Tis the Season

Happy Holidays to all! Apparently, when I created this blog, I had lots of free time on my hands so it seemed natural to say I would update weekly and my 101 in 1001 list didn't seem so ambitious. Alas, as it does with most things, life got in the way. This is not to say I am abandoning my list or my blog, but rather that I will continue to work on both while I'm out there busy living life. Rather than jump into a long diatribe of all my daily activities these last few months, I will resort to bullet points for a brief synopsis....

• November
• EHS finished the football season as district champs...but lost their first game of the playoffs.
• So....my life is now consumed with basketball games every Tuesday and Friday night....at least our team is good (reigning 3A state champs..thank you very much)
• cooked my first Thanksgiving meal all by myself (only the pecan pie didn't make it)
• visited Washington D.C. with my mother in law, sister in law, and grandmother in law...a first for me (at least first vacation to D.C....I have stopped through)
• December
• bought our first "big" family tree...and decorated it...with way to much stuff.....
• watched Colton put lights up on our first house (I encouraged from a lawn chair with Louie)
• baked...and baked.....and baked.....out of this came my first attempts at holiday fudge (success), chocolate mint puddles, peppermint bark, oreo truffles, and several batches of chocoalte chip and double chocolate chip cookies
• our first big holiday party in Lubbock
• EHS cheer Christmas party

And that the brings me to today, where I am sitting at my parent's house in Fort Worth, with no make-up on, finally finding time to blog. It feels good to be home for the holidays and to have a short break from reality. It's nice to be able to see my family and friends, to sit and know you have nowhere you have to be, to enjoy holiday cookies and Christmas lights, all the small joys of the season.

Louie is adjusting nicely to my parent's house and hopefully Gracie won't drive him nuts over the next few days. She is very excited to have a visitor. Colton and I are planning on seeing friends later today and tomorrow, even Adam and Shelley all the way from Japan! We are looking forward to the next few days.

As I watch Louie and Gracie try to eat all the firewood on my parent's back patio, I will take that as my cue to sign off. My wish for this holiday season....peace and happiness for all my family, friends, and students. May you and your family have a blessed Christmas!
XXOO,
Devin

My Time Flies!

Holy moly! It feels like yesterday I just woke up and moved to Lubbock. Instead, the reality is we have lived in Lubbock for four months now and my last blog post was in July. I have been CRAZY busy and therefore my ramblings to the general public through the web have been put on hold. Truth is, any free time I have had to myself has been spent watching reruns of Gossip Girl on the couch while eating Bahama Bucks snowcones. I have not even wanted to blog. But...have no fear. I'm back! :)

So what exactly have I been doing these last few months that would cause me to describe myself as "Crazy busy"? School started...that's what. My whole life has been consumed with my job. I have never worked harder than I am now. I literally work ten hour days sometimes and I'm a teacher! What! Not only am I teaching an entirely new class (which I found out about 6 days before school started) and coaching Varsity cheerleading (which takes up all my free time and my Friday nights) but I am almost positive my 7th period is conspiring against me to make me go grey in my 20s. Seriously...I'm not kidding about that last part. Oh..and somewhere in between all this I try to find time to act like I'm actually married and a good wife, not a single lady who eats mac n cheese for breakfast because she is too tired to actually grocery shop properly. Lord knows my waistline has not forgiven me yet for all this extra activity. I have not even worked out since July.

In all seriousness, I love my job. It is more challenging than I imagined but also much more rewarding. I have experienced things and heard things about situations students are in that I never thought I would have to hear myself. Plus, I have lots of funny stories!

In other, non-work related news, I have finally started cooking again. Colton no longer has to pretend to be husband and wife.

Colton and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary in Boise, Idaho this year. One of my very best friends, Susanna, got married the day before our anniversary so to Idaho we went. I have to admit I was not too excited about Boise. I mean really, who wants to go to Boise? I was pleasantly surprised. Boise is like a smaller Austin but with less weirdos. Its about the size of Lubbock but its right near the mountains and white water rafting. (neither of which I did) Most of our time was spent doing wedding related things and checking out the nightlife. Colton had an especially awesome time with Amelia's husband Jeremy and Jordan's boyfriend JT. ( I will leave that story for him to tell) The weather was nice too...much cooler than that horrid Texas heat in August. THe wedding was beautiful and Susanna made a gorgeous bride.

LOUIE UPDATE: Louie is quite possibly the cutest dog ever. He is now four months old and almost 18 pounds. He shouldn't get too much bigger. He has these huge man paws that look like bear paws on his tiny body and his bulldog features continue to become more apparent (especially his stubborn attitude). He is an absolute joy for Colton and me. Pics soon!

My life is very busy but very content. I try to remind myself daily I am so blessed (even when a certain student in 7th period tells me to chill out when I reprimand him) and that what I am doing is for the good of my students. I have a wonderful husband and a wonderful support network of family and friends. Life is good.

July Musings

Summer is almost over! Can you believe it? I feel like I just left for the school year. I don't want to whine because I am lucky to have eight weeks off every summer but, geez, it feels like I have had no summer at all. I go back to work next week for professional development and the kiddos come back August 23. Crazy!

Last week, I went to cheer camp with the twelve varsity members of the cheer team at Estacado. Camp was held in Plainview at Wayland Baptist. It was actually a lot of fun and the girls did an awesome job. They worked really hard and made some great improvements. I am excited for the upcoming year.

Colton and I have been spending our free time working on the house. He made a comment the other day how if we were still in Fort Worth, we would probably be sitting on a patio on the weekends but here in Lubbock we do chores and work on the house. Ha! The joys of acting like a grown-up! The house is coming along though and we are starting to decorate some. My mother in law is coming this week to help me refinish an antique hutch my parents gave us. I cleaned the house yesterday and for the first time I wished for an apartment. Cleaning a real house is a pain! Literally! I think I pulled a muscle in my back. I will file that away for a future conversation with Colton about the need for a cleaning lady! :)

I spent the weekend after 4th of July in New Orleans. I really love that city. There is so much personality and culture. It has a rythym to it, something you feel while you are there. The people are friendly, the food is good, and the music is always flowing. My only suggestion...cheaper drinks. Susanna, one of my very best freinds, is getting married so we all flew into NOLA to celebrate her bachelorette party. We spent Friday at Pat Os and on Bourbon Street. Saturday, we toured the 9th ward and walked around Jackson Square before a nice dinner at Mr. B's Bistro and more fun on Bourbon. It was crazy to go down to the 9th ward and see the lack of recovery there.
**It is kind of sad how once something is out of the eye of the media the public no longer thinks of it. I am sure many people think its fully recovered, just as people think of Galveston.

