NEW!!!

When we went to Oregon, I got some new things!

I wore my mom's beautiful pearls for my wedding and really love pearls. She made me a bracelet that I wore for my wedding with her necklace. Then, J gave me pearl studs for Christmas. In downtown Bend, there was a fun store that sold beautiful jewelry. I got these gorgeous pearls. :) He sure does love me.

This isn't new. This is my "marshmallow" coat. I've had it since high school. I have wanted to get rid of it for a while.
So I did!! I got this gorgeous coat for only $25!! I love it! It's got two layers so I can use one just for a spring coat and then add the outer coat for cold weather. I'm excited about it!

Then, I saw this! I love geography. I got this puzzle for my classroom when I have my own and I'm thrilled! My first indoor recess activity! :)
I didn't get this in Oregon. :) I have a friend who's in beauty school and she did my hair. I like it! It's a little short, but it's been a while since I've had short hair, so it's fun!

Oregon!

I finished my Student Teaching and we went on a vacation to celebrate. J's parents have a timeshare with a company where you can get a hotel anywhere they have one. So they let us borrow theirs in Redmond Oregon. It's in the center of the state and it's very pretty. The drive is kinda boring, but it is worth it.

Our first day, J and I rented a bike for the two of us. There are paths all the way around the resort, so we just went on that. It was exhausting but fun.

Then, we toured the area. The resort is between Bend and Redmond so we went to Bend one day.
I love the white mountain in the very back of this picture.
On our afternoon in Bend, we decided to get as close as we could without directions to the mountain. We ended up going across this tiny bridge and onto a dirt road for a while. Pretty views. The pictures don't do them justice.
In Downtown Bend, there are tons of fun stores. There's a candy shop where when you walk in you're overwhelmed by the smell of sugar. It coats your throat and you just want sugar. Right then.

We bought some... ;) I got warheads. I LOVE sour candy. Warheads are the best. I love them. YUMMY!!! So this is J trying one out. heehee

Before:
And when he pops that sucker in his mouth. heehee
We also got a kite. J loves flying kites. I have honestly never really flown a kite. We tried in our front yard, but it works best away from hills, trees, and houses. :) So J got to teach me.
Here I am flying the kite (and showing him up, if I may say so myself)
Pretty
The highway the resort was on was called Cline Falls. We saw a sign that said "Cline falls" with an arrow. We followed it. No falls. Just a river. It was pretty though.
I love this man. He's my favorite. I think I'll keep him. Forever and ever.
More of the "falls"
Then, we visited Redmond. Not as much fun. But there was a yummy ice cream shop we went to. This is a chocolate/oreo shake. I love oreos. they're delicious.
It was a great vacation! We went swimming, slept in, watched movies, read, explored, biked, walked, and had a lot of fun!

I like vacations with my hubby.

Oh the nerdiness

Alright. Prepare yourself. Put on your seatbelt. I've entered into a new level of nerdiness. If you can't handle it, let go of the mouse and walk away now.

I've always considered myself at least somewhat nerdy. I was a band geek, I love Star Wars, Harry Potter, all that good stuff. I've been to midnight showings, gotten books at midnight, dressed up for parties, I own lots of music from Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and I just think I'm kind of a geek. Nerd. Whichever term you want to use.

I like the movie Sydney White and the Seven Dorks. It's funny and silly. I think it's hilarious when she asks them what they do in their spare time and they say that they play role playing video games and then reenact them with costumes and stuff. I couldn't find a picture, but that's a scene that's been playing a lot in my mind the past couple days.

My hubby got me to play....

Before you get mad and hate me forever, keep reading to see how it went. About a month ago, T, one of J's friends, said he wanted to play it and get the whole group of us to play. There are 6 of us. Three guys and their wives, basically.

T was obviously game.

His wife, E, was very excited. She's quite into the whole geeky/nerdy stuff. She plays video games whenever she can, reads fantasy novels, the whole deal.

B, another friend, was pretty game, but worried that his wife, A, wouldn't get into it and be anti.

Obviously, A, was very skeptical. She doesn't like many things nerdy. :)

J was really excited. He said he would do it even if I didn't want to.

I was skeptical. I've seen some pretty nerdy stuff, but this seemed too much.

There's a friend of the group who's very very very into D&D. He loves all things nerdy. He works at a video game store, has beaten just about every video game you can name, and really enjoys being nerdy. :) His name is Jake. Jake is a cool guy. I like talking to him. He's easy to talk to and is very patient with the fact that I know nothing about D&D.

He's our Dungeon Master. He basically makes up the whole story. He gives us obstacles, controls the bad guys, and keeps us entertained with the story. Each of our characters has certain traits. We have homelands, background histories, opinions, and how good and righteous we are. Jake has told us to get as much into character as we can. B's character is somewhat Irish. He speaks with an Irish accent. :) When we're planning strategies, we say "I" instead of "my character." When Jake talks about us and our story, he uses our character's names.

This is my figure that I got. Jake is going to paint it. I'm not sure on colors yet. All I know is Green eyes and Brown hair. (like mine.) You're welcome to give suggestions!
So.

Do I like it?

Yes.

I do.

I know!

Weird.

Nerdy.

Over the top, sometimes, yes.

But I liked it.

Should I leave out the fact that when Jake was telling the story, we got out my ipod and played LOTR music? :)

I don't wanna grow up

I sometimes wonder how old I really am. Is it something where you take your age, divide that by two and subtract 5 and that's your real age? Sometimes, that makes sense.

-The song that says "act your age, not your shoe size" comes to mind.-

The thing is...I'm just like my toddler niece. She got Tangled last week and has watched it 3 times daily since. I got it Saturday and watched it Sunday, Monday, and half on Wednesday.

Do I have a problem here?

Should I be worried?

I even bought the soundtrack to Tangled last night. And listened to the whole thing today.

I should stop admitting my obsessive actions.... :)

Hair bows

There was a little girl in my 1st grade classroom who ALWAYS had an adorable bow in her hair. I should have gotten more pictures. She had a clover for St. Patrick's Day. She had gorgeous curlie q's and sweet little flowers. I always just adored her bows! (And her, but that's besides the point)

One day, she wore this one. I think it's so so so cute! How simple but yet really creative! I think I'll have to recreate it someday for a future daughter.

Turns out she remembered how much I loved her bows. When she came to her Parent Teacher conference, she brought me a card because she was absent for our last day and clipped onto it was this beautiful flower. I was so touched! It's gorgeous and even better because a little 7 year old thought of it and had her mommy make one for me! How adorable is that!!!
I love children. They make my heart sing.