It's November!
I have time to update today because we're off for Veteran's Day. So far today, I've slept in (8am is late for me); washed/dried/folded some laundry (we're on load three currently); run errands to Office Depot, BB&B, and Target; baked a cheesy bread and a pumpkin bread; and ate some cheesy bread and a baked potato. I also took some pictures of our apartment today, since we finally got our dining table, and am getting ready to send them to our parent.
So, our dining table from Crate & Barrel came! We were getting annoyed that they hadn't called, and when Mike called Saturday, they said it was there. We picked it up and bought some chairs on Sunday. It's been occupied for 36 hours by Mike doing a puzzle, but I ate lunch at it today and it was a very pleasant experience. :o)
As of my last entry, I was getting ready for Halloween! I ended up wearing my Dutch costume to school for two days and doing my Sleepy Hollow Halloween lesson for every class but 6th grade. Then, on Halloween, I handed out candy in Celebration, which was an experience. We live right downtown, but on the second floor, so I went down to the main avenue that we live on and handed out candy in front of one of the businesses. It was nice to meet some of our neighbors and to see all the kids in cute costumes. However, Halloween in Celebration is CRAZY. People come from all over the place because the neighborhood is safe, well-lit, and many streets are closed. Also, it has a reputation for being a "rich" area, so kids from all over the county come to get candy from "the rich people." So, I went through 16 bags of candy by 8:30 when I called it quits - people who live in houses in the main areas of town get upwards of 3,000 trick-or-treaters some years! While I appreciate that our community is a safe place for families to trick-or-treat, I don't appreciate the following things: parents who audibly complain that you didn't give their kid enough candy; adults without children going trick-or-treating; teenagers on bikes and roller blades who want handfuls of candy; etc. All in all, it was really fun, though.
School is very good. The third year really is the easiest; in fact, I would have almost no work if I wasn't teaching sixth grade for the first time. Cheerleading is what is really keeping me busy because it's football season. We have two games every week, and if there are home games then I am organizing and running the concession stand in addition to coaching. Just today I was out buying an electric kettle for hot chocolate, tongs for the grill, and a wooden spoon. We are looking to acquire a grill for our program so we can stop borrowing from parents and other staff members. So, that all keeps me pretty busy, and the candy cane sale is coming up in December, which is an even busier time! I'm looking forward to a quiet basketball season.
I'm eating some of the pumpkin bread that I baked an it is really good!
We're getting geared-up for Thanksgiving! We have a table (finally) and the menu is all set. I'm going to buy some Thanksgiving items when I grocery shop this week. We also bought a bottle of wine just for Thanksgiving at Epcot Food & Wine Festival last Sunday. Also, I just found out that we don't, in fact, have to make up the day we were off for the hurricane, so we actually get the whole week of Thanksgiving off!
If you're one of my parents and you're reading this, I'm buying plane tickets this week to come home for Christmas. I'm going to try flying to/from Lansing and/or Kalamazoo, but I make no guarantees!
So, our dining table from Crate & Barrel came! We were getting annoyed that they hadn't called, and when Mike called Saturday, they said it was there. We picked it up and bought some chairs on Sunday. It's been occupied for 36 hours by Mike doing a puzzle, but I ate lunch at it today and it was a very pleasant experience. :o)
As of my last entry, I was getting ready for Halloween! I ended up wearing my Dutch costume to school for two days and doing my Sleepy Hollow Halloween lesson for every class but 6th grade. Then, on Halloween, I handed out candy in Celebration, which was an experience. We live right downtown, but on the second floor, so I went down to the main avenue that we live on and handed out candy in front of one of the businesses. It was nice to meet some of our neighbors and to see all the kids in cute costumes. However, Halloween in Celebration is CRAZY. People come from all over the place because the neighborhood is safe, well-lit, and many streets are closed. Also, it has a reputation for being a "rich" area, so kids from all over the county come to get candy from "the rich people." So, I went through 16 bags of candy by 8:30 when I called it quits - people who live in houses in the main areas of town get upwards of 3,000 trick-or-treaters some years! While I appreciate that our community is a safe place for families to trick-or-treat, I don't appreciate the following things: parents who audibly complain that you didn't give their kid enough candy; adults without children going trick-or-treating; teenagers on bikes and roller blades who want handfuls of candy; etc. All in all, it was really fun, though.
School is very good. The third year really is the easiest; in fact, I would have almost no work if I wasn't teaching sixth grade for the first time. Cheerleading is what is really keeping me busy because it's football season. We have two games every week, and if there are home games then I am organizing and running the concession stand in addition to coaching. Just today I was out buying an electric kettle for hot chocolate, tongs for the grill, and a wooden spoon. We are looking to acquire a grill for our program so we can stop borrowing from parents and other staff members. So, that all keeps me pretty busy, and the candy cane sale is coming up in December, which is an even busier time! I'm looking forward to a quiet basketball season.
I'm eating some of the pumpkin bread that I baked an it is really good!
We're getting geared-up for Thanksgiving! We have a table (finally) and the menu is all set. I'm going to buy some Thanksgiving items when I grocery shop this week. We also bought a bottle of wine just for Thanksgiving at Epcot Food & Wine Festival last Sunday. Also, I just found out that we don't, in fact, have to make up the day we were off for the hurricane, so we actually get the whole week of Thanksgiving off!
If you're one of my parents and you're reading this, I'm buying plane tickets this week to come home for Christmas. I'm going to try flying to/from Lansing and/or Kalamazoo, but I make no guarantees!