Aerophobia

So later today Bryan and I will be boarding a flight for NYC. Bryan is super excited. He's excited to show me where he grew up and to see his family that he misses greatly. Bryan is excited, and I'm well...quite the opposite. Don't get me wrong - I'm VERY excited to see Bryan's family again and also the Big Apple for the first time. Going to NYC has been something I have only dreamed of up until this point. I really look forward to being around all of Bryan's family at the same time and also seeing where he grew up. I love learning about his past. I'm also going to meet up with some people that I graduated high school with which will be awesome.

The only problem is in order to get to all this great things I have to fly. I HATE flying. I'm scared shitless to fly. I know its all irrational. I know I'm being silly or just paranoid. It's all in my head. I know! And still I'm terrified. Allow me to illustrate. The first time Bryan mentioned the idea of us going to New York I got nervous. When the flight was booked that nervousness kicked into overdrive. Every time the trip has been brought up I have gotten super nervous causing me to sweat, get an upset stomach, lose my appetite...you name it! The closer the inevitable date came the worse the experience. I finally decided that in order for me, Bryan, and the passengers/workers to enjoy this flight was for me to be completely knocked out. We batted around several ideas before finally landing (a little pun humor) on one today. The plan: I have to stay up for over 24 hours and 30 minutes before the flight I'm taking 4 Benadryls. I am really praying that this plan works. My hope is that I wake up in New York completely unaware of how I arrived there. I don't care if Bryan has to drag me off the plane, but for his sake I really do hope I can walk off in some fashion on my own.

You know what would make me feel immensely better about plane rides? It's so simply. All I want is a parachute. Do you think they would allow one as my carry on? I did some research on buying one just now. It doesn't appear to be something you can run down to the local outdoor store and pick up. The only good site I found was really expensive. Dammit!

Here is what Wikipedia.com had to say about Aerophobia (fear of flying):

The fear of flying may be created by various other phobias and fears:^[2]

• a fear of closed in spaces (claustrophobia), such as that of an aircraft cabin NOT ME
  
• a fear of heights (acrophobia) TOTALLY ME
  
• a feeling of not being in control TOTALLY ME
• fear of having panic attacks in certain places, where escape would be difficult and/or embarrassing (agoraphobia) NOT ME
  
• fear of hijacking or terrorism NOT ME
• fear of turbulence TOTALLY ME
• fear of flying over water or night flying EH
  
• fear of crashing resulting in injury or death YES, YES, YES!!!!!

Okay focusing on the time spent between flights - I am really excited about all the fun things we have planned while we are in New York. I know that I will truly enjoy my time there. I can't wait to blog about all of the fun things we did. But first we still need to pack!

Off the subject - Here is a picture I took of Bella today (in her cave):


Also in other news - I went to Kung Fu for my 2nd class tonight. It was a lot of fun, and I learned more of the material. Between Kung Fu and TKD I have a lot to practice. I hope the mind is as great as I hear it is because I will definitely be taking it to its limits as I try to learn all 4 martial arts. Seriously though, this is a dream come true! :D

Reflection

Roughly a couple of weeks ago my father had a wreck in his work 18 wheeler. I didn't even know it had occurred until he was already safe at home. He called to tell me himself which helped to not alarm me so much. He sounded a little beaten but otherwise fine. He didn't really go into much detail only saying that he had some bruises and cuts but was going to be just fine. I was concerned, but since the accident had occurred many hours prior to him calling there wasn't any real reason to get upset.

About a week later my dad called me again. This time he had much more to tell me regarding the accident. He still doesn't really know what happened - some wrong move perhaps or an unforeseen road condition. My dad has been driving these gigantic monster trucks for as long as I can remember. He's been all over the country in them. He currently travels much of the Eastern United States. He's often caught in terrible weather conditions. My family basically only sees him on the weekend. He is definitely a seasoned driver. I have always worried about him, but I try to take comfort in the fact that he knows what he is doing.

As my dad told me the whole story or what he could remember which is really nothing, I was more afraid than the first time he called. He had spoken to the people first on the scene and was armed with lots more information. No one saw the accident so that portion will always remain a mystery. Hearing the details of how he was found unconscious really got to me. He wasn't wearing his seat belt. My dad has a very bad back due to several injuries most recently one on a dirt bike. He doesn't wear the seat belt because it aggravates his back. The truck flipped on its side and collided with a metal pole which my dad's face was resting on with they found him. He was laying on the window of the passenger side with his feet tangled up in the steering wheel. That pole could have been his death. He's very lucky to be walking around so soon and even just to be alive.

