Givin' Glory and Thanks

I owe Gina a blog.  So here, I write.  :o)  Of course, naturally, it's been busy and doesn't show signs of stopping.  Last weekend, my mom, dad, and sis came to town to spend the weekend.  Seems like just yesterday I was writing about when they were here last, but their visits never get old.  I always appreciate seeing them!

One of the highlights for me, certainly for my mom, was getting my mom roped in to coming to my class for 90 minutes.  She will never get up as early as she did that fateful Friday, again.  Last Friday, I knew that my classroom was going to be slightly short-staffed being that one staff member was enjoying a vacay in Seattle.  So, I guiltily swayed my mom into coming into help because it would be soooo unmanageable without her.  She was pretty floored when only four students showed up.  As dad put it, "Do you think you can handle it?"  Well, I guess...but mom got to finish the book Call it Courage with one of my students and she even got to administer a spelling test.  Lucky her!  She was quite impressed with his spelling ability and enjoyed finishing the book and discussing it with him.  She later told me, "Yes, he's a very good reader.  He mispronounced some of the words but I didn't correct him on all of them, though I probably should have."  Out of curiosity, I couldn't help but ask, "What words?"  She responds to my question with her own question, and says, "Well, how do you pronounce 'a-l-b-e-i-t'?"  I said, "All. be. it."  To which, she laughed and said, "Oh!  Is that how you say it?  That's how he said it too!"  I then had to ask how she liked to pronounce that word and she said, 'All. Bite.'  Uh no...I don't think so.  She also got to meet my new little gem and she got a real talking to about Pokemon, or was it Stars Wars?  No one remembers because they don't really know about anything he is talking about.  Overall, I think she enjoyed the experience.

Saturday brought about interesting plans, as the hotel we were staying in didn't seem to get the channel that carried the Oregon game.  First of all, why is the number one team in the nation playing on Versus and second of all why is the number one team in the nation playing on Versus?  We were left with no choice but to take mom and dad to Hop Valley (a local sports bar and grill) for dinner and game watching.  My dad was hilarious watching this spectacle.  There were of course tables upon tables of Duck fans, and my sister and I being old hats at this game of watching at a bar, were quite comfortable.  My dad on the other hand could not stop cracking up every time the Ducks did something good and everyone would cheer and clap loudly.  He has spent way too much time watching football by himself, is all I know.  My mom even gave it a good effort and stayed for the whole game, despite multiple threats to leave.  "Ah, I think I'll go now..."  Sit down.  Watch the game.  And have a damn good time.  She did a good job.  Turns out, she's quite knowledgeable about sports trivia, as she was spouting off little tidbits throughout and on the way home.  Who knew?

Well, we're coming up on Thanksgiving break.  I'm very excited for a break.  I feel so burned out.  Albeit, family vacations never seem to feel THAT restful.  This year, I actually get my own room, so I'm very much looking forward to getting some sleep!  But, I know we have lots of fun things to do, too, so I won't be able to sleep THAT much.  I have a lot of packing coming my way this weekend.  Fun, fun.  But, I will be beyond ready to get out of this town Monday night!

Turns out, last night, I get a text from my cousin Jason asking what I'm doing Sunday night.  This is a very peculiar question...what does anyone do on a Sunday night?  I questioned him with "What!?" But, that message was sent at 2:30 a.m. so I didn't get much of a response.  When I finally awoke, I texted him to inform him that I usually roll around in my 'jamas, make some din din, and watch 60 minutes...just like you'd expect of any self-respecting 26 year old.  He texted me back and invited me to tag along with his crew to see Daniel Tosh.  YES YES YES!  Don't read too much into my excitement I don't even know who the guy is.  But I have heard quite a bit about him and am very anxious to see what his comedy is all about.  He is a comedian right?  I think he might have a t.v. show...

Today's list - Things I'm thankful for continued...
1.  Faith
2.  Family
3.  Friends
4.  Health
5.  Home
6.  Food
7.  Clothing
8.  Education
9.  Warmth
10.  My Own Transportation - Car
11.  A laptop for which to write this blog ;o)
12.  Employment/Career
13.  Clean, drinkable, running water
14.  Enough dollars to pay my bills
15.  A comfortable bed
16.  Thick hair
17.  Supportive coworkers
18.  Electricity
19. Warm coat
20.  Books