Goodbye 2010

2010 was one crazy year!  As a teacher, I usually think of years being school years and sometimes I have to think if something happened last year or last school year.  I get confused.  Let's see if I can recap.

Matthew proposed on December 20th and the first 6 months of 2010 were all about getting ready for the wedding, marriage, and moving.

School was pretty tough.  I mean really tough.  Looking back I know that the teaching and the students didn't make it unbearable.  It was the lack of professionalism and working with people you couldn't trust with a 10 foot pole (besides a few people).  It made me question whether or not I made the right decision in becoming a teacher.  I spent the spring really considering grad school in order to get my Masters in Social Work.  When I was at Baylor I was able to spend A LOT of time at Mission Waco and serving the poor/homeless and I loved it.  I decided that if teaching wasn't my thing then Social Work must be it!  I started grad school at UTA in the fall and as soon as I started interviewing places for my internship I realized that Social Work isn't what I am supposed to do.  I decided to quit in the middle of the semester.  It was a really hard decision to make but I know I made the right choice.

I was super duper sick for the first half of 2010.  I came pretty close to needing minor heart surgery but it was scary enough.  I'm so thankful that Lord is The Great Physician.  Got the heart under control and therefore got the passing out problems under control.  I've also been on a miracle drug and haven't had any major allergy, sinus, or asthma problems since the spring!  That is one big deal!

Planning the wedding was a lot of fun!  There were a few stressful times but it seemed like everything fell into place; like it was meant to be  :)  Matthew's favorite party of wedding planning was cake testing.  His least favorite was licking the envelopes and sticking the stamps on.  He was a great sport.
I had my bridal portraits done.
We had engagement photos done.
Had a bachelorette party (photos not appropriate  :P )
And we had an incredible wedding!

My lease in my apartment was up in February so I got to live with my partner in crime, Angie, for a few months.  We had way too much fun together.  We could write a book about our adventures of living together.

In June I quit teaching at the school I had been at for 3 years.  It was hard to leave the students and a few friends but I really wasn't sad to leave.  Matthew and I moved into our new apartment.

Matthew and I went on the PERFECT honeymoon.  We spent 2 nights in San Francisco down at Fisherman's Wharf and then drove to Healdsburg in the Sonoma Wine Country.  We spent 4 nights at a cute bed and breakfast.  The owner used to be the head chef at Churchill Downs in Kentucky and made the most delicious breakfast.  We visited wineries, drank wine all day long, and even went on a hot air balloon ride!  I can't wait to go back.

My grandmother sold her house and I was able to spend some time with her helping her move.  It was a lot of fun to go through my grandparents things.  It made me miss my granddaddy like no other but it was good to talk about it him as much as we did.

This fall I helped teach Sunday School to K-3rd graders.  It was a lot of fun and as cute as can be but I don't know what to do with those little people.

I've been fortunate to do some long term substitute jobs this semester.  I've already been hired for this school district and both schools that I've taught at want to hire me for next school year.

My dad has been cancer free for all of 2010  :)

The Lord has been so good and faithful.  I'm healthy, my family is healthy and I never thought I would be married, especially in my 20's and here I am, married to my best friend and the one and only man for me.

I'm looking for to what the Lord has in store for us in 2011.