I found this picture on one of the local newspaper's website. My Grandmother said that the other newspaper's picture was much better (scarier I'm sure), but they don't have it on their site. It's probably a good thing that I'm unable to view it.

It appears as if this were not shot directly after it happened.

I'm really glad that my father is okay. It really makes me feel bad to be so far from all of my family. I know someday something will happen to someone, and here I'll be, all the way in Austin. I'll be a good 10.5 hour drive getting to anyone. If something happens I won't be there, and by the time I do get there, there's a good chance it will be too late. My Grandmother is getting older. I hate knowing that I'm so far from her. I know that the whole family is all there and able to be with one another, but still, I hate being helpless and out of range. This is just a reflection. I don't want to live in Mississippi. It's boring and behind the times. I love Austin, and this is my home. I know that my family would love for me to be there with them, but I also know that they want me to be happy above all else. Austin and all the people I know here make me very happy. I am positive that I will be here for the majority of my life.

You never know what each day holds. It is very important to remember that and cherish each day, each moment, and each person.

Your Mom's A Blog!

I can't believe I haven't posted since Wednesday especially since so much as been going on. I kept telling myself to sit down and do it.

Teaching:
I have been going at my teaching certification classes. It's all pretty much go at your own pace. I've been trying to make sure my pace is about one lesson a day. I did the first of my 5 online chat session classes Saturday morning at the Kung Fu school while Bryan did his class. I am really liking all the material so far. I learn new things with each article I read. Most of the material covers a lot of psychology and teaching strategies that were definitely not in play when I was in school. This excites me. I'm really excited to get finished and get started on my new career.

Martial Arts:
I dunno if it was a good idea, but Bryan convinced me to go to the conditioning class on Friday morning. Was this really the best way to be introduced to Shaolin-Do? Well, it certainly made for an interesting experience and a sore second day. It was super early, but I managed to drag myself from bed. I have to admit it was odd to be going with him. I'm used to his Friday ritual just not as a participator. The class was hard but a lot of fun. And it really did make me feel accomplished. I have been sitting on my lazy ass way too much lately. It's definitely time to step things up. After the class I joined in the weekly ritual of going out for breakfast. It was nice to meet some of the students that I had not yet met through Bryan as well as see some familiar faces. I suppose everyone will get used to seeing me around the school.

Bryan and I spent practically the whole day at Kung Fu on Saturday. He had class in the morning. When he was finished we grabbed lunch and came right back. At 1 PM I took my first class. I have to say that while I'm excited to learn a new martial art, I wasn't all that anxious to be a white belt yet again. It is really creepy to have all of our friends hanging around watching me. At least I feel like they are watching me. It doesn't really matter if they are because I'm convinced they are so damage done. I've gotta stop getting into my own head so much.

On the TaeKwonDo side of things - I received my blue belt during the belt ceremony held on Friday evening. Bryan was there to document as usual. I hate that almost none of the adults show up for this event. I end up feeling way outta place, but I must admit that I do love seeing all of the children. They are so enthusiastic about ranking up. It's pretty damn cute!

Here are the pictures that Bryan took of the belt ceremony:
Start of the ceremony
View of everyone there
Getting my new belt tied on
I'm a blue belt!
Waiting on the others
All the new ranks
Showing off the belts

Other news:

I met Jason for lunch on Friday. It was nice to hang out with him some.

On Friday after my ceremony, Bryan and I met up with Ryon, Jason, and Amy to watch the presidential debates at the Alamo. It was definitely the best way to watch the showdown. We were able to stuff our faces with lots of yummies while the candidates clawed each others eyes out. I was pretty disappointed with the debate from both sides. Neither did a super job at explaining things. Mostly they just threw out numbers, quotes, and attacks I have no way of validating. At least they had this awesome bingo cards for us to play with. Check them out:


Today (Sunday) Bryan and I have been SUPER lazy. Finally in the late afternoon we managed to finally get down some sort of game plan for the New York trip (we leave on Tuesday). I still need to go find some stuff to knock me out. Hmmm...I wonder if it would be easier to have someone knock me out? Any takers? Only serious inquires please. Must be able to do a 3 hour knock out - anything less is useless to me. I'm excited to see the Big Apple just sooo nervous for this damn flight...ugh!

