My Christmas Wish List

These are just a few things I am asking for this Christmas... :) Mainly this is for my wonderful hubby (who will have a copy of this everywhere he looks as the holidays get closer.) The only questions is if he will care, or will do his usual, "I can't get you what you ask for because then you will know what you're getting."

I want boots. :) They don't have to be these, although these are currently on sale at REI outlet and are pretty perfect (Hi-tec snowflake chukka boots). I want some that aren't just cute, because I want them to be practical. These are good because they have a good sole, waterproof, and warm! Size 8, light brown/tan is a must.

I would love a Kavu Bi-Coastal Shoulder (not regular) bag- in black preferably.

I don't necessarily want this sleeping bag... any would be fine. Chris says I need one I can take backpacking, but I am not too sure about that yet.
These are the main things, I think.

Question of the Day

Okay, so this is a few days late, but this is my new favorite student question. I am not happy that it was asked, but it still makes me laugh.

Student: Mrs. Middaugh, when I end a sentence in a question mark I still have to use a period at the end, right?

Me: Why would you need a period at the end?

Student: Well, I have to make sure you know it's the end of the sentence so that you don't think it's a run-on.

My thoughts: I think we have bigger problems to worry about than run-ons.

I should also add that this student is a senior.

And I should also say, I don't have perfect grammar and mechanics at all times, but seriously? A period after a question mark? This is going to be an interesting career.

An update on life...

It seems that the ability to relax is not a gift that Chris and I have. It's go, go, go all the time! Which I like, most of the time, until it effects my mood. I just don't understand how people have children... if we are this busy and have no kids, I can't imagine what life would be like with them. I think the same way when it comes to keeping the house clean and picked-up. If two of us are this messy I wonder what it would be like with children... crazy.

Any who- Chris is loving graduate school. I think it's a little harder than he realized it would be, and I must give him credit; he does more than just play with fish all day. Apparently there's a lot of math associated with studying fish... I'm not sure, but I know he spends a lot of time figuring out math problems. He also began teaching a lab for sophomores called Fish Ecology. I think he really likes it, though it's definitely out of his comfort zone.

I love my job every day- some days more than others. Every now and then I wonder if I am crazy, but I never think that I made the wrong choice by becoming a teacher. I know this is right where God wants me- for now. I feel bad for my students sometimes, because I am absolutely clueless... but they hang in there. The push me on a daily basis, which is pretty cool... sometimes intimidating, but I need it. Hmmm... I am still pushing around a cart. Which sucks. But hey, it's a job, and I have great students! I still forget at least one thing a day in my office and have to send someone to go get it. I also tend to be late for many of my classes. I do have to say that I forgot how whiny high school students are. It's absolutely ridiculous! I have started adding to assignments when they complain about having too much homework, or moving up a test when they say they don't have enough time, which I know is very mean, but it's working. They don't complain as much. :)

As for life outside of our jobs, we try our best to sit around the house and do nothing, but it usually lasts about an hour. Then we find a project we need to do around the house or errands that need to be run. Ya' know. Important stuff. We also are trying to get a college and twenties group going at our church, so that's a ton of fun. It's in the works, but we're excited!

We still love it here. A lot. If only they had mountains and stuff we would be okay. And if our friends and family would move here all would be perfect. :)

Fall is here!

I just thought I would share a few pictures of my fall creation! I went to Hobby Lobby to buy a wreath, but the were too expensive- so I made my own! Before

After

Burgers, Friends, and a Beautiful Wedding

You know the person at weddings who cries... a ridiculous amount? Well, that used to be me. I think it stopped when I got married. That sounds bad, but it's totally true. I would cry at weddings on TV, weddings of people I barely knew... even weddings of those I had never met. Something about them just made me cry- alot. At a friends wedding, just 3 weeks before ours, I was a bridesmaid and cried the entire time, beginning with the rehearsal the night before. Luckily Katie cried too. And of course, no one cared if we cried- they were there for the bride and groom. So, I was terrified when we got married that I would make a fool of myself during the ceremony. I just knew that I was going to cry all through the vows. But the opposite was true- I couldn't stop smiling. There was no room for tears. Chris cried- but he doesn't like to talk about it. Since our wedding we have been blessed to watch two couples get married and I didn't cry at all. It was the weirdest thing. Maybe because I know how happy they are? But I always cried because I was happy for them. Who knows. At the wedding we went to this past weekend we got to watch a great friends of ours get married. Zack and I have known each other for years and have shared lots of memories. I only recently met his beautiful bride, Cris. She is wonderful though. They are both very deserving. One confession on the crying that I have to make, is that although I didn't cry at the wedding, I cried two times the week before when I heard love songs on the radio. I don't know if I was just tired, but I felt pathetic. Who cried the week before a wedding- other than the bride and parents? I guess close friends maybe, but geez! I didn't think I would be emotional. the wedding was beautiful and so much fun! Zack and Cris are a fabulous couple and I can't wait to see what all God does through their relationship! Chris and me at the wedding.

