Airing my Dirty Laundry (147-154)

I am a full time Seagraves resident now! Also, as you can tell since I am publishing this post, we now have internet!

Day 147



Yesterday, I had a plan in place to use the Chic-fil-A gift card that was so graciously provided by the PTA. I drove up to the establishment after school and proceeded to forget that I had a gift card, paying in the more traditional fashion. As a result, I also ate Chic-fil-A the next day.

(Aaron helped me phrase that description)

Day 148



Aaron called me while I was on my way home from work. We made plans for him to come down that night so he could move the rest of my stuff to Seagraves the next day. He told me he was running late so I wasn't expecting him until 6:30. We talked as I drove home and as I turned the corner, he was standing there waiting for me! I was so surprised I almost forgot to put the car in park so I could run and hug him!

I also had a surprise for him, but mine was more godfather-esque. I had his stick horse from college, that he insists on keeping, greeting him when he got into bed.

Day 149



After saying my final goodbyes to my students, I headed up to Seagraves to be a full-time wife again. Aaron, I mean my puppy, made me a card to welcome me home.

Day 150



Aaron and I rewarded ourselves for working hard on the house (inside and out) with watermelon and Kool-Aid. I think that is a sign that summer has begun.

Day 151



The pastor and his two sons delivered our (much needed) washer and dryer. They also took some old furniture away that we had no use for. It was pretty funny seeing them sit on the couch in the trailer. It looked like some kind of ghetto parade.

Day 152



Being the gourmet chef that I am, I used string cheese as the topper to my chicken parmegiana.

Day 153



After supporting our local grocery store by buying several different wrenches until one actually fit, I finally got the washer and dryer to work. Like I said before, they were much needed.

Day 154



We were told our internet would be installed between 8 and 5 today. I was so excited to see them after waiting 7 1/2 hours, I am surprised I didn't run them off.

Eight Days a Week Day 139-146

So sorry this is a day late. We don't have internet in Seagraves yet and since it was a three day weekend, I had to wait until I was back in Midland to post. This is my last week in Midland! Aaron is coming down Thursday night and the men are moving the rest of the stuff while I am at work. In case you were wondering, I have not had to lift a finger throughout this entire move. It was a lot of hard work.

Day 139



This picture sums up my day. One of my students decided she wanted to see who was going to be the most stubborn. I hate those games. First, she refused to do a puzzle we gave her so we told her she had to finish the puzzle before she could eat lunch. Second, it was a fight to get her to sit in her chair to eat her lunch. Third, once she sat down, she immediately threw her entire meal on the floor. Fourth, I had to nag for a solid twenty minutes for her to pick up all of her rice and sauce-covered chicken. Fifth, her routine is to go to her chair to and grab a trinket for her reward for doing well at lunch. Obviously she didn't do well so I had her go to her chair but not receive any trinkets. She kept trying to scoot her chair around so I held it down with my feet. She responded by grabbing my stomach and then knocking over boxes of pencils and math counters. Sixth, I spent another twenty minutes nagging her to pick up all of those pencils.

Day 140



It was Lucy's day to get neutered. When I picked her up, she was being held by one of the staff. I was under the impression that various staff were fighting to hold her. She did very well and everyone was so impressed with how beautiful she is. She didn't need a "cone of shame" but I put a T-shirt on her the first night to keep her from licking her wounds.

Day 141



The PTA has been providing snacks and food all this week for all the teachers and staff. They have been so supportive this year.

Day 142



I got this view on my way to Seagraves in one town. I don't mind getting stuck behind tractors. In my opinion, no one is a harder worker than farmers.

Day 143



Aaron and I spent a lot of the day cleaning/ decorating the inside and watering/ fertilizing/ mowing the outside. I am guessing at this whole 'taking care of a lawn' thing.

Day 144



Today, Arrested Development came out on Netflix. Because we don't have internet yet, we watched it on our phones. When we got sick of looking at our phones, we watched The Office DVDs. Obviously we live a tough life.


Day 145




Whenever Lucy wasn't running around in the sprinkler, she was barking at it. For hours. I am sure the neighbors love us.


Day 146




Today I went shopping for stuff for the home. Clearly I am in a colorful mood.

