It is officially summer in Midland. I know we're still in the winter season, but to us, it feels like the middle of summer (sorry to all of you in the midwest and up north-- I know you're summer is coming soon)! This past week, we had 5 days of temperatures in the upper 80's. It was hard to be inside all day, knowing that the beautiful weather was right outside. I was able to take some advantage of it during work, as I took some of my students out for a 2nd recess in the afternoon, and Phil was sometimes able to get out of the office to do an inspection or an escort. After work, I spent a couple days sitting at the pool, reading (one of my students loves the Twilight series, so I have been roped in and have started the first book). On Tuesday afternoon, we packed dinner and headed to the local elementary school to have a picnic and play on the playground. I still am in amazement at how quickly it can go from the high 80's to the low 60's in just a few hours (that's life in a desert)! Today, a 'cold spell' is coming through for the weekend, and temperatures are only supposed to be in the mid-50's.
Other than loving the weather, life has been pretty laid back for us. Last week was a time for us to catch up on errands and housework, so there was nothing major to report. We had one of Phil's co-workers come over last Sunday to watch the Oscar's, and I think all of us are ready to see Slumdog Millionaire. The day before the Oscar's, Phil and I went to see a movie, but we were in the mood for an action thriller, so we saw 'Taken' (decent movie, especially if you like the James Bond movies).
Phil's job continues to keep him busy, with staff evaluations taking place right now, as well as the continued process of hiring a new agent. And last week, he even got to do paperwork and deal with a small plane crash (no one was hurt and there wasn't a lot of damage done). He's really liked working the day shift this month (and I have loved having him home for dinner!), but it's back to shift change next weekend.
Like the students, I am happily counting down the days until Spring Break-- only 2 more weeks :) I think the whole school is ready for a break (we haven't had a day off since January 19-- gasp, I know!), so the kids are getting anxious for the whole week with no school. Thankfully, my training helps me keep my balance and is a great outlet to burn off steam from the day. A round of sickness is once again present in our classroom, so pray that I, and Phil, continue to stay healthy!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Our first Valentine's
Phil and I have had a pretty exciting week as we were able to get out of Midland, go camping, celebrate our first Valentine's Day as a married couple, deal with computer problems and continue with life in general! Whew-- since when did becoming an adult get busy?!?Last weekend, Phil and I headed to Carlsbad, NM to visit the Carlsbad Caverns and go camping. I took the day off of work on Friday, and we left Midland around 8am. We drove to Carlsbad, stopped for lunch and then headed to the caverns. It was extremely interesting to see all the formations below ground and we highly recommend that everyone goes. We did the self-guided tour, which was about 3 miles of walking and took us about 2 hours to complete the tour. Unfortunately, we didn't get very good pictures, but we tried to capture a few of the things that we did see.
After walking around and seeing all that we could, we drove about 30 minutes and arrived in White's City, TX. We got there just in time to set up camp, go for about a 3 mile hike and watch the sun start to set. After our hike, it was a quick dinner of sandwiches (no campfires were allowed in the park) and then the rest of the evening was in the tent, snuggled under a blanket and eating a dessert of GORP/trail mix (which we lived off of for most of the weekend. Side note, Phil and I decided that GORP must become a staple in our pantry)! Both of us were pretty exhausted from the day, so we both were asleep pretty early.
The next morning, Phil and I were brutally awakened by the cold (our bodies were fine, but our heads were freezing!), so after a few minutes of staying in our sleeping bags deciding what to do, we agreed to get going with our day and set out for our hike. Since neither of us has been up in altitude for some time, the hike up the mountain was a rude awakening for us. But, we managed (with the help of yummy gorp) and I think we did pretty well :) The best part of the whole experience however, was seeing little (and we mean little) patches of snow! We almost didn't know what it was, but after getting over our giggles and smiles, we of course had to take some pictures (you would think that it's been years since we last saw snow)!
About 4 hours later, we had had enough, so we packed up camp and headed home. Both of us agree that we need to get out more often and see all the sites of Texas (because, as we're told, there are some great places to camp and some beautiful things to see), so I guess we'll be having some more adventures in the up and coming months.
