kmkillian

Thanksgiving without Family

Sun, 26 Nov 2006 18:05:04 GMT

Because we went to Los Cabos, Mexico last week for a 5-day vacation (which we'll post about later), we decided it would be best to stay in San Diego for Thanksgiving. This is the first time we haven't been with family. We were a little nervous we were going to end up all by ourselves. We had asked a bunch of people if they wanted to come over, but everyone already had plans. So, the Sunday before we left, we were asking people at church to come over and the pianist from the choir (Dan) invited us over instead. It was the first invitation we had gotten...which was a little upsetting since we had a few other people we thought might invite us over. But, we were happy about the invitation. The only problem...we know Dan pretty well, but we don't really know Alex (his wife) at all and we've never really done anything social with them. Also, we knew they were going to have a bunch of family in town, so we were the only non-family members there.

As our contribution Chip made a homemade lemon merangue (sp?) pie (he had made a homemade apple pie the night before to take for our social after church). And, I decided since they were so gracious to invite us, I would buy them a bouquet of flowers. So, we arrive and we are the ONLY non-family there, but they welcomed us with open arms. Alex's parents were a lot of fun (they're from the Ukraine) and her Dad told a bunch of stories. We also got along really well with Dan's sister, brother-in-law, and brother. Then, Alex's cousin and his wife also came. But, we had a really good time. There wasn't nearly as much awkwardness as I thought there might be (Chip claims he wasn't worried), but they had great food and everyone raved about the pie. So, all-in-all, our first Thanksgiving in San Diego without family was a success.

Friday morning we took a 6-mile hike up a moutain in east county with 2 other people from YAG. It was nice, but I was pretty soar afterwards. Then, I worked on Christmas cards and Chip worked on some other stuff.
Saturday, we spent cleaning, running errands (which wasn't nearly as painful as I thought it might be...Wal-Mart wasn't anymore crowded than usual), and we decorated the apartment.

Today, we're working out, grocery shopping, and going to church. But, after yesterday I realized every Friday and Saturday has some event until we go home for Christmas. Not to mention I have 3 major projects due, an exam, and finishing up the liturgical ministers schedule for church. So, we're going to be a bit crazy for a few weeks, but it will be nice to be home for Christmas and see everyone. I hope everyone else had a wonderful and restful Thanksgiving!!

Wed, 14 Jun 2006 23:42:16 GMT

Happy Birthday jawajames

A good day...

Fri, 28 Apr 2006 03:39:04 GMT

Chip and I went to SeaWorld today. They're having a special where southern CA residents can buy a regular price ticket and get a Fun Card, which gets you into SeaWorld for free for the rest of 2006. But, the offer expired on April 30th, so we needed to go this week. Plus, we kind of needed some alone time away from the computer and TV. Also, Chip just finished a paper, so he's been really busy lately.

Anyway, it was a good day, despite the rain. Yes, it rained today, of all days in San Diego. But, we made the best of it. We saw all 4 shows we wanted to see, between the mist/rain and we spent a lot of time in the aquariums while it was raining. We even found somewhere to eat under a cover. Then, we stopped by Cold Stone on the way home for an early dessert. Once we got home, we were both pretty tired and just wanted to relax a while, so we went and sat in the hot tub. Then, we came back in and watched Boston Legal which we had taped on Tuesday. Since Chip has been so busy, there are a lot of shows that I've already seen, but he hasn't. So, he watched a few of those and I took a nap with my head on his lap...it was very sweet. Now, he's fixing dinner. We're trying a new recipe from the Pampered Chef cookbook I bought...Sweet & Sour Shrimp. It looks really good.

So, basically, Chip and I have had a good day just spending some much needed quality time together...especially since we have a lot to do in the time before we leave for New Jersey on Wednesday.

Elizabethtown & The Island

Sun, 23 Apr 2006 00:56:07 GMT

Elizabethtown: I thought this movie was very good. It was kind of strange in some parts, but I was never bored with it. The only thing I wish they would have put in the movie was the reason for the recall, unless I just missed that at some point (you'll understand if you watch the movie). In any case, I enjoyed it quite a lot and would recommend it to anyone. I would give it 3.5 stars out of 5.

