time...

...for school.

holy CRAP!!! (pardon my language) our last blog was on july 13th...july 15th we got our puppy!!
Jasper has been more of a blessing than we could have imagined. it's challenging to be sure, but to be honest...she is a very well-behaved puppy.
jasper is a beautiful boxer puppy (admit it, she's cute) born on may 29th...she weighed 7.7 pounds on july 3rd, 11.9 pounds on the 15th, and 13.10 pounds on the 28th. long story short, she's growing like a weed and she's gonna be BIG.

in other news, school starts for blake and me tomorrow...the kids invade on thursday. it is unbelievable that our summer is gone. it was a jam-packed and lovely summer during which we spent every day but 3 together sickeningly smitten and content. i wish i could express how blessed i am to have a husband who is my genuine best friend when you boil it all down. add to that a loving and supportive family, great and steady friendships, passion for my job, daily life joys, and now a darling puppy...it's almost scary how good life is.

before thursday i have a LOT to do...blake and i painted my classroom last week and the week before so i have a lot of rearranging and unpacking to do before i am really set up and ready to go. not to mention some of my things are shuffled in the hubbub and i MUST find them. for those of you who don't know, i am a straight up "nester". i like to make my little space my own and get everything where it goes. i'm looking forward to having a made-over classroom...i think i'll feel better once i'm settled and moved in. tomorrow is a work day so i have 8-10 hours to do whatever i need to do, including errands. i love to organize, etc, so it will really be an enjoyable day.

blake's birthday is on wednesday. he will be (like me) a quarter of a century old... to historians, this is an exciting achievement... to think that we are turning into the older and wiser people our students can look up to... whoa! on the other hand, it is a little surreal to think that we aren't in college and barely 20 anymore. my babaloo always said that age is a mental thing and you are only as old as you feel...so according to that, we are doing very well. yesterday blake got his birthday present from my parents and me (a joint gift)... a very shiny, very new, very exciting ...GRILL! we are excited to cook out (if you're in town...hint, hint) and it's fun that we both got gifts we can use for a long time for such a momentous occasion. (i got my sewing machine for my 25th bday) it's a very manly, grown-up gift...i'm beaming with pride. (and blake is shaking his head and laughing because i'm "silly")

last thing before i go enjoy hang-out time with the family...our AC is out again! it has been out since last thursday (july 25th) but will hopefully be fixed this week. thank God for a solid home owner's warranty! luckily we are able to stay with mom and daddy while we're out of house and home. plus, they welcome jasper with open arms...let's face it, they LOVE their new grandpuppy! it has been lovely to spend time together and we have been successful as well. i am officially moved out of my parents house. it's a little sad to tell the truth, but it feels good to be done with my tasks. mom & i are going to morph my room into the "newlywed suite" (her term, not mine, LOL). blake and i painted it before i moved home from grad school, so all it's going to need is a bookcase and some TLC to get it looking wonderful. it will be fun. :)

that's about it...hopefully we'll be back in our little house of dreams (minus the 90+ degree temps and outrageous humidity) before the official first day of school...until then you can find us at "home" in casabianchi.

love to all,
me