NOT my best class taught

Let me just give you an idea as to what kind of class I taught today at our local gym. I arrived at the appointed time; 9:30am to teach a cycling class. As I walked in, I saw one woman already sitting down and pedaling. My heart dropped, knowing that she and I were going to be the ONLY ones attending today.

I have had few in attendance lately, but one on one classes have got to be the worst. Do the instructors a favor next time it is just you and her...leave the class! I don't like the "personal trainer" type classes where it is just me and the other poor member.

"Carmen" was listening to her Ipod so loudly that I could actually hear the songs from across the room. I asked her if she would like to switch bikes to sit up closer to me so I could instruct her on the class and have her participate a bit more. She declined my offer and said she would be just fine where she was at. Too bad she was literally at the FURTHEST corner in the room, a good 25 feet away from me...and she was not even facing me! ha! I asked how she would be able to keep up with me, and she said she would just, "watch me."

So, this is how the class went. I pedaled along all ALONE at the far end of the room, while Carmen was at the other end in her own world of Ipod music and her OWN cycling moves! It got to a point where I actually TURNED OFF my own music just to listen to hers b/c it was so loud.

One of the front desk people came by to give a tour to a potential member and they gave the an odd look as the peeped inside the room, only to see me all alone...no music...and doing my own moves by myself b/c my girl Carmen was be-bopping by herself and obviously not listening to a word I was saying.

I looked over to Carmen towards the end to tell her we would be sprinting and then cooling down, did she even listen to me or follow my directions? Of course not. I felt pretty foolish to say the least. I had to keep reminding myself that I was a good instructor, that I have had FULL classes before with lots of people enjoying my class...that this whole experience was just another memory to soon laugh about.

Despite the awkward silence, no interaction, no members and boring conversation...I did sweat.

You know you live in a border town when...

I recently went in to get a new vaccum from a local specialty store....you know you live in a border town when the first thing they ask you is, "are you or your maid going to be doing the cleaning?"

You know you live in a border town when the announcements at the grocery stores are first given in Spanish, and then in English.



We are getting our septic tank emptied out (what a disgusting job!!! What courage and strength it must take to actually do the emptying and handle the intense smell, as well as talk to stranger daily about their "solid mass amount"). As they were leaving from my backyard, I noticed one of the workers taking my pecans fro my pecan tree without asking!




Little by little my house is coming together...our next big project will be the landscaping...any ideas for this massive amount of backyard space???


So far...I do love this border town...

Pantry Pleasure

What joy fills my heart to stock up my pantry!!! I have been living from small rations, to limited supplies for so many months...that is just such a treat to buy "a few extra bags of chips" or extra ice cream for visitors that I ANTICPATE WILL COME ANYDAY!! (hint hint). I keep thinking, "what would I want to eat if I were a visitor?" and then buy it for the hopes that someone will come and hang out. I want to always have yummy stuff on hand so that I can be a great hostess. Usually food is what brings the best out of people...I just came from Wal-Mart in this border town on a Friday night. Naturally, the shelves were pretty empty, but the lines weren't too long and I was able to do it all before 9pm!

I also have decided to work twice a week at DirectBuy. A few reasons: health benefits are covered 50%, I have more time to spend with Jared, I get a chance to get dressed up and out of the door by 9am, and it allows me to socialize with adults and learn more about our "family business." My nanny came over today, she is a 19-year-old and I feel good about her. She obviously doesn't have kids, but seems to interact well with mine and can cook without scraping up my pots and pans! I always leave her a list of activities, foods to prepare, some light housekeeping, and other ideas. I am sure she will be bored working tomorrow a full 10 hours...she asked me what I do all day long...and I just told her that I try to stay busy! My kids definitely were testing her buttons with nap time, movie watching and fighting with each other. Either way, I was super happy to come home and chase them around for kisses.

While I am on here...a few New Year's Resolutions:

Write in my journal, as well as the boys' journals once a week
Cook dinners 4-5 x's a week, and take them to Jared at work when possible
Is getting pregnant a goal? (not sure when quite yet...still indecisive)
Read scriptures with my boys during breakfast 4-5 x's a week
Read one book a month
MORE PATIENCE with my toddlers!
Overall, just be a better person spiritually and physically for my family....how does anyone measure that?

Hallelujah!

Tonight I am making history for myself. Never again will I take for granted having free access to the internet and posting pics, blogging, getting info, reading articles, etc....

The local cable/internet guys came by today and we are back in the cyberworld! Already Austin has climbed under the computer desk, refuses to let me type and read to him a night time story (he takes my hand off of the keyboard and starts
yelling at me, "libro!"), and

Wesley is addicted to the bright lights coming from the screen....

Please enjoy the before and after pictures of our home....it is missing some fine details (some end tables, mirrors, throw rugs, pictures, paint, etc)...but, you can get an idea of what all of our hard work when into since August!!! Good grief already!

Our newest member of the family...Rascal! Wrangler has been reunited with us and he loves his new brother Rascal, another black lab who is not quite 2-years-old. So, they wrestle, play and slobber all over each other. Wrangler has definitely made Rascal know that he is in charge with all of his humping action. Gross! I am glad they have each other to play with, at least until we get out backyard landscaped...




