Lucy

Well, Dan finally has his own cat now since I stole Jinx from him when she was brought to the house.    In my defense I cannot help that I'm a wonderful person and his first cat took to me.   We decided to look at the local shelter last week and picked out a kitten.    Gavin and I actually looked at the kittens before Dan got there and I successfully predicted the cat Dan would pick out.   The kitten was very timid and not socialized well and it actually reminded me of Jude.   The shelter was actually a little leery to let the kitten go initially but since we don't have a dog and no small children, it worked out.  The cat's originally name was Stubby.   Dan changed it to Lucy since she was shy and timid.    We call her Lucy Liu too even though she's not an Asian actress. 

I've included some pictures to show Jinx's demeanor as well as general pics of Lucy too.

The last picture is also to show how chunky Jinx has gotten too. 

Today I did something I've always wanted to do...I bought Halloween decorations for the porch and the front of my house.    I took Jude with me and tried to involve him in the decisions too.     He helped pick out the goodies that will be put into grab bags for the kids that attend my party on November 3.    I'll be sure to add some pictures of the porch and the front of the house when things are done and set-up.    I'm taking it easy money-wise but I'm excited to decorate in the next week or so.    We have plenty of leaves falling too and I'm even getting the decorated bags that hold leaves too.    I went with ghost bags instead of the standard pumpkin bags. 

Pretty simple update this time! 

Concert Anticipation is High

Greetings:

I'm getting pretty excited because in less than 24 hours I will be watching one of my favorite bands perform.    I've always wanted to see Live...live in person and fortunately they reunited last year and decided to tour again.    We are seeing them at the Hard Rock in Sioux City.    Counting Crows is performing too...they should be good as well but I'm not as jazzed about them.    It's been neat to see Bush this year and continue to see bands I enjoyed in the 90s.    Another perk is that 90s bands tend to play smaller venues and typically the tickets are pretty affordable.   We have another concert in October too in Des Moines.   

Work has been going splendidly and I really have no complaints.    I've been able to consistently work ahead and stay ahead of my prep for both ISU and DMACC.    By the end of September I'll have a lot of homework rolling in though and I'll be spending more time grading lesson plans and the such.    One thing that is quite helpful is that I only have one section of my elementary health methods class.   In past years I've had two sections (90-100 students) and due to changes with enrollment, we only need one section now in the fall and spring.   It's nice only having 42 students in that class.   

Swim & Gym started this past week too.   I wasn't watching my enrollment list very well and instead of cutting off registration at 40, I let 52 kids into the program.    It's fine with our gym and outdoor activities.    The pool is rather full.    Being that most kids need to be in the shallow end, things are a bit cramped.   Whoops.   I also had two lifeguards quit the day before we started which sadly isn't unexpected but still irritating.    I had one hire on standby if something like that happened so thankfully he was able to start on Thursday.    I wish students had a clue about professionalism. 

Gavin's doing very well with college and made the comment today about being surprised that it's already week 4 for the semester.   He got a B on his first biology test and a C on his first chemistry test.   He has a lot of homework each day but his plugging through.   He has his first psychology test next week.   He informed me he got to watch a video about a full natural birth recently in that class.    (Developmental Psych)    He said it wasn't as bad as watching the c-section video in high school.   Gross. 

Other random details lately:

• I received my 1/4 beef today and it was oddly satisfying to re-organize my deep freeze and put all that meat in there.    Stewart and Shirley actually drove up to get their beef today and offered to pick up mine too.   No need to drive for hours?   Yes please.    
• Gavin was originally going to drive up with me to get the meat but came over to wait for its delivery so he could carry it into the basement.   He was cool and also cleaned out our gutters.   And thank god he did because they were plum full of leaves and crap.   I also trimmed bushes and low trees and we filled two lawn waste bags.   Boring yes but quite exciting for a homeowner.  
• Dan and I may be joining a year-long study at ISU that gives us free exercise access, free dietician access, and pays too.  We have upcoming appointments to do checks to see if we are eligible (blood pressure, blood work, etc.).    
• I am getting excited for haunted attractions in the next months.   Alissa and I may try to go to Valley Scare in MN and I recently found out about a very scary attraction in Des Moines too.    Ames has its usual Haunted Forest too.    I'm continuing to make plans for my Halloween Party on November 3 too.   I made some hardcopy invites for people at work and for those without Facebook too.   

I guess that's it for now.   Figured it was time for an update.