Clever Title that Catches Reader's Attention (133-139)

Day 133



Today was the junior high and high school Life Skill's prom thrown together by Lee High School's philanthropy class. The four kids who showed up looked beautiful and I was so excited they had this opportunity.

Day 134



These creepy eyes were staring at me as I was "powdering my nose." I decided that I no longer want to visit the ladies room at "Smiling Moose."

Day 135



A lot of our kids have grown up together, being in the same Life Skills class in elementary school so it is really cool seeing the relationships that develop. The higher functioning kids are huge helps to the low functioning. Sometimes the kids listen better to them than the teachers.

Day 136



It was one of our kid's birthdays and she is obsessed with Justin Beiber. I was thinking it would be a "no problem" trip going to Wal-Mart. I had to walk around Wal-Mart several times and of course you can't ask anyone who works there. I finally found a watch. She already had a Beiber watch but I figured she could start a collection or just be happy she got something with the YouTube sensation on it.

Day 137



Every time Aaron and I go shopping we always laugh at the organization of items at the grocery store.

Day 138



I woke up this morning to seeing that our church announced on Facebook that they were going to give us a pounding. Aaron definitely had to explain that to me. It is basically where people buy you a bunch of groceries. Our cabinets are now filled with every type of food you could fit in a can, a life-time supply of paper towels and cleaning products, and a lot of gift cards and money. This is a church who loves to serve and is very loving. Aaron and I are very blessed to be here.

Day 139

I don't have a picture. I use my phone to take pictures of things and I spent two hours of my day on hold. Pretend there is a picture of a phone. I thought about photoshopping my head onto the Hulk but the grumpy cat within me said:

Root, Root, Root for the Other Guys (126-132)

Day 126



The Rockhounds, local baseball team of Midland who is affiliated with the As, was hosting a "safety and game day" for schools around the Midland area. They were playing the Riders (affiliated with the Rangers) so I promised Aaron I would go against baseball's anthem and root for the non-home team. The kids had a great time and the only people to get sunburns were the teachers. Who knew that taking a Scotch-Irish girl into the sun would her into a lobster?

Day 127



Someone wrote 'Jesus loves you!' on the chalkboard in the classroom I teach preschool choir. It reminds me of when I was in elementary school we had to be sat down and told that although they really like us spreading the word of the gospel, bathroom graffiti is not the way they want us to accomplish it. "Christian school problems."

Day 128



We took the kids to the driving range along with the high school Life Skills class our students will eventually go to. The kids loved meeting their future teachers and they got along well with the older kids. Only one kid got hit with a ball and no one used the clubs as weapons so all in all I would say it was a good day.

Day 129



Lucy decided to bring me an early "mother's* day" present. Awww?

Day 130



Today was a work day at the church. A group of about ten of us planted this garden in the morning. It was really neat seeing all the "tricks" some of the farmers used. For example, they put watered down glue over the mulch to prevent the wind from blowing it away. I am definitely going to have to ask for help once I get around to planting a garden at my house so it can survive the West Texas climate.

Day 131



Today was baby dedication for three little ones. I am sure the pastor had a fun time looking at the congregation as we made faces at the babies sitting on the front row. Before that the pastor had the children pass out carnations to all the moms. One little girl tried to hand one to me but Aaron whispered (yelled) that I am not a mom so I got jipped of a flower. I still appreciate flowers.

Day 132



The Midland Children's Rehab Center threw a dance recital and one of my students was in the jungle-themed show. I was planning on just being a supportive audience member but that turned into being a volunteer to help change and manage the children. I did manage to sneak off to watch the numbers my kid was in.


*I really don't think I am a mother because I own a dog.

Send in the Clowns (Day 119-125)

As I have talked about in previous posts, Aaron has already moved out to Seagraves and I will move out there once school lets out. I got to go up there this weekend and it was extremely difficult to leave but it is just four more weeks. I can do this.

Day 119



The kitty decided to help me pack by checking various box sizes. Surprisingly, that didn't help me as much as he thought it would.

Day 120

Well, I failed to take a picture of my car full of clothes Aaron failed to bring with him.

Day 121



Our school threw a talent show/ carnival as motivation for the kids for the fifth sixth weeks. I am sorry that this is the best picture I could put on here but I couldn't take a picture of the actual carnival because it would be illegal for me to put any pictures of students on here. My kids had so much fun, even the ones who have a hard time in large crowds.

