Rain and Relaxation

Friday Sept. 23
I woke up that morning to remember that I had a dream about snow.  No, it wasn't snowing here in Miami but I guess I'm thinking of the snow already and Christmas possibly? Who knows but it was kind of funny to see snow, even if it was in my dreams.  I hopped in the shower and the song "Indescribable" was in my head.  It's a Christian praise and worship song and one of my favorites.  When Mass started once we got to school, that song was the opening song! I could not help but smile and feel good inside! It was a pretty routine Friday with lots to do but not lots of time.  I wasn't able to teach a whole lot, less than normal actually, but we were able to retrieve some more missing work and I was able to help a few more individual students get caught up.  One of my boys, the same one that drew the "nasty" picture, asked me if he could be my Godson! It melted me inside a little.  I must talk about my own Godson so much that he wants to be my other one!  He later offered to buy me chips at lunch.  I told him that was very nice of him, and in reply, he informed me that I must buy him something later! Such a sneaky little guy isn't he? He did indeed buy me a bag of chips at lunch though. 
After lunch, the students had music which I always enjoy.  The music teacher comes to our room so it's nice to be able to sit and listen to music while I'm working.   And sometimes I sing along.  The students haven't mentioned I'm a terrible singer yet so that's good.   During music, I was looking at an email my mom had sent me with some pictures and one of them had my Godson on it.  My students had been asking to see pictures of him for awhile now so after music was over, I finally showed them a picture of him and I from my graduation picture.  My hair was longer and straight and they were so shocked! Many of them gave compliments about it and the boys, naturally, were confused as to how I got my hair straight.  I told them I would show them more pictures as the year goes on if they behave!
School ended for the day and our plans were still on to go salsa dancing that night.  Once Amanda got back, we finalized the game plan and decided to stay the night at her friend's apartment so we could go to the beach the next day.   Amanda, Patricia, and I got to her place in Miami Lakes and then carefully walked across the street to the salsa club.  Well maybe it was just me walking carefully in my heels.  I'm still working on my balance in those things.  The four of us munched on our appetizer and sipped on our drinks for a little bit before it was time to dance.  I worked hard to remember everything the girls had taught me the previous night.  By the end of the night, my feet were sore but I was proud of utilizing my new dance moves! I'm not a pro by any means but I have faith that my skills will improve throughout this year if we keep going.

Saturday Sept. 24
I woke up around 8 and laid there until the girls were awake and ready.  Our plan was to hit up a mall with a Victoria's Secret for clearance swim suits before we hit the beach.  Once everyone was ready, we drove down to Miami and walked about this neat outdoor mall for the next few hours.  It was a nice area to walk around in.  I think we will definitely go back at some point!  I didn't buy anything but there were definitely lots of things that I would have liked to purchase.  I didn't need any of it though so I wasn't heartbroken about it.  We had a late lunch and then were going to hit the beach.  While we were having lunch however, it started raining heavily and was not looking like it would let up so our beach plans were ruined.  We drove a little bit through South Beach just to get a look at it.  The street we drove down was the stereotypical Miami that I imagined with all the art-deco buildings and lettering.  I am ready to go down there again soon.  There seemed to be a lot to do down there! Once we got back to Hollywood, the girls and I just hung around the apartment the rest of the afternoon.  The rainy weather was just asking for a lazy day.  We watched movies and lounged around for the rest of the afternoon.  I feel asleep on the couch around 8 and woke up about an hour later.  A few friends from Emporia called and I could hardly talk to them because I was still drowsy.  What an old lady I've become! I legitimately went to bed after I got off the phone with them.

Sunday Sept. 25
I woke up this morning around 8:30 and started to get some grading done before Mass.  The three of us went to Mass at 11 at a new parish called the Little Flower.  This one is my favorite so far and yet I can't figure out why.  I really enjoyed the readings today and one of them kind of put me in my place about wanting so much sometimes.  "Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory;
rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves" (Phil. 2:4)  The homily was about international missions because the priest is from India (I think) and does mission work so he was promoting that idea.  The rest of Mass was good.  Very traditional and normal.  I might got back there again to see what his normal homilies are like.  After Mass, I got right to work with grading and lesson planning.  I spent most of my afternoon doing that until I got stir crazy and started vacuuming.  I have a feeling I'll be the one cleaning the apartment the most.  This was the first time vacuuming the apartment since we've been here so it was pretty dirty but I plan on cleaning once a week.  It bugs me when things get very dirty and they don't have to.  While vacuuming the hallway to the bathroom in my bedroom though, I discovered we have a leak in our ceiling! I walked over a damp spot on the ground and could not figure out why it was wet.  Then I looked up and saw a water mark on the ceiling and noticed that part of the ceiling had already come off.  It was probably from all the rain we had this weekend because it rained all day today as well.  We also live on the top floor by the way.  Such eventful days, I know! I've spent the remainder of my night looking at lessons, relaxing, and watching the Preacher's Wife.

A few random tid bits to finish this up:
~the Cardinals swept the Cubs this weekend (my family was there this weekend!) and they are only a game behind the Braves in order to get the Wildcard for the playoffs!
~Aunt Jenny and Uncle Jason celebrate their birthdays today! 
~Jenae and Greg got married 3 months ago!
~Christmas is in 3 months which means home!

Well my readers, I should probably finish my lessons and get some sleep in time for school tomorrow! The morning always comes fast! Just remember, it's not about you when you are at work or helping others.  It's about them!