The Island: I really liked this movie. It's definitely a good action-packed sci-fi movie, for those of you who like that sort of thing. The ending wasn't that great, but the rest of the movie was quite good. I especially liked the scene that I think they filmed only to crash a bunch of cars or at least that's what Chip said while we were watching it :-)!! I would recommend this movie to those who like sci-fi and action. I would give it 3.5 out of 5.

We currently have Flightplan and I rented Prime to watch tonight while Chip's at school. I'm not sure what movies we'll get next. Some of the ones we have listed in our queue are in the 'short wait' category, so we may not get those right away, but we'll see.

Twitching Thumb

Fri, 21 Apr 2006 04:09:03 GMT

So, my thumb has been twitching on and off for the past two days. I talked to my mom to see if she thought I should be worried, but she said no, so I guess, for now I won't worry about it. However, because the muscle at the base of my thumb has been twitching for two days, it's kind of soar. I iced it down Tuesday night, but it didn't really seem to help. I've tried using it less, but that's more difficult then it sounds. So, if anybody has any ideas on what I can do, let me know.

Memoirs of a Geisha & Walk the Line

Sun, 16 Apr 2006 22:26:17 GMT

Memoirs of a Geisha -- Chip and I both liked this movie. It had a great plot that kept moving and the acting was very good. We were confused on a few things when the movie was over, but after talking about them, we thought we knew what happened. Overall an excellent movie. We highly recommend it. We would both give it 4.5 stars out of 5.

Walk the Line -- Chip and I both liked this movie too. It also had a good plot and unlike some other biographies, the movie kept our attention. Resse Witherspoon was definitely amazing and deserves any awards she received for this movie. Needless to say, also a great movie. We would both give it 4.5 stars out of 5.

We currently have The Island and we were supposed have Flightplan but the wrong DVD was in the envelope, so we have to send it back and they're supposed to resend the DVD. Post more later.

Alexander & Yours, Mine, & Ours

Sun, 09 Apr 2006 22:48:18 GMT

So, we've watched two more movies. Here are my reviews.

Alexander: This movie was kind of strange. I'd love to know how much of it is based on fact and how much was Hollywood's way of making it more entertaining. Like...was Alexander really gay? The other thing I noticed was how very bloody this movie is. If you don't like blood and guts, don't see it. But, despite all of its wierdness and all of its bloodiness, it did give me a better understanding of what Alexander the Great did. I do believe that part of the movie was based on some sort of fact. It was ok if you like historically-based movies set in BC times. I definitely liked Troy and Kingdom of Heaven better than this one though. I'll give it 2 stars out of 5.

Yours, Mine, & Ours: Ok, all I have to say is CHEESY!!! The movie definitely has NO surprises and the ending is very, very, very cheesy. If you don't know the premise, it's about a guy (Dennis Quaid) who has 8 kids and has lost his wife and a woman (Rene Russo) who has 10 kids and has lost her husband and they get married and their kids don't get along and the kids try to break up the parents...but I won't tell you the ending, although you can probably guess what happens. I will admit there are some parts that made me laugh and I do believe it is a great family/kid movie. It's very light and cute and doesn't take a whole lot of thought. But, sometimes we just need a good, wholesome movie that entertains us. For the type of movie it is, I give it 3 stars out of 5, but if you want something really thought-provoking, don't see this movie.

Kingdom of Heaven and Kicking & Screaming

Thu, 06 Apr 2006 15:35:17 GMT

So, we have watched two more movies this week. Last weekend we watched Kingdom of Heaven and last night we watched Kicking & Screaming.

Kingdom of Heaven -- Chip and I both thought it was pretty good. I thought it was an interesting look at the Crusades. I don't know a lot of the history, so I'm not sure how much of it is fact and how much is fiction, but it was interesting. There is a feature you can turn on while watching the movie that puts up captions about the history of that scene or something related to that scene. We watched the whole movie without it and then went back and watched the first twenty minutes again with it. It was really neat to see what of the movie was based on fact and what wasn't. It was a little strange that some parts were really gory when they didn't necessarily need to be and some parts weren't gory when you expected them to be. I would love to know how they decided which parts would show the blood and guts and which ones wouldn't. Overall, I think I'd give this a 3 1/2 out of 5. Plus, for the ladies, Orlando Bloom is a hottie!!

