not much

What have I been up to?? Not much. I rejoined the land of the living on Saturday. BJ and I did some "shopping" to pick out bathroom stuff. I guess we're on the schedule to do the first one in a couple of weeks. We've got tile, paint, a toilet (that can flush a bucket of golf balls!) and cabinets picked out. I think we're a little unsure about the counter top and fixtures, but mostly just because we didn't look at that stuff very much.

I've had a pretty good week of subbing. Monday I did Special Ed. for a teacher that I've subbed for several times...I always enjoy her kiddos. It's especially nice because I just have a few of them at a time.

Yesterday I had the BEST day, ever. I did ESL at one of my favorite schools. The odd thing about ESL in my new neck of the woods...only two Spanish speakers! I had Falak and Nahush (pronounced Nosh) from India, Deisy and Luis (brother and sister from Mexico), Ron from the Philippines, Nikolas from Ukraine and another boy from Afghanistan. I spent the whole afternoon with the 3 kindergarteners, Falak, Nahush and Luis. We had such a fun time...they were the sweetest kids I've ever been around! We played tic-tac-toe, boys against girls...Falak was on my team and was just terrible at the game. Luis hugged her and told her that it was okay that she didn't win, it was all just for fun anyway. AW! I tried to teach them P-I-G in recess...to no avail, none of 'em could make a basket.

Today was pretty boring. Easy for the 90 bucks...but I'd still rather actually do something besides babysit all day long. I'm doing the same job tomorrow and Friday, it's Special Ed. too, but for middle school. The excitement of the day was the fire drill...we have another tomorrow :)

Friday nite I'm subbing (without pay) at a friend's BUNCO group. Saturday nite we have a birthday party for our friend, Barb. It's weird to me that I knew a lot more people in Amarillo, but we actually have a social life here in the Springs. Sure would've been nice if we had both in one place!

gloom despair and agony on me

flu \ˈflü\ Any of several virus diseases marked especially by respiratory or intestinal symptoms.

I don't think I'm aware of a more ambiguous word. It seems this is the diagnosis for any ailment during the winter months. BUT, I think I'm officially joining the masses and chalking my 3 days (and counting) of fever, chills, chest congestion, etc. up to the blasted influenza. Perhaps I should consider it a blessing that, until now, a Z-Pack has cured any and all of my maladies.

Any of you guys ever sent your husband and a list to the grocery store?? Y'all keep your fingers crossed that I get over this quickly, without giving it to BJ!

we celebrate holidays early

A long time ago, we took a quiz from a "make your marriage work" kind of book. We didn't actually read the book, just took the photocopied quiz that my mom gave us. [Here's where I butcher the premise of the book in my summary.] The results of the quiz essentially tell you how you and your spouse show and/or recognize love. For instance, a wife might (think she) show her husband how much she loves him by keeping the house spic-n-span, cooking elaborate dinners, ironing his undershirts and boxers...whereas all he wants from her is affection. It's more important to him to snuggle on the couch in the evening, rather than have her bustling around the house. Ya know what I'm saying??

All of that to say, BJ is a gift giver. He loves to give extravagant gifts, surprise gifts, unnecessary gifts. We had been dating only a couple of weeks when I received my very first (and last, ahem) Tiffany & Co. blue box...knocked my socks off. No matter when we say we're not spending much or "keeping it simple", he always does more for me on holidays, birthdays and anniversaries.

I, am not. I have some kind of mental/emotional block that prohibits me from making large or whimsical purchases without nausea. It literally does not cross my mind to buy something for someone unless they specifically ask for it. I am never inspired to give a gift that one might not need. I LOVE to give practical gifts.

Which is why this is what BJ got for Valentine's Day:

And this is what I got:

In my defense, I have been planning to get him Into the Wild on dvd for months. MONTHS I tell you! The release date was supposed to be February 12th, perfect timing for Valentines Day. However, when I went to Target yesterday they said "I dunno, I guess we didn't get any." Wal-Mart said "No, it comes out next week." (Ditto for Blockbuster.) Best Buy online and Amazon say March 4th. WHATEVER! Not that a movie would really make up the difference. No worries, I've got other ways to show MY love... ;)

I love my Valentime!

this and that

I'm sitting here in my jammies (yes, still) watching the Grammies, bored to tears.

Perhaps the tears actually come from the fact that BJ drove to Denver around noon to catch a flight to Sunnyvale (Terix HQ)?

Or maybe the tears flow because poor road/weather conditions forced us to cancel our trip to Breckenridge to meet up with Kevin and Megan?

No, the tears come from the cold that crept into my body Thursday that is now trying (desperately) to escape, via my nostrils and eyeballs. That said, it's probably for the best that I wasn't able to spread my "cheer" to Waco and Ft. Worth when Kevin and Megan returned to their respective cities. And also, that BJ got out while he was still able...I'm only assuming that incessant snivveling, breathing thru my mouth and wiping my nose are not things that make me more attractive to my husband.

Enough about the snot. Some of you may find it mildly amusing that I was the 6th grade band conductor on Friday (which was not a joyful noise, nor did it alleviate the pounding in my head due to sinus pressure from the aforementioned snot) and that I'm teaching P.E. tomorrow at some high school that I should look up in a few minutes.

Better get back to the TV!

gratification

Aw be still my heart. I got a letter from one of my students. Austin is in one of the classes that I've subbed in a lot. I'd say it's probably my favorite group of kids, mostly because I know all their names and some of their idiosyncrasies (ie: who to watch out for). Lemme just point out a couple of things.

1. He thinks I'm donating my time. Um, I don't make a lot of money subbing, but I certainly don't do it because of my charitable heart.

2. Earlier in the day he was literally crying because someone in his group "stole" something off his desk. I told them to duke it out on the playground, mostly because I was annoyed to have a 5th grade boy shedding tears over a missing eraser. (ahem, refer to the "nice" and "caring" sentence)

3. The P.S. is a reference to the fact that they like to tease me for being from Texas and the accent that comes with said heritage.

It wasn't until even later in the day that I discovered that Austin's mommy would be the volunteer for the afternoon, casting the shadow of a doubt (albeit brief) as to his sincerity. I chalked that up to my aforementioned charitable cynical heart. Why the heck can't I claim to be the BEST substitute teacher in D20, dangit?! Geez, I need a real job.