Colton started work last week with his new office and he is really loving it. The people in Lubbock are so friendly. He really likes the staff and he gets along great with the other dentist, Jimmy.

Finally, the most important news I have to share.....WE GOT A DOG! His name is Louie and he is sooo cute! He is everything I said I didn't want and I love him to death. I always said I wanted a girl dog and I didn't like brindle. Of course, the dog Colton decides he wants is both male and brindle. Louie came home and I fell in love. He is a mixture of miniature dachshund and English bulldog (the mom was the bulldog!). He is about seven weeks old and he is lots of fun. He has a good disposition and gets along well with other dogs. We are having so much fun with our new addition! I posted pics on facebook if you want to see what he looks like.

XOXO,
Devin

Texas Tornado

Texas Tornado...this is what I feel like I have been lately. My "path" has taken me to Lubbock for training with my new school, back to Fort Worth for one night only to leave for Lubbock again with all that we own (minus our storage unit--> that is a whole different story), back to Fort Worth to blow through Crockett, Texas for the 4th of July, to find myself currently in Fort Worth. Of course, this has all taken place in two weeks and I am about to take another detour to New Orleans, LA for my good friend Susanna's bachelorette party. Talk about a whirlwind...I am pretty sure I may have left some destruction in my wake, probably in the form of my body (eating at random foods at random times is hard on the body...don't even show me a scale for at least two weeks, please)! It's been fun though and I am excited for my new life in Lubbock, though still a little apprehensive to leave the familiar. I guess that is what life is about, following the path God takes you to and hoping to find courage and comfort along the way. At least I have a handsome man to share this journey with!

Speaking of that handsome man, let's go back to that clip about the storage unit aforementioned. My dear, sweet husband did not order a large enough Uhaul for all of our stuff (who knew we had that much junk) so we could not even load up our storage unit. This means we left without some furniture and boxes so Colton now has to rent another Uhaul to bring up the rest of our stuff.

On the bright side, Colton's family has been really supportive and helpful so that is making the move much easier. Also, my awesome mom and grandma came up for a week to help me out. We unpacked, organized, made several trips all over Lubbock for things we needed (and Baskin Robbins ice cream...my mom is obsessed), and cleaned. Well, they cleaned while I was at cheer practice. They did so much for me, even cooking dinner every night. It was so nice and I know Colton and I will be returning to our brand new home that is clean and ready to go. What a nice feeling!

In other, unimportant news, I caved in and switched over to AT&T cell service, which means I am now a proud Iphone user. It was really because Colton wanted to consolidate all of our tv/phone/internet service under one bill but the Iphone is a nice perk. However, its a little addicting and I am going to have to work hard not to lose my manners because its so easy to be on it ALL the time. I really hate that people are so tied to their phones that they cannot even enjoy a dinner with texting or using some app. So, note to self, do Not become one of those people.

Finally, Colton celebrated 29 years of life yesterday. Happy birthday babes!

XOXO,
Devin

Life in Transition

It's funny how things sneak up on you in life. You make plans, you talk about those plans, you think about those plans, and you even plan for those plans. But suddenly, when it's time to follow through, there is this pause, kind of like, wait! What am I doing? This would describe my head the last few days as I began packing for Lubbock.

Don't get me wrong...I am very excited to move to Lubbock and I WANT to move to Lubbock. It's just that C and I have been so busy lately with wedding activities, showers, birthday celebrations, and actual weddings that I have not had time to stop and really think about the fact that I am officially moving to Lubbock this Friday. I haven't really dealt with the emotional side of our plans...the part where I am moving 300 miles from my family and most of my friends. So, needless to say since I am very sensitive, I have had a couple of breakdowns (or meltdowns, whichever you prefer) this week. I already stress easily when it comes to big projects (funny how I am a teacher since I stress easily) so when the boxes came out this week the tears came too. Lucky for me, I have a great support system around me, starting with my wonderful husband who can deal with anything I throw at him. I think I caught him a little off guard but he knows me so well so he adapted quickly. Now that I am in Lubbock for training for my new job, I am managing those feelings better...at the moment. :)
Last weekend my good friend Lizzy got married. The wedding was very pretty and lots of fun. She had a great band so the dance floor was packed all night. It was also fun to spend time with some of my closest girlfriends right before I move. Lizzy was a beautiful bride and her family is lots of fun. I think I may be getting too old for those late nights, though. My body just doesn't recover from those nights as well as it used to.

Colton's cousin JuLea got married this past weekend in Lubbock, which is why I am still here. No sense in flying back for one day just to return on Tuesday. Her wedding was outdoors at Spirit Ranch. She used peacocks for her theme and her colors were purple and lime green. It was a gorgeous color combination. Her dress was amazing, too. Lots of flowers all over...I am not doing it justice explaining it. It was a lot of fun and Colton's entire family was there, even Grandmommy! I love getting to see his family. It's always a good time.

Well, the official move is this Friday. Wish us luck!
XOXO,
Devin

School's Out for Summer!

Woohoo! Finally, the end of the school year is here. I thought it would never come. My last day working for Fort Worth ISD was officially Monday, June 7th. While I have enjoyed my time here in Fort Worth, I am looking forward to my new school in Lubbock. Friday was the last day with the kiddos and I only had to go in Monday for two hours or so to check out (which is a really detailed process of basically chasing administrators all over the school to get them to sign you out. fun!)

My first day of summer was actually rather busy. I came home from my two hour sprint through PHS to find the laundry basket overflowing. So began a full day of laundry, baking chocolate chip cookies (cravings....too hard to resist), making lunch for my husband (a  really elaborate way to say I made some mac n cheese), cleaning the kitchen, P90X, and making dinner for Colton. Now, I will say, dinner was more elaborate. Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, green beans...a way to congratulate myself on making it to the end of the year. Funny how I always choose to reward myself with calorie laden foods. But man do they taste good!

