My First Summer Vacation as a Maestra

Two and a half weeks into my three week vacation, and I must say it is really nice to be out of the muggy, Houston climate. I spent about a week in New Mexico with momma. It was nice because I also spent time with Monika, a friend from college, and Emily, my best friend from high school. Emily drove up and met me in Albuquerque with her two beautiful baby boys and we ate at Dion’s, one of Albuquerque’s famous pizza joints.

Here is a picture of Emily’s baby Aaron. She had him when I was a freshman in college. He is such a cutie and loved telling me about the scary “spaguitos” at the lake! I hope I don’t get eaten by “spaguitos” when I go to the reservoir this weekend!

Mom and I spent a few days out in Little Water with grandma. Mom and Ed are still rebuilding grandma’s house. They took on the project about a year ago and are almost finished. Grandma finally has running water, but still doesn’t have electricity. When it got dark, grandma lit the kerosene lamp, and I was taken back to my childhood as the scent of the burning oil filled the room. The only thing that was missing was the sound of Chii’ Fred sleeping in the next room. It is such a blessing to see grandma happy and at peace back out in Little Water. She had a rough couple of years after Chii’ passed away and the sheep were sold, but now that she has her house back she seems so content and rejuvenated.

This is grandma sitting in front of her house in the early morning.

I took a walk on the home site and took some pictures of my favorite places from when I was a child.

These are the mesas behind grandma’s house. When we were little, my sister and cousins made forts and played house. We chased lizards and went sledding on black trash bags and on an old refrigerator door during the winter. Let’s just say we were resourceful, NOT ghetto!

This is the sheep corral. Once upon a time my grandmother had many sheep and my grandpa Fred herded them and took care of them everyday. Each lambing season, grandma allowed me to choose a lamb and every year, I looked for the tiniest lamb and named it Flower.

The cracked earth is beautiful, in my opinion. It reminds me of how my grandpa was able to grow tulips for my grandma every year, in spite of the harsh desert climate.

After spending time with grandma, mom and I made our way up to Denver to visit Sheenie. It was so nice to be together again…three little ladies. We drove from Denver to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where we spent two days. Tashina scored three tickets to the Taylor Swift concert in the party zone section! Mom and I camped out in line all day just to get a good spot near the front of the line! We arrived at about 2:45 in the afternoon and waited in line until about 5:30pm. At that point, they opened the gates and herded all of the die-hards to a holding area on the horse track. There we had to stand for another hour and a half while all of the people were pushing and shoving their way to the front of the crowd! Mom, Tashina and I can be pretty feisty when provoked, so needless to say, we held our own! No one got past us!

Look at all these people!

At 7:30pm, two cops on horses came and ushered us near the stage. The rules were that no one was allowed to run, push, or pass the horses. Once we got to a certain point however, the cops bounced, and everyone took off running toward the stage! They were ruthless…pushing and shoving, just to get near the front. Don’t worry though…rez girls can be ruthless too! Tashina was able to save three spots on the fence, literally ten feet away from the stage!

Kellie Pickler came out first and sang one of my favorite songs, “My Red High Heels.” I definitely went out and bought some red high heels after she debuted years ago. :0)

Next, Taylor came out and rocked it! Tashina and I danced and sang along to her songs at the top of our lungs. Taylor puts on a really amazing show with dress changes, glittery guitars, and piano performance. Hands down, one of the top two concerts I have ever been to!

Finally, I spent a day in Colorado Springs with Yvonne and Andrew, two of my best friends from college. They are engaged to each other and are getting married next June. The best part (for me anyway) is that I get to be her maid of honor!!!!!

Here is a picture of me and my girl, Yvonne, from sophomore year. :0)

Actually, on a final note, I miss Jeff. I am going back to Houston on Monday and am really looking forward to seeing him. We are planning a day trip together somewhere on Tuesday before we have to go back to work. Yay!!

Here is the only picture we have together so far. It is from the 4th of July…I think we need to take the camera out again soon…once I get back to Houston and we spend more time together, that is!

We Can Do It!

It’s the end of an era for Tiffany and Kate. Today we signed the lease on our new apartment. We found a two bedroom two and a half bath townhome in the Heights. It’s much closer to where I work, and we are saving several hundred dollars a month. The new place is definitely not as nice as our first place, but it’s quaint, has some ghetto flair, and fits us just right. I went alone this morning to pick up the keys and waited for the Comcast guys to set up the internet. I had to say several prayers to make sure it was the right decision to move after all, and once I felt at peace, I walked to the front door. Just as I unlocked the door, I went to turn the doorknob, and the funniest thing happened…the doorknob fell right off! I stopped, kind of panicked, and then just started laughing! It was like a bad omen, yet ironic and very fitting. I said one more prayer, picked up the doorknob and walked back to the leasing office. They were very nice, had a good laugh and sent Raul, one of the maintenance men to fix the knob. He was super nice, and assured me that the complex was a good place to live and if we needed anything, to let the guys know. He spoke Spanish, and in the end, I felt at peace with the decision we made to move to the new place.

I went to IKEA, one of my favorite places, and picked up a few things for our new little home. Later in the evening, Kate brought over our drill (or as I like to call it, the screw gun), and we set up our curtains. I got to use the drill, and I felt so empowered! Who needs a man (no offense Jeff) when you can work a screw gun?! ?

I am taking little Puglsy over to the new place tomorrow to get him acquainted with his new surroundings. Hopefully he fights the urge to tag the place up. We decided to get him a baby gate so we can keep him downstairs and out of the bedrooms. He really is like having a baby sometimes, but we love him. Please pray for him that he doesn’t freak out when we move. He is a sensitive little dog and doesn’t do well with change.

It is kind of hard to believe that I have been in Houston for over a year now. We already fulfilled a lease on one apartment, and have signed a lease on a new one. It’s like we are adults, or something like that. We are fairly independent and can even use tools! Wow, being an independent woman kinda rocks!

"Ms. Etter, I told Judith I was going to miss you.."

Today, Fatima and I were walking to the bathroom, and she hugged me and said, “Ms. Etter, yo dije a Judith que le voy a extrañar.” Fatima is my little sidekick. She is one of the most precious and funny little girls I have ever met. She started this thing where she writes me notes on little pieces of paper to tell me she is finished with her work, or that she would like to pass out folders. The other day, she forgot a book at home that I had let her borrow, and she wrote me a note and she started off saying:
“Querida Tiffany…” lol! Don’t ask me why my students write me notes and like to refer to me by my first name. They would never call me Tiffany out loud, but for some reason love to write it in notes, on drawings, etc. Anyway, she proceeded to apologize for leaving the book at home and that she would be sure to bring it tomorrow. This morning as I was helping another student, she walked up to my desk and slid the book onto my desk and peered at me over her glasses. I smiled and said, “Thank you, sweetheart.” She covered her face and walked away. She is too cute.
I am going to miss that little girl as well. She makes me laugh every time she asks if she can use the bathroom when we are all in line to go, or if she can drink water as we are lining up at the fountain. Sometimes she will say funny things like, “Oh, how beautiful this day is,” or tell me how her niece calls her “Kakima.”
In truth, I am going to miss all of my little munchkins. Today was the last day of summer school, and I made all of my naughty boys hug me. I told them I would miss them and to let me know how they are doing once in awhile. Because our school is closing down, the kids are all going to different schools. I am sure I will see some of them next year, but my first fourth grade class in being displaced for the most part. It makes me sort of blue as I think about not seeing them turn into naughty middle schoolers next year.
So, as my little Fatima informed me today, “Voy a extrañar a mis estudiantes, también.”