Battle of the Imports Nationals 2008

Bryan and his new favorite hero, 'Bisi moto (I don't know how to spell his last name but this is what he goes by). Nice guy, and very famous in the car world. Like the President of modified imports and/or fast cars. Bryan spent a lot of time talking to him, and he spent a lot of time waiting to talk to him but it was well worth it. Bisi must have been impressed by Bryan, too, because when Bryan introduced me to him he shook my hand and told me I have a wonderful husband. Awwww... Next topic of discussion: Moving to L.A. to work for his quickly growing enterprise and making gobs of money...ha ha...yeah, right... Bryan also got his autograph on his Honda hat and will be calling him soon to order parts for his own car...once he can afford to get it running again.
This is a car like Bryan's but maybe a year or two newer? Definately Bryan's favorite racecar of the weekend and runs times like what Bryan aspires to get his own car running to (again, once he gets the money...maybe by next summer! Though who knows if Battle of the Imports will come back to Oregon anytime soon?).
More pics of him and his buddy T talking to 'Bisi. You can't see Bisi's car cause it is in the shadows, but it can be a seven second car, though he had to change out a transmission over the course of the weekend...these guys make it sound so easy.
This was my own favorite soveneir of the weekend...my very own sticker for my car. I saw lots of these and was tickled when we found the booth selling them. Bryan bought one for me...isn't he a doll? He even washed the car Saturday morning before we left, but in case you cannot tell, we are parked in a field in the backcountry of Woodburn (which surprisingly is as not a bad of a town as I previously thought...)

Overall, we both had fun (Bryan more than I, but the weather was so nice I was just happy to be outside. Now you can see it on my face, shoulders and neck. We were both so worn out by the sun and our burns at the end of each day that we came home and crashed. Our neighbors upstairs BBQ'd yummy dinner for us Saturday night and we watched tv with them and played Scrabble. Tonight we ate pizza and I watched the season premiere of Desperate Housewives ...Yay!

Oh, and the best part of the weekend (other than enjoying each other's company for the first work-free weekend for us in months): When Bryan dropped the camera down 25 or 30 + feet underneath the bleachers and our wonderful brand new camera survived with only a few minor dings! Double YAY!

New This Week

Last night I got a haircut and I also got a full weave, with chunky sections of red and blonde and dark brown. We use the same colors (this is the third time with using this combination) and it still looks different everytime! But, I like it and the cut is cute too! I was trying to go for something a little more shaggy/pixie. This picture was taken before my haircut...when I had entered the final stage in growing out my hair when I hate it and can't manage its thickness so I do my best to keep it up and off my face. (Plus, it can be difficult to manage the furball on my chest :-).) Not one single first grader said anything about my hair, I feel it is important to mention. HOWEVER...at lunch today I heard all my kids from last year whispering "Mrs. H got her haircut!" "Mrs. H. colored her hair!". Longer stares than usual ensued on the playground and the bravest boy of them all asked why I did it. I guess my new kids just don't know me well enough yet, though we are just ending our fourth week (I can't believe it...its going by so fast!).

Speaking of the furball, this is Fuz n' Pilates. I think I have mentioned before how Fuz enjoys Pilates if he is ever around when I am doing it (which is pretty much all the time). This is him in his Pilates First Position. Coincidentally, this is also his Second, Third, Fourth...Last Position. He doesn't seem to follow any other moves though he stares intently at the screen while on his back with his paws in the air. I admit, this shot was staged because last night he would not cooperate when Bryan came around with the camera. But when he wants to, he does his best to keep up with his mama in her battle against the bulge. Fuz is also a champion at keeping his weight on.

After taking dinner to Bryan at work tonight, I decided to treat Fuz to something I spotted in my most favorite store of them all (Bed Bath and Beyond) last weekend. It was a great price, and I brought along my $5 off coupon! Fuz is so spoiled. We could not afford the fancy running water machine that he left behind when he moved in with us, but we always thought it would be fun to get this rock garden fountain thing. It keeps Fuz entertained and provides ambience for us. It comes with a light though you can not really see it in the picture. Bryan set it up and it sits on our end table in the living room. I saw Fuz finally climb up to check it out three hours later, but I did not have the camera with me. I just love the sound of dripping water!! One day I hope to sit in my reclining sofa with a good book, light the candle next to it and just listen to it run for hours.