Kicking & Screaming -- Once again we disagree with Keith (surprise, surprise!!). We both thought it was a pretty cute movie, in general. There were some strange parts, like when he was addicted to coffee, but overall the movie wasn't too bad. I laughed more during this movie than I did during Wedding Crashers. So, I think it just depends on your sense of humor. I thought the little Asian kid was adorable, so that added to the fact that I liked the movie. I just don't understand why people said it was so awful. I didn't think it was boring (there may have been some boring parts, but not the whole movie). I thought there were scenes that were funny. And, I lliked the little kids. There also wasn't anything in it that was really dirty (sexually speaking), which I think is what bothered me about Wedding Crashers. At least this one seemed to have a normal plot. In any case, I would give it a 3 out of 5.

We have in our possession Alexander and we are receiving Yours, Mine, and Ours in the next few days. I think we may use one of our free movie coupons to rent Memoirs of a Geisha tonight, but we'll see how timing works out. We are a little irritated that we have had Walk the Line at the top of our list for a while and still aren't getting it. We'll have to see what happens with the "short wait" that is listed there. If this continues much longer, we may send an email complaining. Just one more note, please remember these are just my opinions and you are all entitled to your own!!

The Latest Movies...

Tue, 28 Mar 2006 16:52:08 GMT

So, the latest set of movies we've seen is Wedding Crashers and The Aviator. Here is my view on these two movies.

Wedding Crashers: Unless you like really wierd, stupid comedy, don't see this movie. We'd heard it was good, but personally, I thought it was a waste of my time and was a really strange movie. We watched the uncut version, which basically meant we got to see lots of breasts and probably heard the F... word a few more times. Not really worth watching. The movie was just bizarre. But, like I said, if you like that kind of comedy, than you'll probably really enjoy it. I would give this movie 1 star out of 5.

The Aviator: So, I thought this movie was pretty well done and painted a pretty good picture of Howard Hughes. Some parts were a little strange, but it was portraying a real person, so it made sense. It was kind of long, but I'm not sure any parts could have been cut. Sometimes I wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but I was also doing some work while we watched it. I would give this movie 3 1/2 stars out of 5.

The next movies on the list are Kingdom of Heaven and Kicking and Screaming. Not sure when we'll get a chance to watch these two, but I'll let you know what we think.

Movies so far...

Mon, 20 Mar 2006 02:27:15 GMT

So, we've now watched Must Love Dogs and we just finished watching Cinderella Man. This is my take. Both are great movies if you're in the right kind of mood. Must Love Dogs is a very cute romantic comedy and it makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside. Cinderella Man is the typically underdog sports movie, but also makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside, if you can get past the blood and such from boxing. So, there you have it. The next movie on the list is Wedding Crashers. That should make for a very different type of movie. Kingdom of Heaven is on the way...also a very different kind of movie. I think I'm really going to like this whole Blockbuster mailing us movies thing.

Movie Suggestions?

Thu, 16 Mar 2006 16:48:44 GMT

So, in case you didn't read my long post earlier, Chip and I have joined the Blockbuster version of Netflix. We already have about 50 movies in our queue, but we are open to suggestions for really good movies that you think Chip and I would like. Let me know if you think of any. Thanks!!

I can't believe it...

Thu, 09 Feb 2006 22:38:27 GMT

I just realized today that Chip and I have been working out consistently for the last 6 weeks. I know this may not seem like a big deal to those of you who have always worked out, but for me and Chip it is a great accomplishment. Not only have we been working out, we're going every day. We work out for at least 30 minutes every day and at least 3 of our workouts during the week are an hour. We have skipped a few days, but no more than one a week and every day except one that we skipped, we at least took a walk. The only day we skipped completely was last Sunday because we had to finish stuff for the Super Bowl party in the morning, went to church at noon, people came over right after church for the party, and then by the time we got cleaned up at 9:30, we were both exhausted. But, other than that one day, we really have been good. The other thing that surprises me is that the one day we didn't work out didn't lead to more than one day. Usually, we take a day off, then it becomes 2, etc. But, that hasn't happened yet. I'm really hoping that we continue this. As much as I don't want to work out most days, I know it's good for both of us. So, we'll see how we're doing in a few months, but for now, we're doing great.

