Winding Down

Well the end is near....what a year it has been! Emotional roller coaster and well I guess we're still going round and round with the lack of a set budget in Austin. I am looking forward to summer; days to catch my breath and recharge. 8 more days for us! Yes....we have to go back after Memorial Day...booo! I have fully stepped in to my new position--fast-paced & the unexpected is always what will happen, are the two phrases I can use so far to describe my new job. The days fly by, which for me is a good thing because I get bored easily. I need a challenge to stay focused and engaged and being the department head for special education will ensure my needs are met!
The weather has been warm and sunny and has made nicely for some pool days for us. We've spent a lot of time lately grilling and swimming.....a great step-back from the fast-pace we endure daily at our jobs. Everything is going well with Dustin -- I think he is in need of a vacation, but given our fertility situation we're pretty much committed to staying in San Antonio through the summer..... but I can think of worse things.
We got our rent house rented. Our current tenant moves out the 31st and the new tenants (ironically from Lubbock) are moving in the 1st. Again, one more thing I'm disconnecting from for a more stress-free lifestyle for the upcoming months.
Tomorrow my fertility drugs will arrive to Dustin's office (slightly awkward for him I am sure!), but certainly more awkward for me if it is delivered to Alamo Heights High School and our next doctor's appointment is this Thursday at 7:30 am. From here we will get the injection schedule and the following 3 appointments in place. We're beyond excited! This is certainly helping with my depression that is expected to onset at the end of the Oprah Winfrey show on Wednesday. I remember watching her at my aunts house as a little girl following our daily soap opera runs....I am sure I begged Iris at the day care to let me watch Oprah instead of some nursey rhyme nonsense and I vividly remember watching Oprah with my mom on days she had off. Cindy Rose and I have been faithfuls since I was in elementary school. I am pretty sure I would finagle a way to get to Amber's house for the afternoon to only sit with Cindy in the kitchen, watch Oprah, and do our nails! I remember when they moved Oprah to the 3:00 hour when Dr. Phil got his own show....I'm pretty sure I was MIA at tennis practice around that time....after all I did live across the street from the courts so why not dismiss myself!!?? There is nothing quite as uplifting and feel good as the stories she has brought over the last quarter century. I've probably read the majority of her bookclub books, I have been a subscriber of her magazine for years, I subscribe to her e-mail blasts and I record and faithfully watch every show regardless if it is a rerun. Oprah.com is now even blocked at my school likely because I made the site have too many hits each day. ; ) I refuse to watch local news following her show because the message is never positive after such an upbeat hour. There will be a void without her show in my life -- she even makes me want to build schools in Africa! : ) I hope you are watching her 3 day farewell surprise series....I'm not sure who cried more times during the hour: Dustin or myself. She manages to find people that have been through it all and still have a "half-full," outlook -- it often puts me in my place and helps me focus on the good in my life instead of the speed bumps I've had.
Below are some more photos of Blackberry Farm -- my favorite property and hotel to stay at -- E V E R ! Heaven on Earth.....if the world was truly coming to an end and we had warning...I would migrate here. : )

P.S. Happy 31st Wedding Anniversary to my parents--what an example you have been!

Blackberry Farm Photos

Summed up: amazing, breathtaking, the most beautiful venue Dustin and I have ever experienced. Before I post a lengthy blog describing the French wine we had all weekend or the farm to table food we had, enjoy these photos of this 4,000 + acre farm in Walland, Tennessee just outside of Knoxville. www.blackberryfarm.com

Easter Weekend

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter with family and friends!

We had a wonderful weekend in San Antonio with my family including my cousins Kent, Vicki, Kyle and Baby Aaron (Pictures above).

We had great food and branched out to new areas of San Antonio. On Friday, we tried La Gloria's at the Pearl Brewery, a place Dustin has wanted to try for a while. It is true Mexican style food -- no rice and beans, simply what you order all served with homemade corn tortilla...mmmm! After that we took a River Taxi from the Museum District down to the Riverwalk. We got off for a couple of drinks then taxied back on the river to the Pearl Brewery for some shopping. An enjoyable day and events we just don't make time for. Overall, our weekend was collected and relaxed.