Also new this week: CuRtAiNs!!! Ever since we moved into our bigger apartment and said we would be here awhile, I wanted to do my best to make it more "home-y". Well, a year later I finally figured out how to put up curtains (after much stress and deliberation...honestly). Bryan helped by putting the rods up and I picked everything out (with the help of our two moms). I am pleased with the result (I also have sheer white tab panels in the bedroom but Bryan is sleeping in there right now and I doubt they would show in the picture). Of course, now Bryan is antzy to find a house/duplex to rent with an ATTACHED garage so we will see come December when our lease is up. But I am glad I finally did this and can cross curtains off my list. The only other interior decorating I still want to do is get a couple of house plants for the winter...

Exhausted.

Today was a tough day with the kids. My birthday boy today reached a pink card, which is not good. Not good at all. But he said he "prayed to God in my head about it" and hopefully that will be enough to resolve the situation for the rest of the week. They were all just generally out of control- a condition of kids across town, apparently, as this was the anthem of my fellow exhausted teacher and friend Brittany. Perhaps it did not help that I only got four hours of sleep last night? Yes, most likely. But days of working until midnight and not falling asleep until 2:30 are now past me, as I finally quit Blockbuster last night. I quit without notice too. It was made very clear to me over the weekend that this was the right thing to do so though this decision was quick (no two weeks notice) I felt very confident about it. And a small part of me thinks they deserved it, but I won't go into details. So now even though I still have a full time regular job like most of middle-class America I feel like somewhat of a slacker and hope to get over that soon. I am also living on faith that the remaining bill from my summer classes will be taken care of (hopefully by the school). Now I just look forward to more time of rest and enjoying time off.

After work today I went for my appt with Dr. Jones to discuss lingering questions I had about my heart. He set my soul (and heart...get it? heart and soul...) at ease and mom's as well (she accompanied me). He broke things down clearer to me than before when we talked on the phone earlier in the summer, after wearing the heart monitor. He wants me to come in every 6-12 months for a checkup and the fluttering I was feeling was normal PVC's. It is when it lasts all day that it becomes a concern and we may have to think about fixing the 2nd extra connection that still exists in there. However, with the "fix" may come a pacemaker, which is why we are holding off on it. Hopefully I will be good to go though, and the chunk of change I laid down was well worth it.

Speaking of chunk of change, if anyone out there has some extra lying around and you would like to join Bryan and I on a cruise to Alaska next year, our group is opening up to more people to further lower the cost of the overall trip. We are leaving June 26 I believe...so let us know so Steve can book you a room! (at least two doors down from Bryan and I, who will be celebrating our third anniversary. Thank you.)

Changing Seasons

With each season change a new set of memories comes back to greet me. Fall is my favorite season and so as of late, random memories (like driving by the house by Costco that used to set up a scary graveyard every Halloween) strike me at odd times. But lately, as summer has come to a close, I have also had summer sparks of nostalgia as well. On Thursday night I was driving over Skyline after meeting my friend Liz on 23rd and I was close to the antennaes with red lights that I remember I used to see standing in the front door of my parent's house (now new houses block that view). And today I was driving behind a Honda Prelude, which they don't make anymore, and it reminded me of my neighbor and going over to ask her if I could take her dog for a walk in the neighborhood. And the powerful smell of gas it was emitting (much like all old cars) reminded me of road trips with family in the summer time. Thinking of the neighborhood, I remember when our house backed to a field and you could hear dogs in the kennel barking or we could pet horses over the fence. We also had a duck pond in our neighborhood we could go down to. And we also had honest to goodness block parties, where the main street through the neighborhood was blocked with cones, and we had bicycle races and ate food and played other games. Now all of that has changed.

And the neighborhood I live in now is even worse. Stories of people getting mugged over the fence by the school, today I saw someone getting arrested, the cops cruising our complex trying to talk to some people who know some people...it makes me sad thinking about it. And to think when I was growing up I wanted to live in a neighborhood like in the Wonder Years and I didnt even realize how good I had it. I could at least be free to go biking all around the neighborhood (within a reasonable radius). I am sure more things will come to mind as the seasons continue to change and small things will continue to trigger happy memories.

