Final Day of October

October has been a big month for us- is it any wonder we are both feeling under the weather and unenergetic? Tomorrow I start my new regime to eat healthy and exercise as much as possible from November 1 til Christmas. But tonight we are on the couch, watching movies and eating candy (and hopefully passing some out too!).

This final weekend has been a fun one- on Friday I took my class and last year's class to the corn maze on Sauvie's Island (something I always enjoy but Bryan doesn't). Except somehow it became a whole lot less enjoyable when I had 37 kids to watch out for, and parents too for that matter! Friday night we enjoyed time with Kendra and Mark, as we all prepared for the upcoming Heinrichs wedding by getting the boys fitted for their groomsmen apparel. We enjoyed a relaxing dinner at their house and then cosmic bowling!

On Saturday I slept in (kinda) then Debbie and I went on a bread rund then I went back to sleep. (By the way, if anyone wants free Panera bread, I know where to find it :-)....and no, not in a dumpster). I cleaned my house and prepared for an early dinner with Heather, Lilah and Mom and Dad. Then we went to my school for a Harvest Party! Four of us showed up for one 3 year old, but I think we all had fun. Then Bryan and I went for Coldstone ice cream, and ended up going back to the bowling alley for more cosmic bowling, and as it turns out, lots and lots of costumes! They had the place decked out so it was pretty fun.

Today, as previously mentioned, we have been down for the count. We did venture out to get our movies and candy. I plan to make nachos for dinner and thats about it.Oh, and Fuz will be getting into his submarine costume again. Novemeber is looking to be a pretty easy month (not very many days in school!) so Im looking forward to getting back on top of my game!

Happy Halloween!

Falling Back and Getting Caught Up

I am sinking into my old traditions of staying up late and not getting enough sleep! Routine exercise has gone by the wayside, but luckily I am still being careful about what I eat. I have even gone so far as to make a couple healthy dinner dishes from scratch (I have some impending time off in November to where I look forward to using that free time to plan out more recipes- hopefully I can keep that time open so I can finally sit down and do it!). However, both Bryan and I are working way too much!

On the plus side, my weekends this month have been very low-key and blah, but since Bryan has started his shop and I have gotten back into the thick of school, it is well needed and deserved. Although, I have begun to feel a little down in the dumps, which I hope is not an indicator of how our winter will go. I think one of the problems is because we are so tired on the weekends, we have had a hard time getting up and going to church lately...

Today was an exciting day however- one of our traditions is going down to Woodburn to get a start on Holiday shopping every year. Usually we do this in November, but Bryan also needed a pair of workshoes now so we went to the Outlet stores today, after sleeping in (a little early, since Walmart was still setting up all of their Christmas decorations). I think I may want to go back later in November because I still have my heart set on a pair of flannel pajamas from the Gap (not out yet either) and maybe some more Christmas lights. Bryan did not find any basketball shorts, either. We did find a few things we have been looking for for awhile, including Christmas gifts for some of the kids, and we got a gift for ourselves: a big red Papazan chair for our living room (both have been wanting one for awhile but did not say anything to each other until Bryan brought it up today- it was spendy but we figured we have not bought any furniture for ourselves lately...like in about a couple years!). It was nice spending a full day with him since that has not happened since before the shop opened.

The shop has been going well, by the way. They are "in the black" which means they are actually turning a profit so far this month, but they are working their tail-ends off. We both need to be super careful about working too much, because I know I can burn myself out on teaching as well!

Fuzzy is doing well- last week he started shaking his head like a person with Parkinson's, which scared and disturbed me. Of course, it didn't last long and when we took him to the vet today they found nothing wrong with him. Praise the Lord! I couldn't deal with another sick family member right now! :-(.

Well that is about all now! The pictures are a sign of how exhausted Bryan has been lately. Also, I am trying to start getting Fuzzy shots for the 2010 Christmas card. Not overly impressed with how they turned out today, but when you have a squirmy cat sitting on itchy hay with a yellow submarine outfit on, whatd'ya gonna do?