Saturday we spent time at the house with our family and had dinner with my parents at Leon Spring Grill, another restaurant we often forget about, but is absolutely amazing!!! Probably the best menu in San Antonio!

This morning we cooked breakfast and Dustin and I cooked dinner together, but almost did not have dinner since HEB, Wal-Mart and Target were all closed. We were a little worried about what we would do for dinner, but we found an organic market open where we got fresh fish -- crab cakes and pecan crusted tilapia. Though it was an inconvenience to have HEB closed, it made us both stop, and take a step back and recall what today is really about. It was heartwarming to see such a big corporation, the heart of the hill-country, prioritize Easter.

We're home this upcoming weekend in San Antonio and hope to get some shopping done before Geoff and Laura's Wedding that will be the following weekend. We signed up for the weekend's events and chose Wine Tasting and Cooking Demonstration. We're celebrating the Kentucky Derby there on the wedding day. It is a celebration and toast to a beautiful couple, but a great weekend for Dustin and I to experience something new, different and inspiring! Check out their wedding website: http://www.lauraandgeoffrey.com/

Happy Easter!

We hope you have a wonderful Easter weekend with friends and family! My parents will be arriving this evening and we're meeting them in Fredericksburg for all of our favorite Bavarian Inn Schnitzel. Too close to pass up and we have a fun and relaxing weekend ahead. My cousins Kent and Vicki from McKinney will be in town along with their two boys, Kyle and Baby Aaron whom we have not met yet! We're excited. I think the Yates' are coming in for Easter Brunch so a nice family-filled weekend....with predicted hot and sunny weather ahead. Though we all desperately need rain, I love love love sunny days in San Antonio.

This past weekend we went to the Valero Texas Open. Between Adam Scott and Cameron Tringale playing, us girls couldn't decide who was cuter? Even our significant others ended up having a crush on Adam Scott before it was all over, ha. Friday and Saturday were both beautiful days -- we got a lot of sun and sat in the grass on hole #10. Chad Campbell hit it within feet of us. After he hit it, Dustin collected his divot and so we now have "Campbell's Corner," in our backyard -- goofy! According to Dillon's grandmother she saw us on TV on Saturday. Dillon, Emily, Tabor and Kaycee came in for the weekend. We had a great weekend with them and our San Antonio friends. We tried the restaurant Dough, as recently seen on the Food Network -- amazing! So good -- homemade Mozzarella and pizza fired in an Italian clay oven. We had to wait FOREVER, but it was worth it. Dillon stayed through Tuesday because his car was broke into at our house --- YES AT OUR HOUSE, IN OUR DRIVEWAY! How bold!!! Not a clue how they got in, or who it was or if it was not an inside job....but 10+ cars were broke into in our neighborhood on Sunday night. BOOOOO. From what we understand we have a lot of unsupervised teens with heavy drug habits and need electronics and cash for their quick fixes. Unfortunate, but at the end of the day it was just a broken window and they got away with nothing -- Dillon tricked them with an empty brief case. ; ) So lesson learned, we're getting an alarm system and well I've been taught how to load the shot gun. If push came to shove -- I could fire it. I'm still a little weirded out that someone likely came up our greenway and broke into a car in our driveway, but that's life. It's inevitable -- though probably happens more frequently in San Antonio than other cities, I do recall Dustin's Yukon being broken into when he lived on 107th Drive in Lubbock. If you give them a reason or a temptation they will do it.

The Valero Texas Open Weekend was my "go out with a bang," weekend! And...I did just that! I begin my medication this upcoming week and my social drinking and extraneous activities are coming to an end, but I am ready. I certainly maximized on my last month and am super ready. Our goal for the upcoming months is to minimize stress, do as little as possible socially and relax more. Time for us to be a little selfish and put ourselves first for a while.

So last weekend we had a beyond normal conversation whether the Easter Bunny delivers the eggs or lays them.....and our group still can't agree. So what do you think?