Super Bowl Party

Mon, 06 Feb 2006 06:24:03 GMT

So, Chip and I had our first official party in San Diego. We were very concerned about the space in our apartment. We started asking people about the party last week, but we really didn't expect everyone to be able to come. We ended up with about 18 people in our apartment and it turned out just fine. We had a really, really good time and I think everyone else did too. We made lots of food and everyone seemed to like it. Some people watched the game, but everyone watched the commercials. We already had the computer set up in the office with a tv card, so we turned the game on in there too. So, some people spread into there throughout the night. Let's just say Chip and I know how to throw a good party. I think the best part about the party was that we have enogh friends in San Diego now to have a party and for people to come to the party. It definitely made us both feel a little bit better about being here.

New Consulting Job

Sat, 14 Jan 2006 07:46:46 GMT

Well, I haven't posted in a while...again. However, I have some good news this time. I have a consulting job. It's short term...only until March 7th and I don't get 40 hours, but I get paid more than double what I was getting paid as a temp or a sub, so the fact that I won't get 40 hours isn't that bad. Anyway, it's helping to design math games (some of them are web-based and others are offline games to be played in the classroom). It's been pretty good so far. Since Tuesday I worked almost 19 hours, so that's good. It's kind of strange because I'm working with one of my former co-workers (actually my old director) and 2 people who I've never met. I've talked to one of the other people on the phone, but everything else has been done over email. On Wednesday and Thursday I thought the other teammates were never going to go to bed. The emails just kept coming. There are nice parts because I can work at different times during the day and take breaks and do stuff during the day. There are negatives too, I don't really have a lot of interaction with other people, so it gets kind of lonely. But, Lucy has been a very sweet kitty lately and sits by me for a good part of the day, as long as I stay on the couch. I guess that's the latest on my job. I'll let you know how I feel about it in a few weeks. But, at least I'm making some money again.

In other news...we've kind of rearranged and cleaned up our office. We were making space for me to get a table to sew on and to set up the card table so I can do Creative Memories stuff. Chip also set up our laptop so we can watch tv in there. We haven't actually used the room for these purposes yet, but we also just finished cleaning everything up 2 days ago.

Also, we've been working out like crazy. We're both trying to lose some weight and get back into shape. So, we've been going to the fitness center (which isn't that great, but it's free) and working out. We've worked out every night this week. We're working our way up to working out for an hour 3 nights a week and at least a half hour every other day. We'll see if this keeps up, but we've done pretty good so far. Chip decided he would rather work out a lot more and eat pretty well, but not actually count points like in Weight Watchers, as we've done in the past.

I guess that's enough for now. If I think of everything else exciting, I'll let you all know. Hope you have a good weekend. We're going to a choir retreat tomorrow and Chip made his first Angel Food Cake to take with us to the retreat. We'll let you know how it turns out.

Tsunami Warning

Wed, 15 Jun 2005 04:37:39 GMT

This is the first time I've lived in a city that had a tsunami warning. It's a little scary. But...I think we're on the other side of very large cliffs, so I'm not too worried. Apparently there was a 7.4 earthquake somewhere northwest of San Francisco in the Pacific and they aren't taking any chances. So, they've said that up and down the west coast has a tsunami warning and people in low lying coastal regions should move to higher ground. Anyway, the warning is over in about 15 minutes, just thought everyone would like to know what warnings we have here on the west coast. Oh yeah, there was a small earthquake here this past Sunday. Chip nor I felt it, but lots of other people did. It was very mild and very short lived, so we must of have been walking around when it happened and didn't feel it, but it was the first one since we've been here. We don't have hurricanes or tornadoes, but we have earthquakes, tsunamis, fires, and mudslides, so I think that makes up for it. Talk to you all later. Hope you're having a good week.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

Sun, 08 May 2005 18:18:49 GMT

To all the mothers out there...I hope you have a wonderful day. Thank you for all you do!!!

