Sitting in the quiet, enjoying the peace

Although I live alone, there doesn't seem like there are a lot of times that I just enjoy the peace and quiet of my house in the morning. Perhaps it's because so often I'm getting ready for work or to go somewhere. It's so peaceful here this morning, just like a Sunday morning should be.
The past couple of weeks have had a lot of ups and downs. Beth came to visit, Anthony moved, Maz and Seth left for the holidays, and work has been a new adventure everyday. Not to mention every other aspect of life. This past week seemed a little rougher than usual. I'm not sure totally why but it was. A lot of long days. The upside is that I spent some time with Bryan, who in an attempt to cheer me up after a really rough day on Monday gave me my Christmas present. I feel awful that I wasn't more excited about it on Monday but I just felt so emotionally drained that it was hard to do anything other than be blah and occasionally cry. Of course since then I have told him about a zillion times how much I've liked it. Every time I go into my garage I smile, I'm still so excited about it.
In other news we've had tons of snow. I'm not a huge fan of the shoveling part but I still enjoy the snow. I've lost track of how much snow has fallen.
Well I'm off to make breakfast and have a great day.

Happy Thanksgiving and other things

It's turkey day and I can say that my turkey is in the oven. I baked pecan pies last night along with a carrot cake. Today I need to finish cleaning, make mashed potatoes, stuffing, and green bean casserole. It will be a nice small gathering at my house. I'm excited for my first Thanksgiving in my house. I'm glad that Beth got to come up here to spend time. I'm thankful that Anthony, Mazio, and Seth are going to be here too. Sadly Bryan has to work. I'm not sure if anyone else is coming. I invited some people from church to come but we'll see if that happens. I'm not worried either way. I'm very thankful for my many blessings and for all the wonderful people in my life.
The weather has been a little weird this week. I woke up Monday to freezing rain and icy roads. School was still on, it was a scary drive to work. Beth flew in on Monday so thankfully Anthony went to get her. Monday night I got a phone call that school was canceled on Tuesday. I spent the day picking up and hanging out. I didn't really go anywhere. Tuesday afternoon I got a call that school had been called off for Wednesday too. 6 day weekend. The main roads were fine but the side streets were pretty icy. I wasn't quite as productive yesterday as I had been Thursday. I guess that's why there is this morning.
I have to admit that I miss my family and friends that aren't near me. I love all of you and wish you the best this holiday season. I'm very thankful for all of the wonderful people in my life. It's wonderful to have friends and family. I'm grateful for the wonderful people in my life here in Anchorage.
Sometimes life takes us down some interesting roads and sometimes we just have to sit back and enjoy the ride. Life isn't always easy but it's worth it. Just remember to take the bad in with the good. It makes us who we are. Live through the rough times and learn something and embrace all the good times and cherish them. Cherish the people who mean the most to you. Remember that you're not perfect and neither is anyone else. Forgive the mistakes and others short comings. Find peace in your soul. Love with all your heart. Be an example.
I may not be perfect but I try my best. I'm learning here too.

Happy Halloween

It's been a never ending amount of chaos it seems. Work has kept me crazy busy which is fine but it leaves me exhausted. I still have boxes to unpack among other things. I've been shooting fairly regularly. I'm getting pretty good. I've had more and more bull's eyes, both with my .44 and my 12 gauge. Anthony has challenged me to shoot at 50 yards with the shotgun. I'm doing pretty well. Yesterday I hit a bull's eye. I'm getting better. One of the guys at the gun range (Eric) is pretty good looking. What can I say.

I've been in my house about a month and in that time I've replaced the garbage disposal, the washer and dryer, and the dishwasher. Not really the cheapest things to replace but clean dishes and clean clothes are important. I've enjoyed my fireplace a lot.
I see a lot of Bryan and Anthony. I'm not complaining. They come over to do laundry, cook on the grill, and just hang out. I appreciate them keeping me company. I can't complain.
This morning I sewed pants and a hat for Bryan for his papa smurf costume. I also gave Anthony a mohawk. It's been a fun adventure. Bryan asked me if he can come over Wednesday to hem some pants. At least it's Wednesday and not Thursday. I have a meeting on Thursday.
This last week I had parent teacher conferences on Wednesday and Thursday. It made for long days. I survived and I saw about 100 parents. Not too bad.
In other news, life has been kinda weird but this isn't really the place for that. If you wanna know more or can give some good advice give me a call.