This past week flew by with dinner dates (5 nights of eating out for me!), catching up with friends, getting over being sick, spending time doing nothing with Bryan, and running errands today with mom, then attending our apartment complex's annual end of summer block party (which is also maybe what inspired me to write this post...it was pirate themed and people were running around our loop on a tresure hunt in pirate attire...very reminiscent of trick or treating at Halloween. I myself scored two keys which unlocked a treasure chest with $50 worth of gift certicates!) .

Tomorrow is back to our old church to see what is new there and then working retail again tomorrow night, which I am not looking forward to. Everytime I think about working another shift at the video store I wish more and more that I could get out before I go completely insane...huh...maybe that already happened. But I think I figured out today that the less i sleep, the happier I am. My brain must be releasing endorphins to make up for my lack of rest, because after my much anticipated morning of sleeping in today, I found it left me feeling rather blah.

Uhhh...Guilty! :-(

I do this...maybe I should stop?!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26727674/?gt1=43001

Like an Alpaca...

I was watching this episode of Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe on the discovery channel and he was taking care of alpacas on a farm. In the show, I learned that they spit because it is their only defense (they only have one row of teeth but I cant remember if it is upper or lower). I also learned that their spit comes from their stomach contents. I have been likening myself to an alpaca all day (well, since last night) because I have been coughing so hard lately and hawking up loogies and nearly losing my own stomach contents. For about 24 hours straight I felt nauseous. Right before lunch today I was hungry but nauseous and I had to stop teaching and go sit down in my chair and nibble on some bread. Of course, right at this time, a student comes up with blood in his mouth and insistent on making me see his tooth that fell out (at least I didnt have to hold it). But towards the end of the day I felt pretty good. By the way, if I hear one more person mention anything about my heart at work I think I will seriously scream. Someone actually asked me today if my cold was related to my "heart problems". Huh? Seriously? (Its like I am a walking defect over there....example: I can't carry anything over 2 lbs without a look of empathy. )Be sensible people! Its just a freakin cold!!! I went over to my parents (careful to wash my hands and not cough on anything)for dinner and a movie, which was relaxing before I had to pick up Bryan from work. Which was the other fun event of my most favorite day of the week (yucky Tuesday):

He sends me a text message to call him as soon as I can. Uh-oh. This cant be good. So I take my phone out to recess and hope no kids decide to scrape their knee the minute I get a hold of him. He tries to sugar coat his real message by asking if I can deposit his paycheck for him. Uh...okay. You had to ask me this now? Oh yeah- its because "I think I blew my motor." Right. Of course this would happen: Poor guy. He has been working his tail off extra hours all summer to pay for parts to race his car in the Battle of the Imports in a week and a half. Now its a no-go. There are no words to summarize his disappointment. But, he is keeping a remarkably good attitude about it so that is nice.

Tomorrow night is dinner with my long-lost Brittany, who is now doing a temporary subbing position through the end of October in a first grade class in Hillsboro and we don't see each other anymore. It has been wierd so far this year in school without her across the hall. And now like my other friends we have to set up dinner dates. Thursday is dinner with my other friend Liz, who I have not seen in awhile, which should be fun. Both girls are on my blog roll, by the way. And if you are a person who is cool enough to be my friend or be in my family and you do not have a blog, you need to get one!!! Check them out!

And if you watch the news, you might have seen lately that water bottles like Nalgene are linked to chemicals that can cause cancer and birth defects. I am happy to report by irony that last week I made my trek back to Joe's, for the one and only reason I ever go there: set on buying another bottle like I do every few years to be eco-friendly and because they do eventually wear out and leak like my cute one from Starbucks that I never should have put in the dishwasher(plus new bottles are always fun!). Instead of Nalgene, I settled for one (that was cheaper) called Lifeline and it says "BPA-Free" on the side which at the time I had no idea what it meant. Now I do and hopefully because of this I can prolong the chances that I will get cancer. And we still do buy disposable water bottles from the store (and I know we shouldn't) but with this new bottle hopefully I will refill more! And if you are wondering the color, it is red. Which I am totally excited about because at the time I was deciding, I did not even consider that it would match my red cell phone and my red lunch bag. Totally cool. And in the spirit of making lists (totally uncool...but sometimes it is easier to do in the blogging world with limited time) I thought I would share with you the mental list of 10 things I make sure to take everytime i leave my house:

1.) Water bottle- a healthy necessity.

2.) Cell phone- a vital necessity (and now #1 and #2 match- YAY!).

3.) Wallet- sometimes I wish I did not have this (keeps me out of trouble).