A Great Saturday

Sun, 17 Apr 2005 21:29:34 GMT

Yesterday was a very good day. Chip and I woke up a little earlier than usual so we could take Michael Crotty to the airport. But, it meant that our Saturday was a lot longer than usual. We ran by Office Depot to pick up some clear labels for our wedding album and then came home and ate lunch. It was a beautiful day outside, so we decided to go to the park to play some games. We walked over there and began by playing Bocce Ball. Then we played with this paddle and ball set we got for Easter. It's called Sonic Smash and everytime you hit the ball with one of these paddles it sounds like a drum. We had a great time and we even got a little exercise running after the ball. Then we layed down on the blanket and I fell asleep while Chip played with his new Blackberry. We walked back to the apartment, ate dinner, and decided to watch the movie we had rented...After the Sunset. It had a good cast, but the plot was a little silly and strange. It was entertaining. We then decided to go get some Baskin Robbins. After we ate our ice cream, we came back to the apartment and went and sat in the hot tub for a little while. That is one nice thing about living here. All of the apartment complexes have hot tubs and typically the weather is nice enough to sit in them. We finally ended the day by watching Sum of All Fears, which Chip had taped a few weeks ago. I love days like that, where you don't really have any plans and then everything you end up doing that day is fun or relaxing or just what you needed. That's pretty much how I felt about yesterday. A great Saturday!!

GRE Scores

Sun, 13 Mar 2005 19:59:37 GMT

So, I took the GRE yesterday. The program I'm trying to get into says it requires a total of 950 on the verbal and quantitative together and a 4.5 on the analytical. When I finally got my scores at the end of the exam, I made a 560 on verbal and a 750 on quantitative. Needless to say, I was quite content with those scores. I still have to wait for my analytical scores, but as I've told everyone here, I don't think taking it again would help that score any. My prompts weren't bad and I think I gave some solid reasons for what I wrote. So, whatever I get on that part, is what I get. I am very glad that I prepared the way I did. Except the quantitative part, I think I was as well prepared as I could have been for everything else. I was a little nervous about the quantitative part becaue everyone had told me how easy it was, then when I took a practice test Friday night, I only made around a 500 on it. I was less than happy. But, Chip answered some questions for me and gave me a few pointers. I think that also having seen the type of questions the night before helped the day of the test. Obviously it all turned out well in the end. If you're going to take the GRE and you're not a verbal person, I really liked the Kaplan GRE Verbal Workbook that I got. It had some great tips and it had a whole section on how to increase your vocabulary, which is what I needed to do. Anyway, that's about it on the GRE. I'm glad it's over and I won't have to do it again.

I'll post a little later about our night out last night. We had a good time and we're starting to make some friends. To be continued...

Chick-Fil-A

Thu, 07 Oct 2004 01:05:50 GMT

Ok, so I just remembered this from the other day....to go along with my Bojangles post. So, the other day, when I turned the radio on, the announcer kept talking about this restaurant that had the best chicken sandwiches in the world. And he was so excited because they had just opened one in this area and he couldn't wait to eat there. I think he went on for 10 minutes about how good this place was. So, I was really interested in what restaurant he was talking about. Sure enough....Chick-Fil-A. I couldn't belive it. I totally agree with him and I almost called into the station because the traffic guy couldn't understand what made this chicken sandwich so much more special than any other chicken sandwich. Anyway, I just remembered that when I posted about Bojangles the other day. I find it very humorous how there are some fast food restaraunts that you never find on the east coast and some that you never find on the west coast and how much I'm going to want a Chick-Fil-A sandwich when I come home to visit :-)!!!

By the way...I'm very proud of myself. I think one of the things I hate about my job most is calling parents. I always feel bad or feel like they're going to be mad at me or something. Anyway, tonight I called 4 parents. One of them didn't answer, so I ended up emailing her, but only after I called back a 2nd time. But, I had to make an extra phone call for another student. Anyway, I just wanted everyone to know that it was much less painful than I thought it would be.