Tuesday brought a little time by the pool, where I rescued a poor baby bird who had fallen in and could not get out. I also began my serious workout routine. I call it my serious workout routine because it involves me doing three different workouts a day...30 day shred, P90X, and some type of cardio. I realized that I had overlooked the fact in my euphoria that school was out that I now have absolutely no excuse not to work out and make myself feel comfortable in my own body. So...its time to get serious. I also enjoyed a little one on one time with Laura Bush. I am absolutely loving her memoir, Spoken from the Heart. I have literally laughed and cried while reading it but I am not done yet so I will post a review later when I finish.

Today, the realization set in that I am MOVING to LUBBOCK in three weeks and of those three weeks one is almost over and one will actually be spent in Lubbock at a training. What this means is I have exactly one week to pack up our whole life here. If you know me, you know I stress easily so imagine how poor Colton feels. Actually, so far I have taken it fairly well. I am extremely organized so I sat down today and made my to do list. I work well when I have a list to work off of and I like being able to cross things out. It makes me feel better.

So...with all these realizations about my short time schedule....I think I will take a walk with my hubby and procrastinate until Monday, after Lizzy's wedding weekend, to start. After all, my best work is done last minute...or at least I tell myself that!

XOXO,
Devin

Bachelorette Re-Cap & Lady Gaga

May and June are proving to be filled with all things wedding related. Lots of showers, bachelor parties, and bachelorette parties to be followed with weddings in June. We have spent a busy May jetting across Texas to attend all these festivities all while trying to keep our sanity before we move. Our days in Fort Worth are numbered and soon we will be official residents of Lubbock. But until then, we plan to enjoy as much time with friends and family here. It has not really hit me that I will be moving away FOREVER in less than a month, I guesss because I am very excited. But the good Lord knows I will miss my parents and our cute dogs Bailey and Gracie. ANd....my sister may be moving back to Fort Worth just when I leave. Boo!

The school year is winding down nicely. Finals and benchmarks have taken lots of time this May and I know the kiddos are ready to go. Just when I think I may go grey prematurely or pull my hair out one of them will step in and do something really fantastic. This was what happened last Friday. I had a frustrating morning reviewing them for finals. The day before I had handed out their end of year notes. Every year that I have taught, I create a typewritten letter (it has actually evolved into more of a brochure with quotes and song lyrics) but I hand write a note on each one for each student. It  is time consuming but I do it because I want them to know I care. Well, 7th period rolls around on Friday and one of my students presents me with a hand-made card about twenty minutes into class. It has a huge picture of Lady Gaga on the front (I lOVE her) with shards of those plastic dress up mirrors you played with when you were little artfully arranged in a collage around it. I thought"Sweet" and then opened it up. All my 7th period students had written a note in it. I cried! Ha. It was so sweet and the first time I have ever received a note from my entire class together. I have received letters from individuals before but this was the first time a class planned together. I loved it! I was reminded of why I teach and why even the most frustrating moments are worth it.

This past weekend was the bachelorette bash for my good friend Lizzy. We spent Saturday evening out and about in Dallas, hitting up Dragonfly for dinner first. Let me tell you the macaroni and cheese at Dragonfly is to die for. Delicious! After two hours of fellowship and wine, we headed off to S4 for a drag show. It was fun but we only stayed an hour. Next up...the PM lounge at the Joule. Very swanky and filled to the brim with people. It was a fun night of dancing with the girls and the bride seemed to enjoy herself quite nicely!

Next up...an 80s themed 30th birthday bash! Four days and counting til summer.....

XOXO,
Devin

Life in the fast lane....

It feels like Colton and I have been going, going, going lately. We have been back and forth to Lubbock several times to house hunt and then do walkthroughs plus we have had several wedding related parties to attend so our weekends have been cram packed. Last weekend was the first weekend we stayed in Fort Worth in awhile and we had a shower in Dallas for my good friend Lizzy who is getting married in June. We spent this weekend traveling to Lbk Friday and back to Dallas Saturday for a surprise party for Colton's buddy Lucas, who turned 30. It was a quick but necessary trip to wrap up some details of Colton's job next year. To top all of this off, I have been sick for almost two weeks now. I had symptoms of a cold but could not shake them. I actually missed a day of work due to fever and achy muscles. Finally, I called the doctor this week and got some antibiotics. I now feel so much better.

We have lots of exciting things coming up. We will both be in Austin this weekend for different reasons. I am visiting my sister with my mom and Colton is attending a bachelor party. We have several wedding related parties to attend in the next two weeks and then in June we have back to back weddings- my good friend Lizzy and his cousin JuLea. And the big moment we have been waiting for....our move to Lubbock. I foresee lots of cleaning and packing in my near future. We have stuff everywhere- my parents, his parents, storage, and our apt so its going to be crazy getting all this stuff together.

I found out I will be lead sponsor of cheerleading next year, which I am excited about. It will be fun to go to all those football games and the school I will be working at has a very strong athletic program that competes in that playoffs often so that will be exciting to be a part of.

The countdown to the end of the school year is here...three more weeks. The kids are wound up and hopefully we can make it to the end with no major catastrophes. Everyone has summer fever, including me!

XOXO,
Devin

Our New Home in Lubbock!

Colton and I are proud new homeowners! Here is a picture of our new home in Lubbock, Texas. We are so very excited to begin the next chapter in our life together.

In other areas of good news, I was formally offered a job today by Lubbock ISD. I will be teaching social studies and co-sponsoring cheerleading at Estacado High School. I am thrilled with this offer and cannot wait to continue my teaching career in my new home school.

C and I have been very busy lately traveling back and forth to Lubbock to finalize plans for our move. We are about to embark on a month and a half long wedding crazed frenzy with showers, bachelorette/bachelor parties, and two weddings in the next six weeks. We will be crazy busy! It's a fun time with friends and family, so I will not complain.

Mother's Day is this Sunday and I am looking forward to spending some time with my awesome mother. She is a mentor, rock of support, and, most importantly, a best friend. I love her with all my heart and I will be sad to move five hours away from her. I am excited that she bought season tickets to the Tech football games, though. I have a sneaking suspicion my dad will turn his projected two games only into every home game trips, which will be nice for me so I can see them more often. Dad is already planning away on our backyard. I am sure he will have it done up to a T by the time we have lived there one year.

