The Last Few Days

As you know from my previous post, my friend, Traci, had her job reinstated due to the money the district is saving by changing our health insurance carrier. What a blessing! To celebrate, I took her out to supper at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, El Camino Sky (formerly known as El Camino Real). We had a great time together - there was much talking & laughter. :-)

Yesterday was my final day of school! WooHoo! Hello Summer! :-) We only had to work a half day (until 11:30) which was nice so a group of us went out for lunch. After lunch, I went to Jodi's school to deliver my fish (they are adopting them since I forgot to adopt them out before the students left - oops!). It was nice to see her & talk for a bit. I also got to see her new room (she's moving into the old computer lab room - it's a bit bigger & has a much nicer view).

Then last night it was off to Riverdance. Traci & I had tickets & had a fabulous time. We both enjoyed it greatly but also had to laugh because we knew the guys (Matt & Jeromy) would have been bored out of their minds. I was expecting the Irish dancing, but I was not expecting the vocal ensemble, the fabulous band (there's just something about Celtic music), the flamenco dancer, or the tap dancers. It was very entertaining!

Today was a busy day, but it was a great day. My day started with me spending time with Eva (Steve & Jenny's daughter) while Jenn ran some errands. Eva is such a sweetheart! From there, I went to get my hair trimmed & colored (had to cover up the grays), and I also had my eyebrows waxed (a bit painful, but definitely worth it in my opinion). Then it was off to the grocery store and then home to clean because Shaun & Jodi were coming over (I really wanted them to meet Matt & for him to meet them). Matt got here around 4:30, and I was so glad he'd come early. We didn't get a chance to see each other this week so I was really starting to miss him! It was great to have some time alone together before they got here. Shaun & Matt instantly hit it off and had a great time picking on Jodi. We laughed a lot tonight! We had pizza & then played 9 holes of golf (the card game). It was definitely an enjoyable evening! They're going to host the next get-together at their house so Matt can experience life on the Toussaint. :-)

Great News!

For those of you who know my friend, Traci, you know that she's had quite a difficult year (actually some difficult years). She's been tested more than imaginable at times, but she has continued to stand strong & firm in her faith knowing that God will provide. She's amazing!

On top of everything that's already happened, she learned a little over a week ago that her job was one of the positions that was going to be cut at the high school due to budget deficits. This, too, she took in stride.

However...today she received some of the best news that was totally unexpected. She was notified this morning that her position will not be cut! WooHoo! Isn't God good? The school district will be changing insurance carriers and will be saving enough money that the positions will no longer need to be cut. When I got her e-mail this morning, I was ecstatic!

I'd like to say it was an answer to prayer, but I never imagined this would be the outcome. I'd only been praying for peace for her & Jeromy during this time. I'd also prayed that this wouldn't hinder them from going ahead with their adoption plans. Talk about peace & not hindering adoption plans...keeping a job you thought you wouldn't have will take care of that! :-) God continues to amaze me!

He Met the Parents...and Lived to Tell About It! :-)

Today was the "big" day for Matt & me...he met my parents. Mom & dad, along with my nephew, Harrison, came to Ohio for my cousin's graduation (Congrats, Stacy!) this weekend so we decided it would be a great time for my family & Matt to meet.

The day began with us meeting mom & dad at Cracker Barrel in Findlay for breakfast. We had a great time together, and my parents learned a lot about Matt (my dad couldn't get over how much he talked). He's definitely a talker - which is fine with me because I tend to do some of that myself. :-) After breakfast, we went to church with grandma and then went back to her house for lunch. Then...it was on to Stacy's graduation where he met Harrison, Jane, Kevin, Scott & Stacy (I almost forgot to introduce Stacy...oops! Sorry, Stacy!).

On the way home, Matt told me how nice my family was, and he really liked my dad (which is a good thing). He also liked my mom's sense of humor (she got some good jabs in on Matt). Once we got home & Matt left, I called mom & dad to get their opinion. They both thought he was really nice. Mom said she liked the way he treated me & the way he looked at me. I like that too!

So...although I was a bit nervous this morning, all went very well! I'm so glad that they were all able to meet each other.