You can see we re-painted the exterior to white and fresh red paint...we replaced the door as well and put in a pretty red one...thus the pics of my cute boys this last Sunday in their best dress...yes, Austin has scabs all over his face from a previous "moto" accident where he fell off...yikes!






The fireplace was re-finished with stone and granite will be placed on the hearth this week...







Our family room has new paint, diagnol tile, new arches in the walls, and light fixtures...





The kitchen was expanded, all new cabinetry/appliances, walk-in pantry, an island was made, new lighting...the list goes on and on on that project...






A few extra pics of our master bath (I LOVE OUR RED AND BLACK GRANITE!!!!!!!), front entrance and extras...


The boys have a baseball theme in their bedroom (I love the vinyl April and their quilte Arianne!), and their toy room is a fun blue, lime green and white polka dot idea...



Tell me what you think!

Surrounded by men!

We moved into our remodeled house on New Years Day....quite exhausting to say the least! We didn't have a lot of functioning things, but now that it has been a full week...I am thrilled to say that we have mostly all of our kitchen installed (appliances and granite), 2/3 bathrooms completed, all the baseboards and trims, and lots of lots of garbage and boxes piled up in our garage.

Why am I surrounded by men you may ask? Well, because we moved in early, the workers have been coming in everyday to complete their tasks. It's not such a bad thing if you don't mind being the only female with 8-10 male workers (strangers to say the least!!!) and home-bound all day long. You just never know who might take something, not finish their job completely or have questions about certain things.

It was a rough day yesterday b/c with our kitchen out of commission, Wesley, Austin and I were toy-room bound ALL DAY! Have you tried to entertain two toddlers in one room for 12 hours???Not fun or practical. I also have been keeping the house at a cool 68 degrees since the workers come in and out the doors as they please, as does the heat in the house. I haven't even started to explain the MESS of grout, dust, water or dirt that has been piled up b/c of them.

Needless to say, I am SO SO SO happy to finally unpack and be in my spacious house. My BBF Arianne Pearce came for a last minute visit at 1am all the way from Phoenix to help (with her three kids and hubby) us unpack and get set up. She is a professional organizer and more than anything, such a blessing in my life to come and get me set up. I wish I could have provided at least a shower for them! They left in a hurry, but their help and love was priceless.

I hope to finally get internet/computer set up this week....which means I can include pics from the last 6 months....before and after the remodel...and thousands of dollars later!!! ugh...

So far my favorite part of my house is not only having a faucet with a sprayer, but of course the garage access, washer and drier...and being able to unpack things from two years ago!!!

Bed Hopping

How many times are kids allowed to get up during the night before their parents go crazy??? Austin and Wesley are official "bed hoppers." We start out in our own beds, next thing I know...Wesley is needing water or is too hot and comes into my bed.

So, Wesley takes over my spot and I go to the next available room...until Austins starts making a fuss and wanting to get out of his bed too...

Jared gets sick of Wesley kicking and screaming and so he comes into the guest room with me...which takes me full circle back to our original bed...with Austin now climbing out of his crib and wanting some attention!

In bed by 8pm, but they are ALWAYS up by 6am...enough already!

We are moving now........our house currently does not have a kitchen sink/faucet installed, no showers, one sink in our guest bath, no cooktop or dishwasher...but, we are still moving in!

I am packing up and packing up now...with hopes that this next move will be good for 2 + years!

Christmas thoughts

We had our DirectBuy Work party last night, including Famous Dave's BBQ catering, a "white elephant gift exchange" (MY PERSONAL FAVORITE!) and kaeroke to turn up the heat. My thoughts go to last year and where I was. I was teaching Jr High and doing gift exchanges in my classrooms amidst my students. I miss receiving so many random "teacher" gifts (candles, chocolates or cards). This year I settled for a Circuit City gift card and Jared ended up with some golf balls.

I feel bad that we don't have any decorations up for this year, mostly for my boys. Isn't Christmas about your kids? So, we have to go to Wal Mart or the library for Wesley to light up and say, "look mama, Christmas tree!" I simply have no room or energy to unpack and pack things up, knowing that we will hopefully be moving FOR REAL at the end of this month.

Despite the fact that we have completely BUILT and REMODLED from the ground up TWO CUSTOM HOMES, somehow Jared and I are still somewhat sane and married to one another. There has been so much stress in our lives this last year (our AZ home was finished in May, and this TX home hopefully will be done in Dec/Jan), with our moving, finances, stability and dealing with construction men....remind me never to do this again!

I watch those HGTV home decorating shows and get so antsy to get into my own home. They make things look SO DARN EASY, but in reality, it is hard work~~~~!!!! I think the hardest part could easily be dealing with the sub-contractors and the laborers. They over charge you, sometimes don't do quality work, and usually DO NOT do it in the time frame that you gave them. I try to put on a "hard face" when I go to the house to see what they are doing (actual work and not wasting time talking to one another!), but it is hard to be the boss when your two toddlers are running around, getting their feet muddy with grout or crying to be held b/c the "tile saw" scares them with it's loud vibrations.

So, another day passes and Jared and I are still anxiously awaiting the chance to just live in a house for once~ I am able to do some laundry though, just have to go every hour to swap it out there in the garage and leave my kiddos in the car waiting for me to get done.

The last question I will post, what does Adrienne want for Christmas? Obviously, just want to be in my home. But, my second wish would definitely be to have a digital baby grand piano. Is that too ambitious?