I did it!

I got on a my bike and pedaled properly. I think it counts for riding a bike! I'm looking forward to more bike riding practice. Ian said to me a couple of days ago that once you "get it" you don't think about balancing anymore and I think he's right. For the few seconds I was actually riding, I didn't have to worry about balancing because I was just riding. WOOT! I know this is strange coming from a 38 yr old, but my parents never taught me how to ride.  They were always too busy with work and church. :( Anyway.... I think I'm getting the hang of it!!!

I took a two hour nap after my shower and it felt great. I was tempted to stay awake and read, but I made myself take a nap because I haven't been getting enough sleep the past few days. 

When I woke up, Ian still wasn't hungry.  One of my concerns about being married was that Ian prefers home cooked meals to restaurant meals. I wasn't too confident about my cooking skills, but I knew I could follow a recipe.  After two months of cooking almost every day, I'm quite at ease with the routine.  I actually enjoy cooking and when we have gone out to eat, I feel a little guilty. The problem I now face is deciding what to make.  I just need to print out some recipes and shop for the ingredients. If I have a recipe and ingredients, I think I'll be able to make any meal!

So, tonight, hoping to ease the burden of deciding what to cook, I asked Ian what he would like to eat. He opted for leftovers. We had leftovers from three different meals I've made in the past few days. That was easy!

Tomorrow we have a busy day.  Work in the morning, Ian's driving test in the afternoon, and Anne is coming over for dinner and a movie in the evening. We're ordering pizza and I'm making a salad. :)

Have I worked on Kayla's song? Not really. Sad face. But, I did look up something called fruity loops for putting a track together.

I'm still reading THE HOBBIT.  I need to start reading up for my Mexican Moses stories.

Summer Days

Can I say I absolutely love my life? I absolutely effing love my life!  Do you ever get an idea of what you would like your life to be? I am so close to that idea in my head!

I woke up close to 5am and since I had already done the ironing, I was able to ... geez... I don't remember what I did, but it involved domestic things like washing and tidying and getting dressed. I popped generic eggos into the toaster for Ian and myself (which I think counts as making breakfast for my husband!) and off to work we went.

I don't like that we've practically run out of time. The ELDA program is only six weeks long and we are on week four. We've been reading a book called EVERLOST and the play based on THE OUTSIDERS by S.E. Hinton.  Two positive things have happened. I feel like I and we (teachers and tutors) have built a good rapport with the students in such a short time, and I think students are starting to appreciate reading!

Oh, I almost forgot -- I put some chicken in the slow cooker before we left, so we had a meal waiting for us! Am I am awesome wife or what?

We planned to go for a bike ride when we got home, but the oval pseudo-track was being worked on so Ian went down the street a bit and I practiced balancing on the bike.

Ian's bike got a flat from a thorn so we'll have to purchase a repair kit.

Kayla's quinceanera is coming up on July 9th. I've been asked to write a song for that, but I must admit I've been procrastinating a bit.

SO far these are a few ideas I've been throwing around

"At the threshold of the rest of your life
Come sit down listen up don't you strife
I'm gonna tell you all the secrets of the world
So you'll know what to do
So that you will be  bold"

and...

"Your cheeks turn pink as the boy you like turns your way"

and...

"ADVICE TO A SHY GIRL: speak up, don't be afraid"

and...
"Princess in purple
you capture my heart
the flowers adorn you..."

All a bit rubbish, but at least I've gotten some idea down.

One melody I'm playing with is C-A-BFLAT-C-C-D-C-A-G-F-G-F-D

Who knows ... *sigh*

I brought my keyboard home yesterday so that I can work on the song, and Ian will be helping me find some software so that I can lay down some beats.  Fingers crossed I have something decent by July 9th.

I was also asked to be madrina of the True Love Waits ring. I looked online in hopes of ordering one and then remembered I have that premium membership on amazon.com. I spent about an hour looking and deliberating and then Ian suggested I look for it in a local shop, so I'm going to the local Christian Book Shop tomorrow and maybe I'll find a pretty one.

Ian started reading THE HOBBIT and said it's quite good and asked why I had two copies, so I said I'd read it too so we could discuss it. I'm on page 23. So far I like it!

We watched two episodes of VEEP while we had our dinner (Italian herb chicken ... slow cooker meal I mentioned earlier) Both the meal and the entertainment were delightful.

Okay... better sign off now. I am quite pleased I've blogged two days in a row. I may yet get those business cards that say TEACHER-AUTHOR-BLOGGER :D

I'm back! maybe :/

What has happened since my last post?

I am the worst blogger on the planet. I tried to start a few other private blogs as diaries, but I didn't keep with those either. Can I just defend myself by saying I've had a very busy year?

The most unfortunate part is that I had many interesting things to blog about, and now that my life is a bit calmer (I don't want to say boring) I may not blog about terribly interesting things. Never mind.

Phil, one of my professors, said that writers write every day.  I have been sorely lacking in this area. Enough excuses. Let me get on with this post.

So, last time I posted I was about to start my Italian adventure.  I was in Florence, Italy for three weeks. I lived with three art students and of course there was drama in the apartment. Nothing too major thankfully. I took full advantage of my three weeks and visited several Italian cities. You can see pictures of my adventures on my  facebook .

After my three week stint in Italy, I returned to England to be with Ian, and we got engaged in July. :D

I returned to the U.S.A. to attend the AP Institute, but found out I was wait listed. No AP Institute for me! I'm hoping I get to go this year.

An embarrassing confession: I quit my ABYDOS training. I just wasn't disciplined enough to keep up with the readings. I regret it because I did want to have the knowledge, but I must admit that I did not want to be a trainer.

I did get to teach AP Language and Composition this past school year. If I get to teach this course again next year, I want to be stricter and plan better lessons. I'm excited about the new school year. I hope I stay motivated and reach my personal goals in relation to teaching.

Ian visited for four weeks in December, but sadly, he was the victim of theft upon his return to England.  I'm so proud of how well he recovered from this tragedy as the thieves took much of his livelihood. I am so grateful to his sister Linda who invited him to stay in their home for the few months before his return to the U.S.

In March, my first book was released.

You can get your copy here.

Ian returned to the U.S. on April 12th and we were married on April 20th at Casa Mariposa .

In preparation for the wedding, I discovered ZUMBA. I love it! Unfortunately the gym is a 40 min drive away and I've discovered I'm only getting 15 to 17 miles a gallon. Apparently, that is very bad. I'm thinking about cancelling my membership with UFC. I was already unhappy with them because they reduced the number of zumba classes available and sometimes even cancelled at the last minute. BIG BOO! It's okay because Ian and I have been going to Freedom Fitness twice a week. We took my bike out today and although I wasn't actually able to ride properly, I have hope I will be riding in a few weeks. 

Ian and I have taken a couple of weekend trips. One to San Antonio for my nephew's college graduation and one to Corpus Christi for my sister's 25th wedding anniversary. We did the touristy things during both weekends. As always, I had a blast with Ian.

I'm currently working for the English Language Development Academy (ELDA). I'm having a good time because I only work 24 hrs a week and have 3 day weekends. Ian is interning/volunteering with the IT department at the school district. We signed up for Rosetta Stone through the school district. He's learning Spanish and I'm learning French. Woot!

I want to start working on my next novel soon (hence this blog as well).  I've decided to develop my "Mexican Moses" story.  I have a few ideas.  I'm also going to change that title as soon as I can think of a better one.

It feels good to be back. :)