What a Night

I had a really good evening tonight. I had leftover Hawaiian chicken kabobs with rice, which was great. And since it was leftovers, there was minimal cooking and cleaning! After that, I made some s'mores thanks to Kimmie's post and Target's product placement. They were delicious, even though half of them ended up on my face. After that, I layed around and watched some TV and talked to my grandmother. It was very relaxing.

Until 9:30. The power went off. It wouldn't have been so bad, if it wasn't 95 degrees outside at 9:30. But it was. I called and was told there was a blackout and they couldn't tell me how long until the power would be back on. Then, the carbon monoxide detectors started beeping. So, I called again. I was told it was okay and it sometimes happens when the power goes off. So, I waited. And waited. About 30-45 minutes later it came back on. But, the beeping didn't stop. So, I called again. They told me to take the battery out, but that didn't stop it. So, I called one of the guys that works with Anthony and he determined it was the battery, but because of the way it's wired, just taking it out doesn't stop it. Just disconnecting it and taking the battery out doesn't fix it. AHHH! How am I going to sleep? So, again, I called the apartment's answering service. I explained my situation and the nice lady called the maintenance man who came out at 11 to disconnect it, take out the battery, and then run out all the juice by holding down the button. The one thing we didn't do. Anyhow...they will be out tomorrow to put in a battery and reconnect it.

And I am now very happy to have power AND no beeping! Ahh...the simple things!

Upcoming Fun

There's not much going on in my life right now. Just lots of lounging either on my couch or by the pool. I went 2 whole days with no makeup because I didn't leave the house. I know, I'm lazy.

Here are some things I'm looking forward to over the next couple weeks.
~Tomorrow I am going to see my first Harry Potter movie. I've never gotten into the books or movies, but Anthony has talked me into it.
~Sunday my mom comes to visit. Then, Monday we will be going to Fredericksburg to spend the night, taste wine, and shop. I'm so excited about this. I miss my mom tons since moving.
~Thursday is Anthony's birthday. No real plans and he already knows what his presents are, but it will still be a fun day. There will be cake involved!
~The next Thursday is Kimmie's birthday! I'm very bummed that I won't be with her to celebrate, but am having a blast picking out her present. Maybe I'll even make a cake to celebrate!
~Job hunting will resume in August. I'm working on my electronic professional portfolio and plan to distribute it, along with my resume, to all the elementary principals in the district when they return from their summer break. Please pray that I find a job. Four months of not working is really hurting my shopping ability, and making me really lazy.

Anything exciting happening in your life over the next few weeks?

Birthdays

Unfortunately, mine has already come and gone, but two of my favorite people do have birthdays coming up this month! Anthony's birthday is the 23rd and Kimmie's is the 30th! With their birthdays coming up, the question arises of what to get them each.

Now, of course I won't discuss my thoughts of what to get them, because that would just ruin the surprise. But what I find the most interesting is the differences in each of them when it comes to birthdays. Kimmie's like me. We celebrate birthday months. And we like surprises. That being said, buying for Kimmie is so much fun and I'm having a blast with her gift. Anthony's very different though. He decided that he just wanted the money and would buy all his presents himself. He's ordered them all online already so they will be here in time. I, however, will not let him have them until his birthday because I want the day to be somewhat fun.

So, I'm interested to know, do your husbands/fiancees/boyfriends get excited about birthdays?

Funny Story Friday

I place literacy time on a pedastool in my classroom. We spent more than half the day reading and writing. I loved that part of the day. But, my favorite part of it was writing. The students would plan, write, proofread and revise their stories. After they felt the story was the best, I would publish the story by typing it, folding the papers, and completing with a cardstock cover. The students then illustrated their book they they wrote all by themselves. They took such ownership in their work.

I'm including one of my favorite stories that was written this year. It's not for the weak of heart.

I realize this might have been a traumatizing even in this child's life, but they ways she told the story just makes me laugh. Perhaps that's not nice. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. Maybe one day it will be available in stores.

My Wonderful Week

I spent this past week visiting my family in my hometown, and I had a really great time. Now that I'm 4 1/2 hours away instead of just 1 1/2 hours away, I don't get to see them quite as much as I'd like. Perhaps that's why we were stationed here first, to prepare me for being farther away from my family that I love so much.

I won't bore you with a daily schedule of all my fun. Instead, I'll just recap some of the highlights. I got to see my 91 year old grandfather every day I was home. Every time I went to visit, I was sent home with home grown tomatoes. They were wonderful! I really enjoyed my time with him since I'm not able to talk on the phone with him while I'm away (he can not hear well). I plan to start sending him letters so he can keep up with me while I'm away.

I saw two movies while I was home. First, Mom and I went to see The Proposal. I loved it. It was full of funny scenes and the story was great. Then, the next night, my parents, brother, and I went to see Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs 3D. We all loved it! I'm a big fan of the Ice Age movies, and I loved it being 3D.

In addition to my parents, brother, and grandfather, I also got to visit my grandparents on the other side of the family, an aunt that I haven't seen since our wedding, an uncle and some cousins. It was so great seeing everyone. I had a lot of fun just hanging out with my family. I look forward to my mom's visit in a couple weeks as well as my next trip home.

Until then, it's enjoying time by the pool, working on a professional portfolio and searching for a job.

Great Giveaway

My real life friend Kimmie, at Full Circle Adventures, is having a give away in honor of her 500th post, her birthday, and Independence Day. She is giving away an autographed copy of Jenn Lancaster's new book, Pretty in Plaid. I highly recommend checking out her blog and wishing her a happy birthday month (her birthday isn't until the 30th).

Happy Independence Day!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day with friends, family, food, and fireworks! Fireworks have always been my favorite part of the holiday. Growing up, we lived outside the city limits, so we always got to buy small fireworks and would set them off in our road. When I got a little older, my dad started helping with the city show so we would always go watch that sitting not far from the launch site. As I got older, I've missed firework time with the family, but I've made some new memories. I've watched the fireworks in the bay in San Diego and in Tampa Bay. Last year we lit our own fireworks with some old friends and neighbors. This year, I was determined to enjoy a firework show in my new home. But, unfortunately, Anthony is working today (since fires don't take a holiday, neither does Anthony).

I was very excited though when I saw that very small town nearby was having a firework show on the 3rd. We were going. I was determined to see fireworks, so plans were made. We started by cooking out with another couple at their house. After that, we headed out to see fireworks. As we got closer, there was tons of traffic. People were parked on both sides of the highway for a couple miles. Traffic was crawling. We parked next to another couple we knew and prepared for the show. It got dark. We waited and waited. I was a little worried I had drug everyone out to the middle of nowhere in tons of traffic for nothing, but boy was I wrong. It finally started at 10 and it was the most spectacular show I have seen (don't tell Dad). They set up the fireworks to music that played on the radio. The fireworks were constant, with no down time for reloading. they must have had 10 tubes for launching. I tried to capture some pictures, but they don't do them justice (especially with my lack of skills).

I look awful, I know. But I wanted a picture of the two of us.

This evening I'm heading up to the fire station for a family cookout with the fire station family. I'm looking forward to more grilled hamburgers and not having to cook! Hope you're enjoying yourself as much as I am. Happy 4th of July!

*Note: Turns out, I had the menu wrong. We were served steak, grilled corn, stuff jalapenos, beans and deserts. Those firefighters can cook!