Dustin's New Job

He Loves It!!! Dustin loves the work (though he says it is hard because it is all new to him) and loves the people. A very professional office! It is going to take him a few weeks to get settled, learn the software, etc. etc., but that is any job!

Dustin just got home and said "work was good today, I finally am getting a hang of this title deal." I can't believe I forgot this on Saturday's blog -- we saw Tony Parker! And I cannot believe we did not take a picture with him! We were behind him going in to a parking lot where he was meeting another bball player (couldn't tell who) for lunch. Tony wasn't trying to hide -- he was driving a red ferrari with Tony P 9 on the license plate....

A Free Saturday...

Today marks my first Saturday NOT committed to tennis... a little sad, I cannot lie! Many of the kids have been texting / calling this weekend as they finished their tournament in Houston -- a great show for the Mules, 1st place! I can't help but miss it. BUT! --if I was in Houston this weekend with them I would not have had the great weekend with Dustin. So there is much to be thankful for! We spent the day in Boerne. We did some lamp shopping (posted above) and came across G. Harvey's most recent release (August, 2010) and already sold out -- except the remaining Giclee's in the galleries. We got the "Cowhands on the Avenue" Giclee numbered 119 out of 250. Dustin was obsessed, fell in-love at first site, stared some more, returned, stared and purchased. It has already been hung with our other G. Harvey in our dining room (pictures above). We LOVE his work -- traditional and always an American flag, SOMEWHERE in the piece... I hope City Bank one day wants to sell their collection... I'm interested (hint, hint). This week was my first week back to school...interesting sums it up. I teach 42 special education students each day.... it's challenging, rewarding and exhausting all in one! It is going to take all I have and with that know that I am blessed to have gotten out of tennis. We spent the afternoon on the patio of The Boerne Wine Company (a suggestion of my parents)... absolutely amazing!!!! If you are ever passing through... you must stop -- it is on the main road a couple doors down from Calamity Janes (amazing furniture, accessory and LAMP shop). Tonight we are enjoying our night on the patio... we woke up this morning with a crispness in the air...fall is coming soon -- enjoying every last minute of the pool days. Dustin starts his new job @ Mani & Associates on Monday -- send all your Oil and Gas legal work to him! He is beyond excited! Amazing firm, people & work -- we couldn't be more blessed. And on that note -- we will begin our journey of church shopping tomorrow -- we are open to all denominations, just going to try to find our home -- tomorrow we are trying University United Methodist Church. I'll keep you posted.... Then going to Magnolia for brunch (we will omit the eggs!!!!!) and then we're playing a round of golf. Goal: for Haley to break 100. Dustin has been very very patient with me. : ) If it doesn't work out, I am going to throw my clubs and head for the tennis courts. : ) We will keep you posted on Dustin's new job. He is fully equipped with new clothes and shoes.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my dad! He's 39 today. : ) My mom was taking him to dinner and baked him his traditional German Chocolate cake....that sounds soooo good about now.

Today and this week has just been a GREAT week for us!

The best news is that Dustin got a job offer from Philip Mani & Associates today --- an Oil and Gas Firm here in SA (3 miles or so from our house) -- right up his interest alley! He goes in Friday to work out the logistics, but this is a great great great great great opportunity!!! Check out their website: http://www.philipcmani.com/ Dustin's friend, Adam, helped make this deal happen -- and we forever owe him! Adam is a new associate there as well (he graduated law school with Dustin). They both looooove golf (both played in college) and play as much as possible and his wife, Suz, is a teacher -- we have a lot in common with them. Oh!--and they just adopted a dog from a rescue shelter. I hope they get some work done! We are ecstatic. I will keep you posted with the logistics.

I got a front-row-joe parking space at school (sounds small, but this HUGE), our schedules were rebuilt and I now conference and lunch from 11:10-1:45 everyday, what a nice break! And....I got to split my large special education science class in to two sections. Now I have 2 sciences and 3 maths and no tennis --- : ) : )

This has all finally fallen in to place for both us....patience and the hard work has finally paid off! August 18th, 2010 may be the best day...yet!