Either way....I hope the Easter Bunny brings me lots of bubble gum and chocolate! Have a Happy Easter! : )

School Finance Crisis

We had a called faculty meeting this morning at 7:45 by the superintendent to discuss the budget crisis and what this really does mean for Alamo Heights. The good news is no one is set to lose their job. Administration remains committed to keeping everyone around and making cuts elsewhere. Projections show we will be cut anywhere from 3-8 million dollars. That is HUGE. So far we're going to increase class size, not replace teachers/assistants that are retiring or leaving for personal choices, tapping in to our district reserve account, if the state approves furloughs we will likely observe 4 of those days without pay and the district will hold a tax ratification election. If furloughs don't pass the legislature or if the tax ratification election does not pass then we're up a creek without a paddle....I don't want to think that far into it. : \ Very sad times for EVERYONE because not only does this hurt our current teachers, it deters our future from entering the profession, it isn't what is best for our students and it will likely push good teachers out of education, not to mention when school funding and spending is cut the outside vendors are hurt as well. The list goes on and on....I can name 923,424,235 ways this will compromise the education of our students and the domino effect of that. 82% of Texans feel the budget for education should NOT be cut, but 77% of Texans do not want their taxes raised. Didn't know there was such thing as having your cake and eating it too? My aunt found out recently that she will not have a job with Lubbock I.S.D. next year. : ( And I was told by our superintendent this morning that this isn't the worst of it. If the state doesn't set and balance a budget it will only get worse from here and we're expecting another tough 2-3 years ahead. So today I am thankful that I have a job but frustrated with the system, but for now we must just keep on keeping on. I anticipate a salary reduction and a reduction in my benefits along with a loss of our extra conference period before this is all over -- that's what I am telling myself at least so that I hopefully can be "pleasantly surprised," this summer when the legislature makes its' final decisions.

Neighboring districts in San Antonio and surrounding towns are releasing their probationary contract teachers (teachers that have been with the district for only 3 years), regardless of experience since that contract is easiest for a district to get out of since there are no due process rights. Thankfully I have a term contract at AH.

When I'm down about teaching the simplest pick-me-up for me is to buy new pens and pencils (sadly this has always been my motivation in school) and to rearrange my classroom. Yesterday, in frustration, I tore my room a part. Cleaned out and recycled every filing cabinet, file and book shelf I have. That in itself is refreshing. Attached are pictures of my classroom....so cozy.

Last night I went to a Fiesta Event, The Taste of the Northside with my friend Kim where we met up with some other friends and people I work with. It was just us, our husbands were working, and I have to say it was the best Fiesta Event I have been to thus far! There are hundreds and I still have to diversify a bit, but it was clean, fun, good music, food, drinks and it was at Sonterra Country Club. Oh and the weather was uhhhh perfect.

On that note, given the current weather situation in West Texas I don't think a trip to Levelland is in our forecast. My parents are wanting to get away from all of the wind and dirt and we certainly don't want to drive 6 hours for Easter weekend for that! So we're having Easter in San Antonio -- you're invited if you want to come! My flowers are blooming, our days and nights are calm; high in the 90's low in the 70's, crisp and cool at night. The pollen has stopped falling but we're still in need of rain to clear up the air. Even Polo has had a runny nose.

Today the Valero Texas Open kicks off at the TPC golf course. I am out of school for the Battle of Flowers Fiesta Event but am going to use my holiday to hit up TPC and hopefully watch some good golf. Angel Cabrera is coming, along with Adam Scott, JESPER PARNEVIK, Chad Campbell, Eric Axley, etc. etc. Tabor and his girlfriend Kaycee are coming in for it along with Emily and Dillon. It should be a very calm and relaxing weekend --- NOT! We're going out tomorrow to watch with them along with Jay and his girlfriend, Tiffany and Jenn and Baby Aly. If we're still able to function we're going back Saturday too with everyone plus the Adcocks. I love the Valero Texas Open one of the most fun weekends of the year and I need some F U N !

Pennsylvania Bar, PASSED!

