We have had a good weekend around here. Chad got up to go take his 3rd nursing test yesterday morning (and I got to sleep in! Woo hoo!) and he passed with an A. So he's almost halfway there with the tests. He has another one this Saturday, and then three more after that. He's doing great! Yesterday we also went running, did laundry, and raked the last of the leaves that have fallen into our yard.

Also, I spent a lot of yesterday researching plane ticket deals for our Hawaii trip (which explains the running--I'm trying to get in shape for our trip, plus fit into all the clothes I've grown out of). I need some advice from those of you who travel a lot. I have heard that there are better days of the week, and good times where you are a certain amount of time away from your trip, that it is better to buy tickets. Our trip is in mid-June, so when should I look for tickets? I had back luck yesterday because all of those flight-comparison websites had not updated their fares over the weekend and I kept trying to buy a fare that is apparently sold out. Anyway, if you have any advice about this, I'd love to hear it.

That's about it from here. More laundry this afternoon, and maybe a nap. Hope everyone has a great week!

Well...

The UIL meet is over and done with. I was up at school at 6:45 this morning to make sure my contest rooms were ready, and my judges and proctors started showing up at 8:15. I had 13 judges and 6 proctors total, so plenty of help. It ran very smoothly and I was finished by 2:00. Then I came home and took that nap I had been fantasizing about all day. So, now I know I can do it and it won't be such a big deal to me next year. I know some of you who read this are actually interested in how it went, so that's why I'm posting. Thanks for caring about the miniscule events in my life.

I just talked to Chad a little while ago and I think he is giving his third talk as I am writing this. After that he'll be done for the day and he'll just have Bible class and the sermon tomorrow (just?). Then he'll be going to visit Shawn & Emma, so I'll be picking up Brandi from the airport and we'll have a good ol' fashioned slumber party on Sunday night. I'm excited about it, and I'm also ready for Chad to be home!

Quick update. It's been a busy week and it will be a busy weekend as well. But, I am feeling a little deprived of blogging, so I decided to take a few minutes to feel like I am actually communicating with people. So a lot of you found out today that my sister is expecting another baby, and since she published it on the world wide web, I figured it would be okay to discuss on my blog as well. I'm really excited. Keep those nieces and nephews coming, family. They're lots of fun.

Also, I pulled a Josh today and made a complete fool of myself in front of the entire student body. You see, there are two mascots at school, and I have one in my yearbook class and one in my Journalism I class. So, they asked me to be a part of the pep rally today. Wanting to be a good sport, I said yes. So I had to do this stupid obstacle course thing with two other girl teachers that involved me jumping rope for 10 seconds at the half court line. It was a battle of the sexes pep rally, and the girls won. I mean, the guys didn't really try, but still I was glad that we won and also glad that the mascots didn't make me hula hoop. I'm actually pretty good at jumping rope. Anyway, a lot of my students were taking pictures at the pep rally today so if they got any of that I'll be sure to post it. I'm sure y'all will get a kick out of it.

Tomorrow is the dreaded UIL meet at the school. I'll be up at the crack of dawn to get my events ready, and I will be coordinating my four events all day (making sure I have proctors, judges, etc.). Just thinking about it makes me want a nap, which I will be sure to take tomorrow afternoon.

Chad's in Brownwood. Pray that his retreat goes well and that his trip is safe, along with the other people traveling to and from there.

We are going to Hawaii this summer. I can't wait.

That's all for now, folks. I'm actually having some girls from church over to the house tonight so I better straighten everything up. Hope everyone has a good weekend!

See you in March

Those of you who read about Chad and Lesley's adventures (as unadventurous as we may be) on a regular basis might notice over the next couple of months that the blog won't have as many entries on it. This is mainly due to the fact that I am a yearbook teacher, and out of the 5 deadlines we have during the year, four of them are in January, February and March, all before Spring Break. Sometimes I feel like an accountant that's really busy during a short time of the year and significantly less busy during other times of the year, but anyway, if you don't hear from me much before March, that's why.

