New Things

I love new things. Who doesn't? New clothes. New home decor. New foods. New adventures. New locations. Just about new anything. And this weekend was full of new things!

1. New Stove. I've noticed that the last several weeks, it has taken me at least twice as long to bake anything in our oven. So, when Matt's parents came down this weekend, they brought along a oven thermometer to help us figure out if was me or really was the heating element in the oven. Thankfully, I can officially blame the oven! Thus, Matt and I started looking for a decently priced, yet nice stove top/oven. Went to like 10 stores, but found one at Best Buy in the dent and ding section - and got it for like 55% off the normal price - because it had 2 dents on the sides of it which you can't see once installed. Isn't it beautiful? I'm using it right now for the first time...hope my cupcakes turn out well! (because I certainly can't blame the broken appliance anymore...)

2. New Yard. Well, kinda. With the in-laws help this weekend, we (ok, the men) dug up, moved and re-planted bushes all over our yard. The people who owned this house before us, I'm almost sure, were on crack when they landscaped. Random plants in the most random places. We are trying to fix that. We also re-mulched and are waiting to plant colorful flowers until it gets a little warmer and Texas decides to stick to a season.
3. New Glasses. I've secretly always wanted glasses. It's shameful to all you who have worn them your whole life, I know. I apologize. But when I went to the eye doctor for the first time over Christmas, he gave me a prescription (a very low one - like I can barely tell a difference between when I'm wearing them and when I'm not) for glasses because I'm beginning to have to squint at night to see signs. Probably my first sign of old age. Here is a cheesy picture of me showcasing my new glasses. :) Matt says I look smarter and sophisticated. Don't really know what that means about how I look without them...
4. New Niece/Nephew! That's right, ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to be an Aunt Laura! My sister Amy and her new husband, Matt are due in the fall. It's an eventful year that just just doesn't end...come October there will be a little Zimmermann. Crazy! I need more time to adjust to all the new men in the family running around, much less new babies running around! But I'm really looking forward to it and excited for them!
Yep, all new things in the last 3 days. Good thing I appreciate new things! :)

February 14th

Valentine's Day. Hated by some. Loved by others. I've been in both camps at different times in my life. I wish I could say I was one of those content single girls who just loved all the red and pink and flowers and candy that I was just not getting...but I won't lie to you. It wasn't my favorite day of the year. I mean it didn't make me cry myself to sleep, I was just ready for the "single's awareness" day to be over.

Last year was the first year I ever had an official "valentine" - and now he's my husband! And sadly, as monumental as that day maybe should have been for me at the age of 25...I cannot remember for the life of me what we did! So obviously, it wasn't a life changing day for me. :)

But this year, I do have to say that my husband did a wonderful job celebrating a Hallmark-created holiday with me! Maybe it's the sweetness that it's just a special day set aside to celebrate the love that God has given me that I get to spend the rest of my life with. But I can say I thoroughly enjoyed it!

First, Matt came home on Thursday and said he felt led to use Valentine's Day to share Christ with his co-workers. So we trekked to Walmart and purchased these really cute boxes, filled them with candy and wrote Scripture about God's love on there. Needless to say, I got all the credit from his co-workers because few guys would probably think of doing something like that. Yet another reason why I love him. :)

Matt also had flowers delivered to me at the house. I was actually gone when they arrived, so he had to slyly get me to the front porch when he got home from work so I'd see them. But they are beautiful and still in bloom today!
Then on Saturday, I had been dying to see the movie 'Valentine's Day' (it was only okay, as I think I had too high expectations, but the soundtrack is pretty good) so we went to the movies and went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse (thank you Christmas gift cards for both! It was a pretty cheap date if I do say so myself.)

On Sunday, we went to church and relaxed at home for a while before Matt began our events for the day. A few months after we got married I made a list of things I wanted to do before our one year anniversary...many of which we haven't been able to mark off the list quite yet and we are running out of time (it's already been almost 8 months!).

Anyways, one of the items was to have Matt teach me how to play tennis. I've tried before, but I'm just bad at it. So he went and bought me a tennis racquet and we headed to our neighborhood courts - and it was a beautiful day for it! I have to say I think I improved...but will still need some more work, since I lost our game and owe Matt and back massage now. :(

Then he grilled out some BBQ chicken and veggies for dinner. It was delicious and we delighted our sweet tooth with our favorite dessert - strawberry shortcake. YUM! Plus, we used our fine china for the first time...ever. Hand wash only dishes definitely are only for special occasions! And sat at our dining room table for the second time...ever. Sad, I know. But isn't it pretty? :)

Another item on our "list" was to watch a classic movie. Matt rented:
Ok...so I think it was made in the late 80's...so probably should not exactly be labeled "classic"...but neither of us really enjoyed the movie - it was kinda boring - SO we turned it off... I think we might need to re-do that item on the list before we can check it off.

But overall, it was a fabulous day(s). Mostly because I just love my husband and I got the WHOLE weekend with him! Good thing we don't need an official holiday to enjoy each other's company. But I don't mind it either. :)

Substituting

I remember in the day (ahem, Bryan ISD back in college) when there were enough sub jobs to go around. This was a time before a husband had to wake up at 3:30 in the morning to get his wife a job for the following morning so she doesn't have to spend hours clicking "refresh" on the web browser hoping for a job to pop up just to get gone 3 seconds later due to someone else's faster fingers (not frustrating at all!...). This is an era also when it obviously doesn't matter what school or age or subject you get...you just take it. Such is life for me now. I've learned that it's just one day. I can do anything for one day. Whether that's teaching a bilingual class, special ed, or band (yes, I've experienced all of them in the last week), I'm thankful for the opportunity and I get to go home at the end of each day.

I'm not going to lie, substituting is pretty great. Not something I can make a career out of, but for now it's perfect. I haven't decided which grade level I like best (not that it really matters, because I'll take any job that comes along). There are pros and cons for each. High school you get the attitude. Junior high you get the obnoxious I'm-hormonal-and-think-it's-cool-to-act-like-I'm-in-2nd-grade behavior. And in elementary you've got to take bathroom breaks (when you never get one yourself) and if you have a hard class - you got to keep them the whole day!

But I've gotten some fun comments...
"you're pretty, most of our subs are not good looking at all..."
"you're nice" (aka - my normal teacher is mean)
"our teacher always lets us do this!" (when referring to helping each other on a test...riight)
"aw, she's so cute" (and over a decade older than you...thank you)
"workbook? what's that?" (um, the thing that you've used everyday for the last 6 months while in this class!)

What's funny is that students still think that they can get away with anything with a sub. I mean they don't sit in their assigned seats and then seemed shocked when I'm able to look at the seating chart and confirm that no, not all you chatty girls with big earrings and too much make-up actually sit together everyday. Or trying to smoothly pass notes by stretching theirs arms really far and thinking I don't see that piece of paper fly from their hand. Or looking at their neighbors paper on a test and when getting caught acting like they found something on the floor suspiciously close to the answers they were trying to get a glance at. Or one friend asking to go to the bathroom and 1 minute later another friend asking to go, thinking I wouldn't remember. It's quite humorous actually. Maybe because 75% of the subs that I've met are over the age of 65, they can usually can get away with it. But not me. You might be a foot taller than me and a heck of a lot louder, but not today. Sorry to bust your bubble. :)

I've always said that life is about experiences...:)