OCTOBER / ROTHTOBER

I love Fall! I think it is the start to all things that are wonderful. It's leading up to the great holidays and then after all the holidays--my birthday, which we are dubbing "Jen-tacular" this year and each year after.

October is the time during the school year that the students have settled into the routine of school, football season has started, the weather changes, lots of birthdays are celebrated, and we begin to think about upcoming holidays.

My family is big on traditions and we are very close. October would not be October without an email from my Sissy wishing us a "Happy Rothtober" in honor of David Lee Roth. Then I get to prepare for the upcoming birthdays--my Sissy's, Jamie's, Victoria's. THEN, we get Halloween and the start of November with All Saints Day and the countdown to Thanksgiving begins.

I love that time of year because my family always gets together and it's so great. I cannot describe all the wonderful memories we have together.

October is also a bittersweet month because my Pop-Pop's birthday is in October. He was one of the coolest person I've ever known. He amazed me with the amount of knowledge that he possessed and he was the sweetest person ever. He loved the Three Stooges and Babe Ruth. I miss him every day.

This weekend we have our annual choir fundraiser "Spaghetti Serenade". If you are in the Little Rock area and want to have some good spaghetti and great entertainment, come by to the Cathedral of St. Andrew. It's on Saturday night, McDonald Hall, 5:30 p.m. You won't be disappointed. I'm doing a lovely little number from "Mamma Mia".

I'm free this weekend, so I will finish decorating for Autumn and post pics.

Weekend Fun

2 loaves of homemade bread
new handmade hat in Razorback red
Micah and Bill--who I think is hilarious!
Me using my new mixer

This weekend I went and met some of Micah's longtime friends. We had a great time hanging out. Unfortunately, it was not a great time watching the football game. We hung out at Bill and Crystal's house and had a lots of fun. I got to hear great stories of when they were in high school and younger grades.

Last night I sang at a Mass for the Ladies of Charity. It is a group that was started by St. Vincent de Paul. It was really great and I'm excited about joining. Yesterday was the initiation Mass for those who have already decided to join. I'm still thinking and praying about it, but I am pretty sure I will join.

I'm also finishing up and begining new knitting projects. Christmas is coming up in several months and I need to start now if I'm knitting things. Plus, there are several projects and gifts I need to finish now. This hat that I knitted is a fast and easy knit and looks like something you would get at Anthropologie or something. I love it.

Homemade Bread

Last night I was doing some chores around the house and getting ready for the weekend festivities. Micah and I are going to his friend Bill's house and we are going to watch the game with his family and some of Bill and Micah's friends. I made cupcakes in ice creams, circa 1988. That was THE dessert to have at your birthday party. I decided if I made the cupcakes now, then I could ice them on Saturday and they would be perfectly cooled. So, whilst I was making cupcakes (and totally using my new handheld mixer!), I decided I was going to try this bread recipe I found on the internet. Yes, I typed bread recipe. I made homemade bread from scratch. I did not use a bread maker. I mixed the yeast and let it get frothy and then added the flour and and set it to rise for about an hour. Then, I got to punch the dough and hear the air escape. That made me really happy because it meant that I did it right. I did a little happy dance in my kitchen. I know my Grandmom is super proud of me. Her mom, Granny Hall, would have declared that it was from her side of the family. I divided the dough into two bread pans and I made sure not to tear it when I divided it. I felt very talented. Then, I let the bread rise for another 30 minutes and then I watched it bake. I sat in the floor of my kitchen, with the oven light on, and watched this totally great bread rise and bake. When it was done, I cut a piece of the bread and it was delicious! I had some for breakfast this morning--covered with strawberry jam and butter. It's what we have for breakfast whenever my momma makes bread.

So, now I'm pretty pleased with my baking skills. They are improving daily by great leaps and bounds. Next thing you know, I'll start a garden. Wouldn't that be something!

How sweet it is!

I realize that I've been missing pictures from my blog the last couple of times that I have posted a new entry. I do have some pictures for this post. But first, I need to sing the praises of someone really special.

I came in from a day of hard work shaping our future to find a special treat on my dining room table. It is a NEW hand-held mixer. I had one that I had gotten from my very momma, but sadly, it is no longer with us. Never mind that the mixer was about 40 years old. Well, I relayed this sad tale to Micah one night over the phone several weeks ago. Maybe even a month ago. Today, I come back to my house to find this great gift sitting on the table. I cannot wait to bake something with it. I will definitely post photos of treats that I will be making soon. So, a huge thank you to my sweet MICAH for making my heart so happy. Please note the pink bow on top of the mixer box.

On another note, I am posting a bulletin board that my talented first-graders made. We read "There was Old Lady who swallowed a fly". The students created a new item for the lady to swallow. I think the end result is totally awesome and soooooooo precious! That old lady is pretty darn cute!

I'm also including some pictures of the baby shower we did for my friend Mandy. Her baby is supposed to arrive this Friday! I cannot wait to meet Baby Keaton. I'll post pictures of him whenever he arrives.

Finally, my allergies are calming down a bit, thanks to my allergy shots and Benadryl. Gotta love it!