4.) Planner- for following more lists.

5.) Car/House keys- for the obvious.

6.) School keys- have forgotten these twice. Boy is that embarassing.

7.) Wedding rings (3 total)- I feel naked without these.

8.) My eye contacts- this sounds ridiculous but must be part of the list because there have been a few mornings when I fail to realize I do not have them in until I step outside my tiny apartment and cannot see my car.

9.) Sunglasses- for those of us with light colored eyes that cannot stay open on a bright sunny day without shades.

10.) Inhaler- not so much needed anymore, thankfully. (Did I add asthma to my confessions of a hypochondriac?!)

The Little Things...

1.) Watching Lilah turn one over the weekend. How exciting birthday presents and toys can be for tots. I wish I got that excited over my birthday and Christmas now!

2.) The overhead machine at school. These kids are dorks and get so excited for the 3 times when I have brought out the overhead and shine it on the wall. They think somehow it is a movie. Yes, our school is behind on the times...unlike public schools that have tv and dvd players in each room and ELMO?!? Whats that?!?!

3.) Two little pills that have transformed Bryan into a fan of the dentist. Since we have been married it has been a struggle to get him to go. Now he slips into a daylong euphoria and no longer gags while getting work done. Only six more fillings to do!! Woo hoo!

Thats all I can think of for now. We are both sick at our house with headcolds so motivation is lacking in all departments...

Sad Day.

So not only is today September 11 and we pay honor to those who died in the terrorist attacks 7 years ago, but I also found out today that a co-worker and friend lost her baby. Well, the baby was still born. This mommy was SOOO excited...it was like she was "the first woman to ever have a baby" as my mom would say. When she taught PE to my kids, she would let them touch her belly and tell them all about what the baby girl was doing. On our last day of school last year, we had a double baby shower for her and another co-worker who delivered a healthy baby boy last week. I cannot even begin to imagine what my other friend is going through...to have to go through the normal ups and downs of recovering from childbirth but without a child is too unbearable to even comprehend. I wonder how she is going to deal with all of the pretty pink gifts she got and the clothes she washed and folded? I talked with another lady in the office who experienced the same thing 19 years ago with her first child (a boy). She said it was devastating but at the same time she felt an overwhelming sense of peace. She knew she would see her son again in heaven and that God never intended this baby to live on earth (the autopsy showed no sign of a problem...the baby's heart just stopped). She knew that God's plan was for this experience to be a living testament to the healing powers of God, and how she could not have lived through this without faith in God the Creator of all beings. Because of this supernatural (and unexplainable) peace, she was able to go back to work within a month and be pregnant again in 3 months. When faced by numerous patients in the doctor's office she worked at over the next year, she was able to witness to hundreds of people about God's awesome plan for this baby's short life. While stories like these are immensely sad, they also make me feel happy that I too know Jesus and the wonderful friend that He is. Without him, hard times would be unbearable but lucky for us he carries our burdens for us... Thank you Jesus!

Confessions of a Hypochondriac...

I have been called this by my husband (recently) and my mom (awhile ago). I thought I was getting better. I blame it on a lot of tv watching, internet surfing and having a family member work in the medical field. As of late, however, I have been letting things slide and ignore those “If you feel…then you MAY have…” medical infomercials. Of course, once I let things slide and I ended up having a heart condition from nowhere (and I guess I still do…) Of course, out of all my sisters, I am the only one with eczema, allergies, asthma, bad eyesight, migraines, hearing and nasal problems (when I was younger), and I think I sweat profusely for a girl...go figure. Then there are the mysterious lumps. I thought I discovered one in my leg when I was in middle school, and then I really did discover some in my neck. The doctor said it was swollen lymph nodes and she suggested eating sour candy like lemon heads. Hmmm…it’s a medical miracle.

