Only 180 Days Left!!

For those of you who don't know I am now a teacher at West Valley Junior High. I teach 7th grade science 5 periods a day. How this new job came about is quite a story, I will try to make it as short and sweet as possible. Two weeks ago on Monday August 16th Nathan woke up and decided that there was no time like the present to get out of the army. He felt that he needed to pursue his dreams rather than stay in the army. He has never wanted to make a career out of the army, so instead he intends to apprentice with his dad in the family apple orchard and then use the GI bill to pursue a degree in elementary education. This was quite the shock to me as he told me two minutes before he left for work with out much explanation at all. It took us until Tuesday night to make an actual "exit strategy". The strategy was that I would look for a teaching job and then Nathan would achieve his goals. That night my dad emailed me a job opening for the WVJH. They were looking for a science teacher, but in the qualifications it said that they were looking for someone with a mathematics endorsement. I read my dads email at about 0800 Wednesday morning and I figured that with my mathematics endorsement and minor in physics I was as good a candidate as any. That morning I worked feverishly to get my references secured and the forms mailed off. I then went and volunteered at the ASYMCA and then went strait home to work on the application, my resume, cover letter, and the answers to the hand written questions on the application. After a late night Nathan and I had a product we were proud of after it was proof read by his mom and my dad. Thursday morning I headed off to the post office and then to the local wrap and ship to have my application sent UPS overnight to the WVSD office. My application then arrived at the district office at 1030 local time and I knew that it was all in their hands. I then proceeded to stress for the next five days wondering if they would call me and what they would say. On Wednesday the 25th they called me while I was down at the ASYMCA cutting fabric and asked me if I could interview with them at 0930 Friday at the junior high. I told them I would let them know as soon as I found a flight. I then bought a one way ticket to Seattle and a bus ride to Yakima for the very next day. I spent the rest of the night running around like a chicken with my head cut off worrying and trying to pack everything I might need if they decided to hire me. Thursday morning at 0400 I got up and headed out to the airport and then traveled to Washington and arrived at 1400 in Yakima. Nathans mom picked me up from the airport and his parents did everything possible to help me prepare and relax for my upcoming interview. After a crummy nights sleep I woke up got ready and headed off to my interview, I was fairly relaxed as I knew I would do my best and if they hired me I would be happy and if they didn't I would be happy because then I could go back to Nathan. The interview went well and I was fairly relaxed through the entire thing. They told me that they would let me know later that day about their decision. I was happy that I would know so soon. I spent the next 5 hours waiting with my phone in my hand for the call. When it finally came the principal asked me to come down to talk with them. Once I raced down there he said that they needed more references and to find out what it would take to get my physics endorsement. I spent the next hour or so trying to find references that were available immediately. I was only able to find one personal reference who was home, Kay Kabush. Luckily she was willing to give a glowing reference on the spot. The principal then sent me home and told me they wouldn't know until Monday morning. I was devastated that I would have to spend the whole weekend in suspense and then potentially start school 1 day after I was hired. It was scary and stressful. My friend Jobie knew I was in town so she came over from Renton with her dog Piper to hang out for the weekend. Saturday morning after a night of hanging out in the orchard and roasting marshmallows over an open fire I got a call from the principal he wanted to offer me a job and he told me I should come down so we could talk and I could see my room. I have been feverishly preparing for the first day of school ever since and I was surprisingly relaxed today. I think all 5 of my classes went well and I am anxious to start teaching science instead of the boring but necessary first week junk.

Sew Fun

I like to sew and do crafts, but I don't own a sewing machine. I did however sign up as a volunteer for Operation Kid Comfort. Operation Kid Comfort is an organization that makes picture quilts for children under 6, who have a parent deployed from Fort Hood. It also provides a picture pillow sham for children over 6. I go to the Armed Services YMCA every Wednesday between 1000 and 1400. The first three weeks or so I just cut fabric, cut out pictures, ironed fabric, and put together quilt or pillow sham kits. Last week I put together my first quilt front, and this week I put together 2. I haven't learned how to do the quilting part yet but they tell me next week I am going to. Last week one of the ladies who volunteers there lent me her old sewing machine that she doesn't use anymore. They sent me home with the sewing machine, scrap fabric, junk thread, a seam ripper and told me to make something to practice my sewing skills. I decided to make an apron since I didn't own one. This is what I made.

