{Quick Getaway to Oklahoma}

Tomorrow is our first anniversary! Brian and I have been discussing a few ideas but when it came down to it we felt like we really didn't care what we did, we just wanted to be together. I've never been a huge celebration person, but this was our first anniversary so we felt like we should do something. We discussed going somewhere for the weekend and Brian said he would plan it. So Saturday morning came and Brian told me to pack clothes for the night. As we hopped into the car, I asked Brian if he would give me the direction we were going {North, South, East, West}. No such luck. I would just have to enjoy the ride and figure out where we were going as we went.

{Meers, OK}

Brian drove us North to this quaint little mining town called Meers, where they made fresh Meersburgers. When I say fresh, I mean the meat comes right from their own cattle. It was delicious! And they even put our drinks in mason jars. Following our tasty meal, Brian drove onto the wildlife preserve so we could go hiking and see buffalo, long horns, elk, and deer. They were so close to our car, it was crazy! And there were no fences between us and them. They literally crossed the road ride behind us when we stopped the car.

Our final destination was Lawton, OK where we ate at an amazing local Italian restaurant. Brian booked us a hotel with a Jacuzzi {score!} And we simply enjoyed the time together and sleeping in.

Oh, and on our way back, we purchased an iphone for me! It will come right after Christmas and I will finally be a part of the smart phone world.

::Turkey::

Guess what?! Today Brian and I made our very first turkey. Yes, I know Thanksgiving has already passed but we didn't get to make our turkey and enjoy all the wonderful leftovers. We had Thanksgiving at one of our friends down the road which was absolutely amazing, however, we still wanted to make our very own turkey.  We bought the turkey the week of Thanksgiving and have been waiting the right day to cook it up. Today was that lucky day!

I got back from work at noon and started reading directions. Prior to this, I had a few conversations with Grammy and Papa {the turkey experts in our family} to prepare for the cooking.  As I opened the turkey, I was calling Brian because I thought a dissection might be needed to extract the neck, liver, and other giblets. Thankfully, they were all neatly together in a separate paper wrapper. Cooked those babies up and prepared the stuffing for our soon-to-be delicious turkey. When everything was ready, we popped the turkey into the over and cooked it for a good three hours.  Unfortunately, we had no thermometer to measure the temperature so Brian carefully watched the bird. 

And let me tell you, our bird ended up being perfectly moist. However, only as we pulled the turkey out did I realize I had forgotten one small yet significant ingredient {salt} Oops! Yet, the turkey still tasted amazing and we had one successful post-Thanksgiving meal complete with a scrumptious turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. Not quite the full meal, but we were completely stuffed afterward!

Now we're ready for turkey noodle soup, turkey enchiladas, turkey sandwiches... and the list goes on!

{Sharing Christmas}

What is the best way to share Christmas with those far away? Christmas cards! Brian and I made a little setup the other day to take our Christmas photos. Wish we had our brother-in-law, Ashur, around to help take photos. Or my professional photographer friends, Danielle, Jordan, and Kari M. But we made do and I'm looking forward to sending them out! Sneak peak of our photos, but not the one we used for the card...

Yes, ma'am!

I've decided to go more in depth on my teaching in Texas so far.  As soon as I had started subbing, I learned real quick the "yes, ma'am"s and "no, ma'am"s the students are supposed to respond with out of respect for their teachers. It is so endearing to hear their little voices say these words!

As I mentioned, I'm currently working with small group part-time. I meet with two groups of third graders in the morning for 45 minutes each. One follows the other. We've been talking about different types of poetry. And I'm just starting to get to know their little personalities.  I have to admit, as a teacher there are days I feel on top of the world when lessons go extremely well and then other days when I feel down in the dumps, wonder why I even considered teaching and think of all the things I should have done differently! After my lesson on Friday, I felt awful. I taught an okay lesson, but I wanted it to be great! The kids learned, but the lesson didn't come together as well as I had hoped. I don't like those days. I came home to Brian and vented about the not-so-great lesson and then called my family and vented some more. At times like those, I'm very thankful for the listening ear those around me provide.

Today, I taught three lessons and by the end, I felt accomplished. My lessons ran smoothly and everything flowed. Even got observed by the Vice Principal {Eek!} I hope he liked what I was teaching cause I had no idea he was coming and it was my first day working with the first graders. My first graders are little dears. I cannot wait to see the progress they make this year! They follow my groups of third graders.

{via}

My last group is second grade but we're still trying to workout my schedule to see how I will be used. With adding my new position, schedules have been altered and still more changes have to be made to figure out where the need is. But so far, I'm loving my job. And can I say how awesome part-time is? I know I will be thankful for full time in January when Brian is gone, but right now I'm loving this!

Christmas time is here...

We have our tree up, the nativity set, and even a few poinsettias! Brian and I went to the store last night and bought hot cider and eggnog to celebrate! Today, I volunteered on base for the annual Christmas party. I helped kids decorate their cookies. But the most amazing part is Santa and his elf came on T-38's (yes, we live on an AF Base!) The kids loved it.

I've been working part time this week as I mentioned earlier. I'm currently teaching 1st-3rd graders in the morning. I'm loving the part time work schedule! However, I know come January when Brian is gone, I will love going full time.  It's been a joy getting to know the students and the staff. I can tell their going to be fun to work with!

Thursday night, I met with some ladies on base who get together every Thursday night for hot chocolate and popcorn. I'm planning on joining them again we had so much fun! They even pulled me into a Zumba workout on Friday. I cannot dance. I don't think this was the workout for me but it was good company.

Well, Brian is making something that smells delicious for dinner but I wanted to post a quick update cause I hadn't posted all week.