Fabric, Furniture and Fried Asparagus... OH MY!

After the cross country meet was over, Jarrod and I took Portland to the dog park for a bit so he would ware himself out and thus sleep while Jarrod and I ran around doing things that afternoon.

Our first stop was a store called High Fashion Home Goods...LOVE IT! Check it out on the web  It is quite the store with home fabric and furniture.  Most of the things there are way out of our price range, but they are wonderful to drool over and imagine having one day when we both make it rich and famous.  Here is one find in particular that we both loved...


(I apologize for these being sideways, not sure how to get them to flip, they're not flipped anywhere else on the computer...suggestions??)

Though it's technically a piece of patio furniture, very large patio clearly, we thought it would make a really cool bed :)  How fun?!  The only problems would be the very thin mattress, Jarrod's long legs, and the cat climbing the sides.  But other than that it would be awesome!




After perusing so possible apartments to move to and checking out the area they were in, we got really hungry and decided to get some wings!  They were clearly not as good as the ones in Buffalo, NY, but they were tasty, the beer was cold, college football was on and we got to take home the glasses :)

Go Longhorns!














When we got home from our adventures we were greeted by this fella... craziest squirrel I have ever seen... Oh Texas!

And I'm Back!

Sorry to those of you who are actually following this, waiting for the next episode of Amy (and sometimes Jarrod) take Texas, I have not had 2 minutes to sit and blog over the last few weeks.  School has kept me quite busy and when I get home it's grading and attention to the pup.  There hadn't been anything to really blog about prior to Labor Day weekend anyway, so you didn't miss anything :)

The Friday of Labor Day weekend was a great day however... Jarrod came for a visit!  Thanks to Bill who received free miles from a friend and couldn't use them in time, Jarrod got a free flight to come visit and go on an interview (more on that later).  Though we were extremely excited to see each other after about a month apart, all we did Friday night was head home and crash.  I had to be at a cross country meet in the am and like the amazing husband he is, Jarrod was getting up early to come with me.

While we were at the meet, Jarrod ventured to the near by dog park so Portland could run free and meet other dogs.  Everyone at the meet loved Portland, but with all the teens running around he was far too excited to relax.  While at the dog park Jarrod and Portland met a very large dog!

Meet Bear... note that the man next to him is not a small man either, thus Bear is huge!

He and Portland got a long swimmingly.  However their time was cut short when a less than well behaved dog showed up.  Jarrod decided it was time to leave and they said their goodbyes to Bear.

The two boys then made their way back to our area to watch the end of the JV race.  When asked what our dog's name was, most replied to the answer with, "Oh, I thought it would be spot..."  Sorry to disappoint and not go the obvious route everyone!

I Just Did What?!

Tonight is the eve of 2 weeks down as a high school teacher at Lamar High School, Houston Tx.  WOW!  What a whirlwind these past two weeks have been.  I can not believe two whole weeks have gone by with students.  Coaching has definitely made it feel less stressful because I always end my days with my team.  It's really nice to start the day and end the day that way.  The girls work really hard and I am glad so many show up at 6:30am! It makes getting up at 5:30 worth it...mostly :)

My classes are fairly large, 36 being the largest I believe.  Never had I seen classes this big in Maine, but some how it seems to work.  Perhaps it's because they're freshmen mostly and so they still care a wee bit about what the teacher says and thinks.  Not much, but perhaps a bit.  My toughest class is definitely my sophomores.  They are SO chatty!  And many of the girls are at this stage where being "dumb" is cute.  I know even after only 2 weeks that they are very smart and capable, they just don't want to appear as such apparently.  And they guys are in the "I'm too cool for school" mode.  FUN.  I'm hoping I break through to this group eventually because the content is really interesting to me and could spark some really good conversations, you know, if it was actually cool to talk to your teacher :P

The staff at school is really pretty great!  It's very large, but everyone is friendly and willing to answer questions.  This is especially good for me since I bounce from room to room.  Floating is definitely not my favorite part of the job, however meeting up in the floater's office at the end of the day is quite nice.  We can all compare notes on the day or just complain when needed :)

In terms of life outside of school, things are equally as busy.  It seems like my days are gone before I can begin them and I rarely see the sun except for when it's beating down on me as I run with my girls.  In eight days I will have been married 2 months and yet have only seen my husband for about 2 weeks.  It's a very odd feeling to be married and yet not with the person I'm married to.  As if there is some unwritten rule you're not suppose to do that.  On a much more positive note, Jarrod arrives tomorrow at 8pm!  He took an earlier flight to avoid any Earl mess and it actually works out wonderfully since we have to get up early for a cross country meet!  Ah the duties of a coach never end!  After the meet, Jarrod and I have tons of things planned.  I want to share all I have learned so far while he's been gone and I doubt we'll get through all of it.  We're going to enjoy the end of Houston's Restaurant Week and do some fabric shopping for a wedding quilt I am going to attempt.  We're going to check out the neighborhood we think we'd like to move to and do some shopping here and there.  He will be here until Wednesday because he has an interview on Tuesday!!!  Please keep your fingers crossed that when he leaves on Wednesday, it's only for 2 weeks :)

Stay tuned for pictures from our super fun long weekend... Woo!