Video I took of OC's new trick (he's a wheelbarrow):


Songs I've been digging lately:
Let It Rock - Kevin Rudolf (feat. Lil Wayne)

Happy Birthday To Bryan!!

What a week, and it's only Wednesday. Still it feels longer, and I am pretty give out.

Today is Bryan's birthday (in case you weren't tipped off by the post title). I wish that I could report all of the awesome things we did today in celebration, but alas I can not. Truth is he's a pretty sick boy. His throat started to hurt Saturday shortly before the party. On Sunday it was really hurting. On Monday we went to the doctor.

Bryan at the doctor:


Poor thing. He tested negative for strep throat which is good. However, it's Wednesday, and he is STILL complaining of a very sore throat. The doctor prescribed him some antibiotics, but it's still too early to see if they are working. Last night he decided it was best to let his fever run it's course. I'm a very big believer in letting your body do it's own thing, but it does make for a pretty shitty night. Needless to say, I haven't slept well since he got sick. But that's okay...nursing him back to health at least makes me feel like I'm earning my keep here at the homestead while unemployed.

Speaking of working or the lack of, I started my teaching certifications. Just another thing that distracted me from celebrating sicko's birthday all day. I'm pretty excited about this endeavor. I quickly noted that just because this is an online program, it will be no walk in the park. There are tons of lessons to do. I will also have to do 20 in classroom observations. Nothing worth doing is ever easy, and I really do enjoy a challenge which is not something I was used to getting at any job. I think that will change with this career though. I also like the idea that every year will change, and each child will learn differently. This means that things will be the same and yet different, and it will force me to always stay on my toes.

Back to the big day. Bryan spent most of the day on the couch. He was feeling much better this afternoon after finally taking some fever reducers so we decided to go out for dinner. The dinner sucked...seriously sucked. We tried a newer restaurant that had received great reviews. We were tricked!! We didn't want to risk a terrible desert too so we headed to Amy's Ice Cream. Great choice! Despite feeling bad and crappy food, I hope that Bryan enjoyed his birthday or at least the days leading up to it which included a surprise party and lots of great gifts.

Bryan's gift from me (currently on the bed but with belts added!):


Pictures of our dinner tonight for Bryan's birthday:




Here is a pic of the backyard where we created the little garden. It's not complete yet, but it's on it's way. I love it.


In other news:

Bella finally learned to use the kitty door we installed in the window. I'm super proud of my little girl! Now all of our cats can come and go as they please. Nice.

We leave for New York City on Tuesday, and we still haven't come up with a way to knock me out for the duration of the flight. I'm seriously terrified by flying. Nothing you say will convince me to be otherwise. Therefore, for me and all the other passengers to enjoy the flight, I need to be pretty much unconscious or as close as possible. Seriously, I don't want to even know I was on a plane. Soooo...if you have some ideas or suggestions or even the good stuff...give it up!

And lastly, it looks like I'll be infiltrating Bryan's last haven - his martial arts school. Yep, I've decided to come take Kung Fu/Tai Chi. I'm pretty excited. :D This is in part to the sparring issues at my school as of late. This does not mean that I will not be attending TKD though. I paid for 2 years when I started which will get me through my black belt. And since I bought that nice belt rack for TKD, I plan on filling it up. I think I can manage to do both. I only need 12 classes per testing cycle in order to test. Cycles are about 2 1/2 months. This shouldn't be too difficult. I'll probably eat those words. :)

Songs I'm digging at the moment:
Going On - Gnarls Barlkey
Whatever You Like - T.I.

Surprise!

Wow what an awesome weekend. Let's recap shall we?