Current obsessions:

P90X

stalking decorating blogs

stalking furniture blogs

dragging Colton to furniture & appliance stores

counting down the days until summer

XOXO,

Devin

Good things come to those who wait...right?

As you may know, C and I have been trekking back and forth to Lubbock for awhile now in search of our first home (oh...and me a job). Ha! So, we determined the area we wanted to be in and began looking at homes in two specific neighborhoods. Our first two trips were not fruitful. We never really found a house we loved. We did find one we both adored but it was right next to a power grid. Can we say NO loud enough? I do not want my future unborn kiddos playing outside near power lines. Unfortunately, we had no clue what we were doing at first and if we had paid attention we might have never gone in this house in the first place. But...oh well. So, we left last weekend for another trip to LBK as seasoned home searchers (does two or three trips of home searching makes us veterans? I think so!) I was very hopeful as I had decided I was in love with a specific house in a neighborhood we had not really looked in. I had stalked said house online all week. I was sure we would love it. We were met with rain (somehow all of our trips have brought bad weather) and, of course, good ole Lubbock wind. Awesome! Our first stop was a home our realtor selected for us to see that was new construction. We actually met with the builder. Little did we know, as we walked in to our appt, that this would be the house that captured our hearts. I will fast forward through the other houses as they were nothing special until our last stop at the house I thought I would love. And I did love it...except there was no shower in the master bath. C would have to trek across the house to use a shower. The master closet was also a little on the small side. Boo! But...our hearts were hopeful that we had found our new house in our first stop. We went home and slept on it. We went and saw the house two more times and decided to make an offer. SO....here is where I will pause this story because I do not want to gush all of the details only to come back disappointed if we do not get it. Everyone say a little prayer for us that we found our new home. I will update once we know!

XOXO,
Devin

Cadbury Eggs...a love/hate relationship

If I had to choose one seasonal candy to live off of forever, it would be the Cadbury Creme Egg. I love these things so much my husband threatens to disown me everytime he catches me eating one. I even have a recipe saved in my google reader for Cadbury Creme Egg cupcakes. What! I think I have what many might call an addiction. Luckily for me, these sweet treats are only available for a limited amount of time. Not lucky for me, retailers have started setting them out directly after Valentines. That gives me three months of guilt/bliss to enjoy. Oh how I wish the more I ate them the skinnier I got. Dream on, D, dream on.

In other, more interesting Street news, we spent a busy Easter weekend spending time with family and friends. We had dinner with our good friends Allison and Matt at Pappadeux Friday night. Wine, good music, and good friends on a gorgeous spring evening on the patio...can you really beat that? Saturday found me traveling to Rockwall with my mom and sister for my grandma's surprise 80th birthday. It was so much fun. My grandma was surprised, to say the least. It was her first surprise party and her first ride in a limo. It was an all girls affair with the women of my family and my grandmother's gal pals. We had lunch at Gloria's on the harbor in Rockwall. Very fun.

After her birthday lunch, I came back to Fort Worth to meet Colton so we could head out to Possum Kingdom Lake to spend Easter with his family. We spent the evening having fun and fellowship with his dad's side of the family. They are very close to one another. Its something I really like about them and it makes me happy to be a part of their family now. Plus, I am lucky. I have good inlaws. One of my students asked me the other day if I like my inlaws and I feel blessed that I can say yes.

We woke up early Sunday morning to make it back to church services at eleven. After church, we went to my parent's house for Easter. Mom had a great Easter lunch and she even gave us all Easter baskets filled with yummy treats. My mother is aware of my affinity for all things Cadbury so she placed some creme eggs in my basket. They are now sitting on my kitchen table and I am in the process of an staredown with those eggs. To eat or not to eat? That is the question.

I have a wonderful family and I am very blessed to be able to spend time with them and enjoy it. Colton and I are very lucky to have as much love and support as we do.

This weekend is Lizzy's shower and I have been busy planning every last detail. Hopefully all goes off without a hitch. I will try and remember to post pictures of the party. We have another Lubbock trip in our near future and hopefully we will find good news/things when we are there. Jobs and a house would be nice!

XOXO,
Devin

Back to life...back to reality.....

Actually, my first week back has been very nice. Monday was a little on the slow side and I was tired but overall its been a good experience. I must be basking in the glow of today's lessons with my students because I am in a really good mood. We did a review (nothing exciting) for their test tomorrow but we mixed it up with a little competitive jeopardy where they rotated. I think they actually had fun!

What's new with the Streets you ask? Well, I will tell you. We returned giddy from our trip to Lubbock last weekend with five houses as frontrunners to be our next home. It was a fun experience to look for our first home, although it is kind of weird to open closets of homes where people still live. You can see some interesting stuff in there! We saw Colton's family Saturday for Colton's dad and nanny's birthday. It was an all around good time.

We are headed back to LBK this weekend to see those five houses plus two more new ones to try and begin really narrowing down the ones we like. I am excited. I will also attempt to make some good connections at the job fair I am going to so I don't have a home but no job. :)

Our P90X experience began this week. (We hit a speed bump last week with me being on spring break so we decided to scratch our first week and begin again.) We have been getting up in the mornings at 5:45 to do the workouts. Yuck. I wish I could be like my mom who is skinny as a rail and can eat as many Oreos as she wants. Oh well. You win some, you lose some.

Here's to hoping this sunshine sticks around!

XOXO,
Devin

Spring Break Euphoria

Did I mention I LOVE spring break? Okay...I just love breaks in general because it means I can do whatever I want whenever I want. Sleep in? Check. Make breakfast? Check. Pedicure? Check. And the list goes on. Let me tell you last Friday when the bell rang after 7th period I may have beat Usain Bolt's 100m time on the sprint to my car! A smile was plastered across my face and I was overflowing with joy. Freedom...aagh!