Day 122



My family greeted me as I finally made it to my "weekend home" in Seagraves.

Day 123



We had a great day of sleeping in, taking walks around different parks, and casually unpacking. It is starting to come together and it is so exciting knowing we are going to be here for a while, like our future children will live in this house! Weird

Day 124



After officially joining FBC Seagraves, Aaron and I celebrated by eating some of my famous ribs. This is him in his newly decorated office! Doesn't he look right at home? I had to say "good-bye" and head back to Midland. It was extremely difficult, and I am not referring to when I got lost.

Day 125



Speaking of getting lost, I had to call Aaron for directions on how to turn on the grill. It ended up not being as intimidating as I thought. Of course my in-laws ended up not coming home because they had a surprise banquet. Maybe I will be a able to show off my newly found grill skills some other time.

Calling in Comfortable (112- 118)

Day 112



On my way to school I look down and noticed that my pizza was growing hair. Fortunately, we had plenty of time to get Chic-fil-A. My days are always good whenever Chic-fil-A is involved.

Day 113



I feel like I can set he record for most tire blow outs. Thankfully, my father-in-law and Aaron saved the day by taking me to work and than spending half the day getting the front two tires changed.

Day 114



I went to Austin for the weekend to celebrate my grandma's 80th birthday. It's hard to find the time to go home, especially since Midland is so far away. But I am glad I found an excuse.

Day 115


I spent today hanging with my mom at school and watching her high school put on a play. It is very odd to be sitting in the audience. It's even odder knowing I didn't help put this play together. Growing up, play season always meant helping make the set, watch rehearsals, organize clothes, and help with the technical part. I was always at school longer than at home. I loved it though. I am still questioning why I didn't do anything with it in college.

Day 116


Today is this beautiful lady's birthday! I was one of the lucky ones who got to live right next door to my grandmother. There was a warn out path in the fields where I would walk to her path. She helped raise me so much. I blame my modest tendencies and my fashion sense from her.

Day 117



Aaron moved almost all of our stuff to Seagraves while I was in Austin. I will be staying in Midland until school is out. It was quite a shock coming home and seeing the house so empty. It is also going to be quite an adjustment getting used to sleeping by myself. I had to cuddle with his pillow because it smelled like him. I would not make a good military wife.

Day 118



I think my kids think I am a fangirl of Tangled. I said I appreciated the movie because my niece loves it. Now my girls "surprise" me with some kind of song or paper (I think I even heard them getting together a skit?) about Tangled. I really have the sweetest kids.

An American Tale: Hills Go West (105-111)

Day 105



Today the PTA decorated the teacher's lounge for me. I say it is for me because I fully believe I am the only one who actually eats in there; unless there is free food, of course.

Day 106



Today we had a police officer come speak to a general ed class one of my students goes to. He was talking about drugs and alcohol and the consequences of partaking in those substances, especially as a minor. He asked one of the students to come up and demonstrate what the cops would test to see if someone is drunk. He failed. He couldn't follow simple instructions and had a hard time counting to twenty.

Day 107



Aaron and I have been playing basketball after school for a couple of weeks now. Both of us just got to a point where we were tired of being couch potatos and this is a really fun way for us to get out of the house.

Day 108



I got to leave school early today, so Aaron and I went to a soda shop in Stanton. We have been wanting to go for a while, but by the time I get off work and drive home the shop is closed. We also went into Stanton's museum. All of the artifacts were donated from people who live in Stanton.

Day 109



Craft day! I spent all day making a card for my grandma's 80th birthday. Well, most of it was spent looking up different cards to make. I also made flowers out of toilet paper rolls because nothing says classy like bathroom art.

Day 110



Meet our new home! Today was very exciting for us because FBC in Seagraves voted unanimously on Aaron being the new music minister. This is a new chapter in our lives and I am excited to see what new adventure awaits us.

Day 111



The other assistant was gone this morning, so I had to fill in for her in art. I ended up drawing a page full of robots. One robot is "Disciplinator." She has numerous arms and eyes all around her head and snakes on her head that stun children if they are too much out of line. Let's just say that I don't enjoy being around the general ed students in art.