Beachy Keen Jelly Bean

For our new bedroom Jarrod and I (read: I suggested it and like a good husband Jarrod agreed) decided to go with a "beach" theme.  Not like a actual beach scene persea, but more of how you might feel if you lived in a beach house on the cape or such.  It's very difficult to achieve this with a rust colored wall and no white wooden furniture, but the effort is there.

This weekend I decided to add a few things to spruce the bedroom up more before Jarrod comes to visit.  I purchases burlap for drapes and a see-through fabric for the ceiling to make it feel more homey.  Thanks to my handy dandy staple gun I was able to hang all the fabric with minimal hardware, aka none, and I think it doesn't look half bad... could be better, but not bad...

I wish the ceiling fan was further back so I could do another low dip with the fabric, but alas it is not my place and when I own my own home I can put the fan wherever I want!



















I then went to a store called Hobby Lobby, which is a mega crafting store.  I wanted some art work to hang up as well as supplies to create some art.  Perhaps I watch a little too much HGTV but I figured I could make something rather than purchase pre-made stuff.  I didn't want anything toooo obvious, like a picture of white sand and the blue ocean, so I settled on a trilogy of waves.  I then bought canvas, some sea shells and some paint to go for a more modern piece.  They're kinda small for the wall, but it's a start.

We're hoping to not be in this apartment very long (for a multitude of reasons, some of which I've listed in previous posts) so I don't think I'll do much else to the room.  For now it seems pretty relaxing and beachy... if you don't count the gianormous dog crate on the corner :)

To continue my craftiness I am going to take on a quilt... stay tuned for how that project turns out!

Hello Whirlwind Called School

I know it has been a while since I wrote last but school has begun and it has been extremely busy on many fronts.  I will try to touch base on a few things, but I apologize ahead of time if I leave something out... feel free to ask follow up questions if needed :)

DOG: Ok so as many know I have had some really hard times with our new pup Portland.  We wanted desperately to keep him in the kitchen all day while I was away at school so as to have more space but still being contained.  Due to his wonder dog traits this plan was not working and so I had to break down and buy a crate :(  I did not want to do this, however with the trusty support of my facebook friends and family I went to Pet Smart and found one... on sale!  I was able to buy a bigger one for the price of the medium sized one so that made me feel better about him being detained.  The first day I left him in his crate I was certain I would find Houdini in the living room when I got home.  True it's form, the crate kept him inside all day and he seemed quite ok about it! Thank goodness!

SCHOOL:  School with students began on Monday and it has been a crazy tornado of reading, planning, teaching and coaching, with the days flying by.  I am teaching 4 sections of World Geography, 1 section of World History and 2 "sections" of Cross Country.  It's really nice that we coach during the day so there is nothing extra once school is over by 4pm.  We do meet at 6:30 am for the xc team to get a run in while it's "cooler", which needless to say has been tough in terms of getting enough sleep to stay energized through the school day.  So far my classes seem ok, mostly freshmen, with one class of sophomores, but really it's just getting used to them all being so tall!  Man do they grow from middle school to high school!!!  My one gripe at this point, at least the one worth typing about, is that I don't have my own classroom.  It would be great to have a place to meet the xc team when needed, and to have a place I feel settled.  However on the flip side I do really enjoy having other new teachers around in our floaters office, so it's not horrible.

COACHING: I am coaching cross country right now as I mentioned above and so far it's pretty great.  Most of the girls are really dedicated and that's nice to see when you're dragging your butt out of bed at 5:30 for them.  We also have track girls during the day when we meet for "XC Class" and that gets tough because they're not really in the training mode yet since their season technically starts in the spring.  So we have a lot of girls who do not really want to be there when we meet, but the ones that do work really hard and it's nice to see.  I've been running with many of the girls on their daily runs and it's been great to get a work out in before school.  The only problem is that the coaching office's shower does not have hot water!!! Luckily I'm at about 100* when Im done running and I can't even tell :)

JARROD: Jarrod has an interview!!!  It's very exciting because there are actually 2 of the same positions that need to be filled and so far Jarrod is the only one (he thinks) that is being interviewed.  The chances seem pretty good.  The only down side is it's not the greatest job in the world.  It's shift work that does not pay well.  He'd have a crazy schedule and we'd barely see each other, but at least he'd be HERE.  Once he's living here it will be much easier to find the right job.

At this point that's really all my life entails... somewhat sad I know, but busy is a good place to be when you're alone... Hopefully not for long!!!

They should have called him Houdini...

Apparently Jarrod and I chose the one dog at the pound who is amazing in all senses of the word.  He is amazingly cute, as you can see...