A normal week

Today was my first day back and it was great -- it was nice to come home at a normal teacher hour, 4ish, vs. the tennis hour I used to come home at, 10ish. This week is the start of tennis tryouts -- they start at the end of the teacher work day and go until 10 pm or so -- of course I am officially out of tennis, but a part of me kind of misses it while another part of me does not -- it was time to move on. Tonight Dustin and I went up to school and took some lamps, decor etc. that we are no longer using at the house to warm-up my classroom. I am teaching 3 sections of math, 1 science and 1 credit recovery -- but since my science class is loaded with 11 special education students (that's a lot!) my department head is trying to have that spilt where I would have 3 maths and 2 sciences...I'm cool with either -- I get bored easily and the change keeps it spicey! Dustin set up my computers for me!!!! : ) Today was my first day in my classroom, but I got a lot done -- still a construction zone, but I don't think anyone has ever seen my classroom? It's cozy and I LOVE IT. This past weekend we went to Lubbock for Matt Vance and JoBeth Campbell's Wedding --- truly an adorable couple. It was a very relaxed weekend--Dustin was a groomsman. The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was amazing -- we tore up the dance floor! Matt and JoBeth may be the two best people we know...so very easy going and always smiling. We got to see a lot of Dustin's high school / childhood friends that we don't see quite as frequently and it was great catching up....we laughed the entire weekend! Above are pics of my classroom, one of us before the Campbell/Vance wedding and the happy couple. Dustin is playing in the Sonterra Club Championship Golf Tournament this weekend...this week is the first "real-life," week we have ever had --- we both go to work, come home for dinner, TOGETHER, AT A NORMAL TIME, no studying, no tests, no bar -- just work, dinner, golf and pool...it's perfect! P.S. Phone is now fixed and only cost us $82 -- I can now receive and make calls plus everything else---considering its' condition on Friday we are PLEASED.

Friday the 13th

Ughh always hated this day -- and look how my day has started out! If you need me call Dustin.... can't get an Apple appointment until 11 and need to be in Lubbock by 4 today ....and no Apple stores in Lubbock....I sincerely need my day to get better!!!!!!!!! On the bright side: guess I won't need to pack a phone charger...

Blue Marlin Bathroom!

Lucky for Dustin I measured our outdoor bathroom (ha, that sounds like an outhouse), but the restroom you access outside from the pool area and the wall measures 5" longer than Bob The Marlin -- yeah!! It's air-conditioned so the fancy fish won't get a crack and Marlin and outdoors are two words I like to hear in one sentence. Let's hope that the Marlin fits through the door frame -- that fish has cost us more money freighting it around North America! Today was my last real day of summer -- and I topped it off by setting my record amount of sleep 13.5 hours. I thought there was some point in your life where you didn't/couldn't sleep that long? I know Dustin has certainly hit that point where he gets up with the sun no matter how much sleep has had. I am really really dreading that 5:45 am alarm clocks that are lurking around the corner... I cleaned our house top to bottom today, caught up on laundry and we finished unpacking / decorating Dustin's office, last night. That leaves only one room in the house to be sorted through, but we are in no hurry to make that anything because we want that to be our nursery when that day comes. My favorite room in our entire house is our dining room and I haven't posted one picture of it..so here it is! I love love love this room, but we love formality -- we eat at this table even if we are having leftovers, ha. It really feels like home -- we are so comfortable here, there is a place for everything and for me, having 5 sets of china/dishes and 2 sets of crystal, a place for everything was much needed! On bad days, I come home open up the sideboard and gaze at my Wedgewood Vera Wang, Vera Lace China -- that is my motivation. I think Dustin's motivation on bad days is to car shop online -- everybody as "their thing," that keeps them going...I guess these are ours. The other pics are of Dustin's office -- his desk is on his cattle rug that he has had forever -- it really looks good. That room is a very odd shape and small so this was all it needed. We have a large window seat that overlooks the backyard that I am going to have a cushion made for -- I am looking for cream and chocolate houndstooth pattern, but haven't found it yet-- so if you see some somewhere let me know! Dustin's mom got him the racehorse picture that we hung behind his desk -- it really added a nice touch of color -- the room is masculine but professional. And all those pricey law school books that are binded so beautifully in red have found their home around the office!