Chris, me, and the groom (Zack)

Me and Zack

Other than the wedding, we were able to visit with all sorts of people! We left West Lafayette around 4 on Friday and got to Little Rock around 2 am. The drive was good, except for a small traffic jam... that left me hitting the steering wheel in frustration. :) Saturday morning we were able to go to the farmers market with my parents and visit. When we got there, we got out of the car and immediately saw Will (Chris's friend from college) and before we left we also ran into quite a few of my sorority sisters! It was so great seeing everyone! Then, we met a few friends at the Middaugh's house for burgers and fries! We were so blessed to see everyone- including a few that made the trip from Jonesboro just to see us breifly.It was good to catch-up with friends who are such an important part of our lives! We got to see people from church at the wedding, which was fun! And of course, the wedding was a blast anyways! Sunday we got to see some of Chris's family at lunch and then visit with my family and grandma before heading back home. It was such a refreshing weekend! I didn't realize how much I missed everyone- which of course makes it hard to leave. We were happy to get back home early this morning. We couldn't have bee more blessed with such a great weekend.

Gray Hairs, Forgotten Days, and the Office

Here are a few pictures of the office after we painted it. It was suppose to be a pretty eaasy task: however, once we peeled the 'baby' wallpaper off the yellow wall, we realized it was going to be more difficult than we thought. The paint under the wallpaper peeled, forcing us to have to sand the wall before we could prime it, and then apply two coats of paint. It was a headache- but we love the color now. And Chris finally has a 'fish' room.

On the other side of the fish there is a poster of Arkansas fish...

Picture of the office before we painted it.

Aside from painting, apparantly gray hairs come with teaching. I always hoped I had my dads hair, since he is just now turning gray... but I am afraid (though not for sure) that I may have inherited my moms hair- which means, I will go gray before 30. I also had to convince myself that this past Monday actually happened. I was driving home on Tuesday and I suddenly had no idea what day it was. I tried to remember what I did the day before, and all I could remember was church- so I thought it was Monday. It wasn't until the next day at school when someone informed me it was Wednesday, not Tuesday, that I realized I was a day off. I still don't remember Monday happening at all...

This weekend we are heading home! I am so excited! A good friend is getting married- and we couldn't miss it. We hoped to fly, but it's too expensive. So, it will be a long Friday and Sunday night as we drive to and from. But we can't wait!

Labor Day Weekend

We attended our first Purdue football game this weekend. Thanks to a fellow teacher who was not using his season passes! It was a blast, and the weather was perfect. It's no SEC football, but it will due. :)

Dixie's playdate with Chloe...

Friends of ours from church, Ben and Jessica, have the absolute cutest dog (besides Dixie). So, when they were coming over for dinner and suggested bringing Chloe, we were super excited! Dixie hasn't really played with another do since we left Little Rock, so we thought this would be perfect.

Chloe is a 3 month old Goldendoodle, and is FULL of energy. Dixie is 3 now, and has never been full of energy, so the combination was hilarious. Not to mention, Chloe is quite a bit bigger than Dixie. Chloe had Dixie running fearfully around the yeard within minutes. Eventually Dixie realized that Chloe wasn't going to eat her, and so, she played... a lot.

Other than football and cooking out, we went bike riding, ran errands, did homework, watcher NCIS, and went to 'Mosey Down Mainstreet'- a monthly event in West Lafayette.

It was a wonderful, relaxing weekend. And best of all, I am all caught up on grading. Until tomorrow anyway.

Can you say 'Yum'?

So, I love all things unhealthy. I am not proud of this, but it's the truth. We saw these made on the food network (Sandra's Money Saving Meals) and thought they looked amazing! We were right. Here's the recipe.

Mini Apple Spiced Glazed Donuts

You need:

1 (7.5 ounce) can of biscuits -Don't use the flaky ones... home style works best.
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
2 Tbl. Apple Juice
3 cups Canola Oil


Place the biscuits on a flat surface- we used a baking sheet.
Using a bottle cap, create a hole in the center of each biscuit. The removed hole becomes a donut hole.
Let the biscuits sit for a few minutes, until they reach room temperature.
Glaze: In a mixing bowl, mix the powdered sugar, apple juice, and pumpkin spice.
Heat the oil in a medium pan. Letting it reach 350 degrees.
Fry the doughnuts 3 at a time, for one minute on each side.
Place the doughnuts on paper towels to soak up some oil. While the donuts are still warm, dip one side if the donut into the glaze.
Cook the donut holes the same way the donuts are cooked.
Let the glaze sit for about 5 minutes.

