WEEKEND WRAP UP 8/12 - 8/13

FRIDAY - Stacy met me after work on Friday night, and we had a fun date in Edina. We went exploring and found some new areas that we hadn't been to yet. We ate at Chipotle (neither of us had ever been), and we went to Dairy Queen for Blizzards. They were having a Cruise Night at the Dairy Queen so we got to see some pretty cool throwbacks.

SATURDAY - I've spent a large portion of this weekend watching/listening to football games and catching up on some much-needed sleep. We didn't get to watch the Chiefs game up here, but we were able to listen to the radio broadcast online. It's not the same, but it's a decent consolation. We should be able to watch the game Thursday night, though! I'm watching the new Sunday Night Football right now. I think it's going to be better than Monday Night Football (which I will be watching tomorrow night!).

I've also been working on my homework quite a bit this weekend. I have to make a 30-second animated short film by December 17. Believe me, 30 seconds is a lot more difficult than it sounds. I really hope to finish school, but it's going to be tough! After spending 9 or 10 hours on the computer at work every day, I'm going to have to come home and spend 3 or 4 additional hours working on homework. I hope the computer screen doesn't burn holes through my eyeballs!

Actually, I'm pretty concerned about my wrist holding up through the workload. I've had a lot of problems with it after sitting at the computer all day. I've tried a lot of remedies, including using a tablet instead of a mouse and learning to sit properly, but it still hurts a lot.

SUNDAY - Stacy and I tried our third church in three weeks today. There are very few Christian Non-Denominational or Baptist churches up here, so we don't have a lot of options as far as that goes. The church we went to the first week is looking more promising every week. We are really looking for a small group Bible study to join. Hopefully, we make some new friends that way.

Tomorrow starts week three at my new job. I'm excited about this week because I'm hoping to get a little more attention and training. We have a major project due tomorrow, and then I think everything is supposed to settle down for a couple of weeks before we start our next project. I'm pumped about the new project because I'll get to start on it from the beginning and see it all the way through production.

And now, ladies and gents, a special guest...please click your mouses and pound your keyboards for my lovely wife, Stacy...

STACY - Thank you, Aaron, for the lovely introduction. My life is not as exciting as Aaron's right now, but I do have a few things I can share. Today was an important day for my sister and her fiance, Nicholas. They had a wedding shower at Forest Park! I heard it was a great success, but I have to tell you, I was a little mopey the past couple of days because I was not going to be there. However, I enjoyed hearing about it and I can't wait to see the pictures of the mountains of FiestaWare they received.

Another thing that feels weird right now is not buying loads of school supplies for my classroom. My cousin Ashley is starting her first year of teaching (4th grade in WC) and getting nervous and excited. I am excited for her--she is going to be a great teacher. I, on the other hand, am now an unemployed teacher. My position has been filled at North, which is good because school starts on Wednesday! I have been able to email my replacement and I think she'll do really well. I have applied for jobs in several local school districts here (all suburbs of Minneapolis) for teacher's aide or paraprofessional positions. I haven't heard anything back yet, but I get the feeling that the school districts here are not in a huge hurry to hire because school doesn't start until September 5! I would really like to work in a school again so I am hoping I'll be hired for one of these positions. I'll let you know what I find out.

Meanwhile, I am trying to find the best grocery store that is near us. All of you probably know this, but the cost of living in MO is below the national average. Minneapolis, however, being a big city, is above the national average, I believe. So, I have sticker shock with almost everything we buy. I get really stressed out grocery shopping because I am constantly thinking in my head, this bag of shredded cheese would cost $1.50 at Wal-Mart in Joplin, not $2.43! Maybe I shouldn't stress out that much, but it is still disconcerting. The only thing that is cheaper in Minneapolis: General Mills cereal (because it is based here in Minneapolis)! Anyway, I am adjusting and learning which stores have the better deals. Aaron and I have been exploring a lot and found some great things that are near our apartment. Thanks for reading my first post! I hope you all have a wonderful week! Happy back to school for those of you going back!