A Homespun Thanksgiving

Since we don't live in Minnesota any longer, we have to do this holiday, Thanksgiving, in our own way.

The year we lived in Las Vegas, Ryan and I traveled to San Diego for a few days. We ate at the restaurant that was in the basement of our hotel. It was $30 for ONE person to eat, and it didn't seem like there was much to eat, if I remember. Also, the mashed potatoes were fake, and you know how I feel about mashed potatoes. Other than the craptastic Thanksgiving dinner, I think we had lots of fun. We went to the San Diego Zoo and spent some time on the beach. And then Ryan's window got stuck in the down position so we were stuck at the Chevy dealership for a few hours...

Since we've lived in Wyoming, we've done a few different things. The year we lived in Rawlins, we went to Denver for a day trip. We ate Thanksgiving dinner at home (Ryan brined a turkey...it was REALLY good!), and then on Friday, we went to Denver. We stayed in a really nice hotel, did a little bit of Christmas shopping, and went to the Denver Zoo. When we went home through the mountains, and got to see lots of God's beauty.

Since we've lived here, I don't know that we've actually had Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving Day. This year, we had it on Saturday, and last year I think we had it on Friday. Ryan's job requires him to drive on Thanksgiving Day. I went with him last year and this year as well. This year we ate Thanksgiving dinner at a truckstop, slept there, ate breakfast there, and then went to another truckstop to shower (because it was free!). We then ventured around Ogden to get Ryan some pants (he was in desperate need), and came home. Today, we got ourselves in gear around 3ish. Ryan prepared the turkey and gravy, and I made the rolls, potatoes, corn, and stuffing. And I chose the pie from the store. It was yummy, even though it wasn't a homemade pie.

Tomorrow I plan on finishing cleaning up this nasty living room and vacuuming the stairs, and also a load or two of laundry. Sounds like a blast, and I know you want to join me, right?

Looking forward to the holidays. I leave for Minnesota on December 18th and return on the 2nd. It will be nice to see family and friends. Six months is a long time...

Its Been Awhile...

So I know it's been a while...and now its time for an update and some words of wisdom from your local matron.

On September 19th some friends and I went to Salt Lake City to see Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley, and Jimmy Wayne at the USANA Amphitheater. We had a GREAT time. I think its been about 7 years since I'd seen Brad last, and he was MUCH better this time (not that he was bad last time). I think he's really grown as a musician, and it helps that he's totally cute. Above are some pictures from our trip.

School has been keeping me busy this year, too. Which is good. I've been trying to do a better job being organized this year and keeping up with my grading. It's going 50/50. I think I'm doing much better being prepared. And organized. Any flat surface is in jeopardy of being covered, and quickly, however. Grading? Not so much. I think I just need to spend some time after school on the nights when Ryan is going to be late doing my grading. And if I really just spent like 15 minutes or half an hour a day getting it done, it wouldn't seem like such a huge task.

On top of that, I think I need to brag on my kidlets. I have an AWESOME class this year. They are bright and hard working. They care about one another. I just...I really like them. I was really worried at first that we weren't going to click. I was just telling my next door neighbor (at school) and really good friend, Kandi, that I remember being totally scared of this group of kids when they were in Kindergarten. They were crazy! But they've really hunkered down, and they really turn out good work. I'm so proud of them. On top of that, my students have really great families. Next week we're going on a field trip. We are going to the local community college to see "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." I think the kiddos will REALLY enjoy it. It's been almost a decade since I saw it last, and I still know some of the songs. So good!

My surgery in September went well. It was pretty quick, and the worst part was the waiting before hand. I was back at work the next day, even though I probably just should have waited. My biopsy results came back benign, so that's good. Unfortunately, I've been waiting over a month and a half for my post op appointment. My doctor/surgeon apparently went to Egypt (he's from there) right after my surgery. Someone blew up a train while he was there, and his re-entry into the United States has been denied since then. Hopefully he'll be back for my thrice rescheduled appointment on November 17. And hopefully, after that, we'll get to be back on the baby-making train. Woot.

Please pray for my Uncle Weenis. He has surgery tomorrow. Please pray for a good biopsy and quick and easy recovery.

And that's it. For now.