Texas Bowl Adventures

Wednesday Matthew dropped me off at the airport bright and early so I could go to the Texas Bowl to see my Baylor Bears win.  My friend Angie picked me up from the airport and we went straight to lunch.  When we're together, we're pretty good eaters and we always have a little something something to drink when we dine together.  We had lunch at a really yummy Italian Restaurant called Zio's.  When we arrived it was right after 11:00.  As soon as we were seated the server offered to give us samples of a new white wine, 7 Daughters.  We always take free samples!  Then he offered the bottle to us.  Usually, when people ask if we're going to have any wine its a fast reply of "Of course" but since it wasn't even noon yet we were a little hesitant, but not for long!  Being the out of control girls that we are, we decided to order a bottle.  During our three hour lunch, we happened to make great friends with our server, met the local manager, met the guy who's in charge of designing the menu (yes, Angie said she would like to see more pictures in the menu) and we also met the guy who owns all of the Zio's in Texas.  Apparently they were having a pretty important meeting.  We managed to get all of the guys to sit down with us and visit for about 15 minutes each.  I love hanging out with Angie, she makes friends where ever she goes!  On January 24th a Zio's will be opening in the DFW area.  I'm pretty excited, they had some really delicious food.
We left for Angie's parents' place and hung out with her family for a little while and then Angie, Angie's mom, and I headed for the Baylor Game.  I was pretty excited because I just knew my Bears were going to win.  When we finally arrived at the game and found our seats, the Bears were already trailing by 6 points.  The Bears never caught up.  The Bears must have been nervous because they played awful!  It was a little embarrassing.  I felt like I was at a football game from my college days when we expected them to lose.  There were a ton of Baylor fans at the game.  I'm really proud to see that many fans come out and support the Bears even though they didn't show up.  Being at the game was fun, I had a good time teaching Angie and her mom the sic'em bears, and all of the cheers.  Also, Angie and I were enterainted by the crazy man sitting across the way from us.  He was not too happy with the calls the refs were making and he let everyone around him know that he was not a happy camper.

Better luck next time Bears.
That was all we did.  Angie and I drove back to DFW the next morning.  I really miss seeing Angie 5 days a week.  We still talk just about everyday but it isn't the same as seeing each other.  It was great to spend that much time with her.

Crazy Guy from the Baylor Game.  I love his wife's BU socks  :)  I'm sorry the picture isn't the best

Good Bye Houston!  See you next time!  I love this statue  :)

Fall at the Arboretum

For awhile Matthew and I have been wanting to go the the Dallas Arboretum to check out the fall scenery. As always, it was beautiful and so relaxing.  I love the fall colors, the ginormous pumpkins, and the gross warty pumpkins.

I love BIG pumpkins  :)

I would be okay if I could live in a house made of pumpkins.

I've never seen so many different pumpkins before.

Hehehe, this one was one of my favorites.

Scary!

:)

Did you know that pumpkins can grow anywhere in the world but Antarctica?  Pretty amazing, huh?

I love these flowers!

I feel like these should belong in The Wizard of Oz.  

The End.

Starting November 26, they'll do their Christmas themed stuff called The Magic of Santa.  Yep, I will definitely go to that one!

Middle Schoolers are so entertaining!

When I'm teaching it doesn't take long for me to countdown the days until Christmas Break, Spring Break, and especially Summer Break.  However, once the school year started, it didn't take long for me to miss those crazy kiddos.
This past week I went to a baby shower at the school I used to teach at.  I looked out the doors and a student I had two years ago was running towards the room with his football uniform on but no shoes.  I opened the door and holding my nose asked the kid where his shoes were.  He told me that the football team left without him and he couldn't get into the field house to get the rest of his stuff.  So me and my bestest friend (who happens to be this kids spanish teacher) had him find a janitor and told him to run and get his stuff.  In the meantime, we called the kid's coach and asked him if he knew where his only kicker was and that's when he realized that they left this kid at school.  The coach laughed.  This kid comes running down the hall without any of the stuff.  This poor 8th grader couldn't figure out how to get the door unlocked.  My friend had to walk all the way to the field house in her fancy high heels to help him out.
Before we took him to the game, we went to McDonald's to feed the poor child.  I made him order at the drive through and apparently he had never ordered food by himself before.  Angie had to keep on telling him to say please and thank you.  On our way to the game the kid asked what the coach said when we called.  Angie was going to be a lot nicer than I was and say that he was really sorry but I beat her to it.  I just told him that coach laughed and wasn't sorry.  Maybe I should work on being nicer.

Anyway, I know this story isn't entertaining to anyone but myself, the coach, and Angie.  It was hilarious.  It made my week and made me remember that this kids are crazy!  People always tell parents of toddlers and young children to write down everything they say but those middle schoolers have some funny and clever things to say as well.
I'm looking forward to teaching middle schoolers again.

Sic'em Bears!