My first week at work

Sat, 04 Sep 2004 02:52:22 GMT

So, this week was definitely a roller coaster ride of emotions.... I guess Tuesday was mostly just being overwhelmed. I wasn't really sure what I was doing. I didn't know anyone. I didn't know where to go. My room got changed multiple times. But, it ended up ok. I did end up getting a room, but it turns out that it gets extremely hot in the afternoon. So, on Wednesday I got kind of upset. I like the school, but it's not very "user-friendly". The thing that really set me off was when I went to my new teacher meeting and they were telling us all this stuff about what we would be doing this year like we had everything we needed already. We didn't get any handouts or a sheet of dates or anything. It's just very frustrating for me having someone talk to me like I already know what is going on, when I really don't have any idea about what is going on. Plus, it was just really hot in my room and I just kind of lost it. So, after my break down and taking it out on Chip (sorry honey!!), I felt a lot better about the job and what I was going to be doing at this school. So, yesterday was a much better day. And, I found out that I might be able to get a different room for the afternoon, but I'm going to stay in the same room and see how it goes for a week and then decide. It might be worth it, it gets very hot. Today we had some speakers to help motivate us. It was ok. The food was really good, but we had Stedman Graham (Oprah's boyfriend) come and speak. It felt kind of like he was preaching to the choir. He talked about how to have a vision, but it was almost like he had tweeked a talk for high schoolers for us. So, not the greatest speaker. We had a storyteller talk this afternoon, which was better, but still kind of useless, especially considering how much I still need to do. I'll be going in tomorrow to do some more work and then I'm going to have lunch with one of the other math teachers. Hopefully, I will be able to get some stuff done.

A little about the school and what I will be doing....I'll be teaching 2 classes of Algebra I and one class of a unified geometry/algebra class. The 2nd class is for seniors who need a 3rd math to graduate or juniors that aren't ready for Intermediate Math (I think that's like Algebra 2). The school is 60% hispanic, 30% African American, 5% white, and 5% other. It is a very poor school, everyone in the school is eligible for free lunch. I don't think very many of the parents are involved in what's happening. One of the teachers said that only 6 parents showed up for all 3 classes at Open House. We're on a 4x4 block, so that's why I'll be teaching 3 classes. The mascot is the Cardinal and the colors are red and white (how convenient). It's a neighborhood school. All the kids walk or ride the city bus to school. The teachers really do care about the kids and teaching. I feel like I can actually make a difference in a student's life there. All of the petty things that I and everyone else complained about at Lufkin seem so insignificant now. There is so much more important work to be done here than the things that Lufkin had to deal with. The school is in it's 4th year of not meeting AYP (based on No Child Left Behind) and if they don't make it again this year, the state may have the option of closing the school. The school has more criteria (subgroups of students) to meet than any other school in the district, but it's AYP went up 29 points this year which was more than any other school.

So, I think the bottom line is that the teachers work really hard and they're doing good work and the school is progressing, but there is a lot of work to be done. On a sidenote, I am kind of excited about being involved in all of the high school events (Homecoming, Prom, Graduation, High School Football). I guess that's about it for now. I will write more next week after I meet the kids!!

By the way, Chip gets in on Sunday!! YEH!!

I'm Bored

Mon, 30 Aug 2004 02:52:24 GMT

So, I'm sitting here by myself and realizing that I really don't know anybody in this city. It's a very strange feeling to realize that you really don't have any friends or family in a whole city. Well, hopefully that will change soon. Also, I am ready for Chip to be here, which doesn't help my boredom or loneliness. I have my interview tomorrow morning at Hoover High School. I'm not really sure how I feel about that right now. I'm trying not to think about it because I know I'm not really qualified to teach in a high school. Oh well...I'm just going with the flow. If they want me, that's good. If not, I have to be placed somewhere, I have a contract. However, it would be nice to know where I'm working because once I know what I'm teaching, I should have plenty to keep me busy until next weekend.

Also, tomorrow night, I'm going to an information session at church to see about volunteering with the high school teens. I really wanted to do that last year in Cary, but they met on Sunday nights, which didn't fit well with my schedule. However, this youth group meets on Monday nights and currently I have no plans on any night. So, unless it ends up conflicting with school stuff and assuming I like what I hear, I should be able to help out. I'm kind of excited about the idea of chaperoning some high school church retreats because I know how much they meant to me when I was in high school. In fact, that's pretty much how I met all of my friends in high school.

So, that's about it. I was bored and thought I would write.