My break has been just what the doctor ordered. A little Tech-TCU baseball action followed by dinner at the Mellow Mushroom with our friends Luke and Leslie who came to visit us from San Angelo,  Greenville on Saturday for the St. Patty's parade and party, R&R on Sunday (after the quick jaunt to Dallas...see below), a visit with my dad on Monday and a pedicure, shopping Tuesday for my friend Lizzy and Susanna's wedding showers, and lunch yesterday with Lizzy in Dallas at Kona grill. Today is actually the first day I have not gotten up and gotten dressed immediately. I am still in my pajamas as we speak. :)

So...to reference my quick trip to Dallas from above...apparently I must have felt from somewhere deep within that I could not move on to the next stage in my adult life until I completed a step from college/post college years that many people go through. I had somehow managed to avoid this fate until Saturday. I lost my cell phone. In my rational thinking, I thought it would be a good idea to take my phone out of my pocket and set it on the ledge in the restroom on Greenville so the phone did not drop into the toilet. Note to self....next time you employ this bright tactic remember to pick up said cell phone. Lucky for me, the young lady who went after me grabbed the phone and turned it in to the counter. A very generous and kind hearted man picked it up and called my good friend Vanessa but she could not hear him. So, the case of Devin's missing phone began. The saga continued through Saturday up to Sunday morning, when above mentioned man called my husband and told him the phone was in good hands, he had made only calls to a "Vanessa" and to him. He promised to meet us after he got off work training for his new job at the Angry Dog in Dallas, which is how I found myself driving back to Dallas with hubs Sunday afternoon. End of story-my beautiful purple flip phone (no I do not have a blackberry or Iphone) was returned to me unharmed. Colton may tell this story a little differently if you ask him.

My fun laden spring break will culminate with a trip to Lubbock this weekend to begin our house hunt. To put it modestly, I am SUPER excited. We are lined up to see about 10-12 homes. It is also my father in law's birthday so we will celebrate with a birthday dinner Saturday night. Woohoo.

A last thought before I part to pack and prep for Lubbock...I am anxiously awaiting the release of New Moon and The Blind Side Dvds this weekend. Yes....I like Twilight. Yes...I am 26 years old. No, I do not care if it was meant for teens. Oh..and the Blind Side is one of the most inspiring movies I have seen in awhile. It ranks right up there with Dangerous Minds and Freedom Writers. And I love Sandra Bullock.

XOXO,
Devin

Spring break...where art thou?

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately, while I will enjoy my journey through the light (aka spring break), it will only bring me to yet another tunnel. This tunnel will be much longer considering we have no breaks again until school lets out for summer. Alas, the life of the poor teacher. I know others probably become frustrated when they hear teachers complain about their schedule and lack of breaks when needed but to them I say "Ha! You try dealing with 120 14-15 years old and a smattering of 18 year olds!" I do truly love my job and I would not have any other career (okay okay...I could defintely be paid to travel around the world to "investigate" what is fun to do in exotic locales or to own my own bakery). Spring just brings many obstacles to the average teacher's path: TAKS tests, spring fever, and senioritis that has become magnified times ten. Let's just say each day brings new joys and challenges. What can I say...life always stays interesting for teachers.

To add to the chaos I call life, Colton and I desperately need to begin our house search. Oh..and a job for me would be nice. We are planning to head to Lubbock in two weekends on the last few days of my spring break. Organizer that I am, I made Colton sit with me this afternoon and make a list of things to do and not to do while searching for a house. On this list, I added specifications we will be looking for in a home (for example-lots of storage space) and then I forced him to make a list of the houses we have found online that we would like to see. He constantly tells me he thinks I am a little OCD with all my organizing and specifics about the ways things must be. I just tell him I like to know where things are/what we are doing. :)

My 101 in 1001 list has been on the backburner lately and I feel like I need to get back on the tasks. It's so easy to place it on the bottom of my to-do list but I really want to accomplish these things for myself so more attention must be paid.

I finished my good friend Lizzy's shower invites. I will try to post pics later. They turned out very cute and I even printed them myself, thankyouverymuch! I will be working on her shower and bacherlorette stuff over spring break.

Since I did not update last week, Colton and I have found a new restaurant in Fort Worth we like. Its called the Mellow Mushroom and they serve pizza, beer, and wine. Its delicious pizza and I have a feeling its going to become one of our regular dinner spots on Friday evenings. Usually, Friday is our date night and we have spent the last two at the Mellow Mushroom. Move on over Cheers....you have nothing on the MM. We also spent last Sunday at the Fort Worth Zoo. It was one of the first truly nice days of spring so we decided to head to the zoo and then to the new Cooper's barbecue for lunch. We had a fun time looking at the lions, tigers, and bears....and monkeys and zebras and giraffes....... but, to our disappointment, the reptile section was closed. We will have to wait until the new museum dedicated to all things cold blooded opens. Coopers was good, too, and for me to say that is saying something. Normally, I am not a lover of barbecue but Coopers has a variety of food offerings for all palates. Colton ordered so much food he had to take some home and eat leftoevers!

Spring is showing signs of life and summer is on its way. Tomorrow, we will begin our 90 day love-hate relationship with P90X. We have yet to do it the complete 90 days so we shall see.

XOXO,
Devin

Waiting on spring....

I have been a HUGE fan of all this cold weather and snow this winter but I am not officially ready for spring. Come on sunshine and warm weather! Show your face. I am ready to be able to sit on a patio and have a nice margarita. Texas has been blasted with unusually cold temperatures lately, including about 12 inches of snow a few weeks ago.

Lately, Colton and I have been busy with trying to get our life in order. Talking to potential employers, looking for houses,etc. Summer seems far off still but I know it will creep up on us quickly. Wedding mania is about to start as well so time will go by much faster with all these events we have coming up. I have three of my closest friends getting married this year and Colton has two of his good friends and his cousin's wedding. We will be busy bees pretty soon.

Spring break is only three short weeks away. Its sort of like a little blast of life support so teachers can make it to the end of the year. Boy, do I need this break! Although, I have been enjoying work lately, probably because I really love the unit we are wrapping up on Africa. I showed a documentary to my kiddos last week called Invisible Children about the use of child soldiers in Africa. They are really into it and its motivating to teach about some of these delicate topics. It makes me feel like I am doing something, however small, to make a difference. Its a really great documentary so check it out.

