Two weeks ago tomorrow...

I interviewed.... and today I got the phone call that offered me a 2nd grade inclusion (special education) paraprofessional job!

I am going tomorrow to meet the teacher I will be working with, Ms./Mrs.? Hoff!! :-)

Looks like I will be cutting back my hours at Sylvan...

Wish me luck for my first day on Monday!

There is still good in America...

Yesterday was my 26th birthday, so after I got home from work and Nolan was done studying we went out to dinner!
The Aggie who hired me at Sylvan recommended a local place called Mamma Mia's in downtown Corpus.. so off we went...

The food was pretty good, the company (Nolan) was awesome and to top it all off... my $75 birthday dinner (yes, it was quite pricey) was FREE! Crazy right?!

So here is the story!
We finished our meal, waited for the check and took out our cash (we are on the Dave Ramsey plan ;-) paying cash for everything) to pay for our meals... the waiter comes by and takes BACK our check... without taking the money... We look at each other confused... hoping the bill doesn't go up, since we didn't have much more cash! (the place only takes cash)...

As we wait and wait, we can't figure out what is taking him so long... finally he comes by and says our meal has been taken care of... We are dumbfounded...

What?

What does THAT mean?

We know no one here in Corpus.... aside from a few military couples/families who were definitely NOT in the restaurant...

My ONLY guess is that the couple across the way from us; I did happen to make eye contact and smile with the girl (who was with a much older man)... The timing would work, since the guy got up shortly before our check disappeared and he sat back down as we were trying to figure out what was happening to the total of our check... AND my only guess is that someone would pay for our meal because of Nolan's military hair cut to say thanks... (I have heard of people paying for military members checks to say thanks) but I could totally be wrong!

None the less, we really don't know!! Nolan tipped the waiter and asked for him to tell whoever paid for our meal, thank you, and we left in amazement....

A "pay it forward" moment I suppose... we look forward to paying it forward ourselves.... likely not a $75 meal (as of yet) but soon, when someone/a couple least expects it! :-)

We are going to write a thank you note and send it to the restaurant, hoping the mystery person is a frequent customer and they will know just who to give it to!! ;-)

Oh and Nolan made me a tiramisu birthday cake FROM SCRATCH! YUM! It was/is so tasty! (see picture above)

Dog Sitting Fun!

A friend of mine, Amy, who I met at a small bible study here in Corpus Christi that I attend on Monday mornings with a great group of (mostly Marine) military wives, was heading out of town for 10 days to meet with her husband (who has been in NC for C-130 training for a few months) to go house hunting out in California...

Knowing only that she had two dogs, who were likely not traveling with her and her son, Jackson, I offered to dog sit while she was gone....



After offering, to go from 1 dog to 3, I was a little nervous, but when I discovered that one was a Mastiff, to be quite honest, I became VERY unsure that I was going to be good at dog sitting such a large dog, along with 2 others!

Let me just say that this has been one of the best ideas I have had here lately! :-) They are staying here at our house with Sandi and things couldn't be better!

Chesty and Chopper (the mastiff) are simply awesome! I quickly fell in love with them after just a few days! I will definitely be sad to see them go back home on Sunday/Monday!

They are such good boys - they make Sandi seem as if we haven't trained her to do ANYTHING! She can be such a goofball, but I know she is enjoying every minute of her two new friend's company!

The first night was rather interesting, as Chesty, the smaller of the two, and I played a 3 hour game, between the hours of 2 and 5 am, of who can build the best barricade/who can get out of said barricade in the shortest amount of time... Let's just say Chesty is the smarter of the two of us! haha The second night I created a better barricade AND all of the dogs got a nice run/play out in the field by our house - yay for tired puppies! ;-)





P.S.


Nolan should start flying the C-12 this week (if the weather holds up!) YAY! He has been working diligently in the cockpit trainers, as well as studying nightly!

I have a job - yay!
I am working as a tutor for Sylvan Learning Center here in Corpus Christi AND this is a job I will hopefully be able to take back to Milton (they have a center there) and be able to pick up where I leave off here! ;-) Today was my first evening and overall I think it went well and look forward to working there... One of the directors of the center is an Aggie (she did the hiring) and so far, I know that 2 of my co-workers are also Aggies! WHOOP!
I am also in the substitute system for Flour Bluff ISD (I have an ID badge and parking pass! ;-) )and am working myself into the Corpus Christi ISD sub system; so hopefully these will provide job opportunities as well!

Coupon Codes...

So I just thought I would share a little money saving tip... that I am probably the LAST to know about! haha

Say you are buying something online from Barnes and Noble...

Go to Google and search for "Barnes and Noble coupon codes"

Check out a few of the websites that it brings up... find the coupon that best matches what you are purchasing - by item or total amount, etc

Take that code and enter it on the store's website and watch the savings begin!

Sometimes you can even use more than one code at a time!!! Buying baby shower gifts online I saved over $13! With the book I just bought from Barnes and Noble - I saved 15% on the book AND got free shipping for a total savings of about $14! (AND not to mention the book was almost $20 more to begin with if I bought it in the store! Another $20 saved!)

I love a good deal and an opportunity to save a few bucks! Good luck!

Oh and on the job(s) front...
I am not one to want to jinx myself, so I will post about that once I have more definitive information! ;-)

I have a job interview!

Well, just as I was hoping... I got a call back on the application that I submitted for the special education teacher aide position!

So, Friday at 3pm, please send me some good job interview vibes! I have never interviewed for an aide position, so I am not too sure of what to expect; I am going through my old course work to refresh my memory of all of the techniques/ideas I have learned/used!

I think this job will be an excellent opportunity for me to put in to practice what I have been learning over the past year and a half while working on my master's! :-) I sure hope I am meant to get this job! :-)

Ah... Toilets

Moving every 8 months for the past 2 years has had lots of perks, one of which is that we are slowly but surely creating our dream castle's features, one duty station at a time.

At this house we are realizing the value of having more than one toilet! Especially coming from the Milton house were we had, 3, yes 3 toilets for the 2 of us! Where I am going with this...

Well, Saturday morning I wake up to a running toilet and of course felt obligated to investigate... At first I assumed Nolan had just gone to the bathroom and it was still filling... No... come to find out that wasn't the case... somehow during the night the plastic end on the floater in the tank had broken!? You can see the green plastic screw in the picture, it was the yellow plastic that broke causing the running...


So of course, I turn the water off to the toilet, because there are very few things more annoying that a running toilet... since then we have been a one toilet house; a DOWN stairs one toilet house at that! haha This experience has brought us to the realization that a one toilet house, although it would work, won't be ideal! ;-)

Just because I have failed to mention them before some other features to have/not have:

From the Pensacola house, built in the 1900s and slightly updated:
12 inch tiles in the kitchen - very easy to clean!
LOTS of counter tops and cabinets
nice size laundry room with a toilet and shower
WOOD floors! :-)
Lots of windows
Wide molding around the doors and windows were cool
Screened porch!
(We LOVED this house, can't you tell!)

From the Milton house:
a dishwasher that works would be nice...
steep stairs are a no go
TWO sinks in the Master bath..
a garden tub as well!!! :-)

From the Corpus Christi house:
deep kitchen sink
TBD...

So... what would you say are your MUST haves/would not want to have in your dream house, based on your experiences?