I know it is pretty basic but I didn't have a pattern and I was just using random scraps that don't necessarily match, so it is a little quirky. It was definitely good practice so that next week I can bring home a quilt front and sew some at home. I did have a few problems with the machine but I think they were mostly user error. I broke a couple needles but I eventually figured out what the problem was. Anyway, I am excited to have something to do with my spare time and it is exciting to have a sewing machine. I hope that I actually get to use it and I don't get too busy doing other things. Either way I am happy that I now have an apron if I don't make anything else.

Sunrise Run

Nathan and I have been trying, with varying success, to get healthy. About three months ago we started running together every Saturday. Nathan likes to be able so sleep in on the weekends so we usually get up at 0800 and start running around 0830. Usually we run on post but we have ran at the Killeen Park and once or twice around our neighborhood. This Friday Nathan had Battalion Staff Duty which means he is the officer in charge if anything happens during the night. He also has to do two checks of the buildings, barracks, and motor pool. One check before midnight and one check after midnight. Instead of staying up and doing his after midnight checks at one or two in the morning he decided to get up at 0500. We went in to do his checks and then headed out to Dana Peak Park to go for our morning run. Dana Peak is right on a lake and has a great view of the sunrise. Nathan was able to see the sunrise on a PT run at the park on Friday and he wanted to take me out to see it. We got to the park at 0610 and since the sun doesn't rise until after 0650 we decided to run and then watch the sun rise as we stretched out. We went for a short run today. It was only 1.8 miles but it was very beautiful. Aside from the bugs flying into our mouths we saw a few herds of deer and a couple of bunnies. The best part about running before the sun rises is it was only 81 degrees out instead of 90 or 100. Unfortunately, it was a little overcast and we couldn't see the sun as it rose above the far hill. We have decided that it's worth it to get up early and run and then go back to bed if not for the view, then at least to beat the heat.

Fredericksburg Peaches

This last weekend was a three day weekend for Nathan and we decided to check out Fredericksburg, TX. Fredericksburg is a small German town about two hours away from Killeen. Nathan got off work by 1500 on Thursday and we hopped into the car and headed down to Fredericksburg. When we got there we went to the local farmers' market and tried some of their yummy peaches. After we tried some of the local fruits and veggies we headed down to Main Street and walked up and down it checking out some of the local stores. Unfortunately, we didn't get down there until 1730 and almost all of the stores were closed. We were pretty hot after walking the street and so we decided to head in to the A/C and get some dinner at the highly recommended Auslander Restaurant. Nathan had Opa's Sausage for dinner along with some potato cakes. I ate some unauthentic grilled chicken. After a yummy dinner we headed back to our hotel and took a dip in the pool to cool off. It was a lot of fun and very relaxing. The next morning Nathan and I went and checked out the National Museum of the Pacific war. The Museum is HUGE and Nathan and I only scratched the surface but it was very interesting. We only checked out the main museum. We will have to go back and see the Admiral Nimitz Museum and the combat zone that has reenactments and guided tours. For those of you who don't know, Admiral Nimitz was born in Fredericksburg, TX. After spending a couple of hours at the museum Nathan and I headed off to the Marburger Orchards to pick some yummy peaches. We were surprised by how small the peach trees were but we were able to quickly pick a 1/2 bushel of peaches in no time. After getting all hot and sweaty from picking peaches we headed back to Killeen and made it home by 1500. The next morning Nathan and I went for our Saturday morning run and then I made some yummy peach crepes for breakfast. I got the recipe from my grandma and it was the first time Nathan ever had crepes. Since Nathan and I can't eat crepes for every meal I decided to try my hand at canning some of our peaches. Nathan was a huge help. He peeled the skin off of all the peaches after I boiled them and then he finished cutting the peaches once I started filling the jars. I was a little worried about how my peaches would turn out because there was some liquid leaking out. But, after the 24 hour cooling time all the lids have sealed so........ I hope it really did work. I had so much fun canning the peaches I think Nathan and I might try to do a few more cans or we might even dry or freeze some of the peaches.

