Thanksgiving and more

I have so been enjoying this 4 day weekend. I really needed this break from those students of mine. Those students drive me nuts and I really don't enjoy the job but at least it is a job and I have a paycheck. I just have to continue to repeat that to myself. The one thing I don't especially like about the schedule for this year is the fact that school doesn't let up until December 21st. Yep, just a few days before the holidays. Not fun. I was really looking forward to a longer break this winter instead of a week and a half.

But Thanksgiving was great. We spent it with my family and my mom really made the family favorites. We're really not turkey people so she just made a little bit, but we had a bunch of steamed and sauteed veggies, coarsely mashed potatoes, rice, and cake/pies for dessert (which was actually eaten many hours later). Always good to eat and enjoy good company. We did end up working on my brother's costume, but we'll not get into that at the moment.

Jakob is getting ready for his student teaching. He'll know where he's student teaching next Friday. It'll be good to know so I can do some research on the programs and Jakob could possibly go out and meet with the teacher before hand and make sure things are ready. It'll also give him the chance to get familiar with the curriculum before he is "thrown" into it.

We don't really have many plans for the next while. We're trying to stay within our means because Jakob may not be working while he is student teaching and I really don't want to get another job, but it looks like I'll have to get a temporary evening job to make sure things stay afloat.

We both have a film coming up in the next few weeks, so Jakob does get to fight a bit and I get to do some costumes again, but that is all the way at the other end of the state so we're not looking forward to that drive on those days. Then Jakob is thinking about going down to the Fiesta Bowl with some friends to do the parade the day before. I'm not a fan of that, but if he wants to go, I can't exactly stop him. I can't go because the day after is when school starts up again and when you are a hourly employee you only get 4 days the entire school year that you can miss and I don't want to use them unless I absolutely have to.

Anyway, 1 year into the house ownership and we're finally putting stuff up on the walls. I haven't taken any pictures yet, but we have a few pictures, movie posters, and a few swords up on the walls and we're still looking around for some more frames. We should have the armory shelving up soon and most of the stuff in my sewing room will finally move into the armory and onto the shelves. Although I'm using my sewing room, it still isn't the way I want it to be. I need to get a TV/DVD unit down there so I have something going on when I'm working. Most of the time I still have to move my projects upstairs and use the living room because of how open the floor is. My sewing room isn't that big and we're thinking of moving it upstairs into the back room and moving the "storage" downstairs into that room, but I'm not too much of a fan of that idea.

Sadie and Jimmy are still with us and being silly as ever. Sadie likes to snuggle with you if you have a blanket, but Jimmy doesn't like to. If he jumps up, he just wants to sit on Sadie. Yes, sit on her. I don't get it either. They have figured out our routine and when we divert from that, they get a little antsy. They know when we're supposed to be home and they meet us at the door; which is nice unless Jimmy tries to move around and get outside.

Well, I've got to go shovel the driveway before it starts to freeze underneath. I hate snow, but at least it is the fluffy stuff and not the icy stuff.

Animal as Yoda=Epic!

So a friend of mine sent me this link and it brightened a day that was totally bad!

Enjoy!

1 year

It's been one year (well, it will be by 6:30 this evening) that Jakob and I signed a stackload of papers to become homeowners. It was kind of nerve wracking for the first bit with actually having to take care of something to large where so many things could go wrong. Luckily I have some amazing parents who live a few minutes away and came over (and continue to come over) on many occasions to either quell my nerves about something or help me fix something that I had no idea how to fix.

We haven't done much in the way of remodeling this year (thanks in part to my losing my teaching position) but we did tear up the back yard. It was a pile of weeds anyway, so we decided to destroy it even more, and in the process found out that our sprinkler system wasn't hooked up to anything, so next spring we've got our work cut out for us. We're just now getting to the point of putting up pictures, swords, shields, decorations on the walls.

Thankfully our neighbors next door moved out and that house now sits vacant. The first set of neighbors was a blind woman, her husband, their adult kids (with a baby that cried forever!) and about 6 cars, which they would proceed to park wherever they chose. They finally moved out and I thought the house was being sold, but I was wrong--it was rented by that family and it was being rented again by another family . . . or should I say families. There were a total of 5 families living in that house with the next group that moved in. They had more cars and more kids than the first and those kids didn't care which yard they played in or who they disturbed. They have all moved out and now the house is vacant.

I have managed in this past year, to annoy our other neighbor with asking them to keep their kids out of my yard, away from our cars, and for them to clean up after their dog when he decides to use our lawn as his toilet. Needless to say, those kids and parents don't chat with me anymore. But on the other hand, I have met with another set of neighbors that live up the road and he is really a good guy. He's a hunter and has helped me a few times (especially when the snow would start coming down, he would come out and help shovel it and chat with me while doing it).

But we've had some ups and downs, and now with property tax coming up (I didn't know they did that separately and wanted it all in one month!) we're understanding some of the joys and illusions of having a house.

But we wouldn't trade it one bit.