Lucky Taco

Edwin and I have been working like maniacs. Well, at least it feels like it. The quarter ended on Friday (25% done!) which means grades are due, new unit plans have to be made and the whole routine starts anew. On top of that, applying to grad school is like a part-time job. Needless to say we are busy!!! Lucky for us we don't have a hard time taking a break from work..... so this weekend after our Teach For America professional development session we went to Burguesa Burgers, home of the "Original Mexican Burger." Their big item is La Monumental- Edwin had the JR. version. I took a picture of the bag (don't judge me) so you could see everything that goes on this burger. All of those ingredients are on THE SAME BURGER! Edwin thought it was too much. BUT these Mexican fortune cookies saved the meal. My fortune said: Senor Pedro says, "None of the secrets to success will work unless you do." Ay, Ay, Senor.

In other news, Edwin and I booked our Christmas flights today! FELIZ NAVIDAD folks! I am coming home on December 18th, and Edwin is flying north on the 26th. Skiing with Edwin is off the table this year, so we will be accepting ideas for alternative forms of entertainment.....

Date Night!

I got a haircut!! Andrea inspired me because she was thinking about going short. I don't think she did, but I decided to chop it off! I love it, and got a ton of compliments at school. One of my 2nd grade students, Selah, saw me and shrieked "MISS!!!!!! You look like an angel! Literally, my mom has a picture of an angel and you have her same hair!!!!!!!" First, good vocabulary Selah. Second, I'm flattered to be compared to an angel. Extra credit for you!!

Edwin and I look for any reason to celebrate, so we went on a date last night to celebrate my new do. We went to our favorite restaurant, House Wine. Last time we went I bent my exhaust pipe and spent $500.00 on car repairs, so we took Edwin's car instead. We had a delicious bottle of sweet red wine (I think it was called House Jam) and flatbreads. If anyone decides to visit us in the Valley (and why wouldn't you), we will take you here! After dinner we went to see the movie "Life As We Know It", which we both loved!!! It was a great blend of laugh out loud comedy and romance. Ah, I'm a sucker for a good romance.

Edwin is at a science training today and I slept in until 10:40! Next up on the docket: Grad school essays. Adios amoebas!

Houston and the Family

It has been roughly 4 months since I've seen my brother, mother, father, sisters and nephew. This past weekend was great. We got a chance to see my little sister (she had a rough start to 3rd grade, but is adjusting well), my mom (who I was really happy to see), my brother (who is always funny, doing well at his job and bought a sweet car), my dad (who is currently remodeling his townhouse - I'm hoping he hires the guy who designed the Door County cabin as his assistant), my sister (who is 4 months pregnant and found a job!), and my nephew (who is running around, cute as can be).

After 7 weeks of teaching kids Spanish, math and science and trying to convince them that it will benefit them a great deal later on in life, Chelsea and I were spent! We had planned on going to Houston at some point between the beginning of the school year and Thanksgiving and we also happened to find out that Chelsea's two favorite bands were going to be in concert, so this weekend worked out really well, especially since it was a 3-day weekend.

As far as culinary adventures go, Saturday's cuisine consisted of Whataburger and fruit salad my mom made us when we got to Houston. Before the concert we went to Berryhill in The Woodlands, TX for some good Tex-Mex. During the concert we resisted buying overpriced food items, but did meet up with one of our co-workers and her husband, who were really nice and bought us a beer!

Saturday night ended really well, and Sunday we had a very relaxing day. We started our day with a light breakfast at La Madeleine, a bakery/french cafe (it's chain restaurant, but I don't think I've seen it outside of Texas...WEIRD!!!). Chelsea had some eggs and an iced coffee and I had some iced tea and oatmeal. For lunch, we went out with my mom, my little sister, and Chelsea to the wonderful Olive Garden, where my sister pointed out that although my mom likes the Olive Garden, she doesn't like olives (my mom ate everything in her salad BUT the olives!)...she's a jokester! Olive Garden was great and afterwards we went to the grocery store for dinner ingredients.