I can FINALLY discuss Bryan's birthday surprise now that it has occurred. It has been so difficult not to breathe a word of it to Bryan. I have wanted to blog about it so bad but for obvious reasons couldn't. It has been something I have been planning since we moved the date back from its original time in August. Bryan chose the new date. Once I realized how close it was to his actual birthday I knew something must happen. Bryan would never say what he wanted to do for his birthday so I just decided for him. :D I want to thank everyone who helped especially Wendy, Ligi, and Jason. He never suspected a thing, and the whole affair was too awesome! :)

Friday:
Friday started early. While Bryan was gone to class I had to pull my lazy ass out of bed to go to Ligi's house to deliver some things for her to make Bryan's birthday cake. She lives in Pflugerville. Wow, that was a long ride. Thank goodness for my iPhone GPS! On the way back I stopped by Jason's for a few minutes. Finally around noon I arrived back home. I was supposed to clean that afternoon but....well, I didn't feel good and took a nap. Yes, here comes the picture:

I swear that the next time I take a nap that I am hiding Bryan's iPhone first. Bryan, documenting my cat naps are cute, but I think we all get the point which is that I am lazy and worthless while jobless. Good thing those teaching certification classes start on Wednesday. I hope all my books and stuff arrive in time.

After a very long nap, it really was time to tackle the house to get ready for the party on Saturday. We tackled so much though most of it wasn't on the to do list for the night. However, it was a lot of things I had wanted to see happen. We got the other 2 plants planted in the front yard. The garage is now 95% cleaned/organized. We tried to hang the kayak which even included Bryan running to Lowes, but we were unsuccessfully. Sigh. It's good to have the garage in usable condition again. We did a lot more, but we left plenty to do for Saturday. Bryan was out quickly, and lucky me I couldn't sleep at all.

Saturday:
I finally managed to get a few hours of sleep. This is not how I wanted to start this particular day. I wasn't quite sure how I was going to get through my TKD testing and a party without a nap. My brain pretty much wouldn't let me. All I could think of was surprising Bryan. Plus there was too much to do.

Testing went okay. I wasn't all that pleased with my form. I am always super hard on myself. Bryan took a video of me doing my form. It's okay, but by far not my best. I wasn't as nervous as I have been previously, but I was still somewhat nervous and it got to me.

Here is the video:


Here are the pictures that Bryan took:
Lining up for testing
Warming up
The Judges
Getting Ready for Sparring
Sparring Round 1
Senior Green vs. Senior Green
Always keep your guard up!
Sparring Round 2
Circling my opponent
Senior Green vs. Green
End of testing

After testing was complete we stopped by Costco for party supplies. Once home we set about making sure the house was all ready for the spades tournament. Bryan cooked for the party (much appreciated!) I cleaned everything. Bryan helped me set up all the playing stations. I was totally counting down the hours. I was getting nervous that something bad would happen in regards to Bryan's surprise.

FINALLY 7 PM arrived! People started to show up (not as many as said they would - I was a little disappointed at the turnout), and the night went as planned. After everyone had a chance to eat, I managed to get everyone to sit down for the rules (and the surprise). After everyone was seated, I said I had a little something we had to do first. Bryan definitely looked confused...hehe. Wendy helped me by bringing in the cake that Ligi had made. Everyone sang him "Happy Birthday." Next I gave him the present I have had wrapped and sitting right under his nose for weeks. He totally loved his present which made me happy. And he loved his cake which also made me happy. I knew making a motherboard cake was the way to go. :) You wouldn't want to know what this cake would have looked like if I had made it.

Pictures of the surprise:
Surprise!
Gift time!
What's in the box?
Bryan opening his gift
Just what he wanted!
Showing off the goods
Bryan with the cake
The motherboard cake


Finally it was time to actually play Spades which was fun. Congrats to the winners! They took home all of our cash. Don't go spending it all in one place. ;) I hope everyone enjoyed themselves. Thanks for coming and bringing nourishment.

Pictures of the tournament:
Bubbles loves Spades
Jason eating cake
The tournament - Round 1
Us
Round 2
The results
The winners!
Bryan and Bubbles
Bubbles!

Video of Bubbles:


Sunday:
Nothing. Really - we did nothing but lay around watching television and eating party leftovers. Bryan's throat has been sore all day and night. I would be asleep right now but at about 1 AM he woke me up moaning with his throat in his sleep. I found a home remedy online and made him try it. Hopefully it worked because he's sleeping. I was unable to return to sleep so looks like I'll be taking one of those "cat naps" today.

Bryan's actual birthday is Wednesday - the same day I'm scheduled to start classes. I'm not really sure what we are doing for the special occasion, but I think we are going to go out to eat with whoever wants to join.