The last doctor I had I really liked…she was the one who was a fan of running tests for the slightest complaint (if I always felt fatigued, she ordered a blood test…when I casually mentioned my skipping heart she ordered an ekg). This was a step up from the previous doctor who I visited shortly before my wedding , who was more interested in how my mom was doing after heart surgery than my own concerns about my anxiety. Instead, she just wrote me a prescription for happy pills without any questions. And so now…my good doctor has moved on to another clinic and I am perilously riding out the end of the calendar year, hoping that if anything does go wrong with my body it will be before December 31 when all my medical bills are covered up to. However, I have no doctor. Up until now, I haven’t had a need since I will be switching to Kaiser in January. Why start another file at yet another doctor office? But then I got sick with a cold about two weeks ago and a tennis ball lump is in the side of my neck. Swollen lymph nodes again? And why is my skin all broken out in eczema and rashes again (this I have not experienced in a long time…)? So the question is, do I take advantage of my free medical care and get a new doctor for the next four months? Or do I chalk it up to being a hypochondriac and hope my tennis ball and itchy skin go away on their own? When do I even have time to decide now that school is back in session?

Oh and since I am doing confessions, ive got one more: Mom and Dad, when I mowed the lawn tonight I made a complete rotation around the yard before discovering I forgot to put the bag on the mower. Don't worry...I cleaned it up. I think...

A look ahead to this weekend:

Birthday shopping, maybe the drive in movie theater before it closes for the season on Friday? Or attending The Way church service on Friday night? Going to the party store with Gillian, Lilah's party, work, sleep and more work, then a planning meeting for Gillian's shower. Not much time for anything else....but I am still looking forward to it because it is time spent more "around" the home vicinity. Last weekend was nice and relaxing...though it is funny to me that I felt relaxed even though I still had a long list of things to do around the apartment. But never fear...I have one more blog lined up and then I probably won't get around to another one until next week. I have been firing them off lately! I guess I have just been trying to be more introspective and thankful and cheery. :-)

Things I Will Always Procrastinate On...

1.) Reading- especially the Bible, though when I get into it I really enjoy it. It is just motivating myself to sit down.

2.) Writing- same as #1. Some teachers have said I have a talent though I know that I lack motivation until I am sitting down and doing it. I have wanted to write children’s stories for years.

3.) Ironing and mending. I will never ever muster up the motivation for this, I will never ever ever enjoy it and I for sure lack the talent. Currently I have nine articles of clothing to iron and two to mend. The nine will continue to wait and the two to mend will go to Mom’s with me on Thursday.

4.) Exercising- there is always a reason not to do this.

5.) Calling people-It is never anything personal- I no longer enjoy talking on the phone. If I do talk on the phone I am usually multi-tasking- usually driving. It is always better to email me.

6.) Budgeting.

7.) Tackling that pile of pictures and the digital copies on our hard drive that continue to sit and/or multiply.

8.) Planning meals to cook and actually doing it.

Come to think of it, this looks a lot like my new year’s resolutions. Hmmm- I guess 2009 won’t be much different!!!


Other observations from today:
1.) I don’t think I need to raise my voice as much this week as last week. Maybe these kids won’t be as hard to crack as I thought…
2.) I think I have planning down to a science now. I am not nearly as frazzled as last year, so I give credit to God for that one. Plus, I am not going to try as hard to be the perfect teacher this year.
3.) After watching a boy reunite with his dad, who has been in Afghanistan since June, after school today, I realized I could never, ever ever do that. Even if Bryan and I still didn’t have kids…I would never let him leave for that long or that far. Call me selfish. I don’t know how mothers do it…

Things I Look Forward To....(the Tuesday BLAHS...)

1.) This weekend when my niece celebrates her first birthday at my parent's house.

2.) Quitting my second job by the end of the month (Lord willing).

3.) My friend Gillian's bridal shower.

4.) The days off of school (or at least free from kids) this semester.

5.) My friend Gillian's wedding.

6.) My sister Nicole's visit with her family around the same time.

7.) All of my sisters and families and our parents together for Thanksgiving.

8.) Fall and then winter (well, just winter break and Christmas, really).

9.) A trip to the beach with Bryan's family in February.

10.) The day I can be like my friend Brittany, who even though she did not get a teaching job this year, has been diligent enough to save money to live off of for a few months until she can start subbing (Thanks to Dave Ramsey!). Granted, every financial situation is different and we experienced a few financial pitfalls shortly after starting the class...

*.) And finally, the day I can be 50 pounds lighter like in high school. Ha ha...just had to add that one in! But I DO need to start considering next summer...its never too early to start trying yet again to achieve that bikini bod (if I had a bikini...) Do they wear swimsuits in Alaska?!

Late Night Drags...Isn't he cute?

This is Bryan in his 1991 Honda CRX, stomping the poo-poo out of an Audi A-4.