Summer is coming to an end...

Yes, in days I will be headed back to school for a teacher work week before the students come on August 23rd.  In some ways this summer flew by and in other ways it was forever long.  I feel rested and though am not looking forward to the 5:45 am alarm clock going off, I am eager to get back in a routine.  I find that I am more consistent with working out, maintaining a balanced diet,  a better time manager of my time, maintain organization, etc. etc. the list goes on when I am in school.  I think Dustin is ready for me to be back in the routine as well so that I will go to bed before midnight, allowing him to get a full night's rest.  Today ended a 4 day "Working on the Work," conference for me at Hyatt Hill Country -- it was a costly conference ($900 per person) and our district sent over 100 teachers -- I feel a little overwhelmed and am completely reworking my syllabi, expectations and policies.  I am still wrestling with the idea of allowing students a second chance for full credit as proposed at our conference.  One of our presenters said "School is the only place where we punish people for being wrong."  So...maybe I will allow my students a specific number of "re-dos," on homework, quizzes and tests each six weeks?  After all...isn't the point for students to discover, grow and retain information instead of the "got-cha" system we currently have in place?  I am even allowing cell phones, laptops, ipads, itouches, etc. in my class this year.  (I hope I don't pull my hair out).  I learned of a new system where I can poll a class with a question and they can respond via texting the answer and the website breaks the data down for me immediately -- completely anonymous for me to monitor information retention.  You can even set the system up for students to text a question in without claiming ownership to the question so that they don't feel dumb or singled-out.  The times have changed!  After my conference I went to Dustin's office to meet the people that he works with -- very nice!  We're heading to Lubbock on Friday to go to Matt Vance and JoBeth Campbell's wedding.  Dustin is a groomsman so we there are a lot of festivities this weekend -- and we are SOMEHOW going to bring back Dustin's 101" Blue Marlin that is in my parent's basement.  I'm speechless, but optimistic that Dustin has a special place in mind for it besides somewhere at 7 Inwood Way.  I am going to try to blog once a week -- so stay tuned for pics from the weekend.  :  )

THE BAHAMAS!

We just returned from the Bahamas with the Yates -- and we were sooo sad to leave! We spent 5 days in the Bahamas and it was 5 days of HEAVEN! I have a new love for the Bahamas and our hotel was amazing!! We stayed at Atlantis in the Royal Towers, which is the main hotel on the property...but we did explore some of the others and they were just as beautiful. We felt very very safe there and not bothered or threatened by the locals (something I have yet to feel on trips to Mexico!)....I will definitely go back. Atlantis has something for everyone from slides to rapid lazy rivers, tons of swimming pools, shopping, a casino, beautiful salt-water aquariums with exotic fishes and sharks, top-notch restaurants including one of Bobby Flay's (Mesa Grill) and beautiful white sand beaches! If you have never been, it should be added to your bucket list. Not to mention, they have the best Pina Coladas I have ever had!!!! I am paying for it now. : ) Our days consisted of restful laying out poolside, a few trips around the 1/2 mile lazy river, a trip or two down the slides including the famous drop "Leap of Faith," followed by a happy hour, dinner and casino time. What more could I want? Connor took his girlfriend Chelsea (we adore her!) and Macy had her BFFL Shanae....we had a big group which made it all the more fun! Dustin is back to work today and my days of summer are slowly coming to an end. What a wonderful way to end the summer -- now we embark on the fall and the endless number of weddings and wedding events; we can't wait for upcoming fun weekends with our friends.