More proof that Bryan loves me:

Accepted!

I hate to post that, but there you go - the truth to how I spend some of my afternoons while unemployed. Good news though! I FINALLY received an acceptance email from the school where I'll be getting my teaching certification. Yay! They will be mailing it out also for that oh so special feeling of opening up an acceptance letter old school style. Ah, nostalgia. So, I start classes on the 24th. I look forward to finally having something to do even if it doesn't bring in a check. Grades 4-8 look out!

It is with great pleasure that we write to inform you that you have been accepted for admission into the State Board of Educator Certification (SBEC) approved Web-Centric Alternative Certification Program.

The certification areas that you qualify for are:

• Generalist 4-8
• English as a Second Language (ESL) Supplemental

Bryan recently purchased me a copy of Ron Paul's book The Revolution. I'm only in Chapter 2 right now, but so far it has been an amazing and informative book which I highly recommend. I think I have a grandpa crush on Ron Paul. He's just so damn cute. I want him to be my grandfather. Haha! I'm just kidding. Old people are cute. :) But it looks like I better be getting used to the younger generation. :)

The week is almost over which is great as far as I can tell. Saturday is a big day. I've been waiting for this day for a long time, and it can't get here quick enough. First of all my testing. I'll be testing for my blue belt which will be held at 11 AM in South Austin. I look forward to ranking up once again. :) I really do look forward to learning a new form. I also better really start working on getting all the 360 jumps down. I will definitely be expected to be doing them in class. I also must step up my sparring. I think my main problem isn't the actual sparring, but being able to have the energy to complete even one round. Yes, even one! I have to start working out outside of class - this much is apparent. Lots to do but I'm ready.

Saturday is also that long awaited Spades Tournament. I'm so looking forward to this event. I really hope that most everyone shows up. I know a few people have this and that to do, but I really would appreciate everyone else showing up. Pleeeeeeease. See, I'm begging. :) It really will be a lot of fun. There will be food and fun galore. There will be cards of course with the possibility of winning some cash! There will also be lots of conversation and other things going on. To miss this event would really be a travesty. Really!

There is tons of cleaning that must occur before the tournament. Also Bryan must cook something and the tables have to be arranged. Whew...I'm tired just thinking about it. I might just need a nap (reference the beginning)...hehe.

So, on one last note. I have not been back to my TKD school since the little altercation with the "crazy" lady. I'm not afraid to go back. I'm just not excited to go back. I really don't know what this means....sigh.

Bruises Bruises Everywhere

The weekend was nice and fun filled - Yay!

Friday night:
I was at Wal*Mart trying to purchase some more decks of cards for the Spades Tournament (this Saturday!!) when I received a voicemail from my old co-worker at Lott Brothers. She was inviting me to come and hang out with all of the girls from LBCC. I was excited to see some of the girls and not really looking forward to a few. However, the thought of Happy Hour got to me, and I quickly finished up my shopping to hurry to the restaurant. Unfortunately Wal*Mart didn't want to lose me so quickly.

I bought 4 decks of cards. One pack was priced at $1 and the other at $1.97. They only had one pack for a dollar, and the $1.97 packs actually rang up at $2.95. I was so not paying that much for a pack of cards. Therefore, I spent many minutes at customer service getting my cards repriced...sigh.

I finally made it to happy hour! It was awesome to see Destiny, Melanie, and Tala. I met a really cool girl who had started working there since I left. After we were all pretty saucy, I called Bryan to come and join us. I felt bad leaving him at home all night.

Me and Destiny at happy hour(s):


Tala has the rest of the photos so I'm not sure if I'll ever get all of those.

Saturday:
At about 2:30 AM in the morning my uterus awoke me for menstrual cramps. I would really appreciate if my body would start adding these things to my Google calender. So that lasted until 6 AM, and I finally managed to get in another hour of sleep when Bryan woke me up. I stayed in bed desperately trying to sleep until it was time to get ready for Lucy/Jose's baby shower.

The shower was really fun. All of her gifts were so cute! The women played some games which were all in Spanish unfortunately. I couldn't play them all, but it didn't stop me from winning the baby word search. I managed to snag a big box of chocolate truffles for that one. :D We are still enjoying them. Mmmmmm.....