Although it was vacation my parents wanted to have a sit-down dinner but no ideas on what to make. We normally have fajitas for coming-home occasions, but we weren't really feeling the fajitas and neither were my parents. So Chelsea and I volunteered to make dinner. We made the Stoplight Pepper Soup on our blog and it turned out great. My parents loved it and my little sister did as well. We also got to see my little nephew who was walking!!! He turned 1 year on September 23rd. He's not only walking but running, which is sometimes a concern.

After dinner we went to the park where A LOT of my uncles were playing soccer. I also got a chance to see my cousin who I'm really close with. After the park we went back home where my brother and his wife joined us. We hung out for a while and talked about life, work, the city imposing a 40% increase on everyone's water bill, and ideas for Thanksgiving... rumor has it my mom will make Salvadoran food which we'll try to post on the blog! The night ended with a gift from my sister. She had these bracelets in her little jewelry box that she gave to Chelsea and I... I was really touched and happy that I have a thoughtful little sister. Chelsea had some Thank You cards in her backpack and we left her one before we left.

Monday morning we had breakfast with my cousin who I mentioned above and this great restaurant named "The Egg and I". Very good egg dishes and French toast. Our drive back was long, but we finished "The Shack" which we started in August. We had mixed feelings about the book as we listened to it, but in the end we both agree that it was a good book, and we like the overall message that it has. We got a little lost due to some car dancing to Glee and missing our exit, but we found our way back! At 4:20 we arrived to the Valley and started getting ready for tomorrow. The weekend was too short, but full of happiness. UNFORTUNATELY, we dropped the ball on picture taking, but my mom did take some so hopefully we can get them from her. Countdown to Chelsea's trip to see Brady and the Jets as well as Thanksgiving has officially begun!!!

Sugarland + Little Big Town = Happiness

Edwin and I went to Houston this weekend to see his family and to enjoy the sweet sounds of country music (aka a concert of my 2 favorite country bands: Sugarland and Little Big Town). Thank you to IDEA Public Schools for giving us the day off!!!!!! (It was a scheduled bad weather day... The Valley's equivalent of a built in make-up snow day) More on our weekend in Houston later, but here are a few pics from the concert.

Before the show. Can you tell we got there early? We were really excited.

The incredibly talented Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland

Edwin was super pumped when Sugarland sang a Miley Cirus song

The guy from Sugarland (in the hat) gave his guitar away to a girl right in front of us. We think he could see her dancing non-stop the entire concert all the way from the stage. Apparently he missed Edwin and my sweet moves, although I'm not sure how that's possible. Maybe next time. But what's even better than getting an autographed guitar? Having my dream of being on a Jumbo-Tron fulfilled because we were behind the girl. Check.

Brats, Beach, GLEE!!

Life has been full of small joys lately. The weather, while far from "Fall", has turned dry rather than humid. Temps are still in the high 80s, but if I close my eyes the breeze almost makes me believe it is autumn. Also, Edwin and I discovered "Simply Apple" juice which reminds me of cider straight from the orchards. Ah, simple joys.

Another big joy: This GLEE t-shirt that arrived in the mail last week!!! I've worn it 3 times since I got it (on Thursday). Thanks Mom!!!!!

On Friday night Edwin made beer brats. (An upside of summer-like temps: cook outs in October.) He used Octoberfest beer and put onions and red peppers with the meat as it boiled, which turned out to be an excellent combination! They were delicious. We enjoyed our feast in Edwin's backyard/orchard.

On Saturday we went to the beach, which was awesome. Edwin and I bought boogie boards and had a great time with them. It wasn't the best day for it, as the waves were small.... but we wore ourselves out trying to catch the perfect wave! It reminded me of family vacay's! After the beach we went to Padre Brewing Company for dinner. We lucked out and got Octoberfest beer that had finished brewing that day! It was awesome! The food was good too... we got Wisconsin cheese curds that could rival Culver's.

I don't have to teach this week because Edwin's kids are taking district exams... Good for me, stressful for him! This weekend we are going to Houston to see Edwin's family AND to see Sugarland & Little Big Town in concert! I am beyond excited! Stay tuned!