When we got home, we began to get settled into our everyday life, only to find that our computer didn't work. (You can tell that we're from a generation that loves technology-- well, I guess I am more addicted than Phil, but we both enjoy our 'toys'). Phil tried to work on it for an hour or so, but decided it was best to call tech support the next day. Long story short, the computer company had no idea what they were talking about and Phil's original theory of what was wrong was the correct problem. Thankfull, it was an easy fix and all is well (however, we did take that as a warning sign and Phil proceeded to back up all of our files. I married such a great guy)!
As for other news from Texas, we continue to stay busy with the everyday activities. Phil is busy at work preparing for upcoming interviews with potential agents and I am consistently having adventure-filled days full of the entire emotional spectrum. I am now at 10 weeks until my race, so pray that my body continues to deal with the training as well as it has thus far!
Hope everyone is having a fantastic week and God Bless!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Short and Sweet
I know I just wrote earlier today, but this is news of celebration and excitement:
It is raining in Midland, TX! While most of you don't think that this is news, Phil and I just spent some time outside just breathing in the smell and listening to the patter of raindrops.
It is these small things in life that make it worth living!
It is raining in Midland, TX! While most of you don't think that this is news, Phil and I just spent some time outside just breathing in the smell and listening to the patter of raindrops.
It is these small things in life that make it worth living!
February
I'm a little boring today, thus the reason of the generic title of the blog :)
But, I guess it's okay for life to be a little on the slow side for the moment. It really gives Phil and I a chance to have fun together and take joys in the small things of life.
The new bible study we've joined is great and we've been able to do some activities with a few people from class. It's such a blessing to find this group and I am so, so happy that I now have girls my age to go and do 'girly' things with (not that I don't enjoy Phil's company, but I know he's really not dying at the chance to take me to all the wonderful 'chick-flick' movies that are out right now)!
Phil and I will finally be able to spend some time together, as he went on a shift change at work for this month. So, at least for the next three weeks, we'll be working the same hours. It will be great to finally have some dinner company, and someone to help with the cooking/cleaning :) Although I'm not ready for him to make fun of me going to be at 9pm (at least when he's working late, I don't feel guilty about going to bed so early)! I keep telling him that if he's getting up at 5:15am to work out, he'd be going to bed pretty early.
We've had some great weather the past week and I gladly took advantage of it during my training this week. I officially registered, so on April 26, I will be completing my first Olympic distance triathlon. I have a training schedule that I'm using, so hopefully my body won't go into too much shock during the race. Phil and I will be joining a cycling club on Wednesday nights, so it will be fun to have a training buddy for my biking days.
Much love to all of you!
But, I guess it's okay for life to be a little on the slow side for the moment. It really gives Phil and I a chance to have fun together and take joys in the small things of life.
The new bible study we've joined is great and we've been able to do some activities with a few people from class. It's such a blessing to find this group and I am so, so happy that I now have girls my age to go and do 'girly' things with (not that I don't enjoy Phil's company, but I know he's really not dying at the chance to take me to all the wonderful 'chick-flick' movies that are out right now)!
Phil and I will finally be able to spend some time together, as he went on a shift change at work for this month. So, at least for the next three weeks, we'll be working the same hours. It will be great to finally have some dinner company, and someone to help with the cooking/cleaning :) Although I'm not ready for him to make fun of me going to be at 9pm (at least when he's working late, I don't feel guilty about going to bed so early)! I keep telling him that if he's getting up at 5:15am to work out, he'd be going to bed pretty early.
We've had some great weather the past week and I gladly took advantage of it during my training this week. I officially registered, so on April 26, I will be completing my first Olympic distance triathlon. I have a training schedule that I'm using, so hopefully my body won't go into too much shock during the race. Phil and I will be joining a cycling club on Wednesday nights, so it will be fun to have a training buddy for my biking days.