Moving

Sat, 28 Aug 2004 03:34:05 GMT

So, here's what's happened in the last week. Chip and I arrived last Friday in San Diego around lunch time. When we walked in the apartment it looked more like a storage closet than someplace to live. I couldn't believe how much stuff we had. I had an appt. at the DMV to get my license, so I didn't unpack a whole lot before I left. We started with some of the bigger things and the clothes. While I went and got my license, Chip unwrapped our couches and put our table back together. Sidenote on the DMV experience: I've never had to get a license in another state, so it was interesting to see how they did it. First of all, I had an appointment, which I thought was very bizarre. But, when I got there, I was glad I did. The wait time without an appt. was 45 min. The wait time with an appt. was 5 min. So, I filled out some paperwork as they called out different letters and numbers to go to certain windows. So, while I'm filling out paperwork, I have to listen for my letter and number. I was called to a window and walked over there. They took my old license and various other things. Then, I had to go to a different window to get my test and get my picture taken. So, I took the test and I had to turn it in to yet another window. I had to wait for them to grade it and they called my name to that window. She then gave me a temporary license, which has no picture, and gave me back my old license. Very interesting. ...... So, the weekend was spent unpacking some more boxes and setting up the TV and cable modem/firewall. Chip left Monday morning and I had my orientation for a program I will be involved in this year. I met my Mom at 12:00 for lunch (she arrived around 11:30). After lunch, I went back to the afternoon session of orientation. Mom came back to the apartment and began unpacking the kitchen stuff. Throughout the last week I really realized just how much kitchen stuff we have. We have quite a bit of useless space in our kitchen, so we were trying to be creative. We also have stuff in the hall closet space and the office closet. There's kitchen stuff everywhere!!! However, at this point our apartment is looking very nice. I even have pictures hung. The biggest problem now is that I'm waiting for Chip to come back so we can buy some other pieces of furniture including a desk, since United Moving Company broke the one we had. We are getting the money, but I can't purchase the new item until he gets back. So, the office is in more of a disarray than other places in the apartment. So....needless to say, my Mom and I have worked our butts off this week, but it's good, since next week (supposedly) I'm starting work. Speaking of which, I have an interview with a high school on Monday. Yes, that's right, they may put me in a high school. I did tell the woman who called to set up the interview that all my experience so far was in middle school and she said that she'd tell them. Whatever!! At this point, I don't even care. I just know I won't be as effective as a high school teacher. Well, I'll let you all know what happens. Feel free to call...anytime. Miss you all!!

Victoria, British Columbia

Mon, 02 Aug 2004 23:13:32 GMT

Once again we have gone out of town for a fun filled weekend in Canada. We had a very relaxing weekend in Victoria. We decided to take it easy because we've done so much lately, so we didn't see everything we could have, but we had a good time. First of all, we went down on Friday morning instead of waiting until the afternoon so Chip could work with a professor at the University of Victoria and give a talk on his PhD work. So, we got up at the crack of dawn on Friday and drove to Vancouver so we could catch the 11:00 am ferry to Victoria. We arrived in Victoria, ate lunch at McDonalds, and headed to UVic. While Chip discussed research with Frank, I headed to the library on campus to read my People magazine. It brought back a lot of college memories sitting in the library and watching the students work on various tasks...anyway, that's just a sidenote. I headed back to the building, so I could see Chip give his talk. He did a good job despite the technical difficulties at the beginning. After Chip's talk, we headed to the hotel. It was a very nice hotel suite and best of all, it was paid for. Frank used some grant money to pay for our room because Chip came up early to do research and give a talk.

The hotel had its own brew pub and I got the chance to sample a raspberry ale at dinner that night. We ate a lot of our meals in the hotel because the prices were reasonble and it was convenient...so I don't really have anything to tell you about the food in Victoria. So, Friday night after dinner we took a walk down to the inner harbor and watched some of the entertainers and took pictures of the legilative building, which is beautiful. Saturday we decided to sleep in, but when we finally did get up, we headed down to the inner harbor again for a ferry ride. They have little boats that give tours around the harbor and up the gorge. So, we did both. We contemplated going whale watching, but decided we would do that in San Diego instead. Anyway, the harbor tour was ok...we found out that Victoria has the only certified water airstrip in the world. The gorge tour was much better. I really liked the tour guide for that one and he told us lots of stories about the history of the gorge. After the tour, we headed back to the hotel and decided to go to a winery for a tour. The winery tour was ok and then we did a wine tasting. We decided there wasn't anything worth buying, but it was fine. After the winery, we went to Buschart Gardens. They were beautiful. I haven't seen very many gardens like that before. They had about 5 different gardens within the larger garden. I have lots of pictures of flowers now. It was nice just to walk around or just sit and look at the flowers for a while. It was kind of crowded because they have fireworks on Saturdays during July, but we left before the fireworks. We were ready to go back to the hotel and just chill for the rest of the night. Sunday we walked down to a cathedral for mass in downtown Victoria. Despite the lack of air conditioning, it was quite pleasant. Fair warning to anyone who visits Seattle, Vancouver, or Victoria...most places don't have air conditioning because most days they don't need it. However, the days they do need it, it is very HOT!!! Our hotel didn't have air conditioning either, but it was quite comfortable with the ceiling fan. Sorry about the little sidenote there... After mass, we went to the 1 square block called Chinatown (it has a gate and everything, but it is only one block) and met Frank and his family for Chinese food. We experienced Dim Sun (that may be spelled wrong) for the first time. Basically, if you've never had this before, they walk around with different kinds of food and ask you if you want some. They mark it on your bill each time you pick something up. I thought some of it was pretty good, but it was not what Chip and I would typically have ordered from a Chinese restaurant. I think we both got enough to eat though. We also walked through a little public market up the street. After lunch we headed to the ferry and caught the 3:00 back to Vancouver. We had to wait at the border for a while to get through customs, but otherwise an uneventful drive home.

