Did you miss me?

Don't answer that! I know my blog has been ridiculously boring lately, so you probably didn't miss me. I'm sure you've read my post about Mexican food at least 100 times now, right?? Well thanks for coming back. I'm going to try and be better at blogging. Every once in a while, I want to quit, but I'm not a quitter :-) so I'm going to keep going. Since I haven't posted ANYTHING in over a month (the shame), I have a weird combination of a lot to tell you and nothing to tell you. So this might be the most random blog post ever in the history of blog posts. Here, in no particular order, are the top 8 things that have kept me away from blogging this month. Drumroll, please:

#1: Studying for the GRE
Yep, you read that right. All of a sudden I looked around and realized that I'm 28. I know that's not very old, but I was kind of wondering what I am doing in my life. I mean, are we going to have a baby? Am I going to keep working? What am I going to do after we have a baby? These questions plagued me for months. I finally decided that I probably will want to do some sort of consulting work or give workshops to teachers eventually, so I need a masters. Why have I not thought of this in the previous six years? I'm not sure, because that would have made things a whole lot easier. Now I feel like time is ticking and I want to go back to school. I am trying to rest in God's timing, though. So... I spent a solid month studying for the GRE. After many tears shed over the math section and countless hours spent hunched over a practice test, I'm happy to say that I conquered the GRE. I did better than I ever expected, and I feel quite a sense of satisfaction over that ridiculous test.

#2: Applying to Grad Schools

So, since I decided to take the GRE, that naturally meant that I had to then actually apply to grad schools! It's been QUITE a while since I applied to college! The program I really want to get into is at Columbia University in NYC. Don't worry... we're not moving. First I have to get in. Then, it is just a summer program - three weeks a summer for three years. I also applied to the University of Houston and the University of St. Thomas here in Houston as local alternatives. At Columbia, I'd get my Masters in the Teaching of English. At the other two, I'd get a Masters of Education. We'll see!!

#3: The TAKS

The TAKS test rears its ugly head each spring. In 7th grade English we have the distinct pleasure of two TAKS tests - writing and reading. The writing one was March 3rd. The TAKS monster made personally sure that I gave up four Saturdays in a row for tutorials and had slight heart palpitations every time I thought about the high standards set by our school and felt worried that kids wouldn't reach them. Luckily, they did everything I taught them (at least I think they did!) We won't get the scores back until May, but I'm cautiously optimistic that they did awesome. One down, one to go.

#4: Working Out

After six years of trying, I have finally created and maintained a work out routine. I can hardly believe it myself. I joined a gym right by our house, and I now work out for an hour 4-6 days a week. I bring my clothes to school, change, and go right after work. I can't say I love it, but I do like it, and it feels good to have a routine. Every Wednesday, I go to boot camp at the gym. Who would have guessed it, but I LOVE boot camp. It is super challenging, but I can just tell that I'm getting better every time. I've gone for 7 weeks in a row now. This week, the lady made me use heavier weights than everyone in the group because she "knew I could do it". Pretty sure I've never heard that before!

#5: Texting Students

Students have always called teachers at YES for help on homework or other questions. A new phenomenon this year is students texting teachers. I do not mind this because the school pays for my cell phone plan, and texting is usually easier than talking to a student on the phone. So I'm all for it. But this brings up some interesting situations. Students are sometimes not very good or careful at texting, so last week I got a little GEM of a text message from a student. It's probably inappropriate to post on my blog, but it's too funny to pass up. I laughed so hard. I just WISH I could have seen his face when he realized what he had just texted me on accident. I've taken off the phone number to protect the (not so) innocent. You can't make this stuff up. Enjoy.

#6: Cooking

I'm still cooking just about every night. I will try to have some recipe posts coming up soon. This week I made a ridiculously delicious halibut dinner. I love it when I find a recipe that's easy, healthy, and tastes better than a restaurant. The picture is not the best, but you can take my word for it that it was yummy! It was pan seared halibut, cous-cous, roasted asparagus, and a sliced tomato.

#7: Saving Stray Dogs

I have been trying for YEARS to save a stray dog. I've gotten kind of obsessed with it, actually. If I see a stray dog anywhere, I will stop, turn my car around, and try to get it. Just ask my mom - sometimes I'm talking to her on the phone while driving and I have to hang up suddenly to go chase a dog! I have probably tried to pick up more than 15 stray dogs in the last few years. However, every single time, they run away from me. It's so frustrating! I guess they just don't want to be helped. I'm not entirely sure what I would DO with a stray dog once I got it, but I would figure that out later, I guess! Anyway, last weekend, my dream came true! I was driving home and I saw a large white dog running across a busy street at the entrance to our neighborhood. I turned around and chased him with the car for a minute. When I got close, I parked and opened the door and called it. Then the dog ran to me and jumped not only into my car, but into my lap!!! I was laughing so hard. I pulled up to the house and you can imagine the look on Brent's face when he saw a giant unknown dog in my lap! haha. We kept her in the backyard and called the number on the tag. We finally got in contact with the owners who lived in our neighborhood. The dog had dug out of the yard and had apparently done that before. I was kind of hoping for an adorable little family with kids who would hug the dog and cry. However, they came to pick her up and (sadly) did not seem that excited that we had found her. I believe they had been drinking a bit, and they said to the dog, "Molly, if I saw you on the street, I wouldn't pick you up!" I seriously almost grabbed the dog back. But oh well, you never quite have all the parts of a dream come true at once. Here she is in the car... I got her off my lap and into the passenger seat long enough to snap a pic.

#8: Packing for Hawaii

That's right! We are leaving for Hawaii tomorrow and we will be there for a whole glorious week. We have been planning this trip for a year now, and I can't believe it's finally here. It's my Spring Break, and I could not be more ready. I'm leaving my laptop at home and doing NO WORK for a whole week. Praise God! I can not remember the last time that happened. I've got a suitcase full of cute dresses and bathing suits, and school can not be over soon enough. So I wont' be blogging for a week, but when I get back, I'll post pics of our time here:

Have a great week!