No, back to school does not mean back to HIGH school

I thought we were past the assumptions from strangers that I am in high school still. Being as how I am 25 and all. But no- someone asked "Oh, so you are going to high school now?" when I mentioned to a customer at Blockbuster how I was busy getting ready to go back to school. He did little to hide his surprise when I told him that no, I am a teacher. Grrrr....

Speaking of back to school, the first week went okay. Each day got a little better so I have high hopes for tomorrow. I forgot how much I need to break things down for six year olds. I wish we could just fast forward to March or April. But, if this is how my kids last year were at this time, I guess I am a pretty good teacher after all based on how they were when I sent them on to 2nd grade! It has been hard to see them with their new teacher and sitting at their new table at lunch, but I guess I need to get over that. One former student still comes in to give me a hug every morning before she goes upstairs to second grade. But enough about my kids from last year- I need to learn to love these new little guys now. These little very active guys! This year I also have a Gabriel, Bryson, Nicholas and Alex in my class, who are all the names of my sister's husbands and my husband (well, similar to Bryan) so I guess that is another reason to love them. I also have two girls who are neighbors...Bryan already met one of them unexpectedly in his garage! So , to sum up, when I think about all I have done in the past two weeks, I am impressed by how quickly the class is up and running and I picked up right where I left off (except for the smaller, squirmier kids...). I suppose we are off to a good start!

This weekend I have been to a Friday night church service for young adults, which was good, and I worked yesterday and went with Bryan to PIR last night so he can practice racing (his big race he is fixing his car up for ...called Battle of the Imports...is in 3 weeks!) and today we slept in and went swimming and Bryan is going to BBQ ribs tonight and we are going to watch a movie. I intentionally planned to stay home all day today, but Bryan went to get Starbucks this morning! It has been a very nice, end of summer day (by the way, after two years of marriage, I discovered today just how much Bryan is afraid of bugs...though he won't admit he is afraid!).

Speaking of fears, this is what happened to me when I forced Fuz to come head to head with the running vaccuum cleaner. Very funny, but also very bloody to my wrist (it was still worth it to watch Fuz scowl and growl, bunch up his tail, and finally commando crawl his way to the living room window behind the couch):

Fuzzy Hearts Bryan

P.S.

Despite a forecast of clouds and possible rain, the beach was GORGEOUS and WARM! God knew just what I wanted!!!

To the Beach!

All summer long I have scornfully watched as hot summer days have passed, wondering "Is it hot at the beach?" while I or Bryan slaved away at all of our jobs. As the official last summer day came upon us today, we decided that we would take a day together to do something fun and it was BRYAN my HUSBAND the SAND HATER who suggested going to the beach. When we told our friend Melissa that yesterday at church, her mom jokingly asked us if we wanted to take the kids. Since Melissa had to work and her mom just moved and we love the kids to death, we thought it would be fun. And it was. We actually had more fun with them than we would have without them. Its great to have kids sometimes, but even better to drop them off and come back to a nice quiet apartment, where we both promptly laid down and fell asleep. Hey, if they got to do it both on the way to and coming back from the beach today, we figured it was our turn! They all had fun and Zachary and Adeline are both just as cute as Jacob, who we have babysat numerous times before. And they are all crazy about Bryan. He could not keep them off of him, even after dinner tonight at their Grandma's, which was recieved in exchange for our day of fun with the kids. Not a bad deal!

The rest of the weekend Bryan had off but I worked at Blockbuster on the nights. I am thinking I will be hopefully done there by the end of September. It is wearing me down and it is wearing Bryan and my relationship down. But we had a great weekend...Bryan BBQ'd steak that had been waiting in the freezer for us on Saturday and we both got to run errands we had been waiting to do and on Sunday we went to church and out to lunch with Gillian and her fiance Brent, which was also fun. We have not eaten this heartily in a long time...another reason to quit my second job! But going out to eat is fun....though it does get expensive after awhile!

Tomorrow is the first day of school. I will have to look back on my blog a year ago and compare. I think I know what I am doing this time around, but when I think of all the school supplies that are going to be flying at me tomorrow morning I want to cringe. At least I met most of them on Back to School night last Thursday night. Mom did a wonderful job helping me get ready (THANK YOU!) and despite being sick with a sore throat and cough it went well. So at least tomorrow I sort of have a better idea of what I am getting into. I will update later!!!

Have a good week!