Much love to all of you!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
New Adventures
It really was a new world to us down here when we had a 'cold front/ice storm' roll through last week. Phil and I had a few good laughs as people down here literally had no idea what to do and then proceeded to freak out about the 'dangerous conditions.' I was even the lucky one that had a two-hour delay from school one morning. Oh well, everyone (including our cars) are safe :)
Another adventure for us is that we went to a Sunday school class designed for newlyweds. The class meets at one of the larger churches down here and it was recommended to us by one of the girls that I know. It was a lot of fun and there are about seven other couples in the class that are all going through the emotions/trials/experiences that we are going through in our first year of marriage. The class is only for couples that are engaged or have been married for less than a year, so it will be a lot of fun chatting with the other couples to see all the joys that they've had thus far in this crazy adventure! I even joined a few of them for a Super Bowl party (Phil unfortunately had to work), and I know that we'll be joining them for some more adventures :)
Everything else is moving along pretty well. Phil actually has Valentine's Day off, so I think we're heading out of Midland to camp somewhere (I mean, we got all of this cool camping stuff for our wedding and it's about time we used it)! As long as a true freeze doesn't come through, we'll be camping out under the stars for our first Valentine's Day :)
Phil finally gets a shift change this month, so for at least the next three weeks, we'll be able to see each other in the afternoons and evenings! We've been talking about joining a cycling club and I am still working up the guts to do a couple of long-distance running races and triathlons. I know I've probably repeated this a dozen times, but things really are falling into place. Granted, we both miss our families, but at least for me, Midland isn't as horrible as I had made it out to be :)
Another adventure for us is that we went to a Sunday school class designed for newlyweds. The class meets at one of the larger churches down here and it was recommended to us by one of the girls that I know. It was a lot of fun and there are about seven other couples in the class that are all going through the emotions/trials/experiences that we are going through in our first year of marriage. The class is only for couples that are engaged or have been married for less than a year, so it will be a lot of fun chatting with the other couples to see all the joys that they've had thus far in this crazy adventure! I even joined a few of them for a Super Bowl party (Phil unfortunately had to work), and I know that we'll be joining them for some more adventures :)
Everything else is moving along pretty well. Phil actually has Valentine's Day off, so I think we're heading out of Midland to camp somewhere (I mean, we got all of this cool camping stuff for our wedding and it's about time we used it)! As long as a true freeze doesn't come through, we'll be camping out under the stars for our first Valentine's Day :)
Phil finally gets a shift change this month, so for at least the next three weeks, we'll be able to see each other in the afternoons and evenings! We've been talking about joining a cycling club and I am still working up the guts to do a couple of long-distance running races and triathlons. I know I've probably repeated this a dozen times, but things really are falling into place. Granted, we both miss our families, but at least for me, Midland isn't as horrible as I had made it out to be :)
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Hail to the chief!
That was the buzz in Midland this week! Tuesday afternoon, former President Bush flew into Midland to say a few words at his celebration event. He came with a whole plane full of people (including his wife and his parents), so from a very far distance away, we were not really able to see George W. Bush and then from an even further away point, we could see George H.W. and Barbara getting into their charter plane to fly home. They had about 20,000 people in downtown Midland, so since there was so much traffic expected, I was the lucky one that got an early release from school! Phil and I headed to the airport to watch the plane land, along with his co-workers and some of their families. This time, I was able to go out with Phil to get a closer look at the plane (in October, I stayed in the 
office). Wow! I knew it was big, but it really is huge.
office). Wow! I knew it was big, but it really is huge. After spending a few hours at the airport, Phil and I met up with his Uncle Lyle and Aunt Lorna, as they were in town for the night. They had been travelling through Texas and came to Midland to see us, as well as see the celebration for former President Bush.
That was the biggest news for us this past week. Phil and I have been enjoying a couple days of gorgeous weather (I guess all days here are nice, but these days were exceptionally nice). We were able to go out on our bikes after work the other day and then since he's been working the evening shift, I spent some afternoons running and working up my endurance for triathlon season.
I am still healthy (knock on wood), but I think this next week will tell if I am truly immune to my students. We had a few of them out sick this week, so the bug is just floating around our classroom, waiting to catch someone (hopefully not me)!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
January
Can you believe we are already half way through January?!? Things here are flying by and it's only a matter of time before we are experiencing temperatures in the 70's... oh wait, we're almost hitting that already. Earlier in the week, I was all smiles as we finally had a few 'cold' days of temperatures in the upper 30's. Now, we're expecting mid to high 60's from here on out, and it's only going to get warmer. So, all of you need to schedule your vacations and head down to the tropics of Midland!