Super easy, Super yummy!

Tales from the Cart

It's almost been three weeks now, since I began my teaching career... from a cart. Not a shopping cart, but a nice little, 3 shelved cart that allows me to travel from room to room with all of my 'crap'. And if you know me, you know I always carry a lot of crap. In order to be prepared for everything. Not a day goes by that I don't forget something in my office at least once, resulting in me sending a student to fetch my belongings. And the inevitable question, "Mrs. Middaugh, why aren't you prepared?" I in-turn always respond with something sarcastic, which shouldn't be surprising. The Mrs. Middaugh thing, by the way, is still not normal for me. It sometimes takes a students saying it 3 or 4 times before I respond. You would think I would be used to it, considering I hear it at least 100 times a day- especially on days students are working independently. Any who, back to the cart, I never leave my office without a package of 'Wet Ones' so that I can wipe the chalk off my hands before wiping it all over my clothes; since the school I'm at doesn't believe in white boards. Which is totally fine- just different. After today, I will be adding a 'Tide' pen to my cart because of a coffee and white shirt accident first period. I lose at least one pen a day, leaving that pen to the teacher who's classroom I borrow for one hour each day. Chalk is lost daily as well, but I don't have to buy my chalk; however, a chalk pen/ holder is on my teaching wish list.... maybe that will help. Teaching is great. Some days are better than others, but that's with any job. I have great students! They continually make me laugh. Sometimes I feel like I am barely scraping by- but hey, I'm making it!

Aside from school, Chris and I survived the record breaking low temperature for August 31. The low reached 42 degrees... I froze. And turned on my heater. The teachers laughed at me. That's Christmas weather in Arkansas. Not August. That's nuts.

We also finished painting the office- it has been taken over with fish. It looks good, even with the fish. :)

A Separate Peace

My high school English teacher was awesome; however, being in high school, I could have cared less about reading. Or writing. Or anything related to grammar. I still hate grammar. Now, being an English teacher myself, I am realizing that I missed out on a lot by not really paying attention to the things we read. I am reading 'A Separate Peace' with my sophomores and I am absolutely loving it. I remembered the plot from when we read it in high school, but nothing else. It is on the road to being favored over 'A Great gatsby', but we will see. Gatsby has been my number one since high school, so it won't go down that easily. I can't read it without rereading every couple of paragraphs to Chris because it's so stinkin' awesome... he actaully appreciates it too, and will soon be reading it. :)

Movie

Chris and I rented 'The Soloist' last night, and it was wonderful. We found this link and read about the story too. It made me cry a tad- so cool.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lopez-skidrow-nathaniel-series,0,1456093.special

Pictures. :)

The following two pictures are Chris and I on our way home from the farmers market.

The Pedestrian Bridge

Dixie and the cat across the street.

Teaching

It's recently come to my attention that teaching is by far going to be one of the hardest things I have ever done in my entire life. And I am not exaggerating. I guess I always thought I would have a 'plan' of what to teach; and, by have a plan, I mean that I thought someone would give me a plan. I know, I know- an immature thought, but this blog is for my thoughts. Right? So now here I am, I have one day in between me and my first day of teaching. I could get pretty far away in that one day, but I would miss Chris. I have standards. That's it. No books. No advice, or this is how we do things here. Just standards and an office in the back of the library. Am I excited? Of course. I can't wait. It's just hard to allow the excitement to override the feeling of being terrified. I also have not seen my cart yet- and I should add that my cart is not a 'shopping cart.' It's an educational cart, whatever that means. I am thinking it looks like a short TV cart. I could be totally wrong, but I know it's not a shopping cart. I plan on decorating it for Christmas, and Halloween, and fall, and Spring... and all Holidays and festivities. Everyone keeps telling me I will do great, which I am very thankful for, but I want someone to tell me what to do. Is this part of growing up? I don't like it. Let me go back to college- it was easier. But, let me take Chris and Dixie with me.
With all of the immature complaining done, I bought a cute frame for my desk! I also made a voicemail for my phone, in my office. Even if no one ever calls, it makes me feel important. =D Any who- other than being scared out of my mind about Thursday, life is wonderful here in West Lafayette, IN.

I found the most amazing coffee shop! It has amazingly good coffee and crepes that look amazing. They are on my 'to try' list. :) I even found my way to it. Which is even more impressive.

Also, Dixie made a friend. A cat. it's really quite cute. I will post a picture as soon as I figure out how to load them from our NEW camera! Yay! I broke our last one; though in defense, it was already breaking. I just accidently helped it along.

Indiana

Me and Chris by the Canal walk in Indianapolis.

The canal walk

Enjoying the rainy, cool 4th of July at a local park.

