MOVIE & Weekend

I saw the "Twilight" movie on Friday night with some friends. It was SO good!! I read all four books, and loved those, too. I have heard mixed reviews on the movie, but I thought it was great. The books are addicting, and I honestly don't know anyone who has not liked them. My project is to convince Adam to read them (that may be hard)so he will go with me to see the movie again! :)

On Saturday, Adam and I hung out with Micah, Jacqueline, Paul, and their friends Jocelyn and Tim to watch the sad ending of the U of M season at BW3. Great food, bad game. Afterward, we spent a few hours at home, and then met Janelle & Garett, Katy & Mat, and James out for dinner and drinks. We ended up at James' house for "Rose Kennedys" and then out and about after that. My husband danced with me!! I convinced Adam to take me to The Dog Pit after all that dancing...and I can't tell whether my stomach is punishing me this morning or not.

I've been fighting a cold for the last few days, and I think the late night got to me. We're heading to Texas in THREE days, so I really hope I don't get sick. It seems as though pretty much everyone I know has had some sort of cold in the last month, except me.

The Christmas decor is up, and the house looks cozier than it did before...today we tackle the outdoor decor...hopefully I can post a picture soon!

Update on 31

Well, I'm happy to say that I'm still in bed, drinking coffee, after just finishing a movie this morning. I just love having a day off! It gives me a chance to watch Regis and Kelly (love the intro of the show) and read up on timely important info...such as, the terrible name of Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz's baby (BRONX...ew) or what my friends are doing on facebook.

Last night Adam and I had a great dinner with my parents, Kurt, and Adam's mom and stepdad. We came back to our house for cake from the fabulous Sweet Cakes Design, who made our wedding cake. I now have several new sweaters, perfume, a cookbook, a DVD, and of course some money. Awesome birthday, indeed!

The sun is shining, and the snow is melted...a good day not to be cooped up in my classroom, I'd say. I hope everyone has a nice weekend!

Life is Good

After a long and tiring conference week, last Friday my mom and I drove to Chicago to see my sister! We left at 1:00 Friday and were at Lindsay's apartment by 3:00 Chicago time. We had a glass of wine and relaxed, and then went to dinner and to the amazing, gorgeous show WICKED. I have been wanting to see it for years, and I was so glad that I finally did - especially in such a beautiful theater. We ended up laying low after the show. Saturday, we shopped State St. and then mom and I went home. Lindsay's place looks wonderful, and I am so impressed by her TJ Maxx finds!! She has a knack for decorating. Unfortunately the loser in me forgot my camera, and so did everyone else.....hence, the boring, no-pic post.

This has been a productive work week, and tomorrow is my birthday! 31...not the most exciting year, is it? I have Friday off from work, and I plan to get my hair and nails done, followed by dinner and a movie with friends. We are seeing the Twilight movie! I'm unsure if I really should see it, knowing how much I loved the books and how different the movie will be, but I think I just need to go. We're supposed to get quite a bit of snow tomorrow night, so sleeping in on Friday and having coffee in my "Michigan" room as the snow falls down outside will be so nice. My former student teacher is my sub, so I can rest easy that the day will run smoothly without me.

As Mary suggested - hopefully Adam will do something fantastic for my birthday, and I will blog about it tomorrow!! :)

Boring

Nothing new to report lately...we had a pretty low-key weekend, which was nice! On Friday, we met up with some friends and played cards, ate bar food, etc...it was a good time. Saturday, my mom and I went shopping at THE most crowded mall I've ever seen...worse than the day after Thanksgiving, etc. It was fun but a bit too much for me. I can deal with crowds, but these were over the top! Adam and I ended up at my parent's house for dinner and some football, and then went to bed early. Today, we overslept and missed trying out a new church - so we spent the majority of the morning/afternoon cleaning. I have conferences this week, which means a LOT of preparation and a late night every night this week. :( I really am dreading all the late nights.

*This weekend, my mom and I are going to Chicago to visit my sister! I'm really looking forward to that! Two weeks from Wednesday, Adam and I will be in Dallas...can't wait for that, either!

Election Day!

I had the privelege to see my students witness their first ever presidential election. We have spent weeks studying the electoral process, the two candidates, the issues...and it made it all that more historic and special, knowing that I had the chance to educate my students and be there with them as they learned about our #1 American privlege. I really don't remember ever truly learning about how voting/elections work, and I wanted to change that for my kids. It was definitely a pro-McCain crew in my room, and it was neat to see them challenge each other with arguments on the hot-topic issues, and to actually have some educated comments to back up their thoughts.

Adam and I voted, and are having a glass of wine, watching the preliminary results on TV. Tomorrow will be an exciting day!

Gavin and Vance

Check out our ADORABLE nephews!! Gavin was a train conductor and Vance was a puppy for Halloween.

Football Weekend

Adam and I had a great weekend - first, we handed out candy to our neighbor kids on Halloween...then we had every intention of going out somewhere afterward, but ended up staying home and watching a depressing movie (Rendition.) Saturday, we got up early, made chicken wing dip, and went with my brother and Aaron to the annual WMU tailgate/football game with my family and a whole bunch of their friends. It's a riot every year, and we had a blast this year too. The game was a lot of fun, and the only negative for the day was that the sun never really came out - so the predicted 58 degree and sunny forecast ended up feeling much colder. Sometimes one has to sacrifice and put up with a cold hand, in order to have that cold tailgate beer. :)

Today was spent cleaning and cooking, and then the dreaded "crowded-Meijer-on-a-Sunday-weekly-grocery-shopping-trip." I managed to get in and out of the store pretty quickly, and gave myself bonus points for buying the eco-friendly reusable bags in which to take my groceries home, rather than using the awful white plastic ones from the store. We put the white nasties out with our recycling every week, but I have a feeling that they really don't get recycled. I recently read that many things can't be recycled twice...for instance, if a milk jug is made with recycled materials and then I go to recycle it after using it, it isn't accepted. Same is true for some paper types.

Check out this article for great information on what is actually recycled and what isn't. It's a bit disappointing, but worth reading.

http://www.realsimple.com/realsimple/content/0,21770,1835138,00.html