An Amazing Night

Matt arrived tonight carrying a dozen roses (pictured above). They were absolutely beautiful! And...as if that wasn't enough...he also got me the DVD of "Breakfast as Tiffany's" and a Boyd's bear (he obviously had paid attention to all of the bears I have). I couldn't believe it!

Once the roses were in water, we left to get supper. Plans changed just a bit...due to what we were doing after supper, we decided to go to Mancy's another time and went for Mexican instead (on a side note...it was kind of funny because when I got home, the Mexican restaurant in front of my house smelled soooo good). Supper was delicious and the company was even better. :-)

From there, we went to see Pirates of the Caribbean 3 - which is an excellent movie!

I had such a good time, and he made me feel so special. I told him that Traci & Jenn would be very proud of him. He did good! :-)

Looking Forward to Tomorrow

Although this is going to say it was posted on Friday, it's really actually very late on Thursday night (it's just after midnight so the date has changed officially). So...I'm really looking forward to tomorrow (which is Friday) or you could say I'm looking forward to today (but it's really tomorrow because I haven't been to bed yet). Are you confused yet? :-)

Let's get to the reason for the post...

I'm so excited - I feel like a kid at Christmas because tomorrow Matt is taking me out to celebrate my birthday. His original plan was for us to go out with Jeromy & Traci to get pizza. That would have been fun, but bless his heart...his new plans are much better (thanks to the help of Traci & Jenn).

What are the new plans you ask? He's taking me to Mancy's (a very nice steakhouse) for supper, and then we're going to go see the new Pirates movie. I'm so excited that I can barely wait! I'm really looking forward to spending some quality time with Matt...and am also very appreciative of his working to make this a romantic night. :-) I'm telling you...I love this man!

Paybacks

My aunt's birthday was on May 6th, but I completely forgot to call her. When I remembered it on the 8th, I called & was very apologetic. While there was a bit of harassment from Jane, she forgave me (or so I thought). Just ask my dad...Jane does not forget things easily (at least those things she can continue to throw back in your face...she still brings up things from their childhood). :-)

To try & show Jane how special she is to me, I called her on Mother's Day and even called her on Memorial Day...just to let her know I cared. That's the kind of person I am! :-)

However, she still can't let it go. My birthday was yesterday which seems to have brought those hard feelings to mind for Jane. In my birthday card, she mentioned how special I was to her...so special that she'd never forget my birthday (some words were underlined for emphasis). She also called me in the morning to wish me a happy birthday...making sure I knew she called me in the morning so she wouldn't forget like I'd forgotten her birthday! :-)

Well...we talked today, and I shared with her that I got my paybacks. Yesterday found many people forgetting my birthday. It began first thing in the morning when my mom called. I answered expecting birthday greetings, but instead, I received small talk. Don't get me wrong...it was nice to talk to my mom, but she never mentioned my birthday (however, she called me a couple of hours later & felt terrible). Then...it was the people at school. If I had a dollar for every person that forgot it was my birthday, I would be sooooo rich! It would have been easy to get annoyed, but all I could do was laugh! I found it hysterical and could only think of how much Jane would appreciate the story.

So...I now I've walked in your shoes Jane. It's time to move on & get over it! :-)

A Great Day - even without SoloCon!

For the past five years, I have not been in Ohio during Memorial Day weekend because I've been at Turkey Run State Park (west of Indianapolis, Indiana) for SoloCon. What's SoloCon? It's a singles' retreat sponsored by the Nazarene church - basically a weekend getaway for single people. I've always had a blast...I play volleyball 'til all hours of the morning, go canoeing, take walks, play softball, hang out with friends (which I've made some great friends due to SoloCon). It's become the "norm" so I was a bit concerned knowing that there wasn't going to be one this year (they've revamped things a bit). However, this weekend was great!

You've already heard a bit about Friday & Saturday in previous posts so I'll just update you starting with yesterday.

When I got out of church, I had a message from Jodi & Lauren checking to see if I'd like to have lunch with them. I had made plans with Traci & Connie, but I knew they would understand so I called Jodi back. I'm so glad I did because when I got there Lauren jumped into my arms & just clung to me. She was really missing me! We were together for over an hour & had a great time. It also was nice to talk to Jodi!