I honestly wondered if Indiana was going to be a place I could really enjoy. There are fields everywhere, mostly corn and soy beans. It's mainly flat- not many lakes or mountains to enjoy- and from what we've heard, cold. So, it put quite a few doubts in my head. But once we started exploring the town/ state a little more, we are starting to really like it! :) West Lafayette is a small town for the most part, but being a college town it offers everything you need, plus more. Everyone is super friendly and they are always up for a good conversation. There are lots of cute festivals on Main Street, and a farmers market 4 days a week! A lot of people walk and ride bikes wherever they need to go, which is fun. We try to do the same. Well, Chris rides his bike everyday since we only brought one car. Indiana itself, seems to have a few cool state parks and a few rivers to float. Chris has even heard of a few places that he can fish. We checked out Indianapolis and found a brewery we really liked. It seems to be a great community that we are coming to really appreciate. The town I teach in (Chalmers/ Brookston) are super cute towns! They have a lot of ma and pa shops and restaurants, so I can't wait to check those out!

Speaking of my job, I just found out I was going to be a 'floater'. Which means I don't have a classroom of my own- I walk from one room to the next. At least this way I don't have to worry about classroom decorations!

Chris is loving Purdue! He plays with fish... his dream! He gets samples of fish from lakes in Indiana and then measures and identifies them! Soon he will be teaching and taking classes.

We painted the living room a light blue color! It looks great! We have soom peeling problems in the office, so it's a work in progress.

Life here is wonderful!

So, we went to our first wedding since we got married, and I must say, it was much less stressful! :) It was nice to just sit back and watch- well for me. Chris was a groomsman. Ryan and Megan got married in Harrison, AR, and the wedding was beautiful!

Our wedding pictures are done! Yay! I am waiting on the CD so I can post some.

Other than that, there's nothing really interesting going on. I still haven't signed a contract at Frontier- so I am anxiously awaiting that event. I am ready to get started!

We found a church that we really like. It's Redeemer Lutheran Church in West Lafayette. It's very small and very friendly! We are excited about getting involved there. There are a bunch of kids, a few young couples, and some older folks- so, it will be interesting to see how God uses us.

As far as home improvements lately...I've been lazy. We are working on getting blinds up in the kitchen and Chris's office painted. I did finally organize all my craft 'crud'.

Chris has started on his grad school research! He has gone on two sample collecting trips in northern Indiana. I am not really sure what he does... I know he shocks fish. The next few weeks he will be processing those samples and getting ready to teach in the fall.

We have met a few fun people that we are excited about getting to know. Everything is great and we are looking forward to what is to come. =)

A job!

I just accepted a position teaching 10th grade English, Speech and Advanced Speech, 8th grade Exploritory English, and 12th Grade Literature for Life at Frontier Junior/ Senior High School in Chalmers, IN (Home of the Falcons!). I am also the drama director and assistant softball coach! This should be fun! :)

And here we are...

Well, as of June 29, we are officially in Indiana for the next few years. At least two. Chris has begun his Masters degree at Purdue, and I am currently a professional job seeker. We have one dog, Dixie, who is spoiled- and becoming more and more spoiled by the day. She keeps us quite entertained!
I have had this blog for a while, but never really wrote anything. So, we'll see how it goes. really, it's just about us, and our 'adventures' as newlyweds in a new place. And whatever we decide to tell you all about. :)

So, here are our adventures so far...really just our day to day 'dumb doings.'

1.Mistaking oxy clean for windex...and cleaning every window and door before noticing the streaks.

2. Mistaking chicken thighs for chicken breasts, and thinking something was wrong with our meat.

3. Wondering why the heat wasn't working on our dryer, with the setting on air dry.

4. Having to ride our bikes to Auto Zone (Chris carrying a car battery in a backpack) to get a new battery for our one car.

5. Dropping what Chris calls an essential took, into the front of the element, and watching Chris spend an hour determined to get it out. Even tying a magnet to a string so maybe the tool would attach.

6. Getting lost on a daily basis in a city smaller than Jonesboro.

On a not so dumb note, we have painted the hallway and part of the living room of our super cute house! We pulled up bushes and trimmed quite a few trees. The neighbors behind us remind me of a fraternity house in college. There's definitely a constant game of beer pong, plenty of fireworks, and music... at all hours. Other than that, the neighbors are old. So that's nice. However, at certain times, usually in the evening, you can hear the people across the streets tv... I think they are hard of hearing. It's fun!
We've spent a couple of days hanging out with Chris's lab friends. Super nice, but very different from my usual clique. I actually feel bad about using my drier after hearing how environmental they are, but I need to figure out why driers are so bad before I stop using one. We do recycle- so we're at least doing a little... and we don't get sacks at the store. That's good right?
Yep, that's it. In between trips to Bed, bath, and Beyond and Wal-Mart, we seem to be painting or staining wood (just one lamp on the stain part, but we were proud!).