Happy October

I finally have internet in my house. The fall here has been pretty nice so far. I definitely missed the fall colors when I lived in Southeast. I'm slowly but surely getting unpacked. Friday we replaced the garbage disposal. Anthony put his finger through the trap under the sink, which was rusting out. Of course then we had to replace that too. Friday night I did a load of laundry to find that my dryer had seen better days. Saturday I went to Sears to look at a new one. I ended up buying a new washer and a new dryer. Now all I need is a new dishwasher and I know all my appliances will work well.
It's been interesting unpacking. I can't find the hardware to my futon. Angry face. That means I can't find one of my allen wrenches either. I ordered new futon hardware. I'm a little annoyed that it cost $20 for shipping. It's not like Alaska is a foreign country. Why does shipping have to be so much. Just put the stuff in a priority mail envelope. Oh well.
My parents got me a grill (and a table saw) for my birthday (which is in a couple days). So Saturday Anthony and I grilled steaks. Amazing!!
I have about 15 boxes still in my living room that need to be unpacked. Several of them though I think can go in the garage, because they are empty canning jars.
I believe that Anthony and Bryan are going with me somewhere for my birthday. I have no idea where we are going. I have birthday coupons to several places. I don't know what time Bryan gets off of work and Anthony gets off at 7pm. So we'll see what happens. I'd spend a quiet evening at home, but I was told I wasn't allowed to.
Anywho, it's that wonderful time where I finish getting ready for work.

I think I'm crazy

This week has been a little crazy. It seems that my run of one more thing with the bank finally ended (Wednesday). Then I was scheduled to close on Thursday. The bank was having telecommunication issues. Lame. Finally Friday I closed on my house. It seemed like that took forever. We closed a week late and it was a frustrating experience leading up to closing. I've been moving in this weekend. It took us a large part of yesterday and several hours today to get everything moved to the house. Now it's time to unpack. Yuck!! Why do I own so much stuff?
I've debating if I want a roommate. I'm not sure yet. I figure after I get settled I'll have a better handle on it. It's so weird having my own room (let alone my own house) after sleeping on a couch for months. I don't know what to do with myself. I currently don't have tv or internet in my house, but I'll get there (eventually). My tv and blueray player are still at Bryan and Anthony's apartment. It will be there for a little bit. I figure I can always go watch tv there and borrow their internet. Now I just need to finish unpacking, grocery shop, buy curtains, and get settled, on top of working my full time job. Joy. It'll be great.

Apparenlty I'm bad at keeping up at this

Happy Sunday Morning!!

Sorry it's been so long since I updated this. Here is the run down.

August 12th was the first day of inservice. The 18th was the first day with students. It's been a wild ride. I teach 5 periods of band. 3 of those are beginning band. There are times that it is less stressful than my last job. Probably a lot of times. It's been fun. There are times it is very trying but we are getting through it. Overall I'm enjoying it a lot.

I'm buying a house. That has been an insane process. I was supposed to sign on Thursday but there was some last thing that the bank needed, which seems to be the norm. Now it looks like I'm signing tomorrow. That means it gets recorded on Tuesday and I can officially move in. I'm excited. It will be great. I'm excited to be in my own place and paint and all the other things that go with it. It's an 1100 square foot house. 3 bedrooms, 2 bath.

I've done some work on both of the boys cars. We done spark plugs and wires on Anthony and Bryan's cars. I'm a little banged up and scraped up but that comes with the territory. I really have missed working on cars.

Life is good. I wish I had more exciting adventures but life has been a little stressful between the house and everything else. I can't complain though it's all looking good.

Where did the summer go

The bull moose I was calling.
My classroom.


Seriously where did the summer go. Registration is this week for school and teacher inservice starts next week. I have new teacher orientation (for 8 hours) on the 11th and then inservice the 12th through the 17th. First day with kids is the 18th. My schedule right now looks like I have 3 periods of beginning band, team time, prep, advanced band, and intermediate band. It should be fun. I need to finish up my project, finish organizing my classroom, and find a place to live. I should probably pick out band music too.
I'm still looking for a place to live. I've toyed with the idea of buying a house. I even got prequalified for a home loan. At times I think I'm a little nuts. Oh well.
Let's see what else is going on. Bryan got his car back from the mechanic. There are a few more things that need to be done to his car, like the suspension but the car works and that's what counts. He and I have both been driven a little crazy recently but I think that's what happens when you have 3 people in a 2 bedroom apartment. It's a long story and it's not really worth getting into.
I've spent some time in my classroom and that's been good. The other night I decided I hadn't been out moose watching in a while so I went and did that. I've started calling moose too. Anthony was too happy when the moose started walking towards the car. It wasn't so bad when it was a cow but he wasn't too happy with the idea when it was a full grown bull moose. It was hilarious. I'll admit, it's never a dull moment in my life. I wonder if I can call bear too. I doubt that I'm going to try it. I haven't seen any bear since I've been in town but I don't go looking for them either.
Last weekend I went and saw Everclear in concert. It was fun.
That might be all that I can think of right now. Well besides that all of Bryan's coworkers seem to have some opinion about the fact that he and I should be together. I just laugh. I find it funny that they all tell him. I stopped in to his work last night and one of the other customers teased him about me. I about died laughing. I find the whole thing amusing. A few of his coworkers want to hang out with me because they think I'm a good fit for him. It makes no sense to me but whatever. I'm just going to enjoy chuckling over the whole thing. I find it particularly funny that if I show up they all feel the need to tell him his girlfriend is there. Oh the things that amuse me.
Well I'm sure that's it.