The Rio Grande and Lake Amistad have been flooding crazily since Alex and the subsequent tropical storms rolled through (here's something I didn't know: the desert gets hurricanes. Bizarre.), which made for some bummer weather lately, but while Jamie was here we got one day of good sun! It was so awesome to show someone from our hometown what Texas border life is really like! :)
Jamie got to see all the Del Rio landmarks: the Walmart, Wings & Rings (our only sports bar), the Herald (best restaurant in town), the Veranda (one of two wine bars... we don't have a fabric store, but we have two wine bars.), and a delightful Laughlin tradition: Drop Night. Of course, I think Lake Amistad is the best thing about Del Rio, so on Saturday we hit the lake with our friends Paul and Maria and their enormous puppy, Bud. Good times, as usual!
And, for those of you who are wondering, the answer is no: Art did not wear his stand-in wedding ring to the lake. :) We were out on Paul and Maria's boat when Art's ring was lost, and they noticeably went this time sans wedding rings as well. We were happy to spread caution! :)
The day Jamie got here, I got a call from the principal of Del Rio Middle School, asking me if I could come in for an interview the next day. I didn't want to abandon Jamie, but of course I took the opportunity!! She offered me the job at the interview (crazy!), it was approved by the school board that Saturday, and I'm scheduled to sign my contract on Wednesday of this week.
I am Del Rio Middle School's newest 8th grade English language arts teacher!! I cannot explain how excited I am to have been given this opportunity. I student taught math at Mad River, and had always thought I would teach math, but I came into this position as an English teacher and I couldn't be more excited about it. Of course, this is the one time where being the cheapest grad student ever has failed me: I got all my Language Arts methods books from the library at UD, and thus returned them, so much to Art's chagrin, I had to purchase them again today. But I am truly exploding with ideas about writer's notebooks, classroom library, book assignments, and first-week teambuilding. I spend pretty much every day writing things down that I want to do with my students. I'm so excited to get to work with them on a subject that I've had such a passion for all my life. I am truly, truly thankful that God led me to teaching at just the right time. Such a gift! :)
Speaking of gifts... look what came home with my wonderful husband on the day I got the job:
Lucky me. :)
For tonight's dinner, I made homemade pesto (with my Aerogarden basil!) with spaghetti and chicken cutlets with a Parmesan/sage crust. I hope someone is making you something special tonight! :)
