Pre-Christmas presents! PART ONE

I did it!  I reached out into that large blogosphere and made some friends!   

After reading Sarahs post, i decided it was time to get into some swapping fun..  I participated in these girls  GET YOUR SCARF ON  swap!

So thanks to these  girls  I met a new blogging friend!   It is my goal to get over to her site and hang out over there!  So thanks Nilsa for my beautiful scarf!

And so i took photos of me and my new scarf!  and naturally this turned into a photo shoot.

Whats that Kevin Charette?  why yes, it is new &

 it is G-orgeous!   (BTW, so sorry you got bumped from top billing when alissa carlson moved to town.....  its only because she's a real meteorologist...)

SORRY  i have a tendency to think my local newscasters are part of my day to day life.

And finally my best blue steel impersonation.....   

PS  -  I'm wearing glasses because with no sub job today comes sleeping in... also comes with laziness...  to which I thought... lets take a day off of poking my eyeballs.  

Thanks again nilsa, you rock!!!!

5 words.

I am SOOO over homework.

I LOVE Christmas.  Its my fav holiday.  Not because of all the hype, but because of ( i know i sound corny) all the Holiday Cheer.    Nerd Alert.

So i love setting up all our Christmas decor.  Which is minimal.. because living in a one bedroom apartment means ZERO storage, meaning I have one tub of of decor and one tub for ornaments.  

This year, Tad convinced me to get a fake tree at the end of the last Christmas season (who can deny a sale, am i right?)

and we put it up.  

(ENTER PHOTO HERE... BUT I CAN"T  because all x-mas tree photos look just odd) 

it doesn't look BAD... but it doesn't smell like Christmas, so I went and bought a candle.  Mmmm...   now its Christmas.

Thanksgiving in Oregan

So I know that its been a WHOLE week since we had Thanksgiving... and really, I WAS planning on writing this up , but the hoopla over from monday's post just pushed it off....

Last Thurs. was Thanksgiving, and Tad & I drove with his parents to visit his Grandparents, nan & pop  (we were never a nickname your grandparents family... just grandma bernal and grandma solis).  It was a 9-10 hour drive that we did ALL AT ONCE.  Talk about fall asleep in the car and wake up with a the worst neck/back crick.

I think I can sum up our trip with a list of pros/cons to Oregon.

Benefits to Visiting Oregon: 

+ The weather. I love the cold foggy weather and

 snow on the ground.... ahhhh.... 

+ The Sales Tax.   CUZ THERE IS NONE!

+ The Clean Air (not to be found in bako)

+ If your going to shop the day after thanksgiving, do it in a teeny Oregon town.  

     The Mall in town felt like our Target on a Sat.  I didn't even have to wait in line.

Downfalls to visiting Oregon (and there's really only one):

- You have the propensity to get hit in the face with snowballs.  

I'm talking like hit right behind the glasses stick in your nose kinda hit.   by your loving husband.   If we would have had a video you would have seen me crying ralphie style.

***EDIT*** My husband would like you to know  that, at the time, snow had transformed him into a little boy... and that the act in question was not on purpose and he felt really bad afterwards.

In your face State of California!

 Remember way back when I wanted to rip my hair ouT?  When I could see NO end to the hoops that I had to jump to get a teaching job.   I mean I lost my job this year because i wasn;t highly qualified because the state changed the rules ...

So i HAD to pass these stupid tests.... these very scary, terrifying, all-encompassing agony.

After I wrote that post, i took off to my testing facility... l i left my test with the feeling...  meh.   like maybe I matched my score last time 15 pts for passing.   no better.... no worse.

I didn't even apply for student teaching last week because  I was about 87% sure I didn't pass.  I was so meh that I didn't even know results were coming out this morning.   So imagine my surprise -  not out of joy - that my Unofficial results were in.

And there in my mail box... was an email letting me know....   I HAD PASSED!!!!!

I AM HIGHLY QUALIFIED!!!!!  I can teach math!!  I can.. well... thats about it.      BOTH tests are behind me (unless i wanna teach calc.... which i don't)  So now i gotta get on filling out student teaching apps.