We went to church this morning and the service was really good. A guest minister from Scotland spoke and he was very good. His message was about finding oneness with God and focusing on what that means. He gave two stories about a relationship he formed with a Jewish rabbi and an experience he had with a Muslim imam. Both stories were inspiring because, even though the individuals involved were so different, they were all focused on serving one purpose and that was finding oneness with God. I really thought his sermon was a beautiful example of how we focus so much at times on what makes us different that we fail to recognize that which makes us the same. I really enjoyed it. Colton and I had lunch at our usual spot, Chilis, and then grocery shopped together. I think this is the second time we went through this exact routine and I told him I am really loving our Sundays together. Its nice to spend time with one another and enjoy each others company.

Until next time, blessings!

XOXO,
Devin

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope you are enjoying your Valentine's weekend with people you love. I was surprised with snow and a day off Friday so my weekend started early. Nice! Friday I attempted to make cut cookies with royal icing. Let's just say the experiment needs work. C does not like the taste of the icing so I am going to have to find a good tasting recipe for icing that decorates well. To be continued......

Mom was in wreck Friday. The snowy conditions caused another driver to lose control of his car and he came across the median and she hit him. Luckily, it was not on a freeway so speeds were low. It could have been a lot worse. Several good samaritans stopped to help her get out of her car and call my dad. The other driver had insurance and was apologetic so that was a blessing too. Mom's airbag deployed so she has a black eye and her face is bruised. Her car had to be towed and they are waiting to hear if it is totaled or not. I am so thankful she is okay.

Friday night C and I celebrated Valentine's day with a nice dinner out at Eddie V's Seafood and Steak house. We have been wanting to try this restaurant for awhile now and C surprised me with reservations there. It was delicious. I am not a big seafood lover but on our honeymoon I ate lobster almost every day because it was fresh. I am trying to expand my palette (sp?) so I settled for the appetizer sampler...crab cake, calamari, and lobster tail. It was yummy but I think I left about three quarters of my food on the plate. talk about huge portions! C had the snapper and it was great too. We went to see the movie Avatar after dinner and it was worth our money. I am not a big scifi fan but I enjoyed the story behind the people and the special effects. I don't think I will be renting it or anything but it was a good movie.

We spent Saturday sleeping in and being lazy. We had plans to meet friends for dinner at Cadillac Ranch in Las Colinas as a kind of group Valentine's Day date. I ventured out of my comfort zone again and ordered Texas Coast shrimp pasta. Very yummy. It was half price bottles of wine so we ordered a bottle of riesling for C and I. After dinner, we headed back to Fort Worth and went to Snookies for awhile. It was a fun night!

Today, C and I have spent the day cuddled up on the couch watching the Olympics. Not an exciting Valentine's but it is exactly what I wanted. I made beef stroganoff for dinner and we are now relaxing before bed, watching figure skating!

Happy Valentines! XOXO,
Devin

Love is in the air....

At least, that is what the grocery store screams at me every time I walk in. Flowers, pink and red cookies, a whole aisle dedicated to Valentine's candy. Talk about pressure! I enjoy Valentine's day but I don't really buy into all the hoopla. I like to be recognized but I don't need much. A nice dinner out will do. C is taking me to Eddie V's this Friday evening to celebrate. I think the magic of Valentine's is wrapped up in childhood. It is FUN to make valentines when you are young..the kind you drop in your classmates bags. I prefer homemade Valentines to store bought. I plan on trying to make cut cookies in the shapes of hearts later this week to take to school. We shall see.

Colton and I spent last weekend in the good ole LBK. We spent some time househunting..or rather "window shopping" for houses in neighborhoods around Lubbock. It as fun and frustrating at the same time. Fun to see what is out there but frustrating when you realize the picture online doesn't exactly match up to what you get. We did find some good areas to look for houses in so I consider the trip an overall success. Next step...meet with a realtor and actually start looking. Yay!

In other areas of our life...I am continuing to explore cooking and baking (a little more baking...what can I say? I am a chocolate kind of girl). It's fun for me and I am enjoying it. The challenge now is to cultivate my interest in cooking without expanding mine and C's waistline. We are both working on getting fit and healthy so chicken fried steak is out of the question for every day meals. We have been working out more, doing activities together and apart. I am enjoying it so far. Ask me again in a month.

Well, the pillow is calling my name so that is all for now.

XOXO,
Devin

The Last Day of January

Colton and I have spent the day enjoying being off work. We attended church this morning and went to our weekly Sunday lunch spot, Chilis. (If it were up to me, I would eat at Chilis every day. However, my waistline would not appreciate that so I refrain.) Since my list requires that I decorate cakes twice a month for practice, and I have not yet done this, I spent the afternoon in the kitchen whipping up some tasty treats to decorate. As we speak, I have a red velvet cake and french vanilla cupcakes cooling on wire racks, just begging to be decorated. I will brag...I made the red velvet cake from scratch! I hope it turns out well. Pics to be posted later this week.

Our good friends Simon and Amanda are now officially residents of Oklahoma City so we attended a going away party in their name Friday evening. The party was held at TABC in Dallas and it was nice to see some of our Dallas friends. We had dinner with Colton's buddy from college, Derek and his wife and two kids. Hopefully, when we move to Lubbock, we will be good friends with them.

We are on week two of our eating healthy plan and I hope to start seeing some changes soon. We have a wedding in three weeks and the Cowtown in four so I am hoping to be in better shape by then.

Random facts/thoughts-
*My sister turned 24 this week.
*Colton and I are headed to Lubbock this weekend.
*I am thinking of trying bikram yoga. Its up in the air right now.
*I finished the book, The Help, which is on the NY Times bestseller list right now. Its a really good, fictional book on the relationship between white and black women during the 1960s in Mississippi. It is one of the better books I have read in awhile. I would recommend it for a good fiction read.

I am off to decorate aforementioned cupcakes and cake as well as fry some chicken tenders for dinner! Have a blessed week!
XOXO,
Devin

Quick Update

Apparently, I am busy. I did not realize it but I have not updated in over a week. I am cutting it close on not following my list and everyone knows the list has to be completed. Its life or death...isn't it? No, really it is a just a list of things I would like to accomplish but I do feel accountable.

Colton and I started eathing healthy and working out again. I have known for awhile now I needed to get back on the workout train because I was not blessed with the skinny gene. You know the one. My mom has it and why I did not get it I will always wonder. She can down a stack of Oreos every night and never gain an inch. I am a different story. So...back to the gym I go. Colton and I are going to run the Cowtown 10K the last weekend of February so I have started running three miles this week to slowly build up. I am going to have to figure out how to reconcile my sweet tooth with my new eating plan. Every girl knows chocolate is the cure to just about anything!