As for other news, not a lot has happened. We did add a new member to our family with the purchase of a new plant (okay, not really a huge addition, but it's new to our little house). It's a euphorbia dwarf apache red (I call it our cute little pink cactus plant). Basically, it's a plant that I can't kill :) I went to the greenhouse in search of something 'a little Texan,' and when I told the guy that I had a black thumb (instead of a green thumb), he suggested this plant. Of course, I have done nothing to it and let Phil do the work of watering and pruning it! It pays to marry the son of a farmer :)
School started two weeks ago, and thankfully (knock on wood), I have not caught any more viruses. It's been a hectic few days, but this week will be a 4 day week, as the kids have tomorrow off. Then Tuesday, we have an early release since President Bush will be flying in after the inauguration. So, this week should go by quickly. But then it's all 5-day weeks until spring break in March (goodness, what will I do when I have to have a real job with 5-day work weeks and no breaks during summer or winter?!?) I've been staying busy with morning exercise classes at the YMCA. I love the variety of the group classes and I have fallen in love with the Zumba class. It's an hour long aerobic class with a lot of latina-style dancing and moves (basically, we shake our hips a lot and dance to salsa-like music). There are about 50-60 women in the class and it's a lot of fun. Other mornings, I am doing spin classes, Body Pump (strength training) and random cardio sessions. This is all preparation for the Olympic distance triathlon that I am planning on doing in April. Goodness gracious!
Phil has been busy at work planning for President Bush's arrival (which means talking to Secret Service and increasing security), as well as planning for their yearly disaster drill (coming up in June). The disaster drill requires a lot of preparation, which involves the majority of the City operations, so a lot of thought has to go into it. When he's home, he spends his spare time playing his new video games and watching the football play-offs.
We were both very excited last weekend when we were able to see the UND vs. UofM hockey games. A co-worker of Phil's also went to UND and is a huge hockey fan, so he ordered the games on his TV and we went over to watch UND cream the U (sorry Minnesota fans)! We both realized how much we miss good hockey, so I think when it comes time to move, that may have some ranking in our options!
As for other news, not a lot has happened. We did add a new member to our family with the purchase of a new plant (okay, not really a huge addition, but it's new to our little house). It's a euphorbia dwarf apache red (I call it our cute little pink cactus plant). Basically, it's a plant that I can't kill :) I went to the greenhouse in search of something 'a little Texan,' and when I told the guy that I had a black thumb (instead of a green thumb), he suggested this plant. Of course, I have done nothing to it and let Phil do the work of watering and pruning it! It pays to marry the son of a farmer :)
School started two weeks ago, and thankfully (knock on wood), I have not caught any more viruses. It's been a hectic few days, but this week will be a 4 day week, as the kids have tomorrow off. Then Tuesday, we have an early release since President Bush will be flying in after the inauguration. So, this week should go by quickly. But then it's all 5-day weeks until spring break in March (goodness, what will I do when I have to have a real job with 5-day work weeks and no breaks during summer or winter?!?) I've been staying busy with morning exercise classes at the YMCA. I love the variety of the group classes and I have fallen in love with the Zumba class. It's an hour long aerobic class with a lot of latina-style dancing and moves (basically, we shake our hips a lot and dance to salsa-like music). There are about 50-60 women in the class and it's a lot of fun. Other mornings, I am doing spin classes, Body Pump (strength training) and random cardio sessions. This is all preparation for the Olympic distance triathlon that I am planning on doing in April. Goodness gracious!
Phil has been busy at work planning for President Bush's arrival (which means talking to Secret Service and increasing security), as well as planning for their yearly disaster drill (coming up in June). The disaster drill requires a lot of preparation, which involves the majority of the City operations, so a lot of thought has to go into it. When he's home, he spends his spare time playing his new video games and watching the football play-offs.
We were both very excited last weekend when we were able to see the UND vs. UofM hockey games. A co-worker of Phil's also went to UND and is a huge hockey fan, so he ordered the games on his TV and we went over to watch UND cream the U (sorry Minnesota fans)! We both realized how much we miss good hockey, so I think when it comes time to move, that may have some ranking in our options!
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