After we arrived back home, we tried to watch a movie, but I passed out about 20 minutes in. Bryan said it was good though. :)

Sunday:
Sunday Bryan and I got up early so that we could start enjoying all the free museums in the city. We attended Umlauf Sculpture Garden where we were able to meet about 20 sculptors and see their work. We also got to make our own sculptures. It was a weak attempt on my part, but Bryan made me a sweet keepsake. :) Then we went to Austin Museum of Art which was great but much smaller than I had expected. Then it was Mexic-Arte Museum. Nik met us at this point where we enjoyed some lunch downtown. He then attended one museum with us. It was the Arthouse where they were having a show based on video games. We were all excited to see the exhibit, and we were all greatly disappointed. It was horrible! Finally we were off to another shitty exhibit at the Texas Music Museum. They only had pictures, maybe 2 actual items. Pssst...get some artifacts or something! It was a nice long day of culture with perfect weather, but it was good to finally go home.

We spent the rest of the night laying around the house.

Monday:
I'm still awaiting to hear from the school for acceptance into their program, but they are based in Houston soooo who knows when I may hear from them. It is definitely making me nervous. In the mean time I have applied to a few more things but changing industries has definitely proven to be quite difficult.

Bryan finally got our jasmine plants planted in the back yard. They can now make their way happily up the trellises. They look awesome and still smell great. I imagine they will look really great in a year.

Bryan came to watch my TKD class. It was definitely an interesting class. Testing is this Saturday so the class is geared toward making sure we are ready and prepared for that. We sparred 4 rounds last night which easily kicked my ass. I also had a little altercation with the highest rank student. She very rarely comes to class. I'm not sure what her deal was, but whatever...I've decided to let it go. My legs are covered in bruises from sparring all the black belts all the time. They never spar down to my rank, and I'm still trying desperately to spar up to there level. I'm not against a little rough sparring, but some of those kids are kicking like it's a real fight. I suppose it's learn to not get hit or get the shit beat out of me at this point. So, would anyone like to teach me there sparring secrets? :) I'm definitely up for hints and secrets of the trade.

Proof that Bryan loves me:


Lastly I'd like to talk about my disappointment in Hurricane Ike. WTF? I know that Ike didn't come in like a lamb, but how is it Cedar Park managed to not get one drop of rain. Look at this:


Major fail!

New Car Smell

Yesterday was a long day, a long day indeed, but it was a great day too. Okay, I got absolutely nothing done toward a job, but I still felt it was a day well spent.

Yesterday Bryan and I spent pretty much the entire day at Capital Kia. Bryan wanted to trade in his car for something else. I think we got the best thing on the lot. :) It's pre-owned, but barely! It's a 2004 Kia Sorento. I love it! It only has 30,000 miles on it. Whoever owned it first must have used it only to get around town. It's completely loaded included heated leather seats (which I'll use and Bryan most likely will not). They even threw in free window tinting which we are scheduled to get done on Tuesday. We also went to Circuit City and bought a new CD receiver (this link may or may not be our model, but very close). They had to order the right kit for it. As soon as it comes in that will get installed, and the new ride will be all set. I think we are really going to enjoy all the extra room this SUV has to offer. Now we can haul stuff, people can ride easily in the back, and Bryan can haul all of his crazy kung fu weapons with ease. :)

Pictures of the car:




Loooves it!

After a super long day at the dealership, we piled up on the couch for several episodes or Arrested Development and then bed! I was so tired; I crashed within minutes of settling in which makes me wonder why at 2:18 AM I was wide awake. I have yet to grow tired. I know this means I'll want a nap this afternoon which I hate because they leave me all groggy, and I want to go to TKD tonight.

Today I need to mail off the stuff for the Leander ISD substitute teaching application. It's the only one I have fully completed. Then I'll need to cross my fingers and pray. Speaking of teaching, I received an email from the school that I'll be doing my certification through saying they had to push back classes from the 17th to the 24th because of the hurricane! ARGH! I swear that life is really working against me lately. Sigh...

Tomorrow should be fun though with the board breaking clinic I'm supposed to help with and then Lucy/Jose's baby shower. I'm looking forward to both. It will be pretty cool to see the kids break boards. I'm sure many will easily show me that their skills are far superior to mine. :) I just hope I don't get it in the face with a board - Ouch! I've seen it happen. I'm not really worried about breaking boards at the moment. For now I'm focused on the 20th and testing! I can't wait to wear that nice new belt. I finally break them in only to get a new one.

