Christmas Recap and Then Some

I thought I'd share a little about Christmas and the first week back to school. First of all, I know teachers may not make as much money as other professions, but part of me (a big part) is totally okay with that because of the wonderfulness that is a two week break in December. Daniel also worked his schedule to get a significant amount of time off and we soaked up every minute of it. A visit to both families was refreshing. Daniel's high from Christmas was probably buying a trailer from an auction sight. Unfortunately the 13 hour trip to pick it up from the far reaches of Western Kansas was not as fun. Still, there is a giddiness that Daniel gets in his eyes when he gets to work with farm "stuff." My high would definitely be spending time with family....and my present from Daniel.

One of my students asked me if I got any jewelry and when I said no, she seemed shocked and disgusted. I do like the Carharts, but I'm extra excited about a trip to a concert in Tulsa that Daniel attached to my gift. It's not until February, but patience is a virtue. I've also included a picture of our tree. This piece of nature was cut down by Daniel and with a little TLC turned into a pretty good tree for the season. Daniel still has a little work to do when it comes to spacing ornaments, and Dipstick turned a Santa into his personal toy, but other than those minor details our first Christmas decorating venture in our new house was a success (Daniel was extra patient as I paced the aisles of the holiday section in Wal-Mart looking for those perfect accessories). Dipstick also enjoyed being the luckiest cat in Kansas (possibly world) as he was generously gifted by my mom (remember he was a mere flea covered stray when we found him in June). As I write this, he is literally playing fetch with Daniel with one of his many toys proving there is a little dog in all of us....?!?!

On the school front not much has happened other than getting back into a routine, which is actually quite admirable when I think about how tired I was last week. A funny/unique moment from last week came when we were sharing highs and lows from break and one student said his low was falling down the stairs at his house. He went on to share how he was pushed into a lake by his older siblings on previous vacations. I didn't know whether to laugh or feel sorry for him.

One final tidbit. Did you know that does are pregnant right now? I'm being introduced to deer hunting world and one of my students was talking about cutting out the baby from the doe he killed. I was horrified until they told me all the does were pregnant right now and every hunter is cutting Bambi's out of their mamas. I'm not some crazy animal rights activist, but this surprised me. Luckily I talk too much to ever be invited to go hunting :)