Congrats to Dustin for passing the Pennsylvania Bar Exam! It is always such a nervous few days leading up to the release that it almost makes you sick! Above is the picture of how Dustin's name appeared on the website when he found out he passed! He, in my opinion, was more nervous about this one than the Texas one -- but I am very proud of him for taking this on, working hard at it and passing it! I PRAY that this is the last bar exam.....but I anticipate he will sit for the New Mexico before it is all said and done.....but no more bar exams for 2011!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As soon as I found out I headed to our new cupcake shop that opened in Alamo Heights, Kate's Frosting.... the cupcakes with the straws are margarita and the purple candy cherries are King Antonio Red Velvet. After work, I'm going to go to his office and take these goodies, unless we feel the urge to eat them all ourselves.... ; )

Promptly at 3:45 today, I am headed out to go home and pack for a relaxing & celebratory weekend at the lake. : )
Dustin sent me a text earlier that said: "I want to cry.....there is nothing like feeling like you're doing something you were born to do. I believe I will have another drink for Dean Cook." I'm sure Dean Cook, from Texas Tech Law, somehow has been kept in the loop of Dustin's progress and success....and it is simply his lost! We're both in a better place, career-wise, than if we had stayed or moved back to Lubbock.... so it really does all happen for a reason and work out as you have all assured us at one time or another. We are the people we are because of our parents -- so CHEERS TO YOU for your unconditional love and support!

Fiesta!

We had a great weekend and got a lot done! We went to San Angelo for Michael and Jodi's couples shower on Saturday afternoon -- it was a great time to catch up with family...and celebrate their wedding that is coming up in July. We weren't exactly brilliant when planning to drive home afterwards, but Dustin and I had a great time in the car. I found my ipod from 2005....yes it doesn't sound that ancient, but when I play the music it is absolutely hilarious! It ranges from 80's pop, 90's country and 21st century rap and techno. Quite the diverse mix I will say, and very entertaining! My favorite music from the ipod were Outkast & New Kids on the Block....Dustin's were anything "Mike JOOOOOOONES."

Polo is just getting over his ear infection and has now scratched one side of his face entirely in to a very big wound. So big we had to go to the vet Saturday morning because his back-foot as he scratched was only doing more damage. We saw a new vet than normal since we were a walk-in, and this man was quite the backwoods Dr. Who ties a dogs legs together so they are not able to reach to their face to scratch? I mean really.....that would warrant a call to child-protective services if Polo were a human...so I'm not sure all of our options were thoroughly thought through. It breaks my heart to watch Polo hop and yes, fall down trying to move around.... don't know how much longer I can last. : \ You can see the picture of Polo's back legs taped together---and notice all of the pollen on the sidewalk....that's why we had to come home and do yard work yesterday!



Spring has set in....very warm-days and lots of grilling at night! I am ready for the pollen to stop dropping so that my car will go back to its' natural color, grey versus grey with a hint of yellow and for my swimming pool to go back to crystal clear and blue instead of hints of yellow in the water! I spent the day yesterday scrubbing our outdoor furniture and the white rags were brown and yellow after wiping everything down. I'm told we're on the tail end of this pollen issue and this was an exceptionally bad year....hope I was told right!

Dustin helped his friend Adam chop down his cedar trees yesterday -- I think it was quite the work out for the two of them. Dustin was walking like a grandpa this morning from running the chainsaw for 3 hours. Friday night we went to La Hacienda (it was a perfect day and their patio is beyond perfect for some margaritas!) with the Braatens....and we ran in to 6 Levelland girls there -- as many of our friends say here "I feel like I know so many people from Levelland..." for a town of only 13,000 people we sure do end up everywhere!

This week looks "normal," for us....not a lot of dinners or events just work and home....sometimes it is nice to just take it easy....Fiesta starts this Thursday and will run through the following weekend. I have a couple of events I am volunteering at and we're out of school for the Battle of the Flowers Parade. If you haven't been to a Fiesta Event I encourage you to add it to your bucket list....and plan on attending in April of 2012....it's a lot of fun but can be overwhelming. 100 events in 10 days or so is a lot! You can check out all of the events on this website. http://www.fiesta-sa.org/
The following weekend is the Valero Texas Open that we go to each year and we have some out-of-town friends coming as well...I'm sure will make for another "wine-tour-type" weekend (I hope at least...I'm trying to go out with a bang since I know my "fun," days are soon to be over, but I am REALLY ok with that! : )

Friday Dustin finds out his results from the Pennsylvania Bar (He told me NOT to post this on here), but feel it should be one more thing added to your prayer list. He's trying to go with the flow and minimize it, but certainly is a big part of his daily job. I will of course post online or text when we know for certain! 2:00 Friday (I'm assuming Pennsylvania time...so 1 hour ahead of us).