Today found me attending two cook-outs. Jeromy & Traci and Steve & Jenn both invited Matt & I over today. Matt had to work so I went to Jeromy & Traci's by myself for lunch. It was nice to hang out with them, but it was kind of weird because we were all so quite. Traci commented on how strange it was. Typically a get-together with the Sanderson clan is not a quiet affair! :-) After Matt got home from work & got cleaned up, we headed over to Steve & Jenn's house. Her family was over so I got to meet them. We played some volleyball & badminton, and then we played some games (Mad Gab & Taboo). After everyone left, the four of us had a great time talking & laughing. I laughed so much that my cheeks hurt!

Oh, by the way...Matt read the book! :-) And...he actually admitted it was a good book - he enjoyed it. We talked a little about it tonight, but I'm sure it will be talked about more. He said he learned a lot about quality time, and he'll be making some changes. He even said that in front of Steve & Jenn so they're my witnesses! :-)

Well...it's after midnight, and I have to get up for school in the morning so I better be heading to bed. Have a great day!

Job Update

I can't remember how much I've blogged about my job situation in the past so I'll start by giving you a quick overview. Due to HB 66, our district is losing millions of dollars in personal tangible property tax. Therefore, there will be a levy put up this November, but the Board of Education also had to make cuts for next year. The past several months have been up & down with me not knowing where I stood. There were several cut lists that were passed around. I was safe on the first, cut on the second & third, and safe on the fourth. During this entire time, I didn't know what would happen, but I had a constant peace about the situation. I knew that it was out of my control, and that God would help me through no matter what happened.

The official cuts were announced, and I am safe! It's nice to know that I have my job come next year, but there is no promise for the following year. However, I was also granted my tenure (a continuing contract - a good thing for me to get). Unfortunately my friend, Traci, was not so lucky. My heart goes out to her - I just feel terrible!

In the midst of all of this, I was given information about an administrative position I was qualified for. I had mixed emotions about this position, but I felt that if the door was opened I needed to walk through. So...I prepared my administrative resume & cover letter and sent it off to the school not knowing where this might lead. On Thursday, I received an e-mail stating that they had already filled the position. That made me appreciate not being cut even more!

So...as far as I know...I'll be teaching elementary music once again at Starr Elementary for the upcoming school year. If anything changes, I'll be sure to let you know.

A Good Talk

I don't want to get into every detail, but I just wanted to share that Matt & I had a much needed talk tonight. We've been "together", but it feels at times that we're living very separate lives. Tonight, though, we were able to talk about it, and I finally shared my feelings with him. He listened to what I had to say and realized that he's been used to being single for so long that he needs to change his thought process & actions a bit. We had a great conversation, and I sent him home with my copy of "The Five Love Languages for Singles" book...making it very clear that he needed to pay special attention to the chapter on my love language (Quality Time). :-)

If you haven't read any of the books on the five love languages, I would strongly encourage you to read one. There are several books out there that look at it from various aspects of life, but I really think every single person who is starting a new relationship should be required to read it! :-)

The Week in Review

I feel like it's been kind of a busy week, but when I try to think back...I can't remember much of what's happened. :-) That makes me feel a little like my friend, Ralph, who seems to never be able to remember what happened and hour ago - let alone a week ago! :-)

So...I'll start with the softball game. I had my first walk and first good hit...both in the same night (which was nice). The ump ended up calling the game after the top of the 5th because we were 21 runs ahead of the other team. :-) What a night!

Last night was a fun night! Jenn (Matt's friend - you've heard about her & her husband, Steve, in previous posts) called on Monday to see if I'd like to go out for supper sometime. Of course, I was up for it! We ended up going out last night, and the guys stayed home with Eva, their adorable daughter. Jenn & I had a blast! We talked & laughed and found that we have a lot in common. When we got back to her house, we talked to the guys for a bit, and I held Eva. Jenn & I then went in to play the piano. It brought back memories of my days at Bluffton because we played "Heart & Soul". We used to use that as stress relief when we were tired of practicing. Ahhh...the memories! :-)

After school today, I met Matt at Levis Commons where we had supper. We went to Poco Piatti which is a tapas restaurant. It was delicious! Matt's now on his way to hang out with the guys, and I'm home doing some cleaning (and sorting through all of my clothes that no longer fit - big project, but it really needs to be done). With that being said, I need to go check the washer. :-)