Allergies

Today I was supposed to be watching some friends get their black belts in karate. I was all set and so excited about it. As I went to sleep last night, I had a sinus headache. I was thinking, "Take some medicine, you will be fine by morning." Oh no. That was not the case at all. When I woke up early this morning, I still had the headache and did not feel like riding in a car all day. I was also worried that the sinus headache would turn into a migraine like it did earlier this week. So, I texted people and told them I wasn't coming and went back to bed. I woke up around 11 a.m. and watched the Hogs put up a fight against Alabama. I'll be honest--I didn't really expect for us to win. I was happy that they made two touchdowns. That was good enough for me. So, I could have gotten up then and proceeded to be useful today.

I did not.

I stayed in bed and watched old Hallmark movies, "Sarah, Plain and Tall" and "Skylark". It's now almost 5 p.m. and I have decided to get up and do some chores around the house. Thankfully the headache has gone away. I am in the mood to clean and organize. I don't really get Spring Cleaning fever, but instead, mine hits in the fall. It's been an uneventful Saturday, but hopefully, I can make it worthwhile tonight.

I've missed my calling!

I've totally missed my calling as a party planner. I'm planning a baby shower for one of my friends and it's going to be totally awesome. It's a jungle/safari theme and everyone at school is invited. It's my friend's fourth baby, but we are still having a shower. It's an "Everything But" party. She needs everything but clothes! They've scheduled her to be induced next Friday (September 26th), so I can't wait to meet Baby Keaton!

Also, I've read a new book that I think is completely awesome. I read it in one night. Those of you who know me, know I read at a sickening fast pace. It was the one thing about me that my mother was always shocked at. I was notorious for getting a book at the bookstore and halfway home proclaim, " That was the best book ever!". Drove my mom nuts. However, she is happy that she instilled a love of reading in me. =) I read Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand. It is a wonderful book, somewhat intense. I'm going to read her other books. They are all set on Nantucket. Now I want to go there. I'm also reading An American Shaolin and Knit Together. I know, I'm a dork. I read knitting books.

I'll post pictures of the shower later this week. Also, I'm going to post a bulletin board that my first graders did. It's hysterical.

Update

I just heard about my Uncle and they made it through Hurricane Ike all right. They haven't stepped outside yet, but they haven't had any flooding in their house or stuff like that. Thank goodness for prayers.

Blogging, Football, and Lumping

This weekend I am doing something that my father despises. I am lumping. I am doing nothing, but being a lump on a couch. I like to feel that this lumping is slightly productive because, as you can see, I have redone my blog background. I've been working on lesson plans and watching the progress of Hurricane Ike and subsequent weather issues from the storm. My father is not a fan of lumping unless he is really, really tired. I admit that I am a lot like my father in that I do not believe you have done a good day's work unless you have worked at least 20 hours in the 24 hour day. However, when a weekend of lumping is possible--I'm all for it.

I'm down in El Dorado. While some people might feel neglected or slighted by the fact that I am glued to my computer and thus occuppied, Micah does not. We have been watching various football games from Friday night and all day today. Some girls might feel neglected by the fact that their boyfriend is intently watching several games at once. However, I am not one of those girls. Nor is Micah one of those people who are upset with the fact that I'm sitting on the couch with my computer. I do LOVE college football and there have been some great games today. We are currently watching Georgia/South Carolina and Michigan/Notre Dame. We watched Maryland beat California. Last night, we watched South Florida beat Kansas in a great game. I was worried for that Freshman kicker. If he missed that field goal, his name was going to be mud. Lucky for him, he did not and now he is the man!

Weather watching has been going all right. Micah will switch over to the local weather channels for me during timeouts and commercial breaks. Those of you who know my momma, know that we watch the weather during any possibility of inclement weather. Jim Cantore and the Weather Channel have a direct line to our house to confirm weather outbreaks with my mom. Luckily, I think we are doing okay. I'm waiting to hear how my Uncle Brother, Aunt Vicki, and sweet, sweet Callie Marie faired during Hurricane Ike. They were gathering supplies and hunkering down. They live in Houston and during Hurricane Rita, they tried to evacuate, but traffic was a big problem. This time, they stayed home and were prepared for anything. We haven't seen any horrible weather yet in Arkansas, aside from some thunderstorms and high winds. Hopefully, the weather will not be too bad.

My sweet Bonnie Blue is also enjoying this weekend of lumping. She loves nothing more than laying in my lap or beside me, sleeping or chewing on a bone. Tomorrow, Bonnie Blue gets to spend the day with her Sissy, my aunt, while I have to sing at church. We will all meet for lunch and hang out in the afternoon, but while I'm singing at noon Mass and 5:30 Mass, Bon-Bon gets to play with Sissy. They have lots of fun--they play chase and Sissy spoils her completely.

This is probably the longest post I've ever posted. So, I think this means my lumping is highly productive and much needed today.

FYI-Name change

I have been teaching Music to the 4 year old class at our school for the last two years. Yesterday, one of the preschoolers (Peyton with a P) kept calling me Ms. Joy, Ms. Joy! Soon, all the other kids were calling me that. So, now my name is not Ms. Hui, it's Ms. Joy--apparently.

Also, Peyton kept telling me she was Peyton with a "p" because there are two girls named Sydney--one spells it Cydney and the other is Sydney. So, I always specify Sydney with an "S" or Cydney with "C" and Peyton would always answer, "I'm Peyton with a "P". Kids are too funny!