I'm ready to get this weekend started. Oh hell, what am I talking about? I'm on constant vacation. Sigh, again...

Artists I think you should know:
Dolk - His imagery is amazing and hard to ignore. His images are fairly simple in design/color- usually stencils on walls - but his imagery speaks volumes - a lot of social commentary.

Argh!

The week drones on - more of the same. I'm currently still working on applying to the local school districts to become a substitute. I still need 2 more letters of reference - anyone? Don't all jump up at once. I am also still waiting to hear from the school for acceptance. I don't believe all of the paperwork has made it into there office which worries me because classes start on the 17th (eek!) In my mass amounts of spare time I have been trying to keep the house clean while tackling a few things around the house when I have time.

Example:


Okay, bad example! But I do love naps and my kitties especially when they are combined.

I just finished editing all of the pictures I took on Saturday (the kid's shoot). They turned out really well. My friend is scheduled to pick them up tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to what she thinks of them. I think she'll really love them, and hopefully the rest of her family as well.

What else have I been doing with myself? I've been going to class pretty much every night. Testing for my blue belt is on the 20th. I have really been enjoying the new schedule and having the older kids joining the adults. It makes the class a lot bigger while keeping things interesting. My form is looking pretty good. I'm confident on this, but my sparring could use a little something...more combination attacks perhaps. I finally got all 3 of my stripes so I am prepared to test. I hope I don't get as nervous this time, but somehow I almost imagine I will. I think I'll let Bryan sit on the floor this time! :O

I have also been getting ready for the Spades tournament the same day as my testing. We have invited so many people, but I am still unsure as to just how many will show up. However, many of our usual gang have given confirmation of their attendance which makes me super happy. I wonder what all yummies people will bring over. I love a potluck. :)

This weekend is equally as full as the next weekend. Saturday Bryan has training, and I have offered up my assistance helping with the child board breaking clinic. I have chose not to go to the adult on (better to save my $20 me thinks). But the instructor did say he'd let me try after the kid's clinic is over. I dunno about this...kinda scary! I think I'd like to put of board breaking for a little longer. Hell, I haven't even gotten down a single 360 jump yet. Sigh...

Saturday afternoon is Jose and Lucy's baby shower. I have my gift wrapped and ready to go. I love being ahead of the game for once. :) Sunday The Austin Museum Partnership will hold the 11th annual Museum Day (all museums are FREE!). You know how I love free stuff. I have picked 4 places I really want to see, but there are sooo many to choose from.

Well, Bryan and I are having dinner at Kerby Lane....mmmm...pancakes! So, I better be off...

Songs I'm digging at the moment:
Addicted - Saving Able
So What - Pink

Closer - Ne-Yo

The Search Continues...

Wow, so I haven't posted since Wednesday. Sorry for being away so long. I really can't claim to be so busy that I can't post; I just kept putting it off.

The rest of the week I spent filling out lots of paperwork. I applied for school. I'm just waiting for all the correct papers to get to them for final review. Assuming all the paperwork arrives, I should be getting my acceptance letter any day. I'm already completely registered with the site and have my email set up. This is all good signs as I see it. :) I have also started the process to applying to substitute teach in some of the close school districts around me. This is proving to be a lot of work. I have to provide so many personal recommendations. I think people are going to get tired of doing these for me. I really hope that something gives soon because this being in limbo is not giving me peace of mind.

This weekend was a lot of fun. Friday night Bryan and I went out for dinner which was nice. Saturday I had a photoshoot with my friend's 2 kids. I have shot them once before, but thankfully this time they were much more willing. :) I got several awesome shots, but I plan on editing them today or tomorrow so that I can see what I really have and get them back to her. I am anxious to see how she likes them. After they left Bryan and I had to do major cleaning to the house. Late Friday night Bryan decided we were going to host UFC at our house.

Here is a couple of pictures that I took (I'll try to post more when I'm finished editing):



UFC was a lot of fun, and I thank everyone who came. It was just the right amount of people. Everyone brought food which is always nice. Bryan made fajitas which were very good. We set up a table for them buffet style. There were some really good fights including the big one (in case you need to see it again)! Elizabeth brought a very small kitten with her which quickly became the favorite of the party (according to the people anyway, our cats didn't like her so much). See picture below for proof:

I'm still waiting for Amy to upload the pictures that she took.