I just got back from another UIL trip yesterday, in Flower Mound. It was a long trip home, stopping multiple times to repair and/or fill the other bus with more antifreeze. I was just glad it didn't break down completely, and we didn't have to fit all the mathletes on our bus. This weekend we are hosting a UIL tournament at my school, and I am in charge of all four journalism events. Since I've never done this before, I'm trying to be overly organized (is there really such a thing) and color-code everything, line up a few judges ahead of time, and make sure I have all my copies done way in advance. I'm sure it will be fine, and worrying about it would be breaking my New Year's resolution, so I'm not going to. I'm just sorry I have to give up this Saturday, because this is the weekend Chad is going to Brownwood to speak at the Heart of Texas Youth Retreat. Keep him in your prayers as he travels there and back, and as he speaks to the youth there. He will have 5 lessons total.

Also, in the next couple of weeks, Chad will be taking his Nursing 3 & 4 tests, with only 3 left to go after that. I'm so proud of him for studying so hard and being so disciplined. He would probably say he's not really being so disciplined, but it's all getting done somehow. And, he had the time to make a lemon meringue pie this weekend when I was gone. I was impressed, but I always knew he is quite the renaissance man.

Anyway, like I said, I probably won't blog much in the next couple months, but that's okay because we're pretty boring. If you're not already subscribed to something like bloglines, you should because that would keep you from checking the blog everyday only to see that nothing new has been added. But, if anything exciting does happen in our lives, y'all will be the first to know. Hope everyone has a great week!

Four years

Today is mine and Chad's four year anniversary. It's hard to believe it's been four years! Seems like just yesterday, not 7 1/2 years ago, that we met as potwashers at Blue Haven. The rest is history! We are at a lodge in Ruidoso until tomorrow celebrating. In the interest of not being on the computer the whole time we're here I'm going to sign off now...I just wanted to blog and say how blessed I am to have Chad for my husband and I am looking forward to spending the rest of our lives together. Have a great day everyone--I know we will.

The joys of homeownership

The title of this blog is partially sarcastic and partially serious. Yesterday we had the plumbers out to fix a couple of slow drains. In the process, one of our copper pipes that's probably been there since the house was built in 1962 busted and we had water all over the bathroom floor, and when we discovered the saltillo tile in the hallway was wet, we realized it had leaked between the wall of the guest bathroom and our closet. At that point we discovered the floor of our closet (carpet) was wet as well. Bummer. Anyway, after paying the plumber (to leave) we surveyed the damage. We're not really sure the extent of the damage at this point, but we are glad we have a 1-year home warranty that SHOULD cover leaky pipes not due to freezing. I think this is probably the first of many times we will call for a repair on our house only to discover that something much more major needs repair.

If you're going to have a plumbing issue, it should not be on New Year's Day, and it should not be right before you are about to leave town for your anniversary. The warranty place is (of course) closed today so we'll have to call them tomorrow before we leave. Luckily it's not a real emergency and only one of our water sources is unusable. We can still use the guest bathroom shower and sink, our shower and all the kitchen stuff so we're okay.

Chad and I briefly thought about pretending that we had not noticed the leak and pouring water all over our carpet so our homeowner's insurance would pay for new flooring, but then realized that might not be the best plan.

Anyway, the reason owning a house stinks, as most of you know, is because you are responsible for all these repairs. The reason it is good is because we are in control of who repairs it and when, and we don't have to wait for a landlord to get around to fixing it. And, if a leaky pipe or whatever is the worst thing that happens to us, all we have to do is remind ourselves that we have a great place to live and that we're not about to lose it because of a foreclosure like so many other folks these days. So this is what I think of when I start thinking that it's a bummer that our pipe busted. And, I'm not going to worry about it, because that would be breaking my resolution on the first day of the new year.