My Best Work Day Ever

Today I was supposed to work from noon-4. This morning the school secretary called and told me that the teacher didn't have an afternoon class until 2:10 so there was no need to come until 2:00. That meant that I worked 2 hours and got paid for a half day. Plus-I didn't have to do anything but show a video. I didn't have to exhibit how computer illiterate I really am. Life is sweet.

Liz

A New Year Has Begun

School started this past Monday. It is always bittersweet for me. It means that I will soon return to work and I will be receiving a paycheck :), but it also means that I will not get to enjoy those nice days at home without worrying that the phone will ring and I will be changing my plans. The thing about subbing is that it is usually feast or famine. There are weeks that you wish you could clone yourself because there are so many available jobs and then there are weeks that there are few available jobs.

I have already lined up several days to work for this school year. The first one is this afternoon. I will be working for the computer technology teacher-me the computer challenged person. I hope that it will be a good afternoon-it is a bummer to start off a new year with a horrible class!
All in all substituting always provides great stories.

Liz

Computer Technology

I admit that I am probably one of the most computer illiterate people around. I do not understand how computers work nor am I able to do much when it comes to troubleshooting.
Recently my laptop got a virus-a bad virus. It meant a trip to the Geek Squad (God bless those people) so that they could fix it. They called me yesterday and told me it was fixed. After picking it up and returning home, I plugged it in and it did seem to work but-yikes-I couldn't access email or some of the other websites that I frequent. Of course my husband (who knows a whole lot more than I do) was out of town. So you know what that meant-another trip to Geek Squad. BUT this time it was easily fixed. All it took was resetting some things and it is back to working.
Geek Squad is wonderful.

Liz

Life on the Farm

We spent the weekend with my parents on their farm. They have about 400 acres and lots of cows. I know nothing about cows and there is another line under it-I don't intend on learning anything about cows.

My parents bought about 300 acres after I was married so I didn't grow up there. I grew up in the city-enough said. They have lived on this farm for 24 years. They have taken overgrown, neglected land and have made it into one of the best places in their area. They also own another 100 acres that was originally a part of the land that my great grandparents homesteaded. It is not as nostalgic as it sounds.

My great grandparents came from Tennessee ages ago and homesteaded 400 acres. When they died they left their acreage to their 3 daughters. The only one of the 3 to marry was my grandmother. Upon her death her share went to her 4 children-one of which was my father. When the other 2 daugthers died they left their share to the same 4 children so it was divided so that each child received 100 acres. This land has been in the family for over 100 years. During the time it was owned by my great aunts it was rented out and farmed. It is still farmed somewhat. Some of it is used for hay, some is rented out for corn, and some is lived on.

Farming is hard work. There is constantly something broken and needs to be fixed. The cows don't always have calves the easy way and require assistance-usually in the middle of the night or when it is raining cats and dogs. To have healthy cows you must take care of them and do preventive medicine-just like children. There is also the requirement to have enough hay to feed through the winter. Last year that was easy because there was so much rain. This year there has been enough rain to make enough hay, just not enough to have an overabundance of hay.

My 2 brothers and I have the same opinion of farming. It is a great place to go for the weekend but why would we want to tie our livelihood to it? The beef market is as unpredictable as the weather. I enjoy knowing that there is a paycheck coming in regularly.

The best thing about the farm is the sunsets. My brother calls them $1000 sunsets. Hopefully the next time I go down there I can get a picture of one and post it.

Liz

Waterfall

When we first moved into our house this corner of the backyard had a "pond". In reality it was a small plastic container with water in it and a pump that I guess worked at one time. It was a great breeding ground for mosquitoes. We always had plans to build a real pond with a waterfall but it wasn't until this spring that it became a reality. My husband built it with rocks that were already in the yard. I think that they were supposed to be edging around flower beds but they were done haphazardly. We have had them piled up just waiting to be used and this was a great use for them.

There are actually 3 small waterfalls and the water flow can be changed. In the evenings we place tea lights in the white chandelier and there is also a light strand above the pond that is attached to the lattice work. We enjoy sitting out in the evenings and listening to the water trickling over the rocks. It can be relaxing after a long day.

Liz

Beginnings

Marty

Lucy

Let's start with a little information. In addition to my husband and children we have 2 dogs, maybe I should say my husband has 2 dogs because in their eyes I do not exist. Their names are Lucy and Marty and they love my husband unconditionally. Lucy's dark eyes express her undying love for R. and if we could just figure out how to put a tool belt around Marty he would make an excellent helper. He follows R. around anytime he is working on a project.

Although we are native Texans until 2005 we had not lived in Texas for 26 years. We moved here from Olathe, Kansas where we had lived for 6 years. Although we loved Kansas we felt that it was time to move to Texas. Our parents lived in Texas and we felt that it was time that we lived closer to them.

There are always house projects going on. We didn't realize the extent of house repairs that would need to be done when we bought the house so there seems to always be something being remodeled, repaired, patched, etc. I am so blessed in that my husband can fix anything and his many talents have been used to their full extent.

As for me-I am so blessed. That doesn't mean that I don't have my trials and tribulations, but through the good and the bad I know that God is there to walk beside me. During the school year I substitute teach at a middle school. I just work at one school because I do a better job if I know the routine, the teachers, and the students and they know me. I do my best and sometimes I feel that is not enough but I continue to try to learn so that I can improve. I choose to work at a middle school because I like the staff and the students (for the most part) and also because if the class is just awful that day then I know that they will be gone in 50 minutes and the next class will be a whole new adventure.

That is it for now. I am sure that as time goes on more will be written about my family, work, and projects.

Thanks for finding me.

Liz