School is busy. We are about to start my favorite unit, Africa, so I am looking forward to that. Colton and I are planning on visiting Lubbock next weekend so we can meet with a potential employer. I am excited!

Well, this is going to be short and sweet! I will post more pictures later this week!
XOXO,
Devin

Project 365 so far

Back to School

Hello! I have neglected my blog for several days with the start of the spring semester. I have been extremely busy and in my free time I have pretty much been lazy. However, I decided to blog before I missed my weekly deadline for my 101 in 1001 list. So here's a little update on what has been going on in the life of the Street family.

Colton and I have both been working on lining up our future in Lubbock. I have applied with school districts in the area and Colton has been talking to some dentists in the area. We are really excited about moving to Lubbock and hopefully we can start househunting soon.

Its finals week this week and many of my students are busy taking exams. It has been a nice week for me because it gives me time to catch up on my work, grading, and get prepared for next semester. It has been a slow week at work though and I am ready for the weekend.

I have been back in the kitchen this week and I am loving expanding my skills. I made champagne chicken and beef stroganoff, both of which turned out fantastic! I also tried my third CCC recipe and I think I may have found the best one yet. Each one has different positives but this one was thick and chewy. There is one more recipe I want to try, Alton Brown's The Chewy. I will keep you posted on my quest to find the perfect CCC.

Colton and I have decided to run the Cowtown 10K in February. Its part of our goal to get healthy and lose those unwanted extra lbs. We started running this week and its been pretty difficult. I have not worked out regularly since the wedding so running again is challenging.

Colton and I went to see The Blind Side last Friday evening. I HIGHLY recommend the movie. It was a really moving story. I don't want to spoil anything but it is one of the best movies I have seen in awhile. We also watched a rental movie, The International, which was really good, too.

I have read two really good books lately. The first, The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan, is a good novel about two women who grew up in China during WWII. Tan has a really way of weaving several stories together into a beautiful piece. I really like her writing.

The second, Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay, is about a Jewish girl and a journalist whose stories become entwined when the journalist begins researching the Vel De Hiv roundup in Paris in 1942. Jews were rounded up and sent to camps where they were later deported to Auschwitz. The story is told from the perspective of the little girl during the actual round up and the journalist as she uncovers more about the story of the little girl.

I am still working out the kinks as to how I want to keep track of my list. I cannot decide if I want to log every thing I am working on or keep a running list somewhere else. I like having it on my blog but I don't want my entries to always sound like a laundry list of things to do. I will have to brainstorm how to do this creatively!

My final comments are on a subject I am passionate about- Texas Tech Football. I am VERY excited we hired a new coach, Tommy Tuberville, after a series of trying weeks over the holiday season. Our former head coach was fired, and although I do not agree with the reasons, I do believe Tech has made a postive step forward out of a negative situation. I am sincerely hopeful that our program will continue to grow and improve because Colton and I are extremely excited to be living there and attend football games. Guns Up!

XOXO,
Devin

Last Day of Blissful Vacation

Today is my last day of Christmas vacation and I am spending it in my pajamas with my husband watching football, TTU basketball, and movies intermittently. Now, don't get me wrong, I do love my job and am excited to get back to work. But....I could also envision myself being perfectly happy being a kept woman who stays at home taking care of house and (later) children. Its very easy to envision this scenario when faced with a 6:30 a.m. alarm on the not too distant horizon.

My Red Raiders pulled through yesterday and now I hope we can move past all this drama that has plagued us for the last few days and move forward. Here's to hoping for a good season a Tech football next year and a good new coach.

I have already started on my 101 in 1001 list and made some progress. I am working on how to put said list into my blog on the sidebar without re-typing the entire thing. For some reason, the copy and paste feature is not working and I currently do not have interest in re-typing the entire thing. It will eventually get done.

Here is what I have accomplished or begun working on thus far.

#5- purchase Dad a very special gift --> Technically, I purchased this gift for my father for Christmas so it should not count. But, I am considering it a Christmas/birthday/Fathers day present for the year because it was little expensive but totally worth it. Its the most meaningful gift I think I have ever given and I am very proud of how it turned out. With the help of my good friend Cristina Wisner (my wedding photographer), I had a photo of my dad and I dancing enlarged and she did some custom editing for me to include lyrics from a song he wrote for me when I was little. It was custom framed too since it was 16x24. It turned out beautifully.

The lyrics- Let me look back on my life
                    Hold the woman that's my wife
                    Let me thank her for the gift
                    That changed my world
                    Lord I know they'll be fine
                    When I cross that finish line
                    Let me look just one more time
                    At my little girl
                    My little girl
*I will post a pic of the finished project later this week.

#16- I am currently watching the TTU basketball game and the Cowboys game with Colton. We watched the Tech football game last night.

#18 Colton and I created our bucket list of places to travel. Its rather ambitious and includes 40 locations, which I will post at a later date. I decided the best way to accompish this was to make a top ten list for four different categories- US, Europe, Caribbean & Central America, and Other. Other includes anywhere in the world not covered by first three categories.

#33- I am currently updating my blog for the week.

#96- I have taken two pictures thus far and will take one later today for my photo 365 project.

It's kind of fun to have something to work towards each day. I hope this project is as enjoyable as I think its going to be!

Happy Sunday! XOXO,
Devin

The Much Anticipated (well to me) New Year's Post

Welcome, 2010! I hope you are as good to me as 2009 was. With the coming of the New Year, its only appropriate to make resolutions to make this year even better. However, like most people, I always find myself making lofty promises to myself, usually involving losing X amount of pounds this year or reducing spending habits, etc. Very vague resolutions that are usually broken within a few weeks or months. Then, at the end of said year, I have really accomplished none of the goals I put forth for myself. This is because its fun to say and think what you will accomplish but its completely different to actually do the work needed to reach those goals. Its easier to find excuses as to why you could not keep those resolutions. So, instead of citing a list of resolutions, I have decided to take on a much larger, but more manageable, project I stumbled across while reading The Knot community boards a few months ago while still wedding planning. A young lady on one of the boards listed her blog and a new project she was trying out. I read through her plan and researched the original idea and really liked what I saw. So, here is my plan in its entirety.