He is an amazing snuggler!  All I have to do is get down on the floor and sit and he is on map lap in .2 seconds.  Which is impressive for a dog that passed lap size awhile ago.  He is amazingly smart.  He does very well at sitting, staying, walking, jogging, and coming when called.  He also knows very well when he has done something wrong, even before I say something.  He gives lots of kisses and even makes it a point to lick my legs dry when I get out of the shower (TMI?) However..... He is also amazing at doing things he shouldn't!

Like most young dogs, Portland is either teething or just loves to chew... Everything!  When we first got him we had a wooden baby gate to keep him in the kitchen.  He chewed on that most days and so I put apple bitter on it.  Stilled chewed.... So I bought hot sauce.  No dog like hot sauce, right?!  Again, our dog is amazing...he likes hot sauce!!!  And so the chewing of the wooden gate continued until one day I came home to Portland sitting on the couch, the gate busted and chewed to bits and remnants of hot sauce wood all over the kitchen! OY!

We now have a metal gate...which though he is amazing, he can not chew through it!  HOWEVER... he apparently can jump over it!!!  I recently came home to a dog laying in his bed rather than in the kitchen and yet the gate was still closed tight!? This gate is 3 feet off the ground... HOW DID HE DO IT?!  He was in big trouble that day, even though part of me wanted to shake his paw for his amazing athletic ability.  That day he also chewed molding, drywall and rubber.... another OY.  

Jarrod found this product online called Phooey.  I bought it and sprayed it on everything he began chewing on and so far so good.  This stuff is nasty!  I have to cover my own face when I spray so that it doesn't stick to my lips for days.  I hope this is the solution we have been searching for.  Now we just need to deal with the hurdler we adopted.... Puppy Olympics?! He'd be amazing for sure.... :)

It's A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

As odd as it sounds, being only 88* outside today feels really nice!  Anywhere else I've lived that would be an absurd statement, but here it makes sense.  After taking the dog for a stroll (and by stroll I mean a constant fight between pulling dog and "training" human) I put Portland away with a kiss and a pig ear and went for an errands walk myself.  I thought I would introduce you (and by you I mean blog land and followers) to where we live in Houston:

This is the courtyard area of our apartment complex... Be glad there is no such thing as smell-o-vision because you'd gag a little at the smell of how many dogs live here and are not cleaned up after.  Other than the smell though, it is really nice to have some green space!

Not sure if you can tell, but the top of my foot is really swollen because I was bitten by a fire ant.  NOT FUN!

Not sure why is rotated funny... but this is our parking spot.  Why are we parked so far back, you ask? The tree you see there is home to many a feather friend and they enjoy relieving themselves on the roof of my car if I park close enough to their tree.  So I park further back...

This is a very hip seafood/Mexican restaurant across the street from our building.  It appears to be a very popular place with many a Mercedes and Porches parked in it's lot.  My only complaint about it is that they insist on blasting music almost every day of the week until about 12:30 am... even when no one is out on their patio.  Weird!

This is the street we live on... not certain on grass stains got up there...

Montrose Boulevard is very close to our apartment.  This is a major road in this area of town and has a lot of restaurants and such on it.  I also like how the city informs you when a major road is coming up. It's very helpful to those of us who just moved here and have a hard time knowing where we are!

Can you see the lizard?!  I've seen several of these little guys running around.  Just glad they're this small...

This is the coffee shop around the corner from us.  I am really happy it's there, because it helps me feel more urban when I can walk to a coffee shop!  Not certain if they are the BEST but it is pretty good coffee.  I have seen people hanging out here at all hours of the day, which is cool to know it can be a hang out spot anytime :)

Sadly when some people down here have asked where I am from, this is what they think I've meant.  "No not Main st... the state of Maine..." this is than followed by a glazed over look or a "ohhhh, cool..." haha

So far my experience has been that southern car washes are no where near as good as northern car washes.  Perhaps I am bias... and missing the ones I used to get for free :)

About 1.5 ish miles up the road from our apartment is the Museum district of Houston.  Not a bad distance at all!  The closest museums are the museum of fine arts and the museum of natural science.  There is also a health museum, a children's museum and a museum of contemporary art.  There are a lot of little ones as well, so I am pretty excited to have all of these to explore eventually.

This area is full of restaurants and bars and is only about a 10min walk from our place.  I haven't explored them yet, mostly because I am not a huge fan of eating out on my own, but I am eager for sure!

It's amazing how a library card can make you feel settled :)  I got my library card today, and though our local branch is not uber impressive, it's still nice to have one within walking distance!

A genius idea! A coffee shop/bakery next door to the library!  This little strip of food places is so quaint and covered in ivy... Love it!

This is next to the library as well.  I have heard many good things about it so Im excited to try their food :)

(Again sorry for the rotation issues) Oh you thought we moved to Texas?  No we moved to London... HA I WISH!!!

We are a less than 5 min walk to the University of St. Thomas.  It will be interesting to see how the atmosphere of this area changes when school begins again....

#23... That's us!














Thanks for going on a walk with me today!  Hope you enjoyed :)