Baylor played an INCREDIBLE game today!  I'm so proud of Baylor and I can't wait to see what the future holds for the football team.  Baylor has been up at the top for almost every single sport but here in Texas, a college is noticed by their football team.  At first I wasn't going to go to the Tech and Baylor game next week but I think I might have to go.
Here's an e-mail that I received from the Baylor Proud group.:
"If you were among the thousands watching today's Baylor-Kansas football game at Floyd Casey Stadium or on national TV, then you saw one of the best shows the Bears have put on in years. Baylor beat Kansas 55-7 in front of a crowd of 35,000-plus, setting all sorts of records in the process. (See highlights from the game in the video below, then check out the pictures from Baylor Photography here.) Among the records that stand out:

* The 48-point margin of victory was Baylor's highest ever in a conference game. EVER. The previous high was 47, set against Arkansas in 1922, just the eighth year of the Southwest Conference. BU's best margin in Big 12 play was 28 (twice, both against Iowa State, in 1996 and 2008).
* The Bears' 55 points were the team's highest total ever in a Big 12 Conference game (previous mark: 49, vs. Iowa State, 1996).
* Baylor set a school record with 678 yards of total offense (previous mark: 656, vs. Lamar, 1980).

Robert Griffin III had another day to remember, throwing for a career-high 380 yards, passing for three touchdowns and running for another, and setting another Baylor record with 444 total yards. He now holds the school record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (19) and is tied for fourth in school history with 30 passing touchdowns. His 94-yard TD pass to Josh Gordon in the second quarter is the longest offensive play in school history, breaking the old record of 89 yards that was set against TCU almost 70 years ago.

At 4-1, the Bears are off to their best start since 2005 and need just two more wins to earn that much desired bowl appearance. The crowd of 35,405 -- very little of which was dressed in Kansas blue -- again looked good on TV. The average attendance this season through three games, 39,693, is on pace to break into the top 10 all-time at Baylor -- but why not shoot for the record (41,180, set in 1975)? Baylor's next home game isn't untilHomecoming (Oct. 23 vs. Kansas State), but the Bears have another key showdown next week in Dallas at the Cotton Bowl against Texas Tech. Last I heard, Texas Tech had sold nearly twice as many tickets for that game as Baylor; let's not let the Red Raiders claim home field advantage in our backyard! Get your tickets now through BaylorBears.com.

Sic 'em, Baylor football!"

Modern Family

I absolutely love this show!  It is hilarious and I'm pretty sure everyone can relate to someone in the family.  

Favorites from yesterday's show:

At the beginning Claire is trying to find lids to match all of the containers.  Phil, the witty husband, says, "He blew his lid when she tried to contain him"  Of course he thought it was funny but the "mommers" didn't.

Cam and Mitchell are arguing about kiss worthy moments.  Cam says, You don't like kiss buggy?

Haley convincing Alex that she's a lesbian because she hasn't kissed a boy yet and she wears the not so girly sandals.

I love this show.  I look forward to watching it everyday.  On Wednesday's you can guarantee that I will be laughing non stop between 8-8:30

The Today Show Wedding

The Today Show wedding happened today.  My mom tried to get me to enter in the contest but I didn't want to do it.  Sure, it would be nice to get professionals to have a say in the wedding, get everything paid for, and have free fancy honeymoon but the couple doesn't really have a say in anything!  I would feel really weird getting married on national television and there's no telling how early they had to get up to get ready.
The couple was super cute and the bride was beautiful!  I'm glad the dress looked great on her.  I think I could handle people voting on bridesmaid dresses, cakes, flowers, etc but to have someone else choose my wedding dress?  That's brave!

I loved where they had the reception and the cake looked tasty!  Those flowers on top are actual sugar flowers!  That's crazy!

The couple gets to go to the Turks and Caicos Island.  Congratulations to the newly married couple!

I'm glad Matthew and I got to do what we wanted for our wedding, ours was perfect  :)

I Have a Blog!

I have a blog! I'm so excited!  Now what am I supposed to do?  We shall see if it actually gets updated.  :)