October Wrap Up

Is it seriously mid-October already? Where has the time gone? I've been working like a dog at school. From day one, it's been crazy busy. I currently have 98 kids on my caseload.... yikes!!!! I do have a friend to help me out at the middle school, but overall, I'm still responsible for these kids. It's hard to fit much else in between therapy, evaluations, meetings, and PAPERWORK. Ugh. I hate paperwork. Therefore, because my life has been insanely busy, I figured a wrap-up of the October events would be more efficient than a bunch of small posts. Without further ado,

- In early October, Randy and I met my cousin and his awesome wife in Austin for the weekend. We really wanted to experience the "weirdness" that Austin is trying to keep.... however, it was slightly disappointing. I was hoping for a quirky, sustainability-minded city with a heavy influence of live music, but instead, I just found a dirty place with lots of homeless people. Not quite the Emerald City of green-living I was hoping for. And I definitely prefer St. Louis over Austin for the live music scene. Overall, Randy and I were both glad we decided to move to the Dallas area... much cleaner for sure.

- Last weekend was a weekend without a husband. Randy went road trippin' up to Wisconsin to have a "sports-a-palooza" weekend with his friends from back home. He flew to St. Louis, so he could meet his friends for a road trip to see the Packers vs. Rams football game. Although he's not a huge fan of either team, Randy said the experience was cool, as the stadium was pretty historic. Then, by the grace of the sports Gods, he and his friends were able to get last-minute tickets to the St. Louis Cardinals game, in which the Cards clenched the National League Championship title. Needless to say, Randy was in heaven. He had a blast, no doubt.

While he was away, I enjoyed a little quiet time with the pugs, visiting with family, and hanging out with my SLP friend and co-worker. We enjoyed a matinee at the movies. We saw 50/50, which I would definitely recommend. It's an interesting twist on the typical story of a person diagnosed with cancer. And, unlike many of them, it has a good ending. Definitely a good combination of drama and comedy.

- Fall weather has finally arrived in Texas!!! Hallelujah! I suppose I should clarify that statement with this: There are no changing leaves... no falling leaves to rake up. Rather, the temperature has not exceeded 90 degrees in the past week. It's been soooo nice outside! The past couple days, it's been in the upper 60's and actually quite chilly at night. I busted out the down comforter, which was nice to wrap up in. (Disclaimer for those wondering about fall in Texas: we do have colorful leaves that will make an appearance in late November/early December, as our first frost isn't until mid-late November).

- We finally can say we've survived the biggest state fair in the country... the State Fair of Texas! It was really nice, actually. Although it was pricey, I'd go again next year. The food was good. The attractions were fun. Randy liked the car show. I liked the dog demonstration, where they had trained rescue dogs do frisbee tricks, long jump into water, and race.

- This coming Saturday, we're taking a trip to Six Flags Fright Fest. I'm pretty excited.... it's been a long time since I've been on a roller coaster, and I'm hoping I'm not too old for them. When we were walking past the rides at the state fair, I was looking at all these whirling rides that I used to love as a kid. All I could think about was getting dizzy at just the sight of them. I think my age is starting to set in. I hope this won't be the same response when I see these roller coasters, because I used to love me some roller coasters!

Hope your October has been eventful (but not as busy) as mine!