Sunday we didn't really do much. We were pretty lazy. We watched National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets which was pretty good. That night we went to a free showing at Coldtowne Theater for some improv/sketch comedy. It was pretty good especially since it was FREE! We even managed to snag a couple of 2 for 1 admission coupons for later usage. :) If you've never been there, I highly suggest going sometime. It's a very small and intimate theater where they actually teach improv classes. You never quite know what you're going to get which is half the fun. They are quite talented people.

Well, today is Monday and the start of yet another week unemployed...sigh. I have some errands to run so I should probably get into the shower. Wow, its 10 already. Time passes much quicker when you don't have to work. Hmmm... I need to go pick up a baby shower gift which should be fun because I LOVE to shop. :D

Have a great week!

Missed Da Bats Again!

This weekend seemed super long. Then again, being unemployed is like a BIG and constant weekend. Monday was Labor Day, and Bryan took Tuesday off. We've done a lot of playing, but Bryan finally had to go to work leaving me feeling more useless than I already did. Don't get me wrong, he's been more supportive than I could ever have hoped for and this is all me and my pity for me, but still, I do feel very worthless at the moment. On to the weekend recap...

Saturday:
Bryan slept in big time, but who could blame him after the almost sleepless week he had experienced. I was up at 6 am (dunno why)! Bryan took me out for a late breakfast and then we ran a few errands as well as picked up some movies and games. Then we chilled all night watching our movies. It was good to spend some quality time with Bryan after his long week away.

Sunday:
It was another lazy day. After finally waking up and watching another movie, we poked around the house till it was time to go to Bat Fest. We mainly went to see the Flobots, but we also saw Alpha Rev (pretty good) and Ludo (ugh!) as well as made a loop through the vendors. The Flobots were soooo awesome! The energy and passion they had was amazing and easy to get swept up in. They definitely know how to give a performance.

Here are the pictures that I took at Bat Fest:
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2011345&l=c3784&id=163200356

Here are the videos that I took of the Flobots at Bat Fest:


Monday:
Labor Day - a day off for the masses, just another day for the unemployed. We were lazy - very lazy. We bathed the cats - no easy feat let me tell you!

Tuesday:
The last day with Bryan before he had to go back to work. We were pretty lazy but not completely. We both went to noon classes at our schools. It was the first time that I've ever had the opportunity to go to class during the day. It was pretty nice. That afternoon, Bryan helped me go through all the kitchen cabinets to clean out and organize them. We managed it in one hour. Now the cabinets have lots more room and are looking oh so nice. :) Bryan went to his night class, and I watched yet another movie. When he got home we watched the last episode of the season of my new television obsession The Secret Life of an American Teenager.

Wednesday (today):
I spent most of the morning interneting. Then Bryan and I met a couple of this friends for lunch. Once home again, I finally started tackling my job search. This weekend we talked about a few options. It didn't last long before I broke down in tears. Later I was talking with my Grandmother and I finally talked myself into some sort of plan.

The Plan:
I was thinking about getting my teaching certification back when I was working for LGI. I wanted something else to do. I definitely like that the summers are free. I like this because it will give me time to do art every year. However, I'm really attracted to it for the future. When I have children, this schedule will allow me time to spend with them as well as travel back to Mississippi. I found a teaching certification site that will allow me to do all my coursework online. Normally, I'd be like no, but it's accredited by the state of Texas. I like the way the site lays out the coursework and options. The next class starts September 17. This will allow me to work towards something while I search for a job. If I find a job I love then I can stick with the job and know that I always have teaching to fall back on. If I don't like the job then I can quit as soon as I can find a teaching position. God forbid, but if I don't find a job at least I'm working towards getting one. I currently have the company looking over my transcript to see what I'm eligible to get certified in. Once they get back to me, I'll be able to apply and move forward.

Good news is that I have a job interview tomorrow. I can't say I'm terribly excited about this position or company, but I'd like to do the interview and see how it plays out. I never want to terminate an opportunity too quickly. Hopefully something will work out soon on both accounts.

The Cats in recent pictures:

Bella




OC