Spring Weekend...

Okay Bulldogs, it was spring weekend at our fair alma mater. As a member of a former championship team, looking at the pics brought back fond memories. If you feel like getting a bit nostalgic, check out the pics at www.cune.edu. ~Peace~

Last Minute Visit...

Besides having Friday off due to Fiesta and getting to watch a Rampage game and a SPURS game, I got to see the Wests for less than 24 hours. They came in for the baptism of Micah Truwe, so I got to catch up with them and enjoy how much Micaiah is growing. She really has filled out quite a bit in just the five weeks since I last saw her. Brian and Erin haven't grown any since then. :) Except maybe in the knowledge of how to care for Micaiah. They are quite the team!

I take great pride in the fact that Micaiah's first trip away from home was to my house. It was also her first bath in a kitchen sink as well.



I also got to witness their bedtime ritual where Brian reads to Micaiah. This one happens to be by the same author of one of my favorites from my sister's little years...I can't remember the author's name, but one title is " Moo, Baa, Lalala." I LOVED reading that book to her when she was little.

I have a post about the senior retreat, but I'm waiting to get some pictures to post with it. Till then, you'll have to enjoy Micaiah!

What I'm Excited About These Days...

1) The new Bible study at church about the spirituality of the Cross--book by Vieth. I haven't been going to Bible study at church because nothing was peeking my interest and I was choosing sleep over it...but this one has me excited and that's refreshing for me.

2) Going on the senior retreat--very last minute change to me schedule, but one that I'm happy to make.

3) I did not blow a bunch of money attending the Oyster Bake, which is a part of Fiesta week--a week-long celebration here in San Antonio.

4) Thursday we have a service day in the morning, a luncheon for a student and then it's Prom night. Oh what fun! I do love seeing the kiddos all dressed up.

5) No school on Friday due to Battle of the Flowers--a Fiesta tradition.

It's a short, but busy week. Fun times!

Peace

Another week gone by...

I spent much of my week doing what I love best...listening to my students. I'm holding junior meetings to make sure they are set for what they need to do this summer to prepare for next year, etc. So I get to just talk with them, find out what they are thinking, where they see themselves going. It's fun. It's what I love.

I love when the most laid back of students comes in and shares his five-year plan. I love hearing how two different students want to go into mission work. I love hearing from students that they realize they could do better and they're taking steps to do so.

The Lord is working and it's nice to take some time to sit and hear how He's working and see how He's working.

I am particularly close to this year's senior class. They are the last class I taught English to and I have always had a bond with them thanks to their journals and just their spirit. But while I have thought all year that I would miss them, I am suddenly renewed in looking forward to next year and seeing what these juniors can do as seniors.

Spring is such an odd time becuase there are still the items that must be dealt with in the present, but yet it is time to begin looking towards the next year and making preparations for it as well.

Balance...balance...

What I learned...

I think what I learned this weekend...or what I was reminded of...was that when we slow down, that can be when the most fun can occur. I didn't just let myself do nothing at home...I got out of the house and let myself go with the flow and the moment. I've been going from one event to another, which have all been great, but allowing myself to just be meant allowing myself to experience something new. That hasn't happened in a long time. I guess it was a "stop and smell the roses" kind of weekend for me. Which concluded today with lunch out with the Truwes and then a movie with Remkea. I wonder what this week will hold...

What a Woman on a Journey did on Her Gorgeous Day

Well, the coffee shop I intended to sit at and read did not have open seating outside, so I walked up to the Starbucks that had lots of outdoor seating. I was about half-way through my reading when a guy with a Cubs hat sat down at a table near me. Then a couple sat behind. Raul, the man behind me asked Bill, the man in the Cubs hat, how the team was doing. Their exchange lead to Raul sharing that their family, his and Teri's--the woman next to him, had been to all but one stadium--Minneapolis. I of course had to chime in at this point and say wonderful it was since I did see many a game there until I was eleven. Eventually Raul and Teri invited Bill and I over to sit with them and we chatted away. Bill recently moved here, he's a physical therapist with the army, Raul works for Hertz and Teri is a special education teacher. We were talking about food and whatnot, which resulted in Raul inviting Bill and I over for dinner last night...we kind of looked at each other and oddly enough we said yes. I had nothing else to do, they seemed very nice, Bill seemed nice and life is not a dress rehearsal...why not?

I drove Teri and Bill rode with Raul. We met their three boys...all very nice young men who helped prepare a feast for us. We talked a lot about baseball and all sorts of other things. Bill has some buddies in town who were trying to get in touch with him to go out to the Thirsty Turtle. I had heard of it, which I said, which then led Bill to invite me along. I said sure. I dropped him off at home. Went home and changed and met him and his buddies, Vance and Kirk, there. Three great guys, all in the army, all having gone oversees and seen things that I would never dream of, and all not jaded at all--amazingly enough.

It was, quite certainly, the most random day/evening of my life. I met wonderful people, had a fabulous time and now it's time for me to prepare for the week!

The last Cadbury creme egg is eaten...and other thoughts...

Well, after being out somewhere every night for almost two solid weeks, I find myself with nothing planned for the weekend...and it's glorious! Yesterday I was toying all day with whether or not I wanted to make something happen for the night...a happy hour somewhere...dinner somewhere...I just didn't know. My roomie was/is in Austin for the night and many others that I hadn't seen were doing various things already too. An allergy-related headache was also giving me some trouble during the day. So a shopping excursion for a belated wedding gift won. But since I wasn't 100% sure about the gift, I stopped by my friend Marissa's to see what she thought and then we went to dinner. I was home by 7:30...I dusted everywhere and cleaned the kitchen...was in bed by 10:30 and asleep soon after. Awwwww (hear the angels singing).


Last weekend was great with the obvious Final Four activities, but also with the State TAPPS art contest in Austin. I got to catch up with old friends and view some fabulous artwork by students. I also avoided some major pitfalls in terms of tempting foods...I'm thankful doughnuts just don't appeal to me anymore...generally they are just not worth the calories.


So what is a girl to do after an 80 minute run this morning and absolutely gorgeous weather? Take her latest Research Methods book with her to some outdoor cafe and read. I think I'll take something else to read with me, just to break things up.

The 80 minute run prodded the consumption of the last Cadbury creme egg from my Easter basket. I love them and I generally make them last as long as possible. But I can't wait too long because the creme will actually harden and then it just doesn't have the same effect. Believe me, it's happened. I still have some Dove dark chocolate eggs left, but they don't go bad as quickly, so I'll keep them around for a little while longer. I'm getting better at saving them as small treats and not consuming too may at once. Giving up sweets for Lent has made an impact...I still probably need to be better, but we always have to work on something...

NCAA FINAL FOUR 2008

In seven years I have learned that San Antonio knows how to put on a good party. And party it did last weekend with the men's final four in town. There were free concerts beginning on Friday...Bethany and I saw Roots and Fall Out Boy. On Sunday we saw All-American Rejects and Three Doors Down. I never realized how many songs by Three Doors Down I knew. It was a great time and something different to do for once. Loved it, loved it!