I'm beginning a journey to becoming a better person. I've got from now until September 28, 2012 to achieve the 101 things on my To-Do List. I plan to document my attempts to complete this list.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic. I adapted my list to follow the example I found on this site 101in1001.blogspot.com and used categories to organize the tasks.

Why 1001 Days? Rather than give myself ambiguity with my resolutions that would allow me to possibly break those resolutions, I have compiled this list with a realistic deadline. Yes, it is a LONG time from now, but by breaking down my tasks into small steps, I can hopefully complete this list and reach the end of my journey as a more thoughtful, well rounded person. In short, I am trying to make myself a better person.

Tasks to be completed.
Italics = Tasks that are in the process of being completed.
Bold = Tasks that are finished!! :)


Family
1. Visit my grandmother at least once every three months. (0/7)
2. Make a family recipe book
3. Send mom flowers for no special reason. (0/1)
4. Send Kara flowers for no special reason. (0/1)
5. Give Dad a very special gift. (0/1)
6. Send birthday cards to everyone in my immediate family.
7. Take my mom on a mother/daughter trip.

Friends
8. Make a point to meet friends out for dinner at least twenty-four times. (0/24)
9. Send Christmas cards to friends every holiday season. (0/2)
10. Send a birthday or anniversary card to one friend each month (0/33).
11. Make at least one new friend in 2010 in Lubbock.
12. Plan a girls trip once a year. (0/3)
13. Have girls night once every month until I leave for Lubbock. (0/6)
14. Call or email a friend once a week. (0/144)
15. Make a new "couples" friend.

Relationship
16. Watch a sports game with Colton at least twice a month. (0/66)
17. Go to a play or musical with Colton.
18. Create a bucket list with Colton of things we want to do or places we want to go in our life together.
19. Get a "family" portrait taken.
20. Have a real date night with Colton once a month. Not just dinner. (0/33)
21. Take a picture of us every month and place in an album. (0/33)
22. Spend one day and one night in a fancy hotel. (0/1)

Spiritual
23. Volunteer at church events at least twice a year. (0/6)
24. Read the Bible from cover to cover.
25. Set aside 10 minutes a day for quiet time, and reflection.
26. Attend church at least twice a month. (0/60)
27. Join a Sunday school class or group at church.

Career
28. Find a job in Lubbock as a geography teacher.
29. Develop curriculum on Holocaust studies for use in high school classrooms.

Education
30. Complete a masters degree program in history or interdisciplinary studies at TTU.
31. Attend one workshop per year for professional development.

Personal Goals
32. Go a whole day only saying positive things. (0/1)
33. Update my blog at least once a week. (0/140)
34. Write a list of 50 things that I like about myself. Save it.
35. Draft, notarize and finalize a living will.
36. Get a dog.
37. Practice decorating cakes twice a month. (0/60)
38. Learn how to quilt, evidenced by making a quilt all by myself. (0/1)
39. Complete a draft for a novel idea.

Health & Fitness
40. Eat queso only once every other week. (I have to be realistic J)
41. Lose 1 lb per week until I reach my goal weight.
42. Be able to run two miles without stopping.
43. Be able to run three miles without stopping.
44. Be able to run four miles without stopping.
45. Run a 10K.
46. Run a half marathon.

Finances
47. Put away 10% of my income per month into my personal saving account.
48. Put away 10% of our income per month into our joint savings account.
49. Pay off all credit card purchases each month.

Home
50. Clean the house once a week. (0/144)
51. Keep a “home fund” for buying new house items when needed.
52. Collect 2 new items each year for decorating for the holidays. (0/6)
53. Purchase a home.
54. Document all my possessions for insurance purposes.

Food
55. Make Christmas cookies each year. (0/3)
56. Try five new restaurants each year (0/15).
57. Find and try twelve new recipes per year. (0/33)

Travel
58. Go to Banff, Canada with Colton.
59. Go snow skiing.
60. Go on a beach vacation.
61. Visit Shelley and Adam in Japan.
62. Visit three new states (0/3).

Books/Movies
63. Pick up and read a book I would not normally read.
64. Read ten of the New York Best Sellers in the year 2010.
65. Read ten books of my own choosing (0/10).
66. Watch ten movies I’ve never seen before (0/10).
67. Read one memoir/biography each year. (0/3)
68. Watch one documentary each year. (0/3)

Fun Activities
69. Go to the river.
70. Go to the lake.
71. Take dancing lessons with Colton.
72. Go to Canton for First Monday.
73. Go to Highland Park, ride in a carriage, and look at Christmas lights.
74. Go to a professional sporting event.
75. Go to a concert.
76. Organize/attend a girl’s day or night with the women of my family once per year. (0/3)
77. Go on a trip with my sister.

Random Acts of Kindness
78. Donate money to a charity.
79. Volunteer somewhere 5 times (0/5).
80. Send a positive note home with a different student each month. (0/18)
81. Donate clothes/shoes I don’t need or wear.
82. Send 6 random "thinking of you" cards to unsuspecting friends. (0/6)
83. Bake an unexpected treat for someone once per month. (0/33)
84. Write three letters praising good service (0/3).
85. Cook Colton a candlelight meal once per month. (0/33)

Expand my Knowledge/Culture
86. Read a book or take a course on Islamic studies for understanding.
87. Read a book or take a course on Jewish studies for understanding.
88. Learn another language.
89. Purchase and read an educational magazine, like the Economist, once per month. (0/33)

Purchases
90. Purchase a new washer/dryer.
91. Purchase a new bedroom suite.
92. Purchase something Colton has been wanting and surprise him with it.

Miscellaneous
93. Host a recipe exchange party.
94. Host a holiday party
95. Host a tailgate party twice per football season at our house.
96. Complete the photo365 project in 2010.
97. Compile and complete a wedding scrapbook in 2010.
98. Compile and complete a honeymoon scrapbook in 2010.
99. Host a New Year’s Eve Party.
100. Create a new 101 things to do in 1001 days list.
101. Celebrate finishing the list on the 1001st day!

For more information on the original website where I got this idea, please visit dayzeroproject.com. Happy New Year!