October

Well, I used to look forward to October as a reprieve from September (one of my least favorites) but it seems we are starting a tradition of beginning the month of October on a bad foot. Last year Dad was taken by ambulance to the ER at St. Vincent for an electrolyte imbalance, and this year Mom drove him to the Tuality lab to get an x-ray of an arm that had swelled, and he ended up staying longer after they found massive blood clotting up and down his arm and neck. All of these symptoms and problems are attributed to his Shy Drager Syndrome or M.S.A. (multiple system atrophy). Its an ugly, degenerative disease that I so wish he did not have to endure. It gets harder and harder to watch both him and my mom, who takes on the heavy burden of caring for him, go through this. Im hoping that, like his other problems, this one can be taken care of in the safest and most effective way. And while these problems persist and new ones keep cropping up, the Lord blesses him and us each day he is with us a little while longer. I love you Dad and Mom.

Bryan's Grand Opening BBQ

Bryan's shop is doing well so far...he already has a steady stream of customers after one week since opening! We had a BBQ on Friday night, and it was mostly just a lot of friends with Hondas that showed up! :-) We had fun though!

Fuzzy's new Yellow Submarine Halloween costume!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDDqwtM0CeU

Watch the video on YouTube to see how he handled wearing it for the first time!

Yay! He did it!

Yesterday marked a milestone in Bryan's life. At 26 years old, he is now a small business owner, which has been a lifetime dream of his. He works so hard and I am so proud of him! Of course, with this success comes a few pitfalls, such as an impending seperation of him from the rest of his life (i.e. me) but in the end it will all be worth it. :-)

He is joined in this endeavor by his best friend, Andy, who shares the same vision, experience, and even technical training (they both attended, while in seperate years, Wyotech in California). Andrew's mom, Angela, is the investor and bookkeeper and has been instrumental in getting this business off the ground. So far I have only been responsible for setting up a Facebook page (which I worry was done unsuccessfully due to the relatively small response) and buying toilet paper for their bathroom. :-) I like it that Bryan is involved in something I don't have to worry about too much, since I am the bookkeeper/housecleaner/cook for home. Each of Angela, Andy and Bryan's experiences and special skills are a little different, so collectively they will do an excellent job, and they already have so many supporters.

His shop is not too far from home, so I can just peddle on my little bike over there whenever I want to see him. :-)He will stay with his current employer of 4 years, since there is safety, security and support there. He will pour all his extra time into the other shop, which means his own little projects (personal cars) will be put on hold for awhile (which I am also okay with- that will save us a little $$$ :-)). Everything they make now will be put back into the shop to build up a little savings, then hopefully in 3 years when their current boss at Twin Oaks retires, they will just shift over to their own shop which will hopefully be off the ground by then.

To start, Bryan recieved a dealer's license which will allow him to go to auctions to purchase re-po'd, lease returns, police confiscated vehicles, fix them up if need be, and re-sell them. He will also continue with his current set of side job customers and fans, and progressively build up the repair shop to complement the brokering side of the business.

It all happened so fast, but has been a long time coming. God definately has blessed Bryan and his partners within the last month, and everything has come together so smoothly. Thanks so much for all your support too!

Oh, and as for me, nothing is new. I just realized I haven't blogged since school began. Everything is going well- the little ones are definately more active and talkative than the last group, but the support from families this year has been amazing, so my job has actually been enjoyable so far! Unfortunately, I have fallen back into my sleep less, arrive late, leave work late, go to bed late routine, but I will try to fix that too! I also am attempting a new Bible Study this fall but I am 1 for 2 in attendance so far :-(. Its okay because September is a learning curve in my book- I anticipate a much better October! Yay! Fall is here, and due to Bryan's success, it is off to a great start! Praise Jesus! :-)