.
We spent New Years in Spokane with Andrew's family. While there, my brother Joel told us that Andrew should apply at his company because they had an opening in QA. Andrew did, and that day got called for an interview.
The day after we got back from vacation, Andrew interviewed. The interview went well and he was invited to lunch with the CEO a couple days later. Andrew was offered a job and of course took it. He was only unemployed for 4 days!
This is a complete career change for Andrew. His degree is in chemistry. At his old company, Andrew was building chemical instruments and testing them/tweaking the problems. Now Andrew is finding bugs with computer software programs. He has NO experience, but has been learning quickly. He seems to really enjoy what he is doing. His new company treats him like an angel and I'm more than slightly jealous. (Catered lunch 2x a week, a new Mac, etc.)
We feel so blessed. We are thrilled to save a little extra this month because Andrew gets severance plus pay from his new job. Sometimes things don't workout how you want them to, but it's for the better. (My stress levels would have loved a new job in September!) Through this process, I have learned that I need to be more trusting. Here's to hoping this job is long-term, so we don't have to go through this process again anytime soon. :)
Friday, November 13, 2015
Getting the Hang of Things
Teaching is hard, but I knew that going in. Teaching is also fun and very rewarding which is why I love it.
The first couple of months were crazy. There were several days, weeks, even months that I left for school at 6:00am. There were also countless mornings I woke up before my alarm because I was too worried. The nightmares have almost stopped completely.
One thing that I've learned through this process is that there is always something to do. No matter how prepared you are, something will always come up. Why waste every waking hour of every day planning?
I have had to learn to make time for myself. After working a long day, the first thing I do when I get home should not be to clean the bathroom or do laundry. It can wait which is sometimes hard for me. I feel like I have finally been able do things that I love for the first time in a while.
This month I read 2 books for pleasure. No, these weren't books explaining how to treat others kindly or what respect means. I probably should have been reading a book teaching me how to identify 20 rock types because apparently I'll be teaching this to my class in less than two weeks. Yikes. Wish me luck...
Andrew and I read, "The Martian" by: Andy Weir together. We enjoy reading out loud and Andrew uses quite the voices. There was a good amount of scientific information, but luckily I married a chemist who was eager to explain everything in great detail. It was fun to see the movie after finishing the book and the plots aligned nicely. (FYI-- There is quite a bit of swearing in the book. We had to get creative while reading aloud coming up with substitute words.)
About 45 minutes ago I finished reading "Twenty Wishes" by: Debbie Macomber. I like books that deal with relationships and real life situations. This book was a really positive and hopeful book. The main character and her group of friends decided to write a list of 20 wishes. At first, the main character could hardly think of anything she even wished for. Her life seemed pretty tragic and horrible. Throughout the book, she was able to find happiness after the death of her husband. This made me want to write my own list of 20 wishes. I'm working on it. (Sometimes my dreams are a little too realistic and budget friendly so it's hard for me.)
I'm on the hunt for my next book.
I also started working out again. After teaching and standing for several hours a day, the last thing I have wanted to do is exercise. Many nights I just put my feet up and basically refuse to leave the couch.
We joined the gym this week. Now that I'm a grown-up and don't have a free gym at college, I'm taking my gym commitment pretty seriously. If I'm paying money to go to the gym then I'm going to. It's nice to get my stress and frustrations out by working out even harder. (Maybe I should ease into this gym thing better next time because I am super sore.)
Off to enjoy my weekend work-free!
The first couple of months were crazy. There were several days, weeks, even months that I left for school at 6:00am. There were also countless mornings I woke up before my alarm because I was too worried. The nightmares have almost stopped completely.
One thing that I've learned through this process is that there is always something to do. No matter how prepared you are, something will always come up. Why waste every waking hour of every day planning?
I have had to learn to make time for myself. After working a long day, the first thing I do when I get home should not be to clean the bathroom or do laundry. It can wait which is sometimes hard for me. I feel like I have finally been able do things that I love for the first time in a while.
This month I read 2 books for pleasure. No, these weren't books explaining how to treat others kindly or what respect means. I probably should have been reading a book teaching me how to identify 20 rock types because apparently I'll be teaching this to my class in less than two weeks. Yikes. Wish me luck...
Andrew and I read, "The Martian" by: Andy Weir together. We enjoy reading out loud and Andrew uses quite the voices. There was a good amount of scientific information, but luckily I married a chemist who was eager to explain everything in great detail. It was fun to see the movie after finishing the book and the plots aligned nicely. (FYI-- There is quite a bit of swearing in the book. We had to get creative while reading aloud coming up with substitute words.)
About 45 minutes ago I finished reading "Twenty Wishes" by: Debbie Macomber. I like books that deal with relationships and real life situations. This book was a really positive and hopeful book. The main character and her group of friends decided to write a list of 20 wishes. At first, the main character could hardly think of anything she even wished for. Her life seemed pretty tragic and horrible. Throughout the book, she was able to find happiness after the death of her husband. This made me want to write my own list of 20 wishes. I'm working on it. (Sometimes my dreams are a little too realistic and budget friendly so it's hard for me.)
I'm on the hunt for my next book.
I also started working out again. After teaching and standing for several hours a day, the last thing I have wanted to do is exercise. Many nights I just put my feet up and basically refuse to leave the couch.
We joined the gym this week. Now that I'm a grown-up and don't have a free gym at college, I'm taking my gym commitment pretty seriously. If I'm paying money to go to the gym then I'm going to. It's nice to get my stress and frustrations out by working out even harder. (Maybe I should ease into this gym thing better next time because I am super sore.)
Off to enjoy my weekend work-free!
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