So, tomorrow I head to San Diego for my paper work, etc. I think this weekend we're going to go to the Boeing Factory for a tour. I'm not sure what else we're going to do. I think we've decided not to go to Mt. St. Helen's. I know it would probably be cool, but it's yet another trip and I'm not sure I want to go see another mountain. Anyway, that's it for now. I hope you are all having a good week. We miss you all...give us a call if you want to talk. Bye Bye for now!!

Mount Ranier

Wed, 28 Jul 2004 01:26:36 GMT

So, this past Saturday Chip and I went to Mount Ranier National Park. It took us about an hour and a half to get there, but it was worth the view. We hiked up a trail that took us to a look out station at the top of a mountain. We had gorgeous views of Mt. Ranier the whole way. Unfortunately, we left the sunscreen in the car. So, we were both a little burned by the time we finished. I think in all we hiked about 5 miles. We were also both rather soar the next day.

We also went to dinner with another intern and his fiance on Sunday night. It was really nice to go out with another couple. It gave me a little more faith that we will meet other couples once we get settled in San Diego. I think I'm ready to finally be settled somewhere. I'm actually going to San Diego next week for a few days to fill out some paper work, get my fingerprints done, and get a TB test. The only problem is that they also have to read the TB test, so I have to stay until Friday. It should be fine, just kind of expensive for paper work.

This weekend we're planning on going to Victoria, BC. We're very excited about this trip. We've heard so much about how beautiful it is, especially the gardens. I'll write about it next week.

Sewing Class

Sat, 24 Jul 2004 00:06:33 GMT

So, I'm taking a sewing class for 6 weeks 9:30-12:00 on Mondays. It's been good so far. I'm making a nightgown with a really cute sheep fabric. It is flannel, so I'm not sure if I'll wear it a lot, but at least if I mess it up, only Chip will see it!! Anyway, the first class was a lot of getting to know the materials and instruments used for sewing. We didn't really start anything until this past week. This week we got out our patterns and she told us how to read them and how to figure out which pieces we needed to make the garment we're making. Then she showed us how to pin down our material and cut out the pattern. So, I spent the next 3 hours cutting out my pattern (and I didn't finish). It's amazing how easy it looks to do simple things like cut out the material for the pattern, but when you don't know what you're doing, it takes a lot longer. I'm planning on cutting my sleeves out before class on Monday. The other cool thing we learned on Monday was how to match up a pocket so that the pattern matches exactly to the surrounding material. I haven't actually used the sewing machine in class yet, but I will start that this Monday. I'm excited about that!! Hopefully, by the time my classes are over, I'll know how to at least use the sewing machine, read a pattern, and perhaps actually start making some things. If anyone wants a pair of medium size pajama pants, I have the pattern already. That will probably be my next project. Maybe one day I'll make clothes for my kids (we'll have to see about that). It's a nice skill to have when my mother and mother-in-law are so far away now. So, I'm glad I'm doing it.

By the way...Seattle's temperatures are hitting record highs this week and we don't have air conditioning. So, I've been sitting in our very, very hot apartment for the last two days. I think tomorrow is supposed to be the last hot day and it's supposed to cool back down tomorrow. Let's hope so, cause it's really hot in here!!