South Dakota

This last Thursday I was able to travel to South Dakota to visit my grandparents. I have only visited them once in Miller, SD and that was 12 years ago on a family vacation. The first evening I was there my Grandpa took me fishing for the first time. The lake that my Grandpa fishes at only allows you to keep big mouth bass that are 15 inches or larger. I didn't catch anything that first night but the next morning we went fishing again and I caught two fish and so did my Grandpa. Neither of us caught anything we could keep but we still had a ton of fun fishing off the dock. After a full morning of fishing we went to the local drug store for some yummy ice cream at the soda fountain. Once we were refreshed we headed out to the county courthouse which is a historical building and it has some museum type stuff in it. We had fun touring the courthouse and riding the old elevator up to the attic and down to the basement. After the courthouse we went to the local farmers market. There were maybe four stands and only one of them sold any produce. I was a little disappointed since Miller is surrounded by farms, but we did buy some eggs and green beans from the Hutterite colony. We headed back to the house and my Grandpa and I headed back out to the lake for some last minute fishing and we ended up catching four more fish but we had to throw them all back. After a full day of exploring the town and fishing at the lake we topped the night off by playing some cribbage. On Saturday morning we had yummy crepes that my grandma made and played some games at the house. Once we played pass the pigs and cribbage we headed out to a dairy that was having on open house. We got there and had a yummy lunch of hamburgers, chips, cookies, and milk. The twist was we ate lunch in the cow barn. It was very interesting to be sitting there surrounded by cows just staring at you while you ate. After lunch we headed off to the milking parlor and watched them milk a few cows and learned about how they collect the milk, cool and store it. Once we were done at the dairy we headed down to the local senior center and played some card games with the folks there. I learned how to play a game called 500 and then I learned how to play a new version of Rummy. After playing a game or two at the center we headed out to the Hutterite Colony called Millerdale 16 miles outside of Miller. We met with a lady and she gave us a tour and answered all of our questions. Hutterites are sort of like the Amish or Mennonites but they live in a commune and they embrace technology. After the tour of the colony we went home and dropped my grandma off and headed off down to the lake. We caught a couple of fish. I only caught one little 4 inch bass and my grandpa caught a couple bass and one perch that was a keeper. We put it on the gill line but ended up throwing it back when we didn't catch any more keepers and wouldn't have had enough fish for all of us to eat. We had a very busy day but we were able to squeeze in one game of cribbage before we went to bed. On Sunday we went to church and then had a yummy brunch of crepes and my grandma's canned peaches. We then headed out to visit 4 cemeteries and the old family homesteads. We stopped at the place where my grandma grew up and she bottled some of the artisan well water that she grew up drinking. It looks like nice cool clear water but it has an acquired taste. We saw all the dead relatives and we even stumbled on a party at my grandma's nephew's house and we were able to say hello. I had a lot of fun seeing all the sights and listening to all the stories. On Monday we just hung out in the morning and then went to the drug store for some ice cream and then played cards at the senior center. After playing a couple of games and eating some cake and ice cream we headed home. My grandpa and I didn't stay too long though before we headed off to the lake one last time. This time we were able to hop on a boat with one of my grandpa's fishing partners and we trolled around the lake. We caught quite a few fish but the only keepers we caught were a carp and a crappie that I caught. All the bass we caught were too small. After fishing for a few hours we headed home and picked up Grandma and headed off to Dairy Queen for dinner. We finished the night off with a couple games of cribbage. I had so much fun hanging out with my grandparents playing games, touring the local attractions, and seeing all the family history. I was so glad that I was able to visit my grandparents and even though I missed Nathan they kept me so busy the week flew by. I can't wait to visit them again only next time I hope Nathan can come.