Great Week Wrap-up

It seems as though each day this week I kept thinking, make a blog post and I never got around to it, so, sorry for two very cool posts on the same day. This week has been very exciting for both of us. Mason and some other guys in his pilot training class have been spending time with a Capt. who is helping them organize their pubs and work in the simulators. This has been proving very beneficial for Mason. He begins pilot training on the 15th, so he's been studying and working out quite a bit. Earlier this week he went back into the office where he had been working and the Col. he was working with gave him an awesome coin (it's an AF thing to give out coins from the dept. you work in when you do something cool...) Other than that he's been riding around the neighborhood on his new wheels.

Since Mason got his motorcycle, he gave me permission to buy a BBQ!!!! Yea! We're hosting our first BBQ on Sunday night for some of the other single guys and our married friends. We both worked to put it together, there were some extra parts, so hopefully it doesn't fall apart. While waiting for my BBQ I decided to try out my baking talents and make a cheesecake for the first time. Four Stars were awarded by the stomache de la Mason. It was so simple, and it's very rich. Chocolate-chip cheesecake-YUM!

I felt it was key to mention in this posting, that for the first time ever I beat Mason in racquetball! It was our best game ever, with the final score of 15-13. My victory. He was pretty surprised, but it was a very exciting moment for me...maybe I'll enter the tournament in November...

Rembrandt has decided that he doesn't like one of the seeds in his food mixture, so he'll eat all the corn, and sunflower seeds and larger seeds, and then he flips his food bowl over. Tonight we saw him sleeping under the food bowl. We were able to rig his ball with a toothpick and superglue since he had worn down a plastic piece in the cage from spinning so much. We've had him in the bath tub less, and out more in the ball, but he's pretty fast if we don't keep him on a close guard. I have been substituting on most of the days that I have off from AAFES, and one of the teachers that I subbed for is leaving the school for a higher paying job (where she can work from home) and so I was asked to submit a resume for the position. After a week of waiting, and proving different qualifications and certifications that I have, and doing a demonstration lesson for some teachers, the principal, and some students, I was hired. I am officially the new 4th/5th grade teacher at Bright Ideas Charter School in Wichita Falls. It's pretty exciting, but I'm a little nervous too. I'll be subbing for the teacher Monday while she is out, and then observing her two days next week when I don't work on base, and then I'll begin working full time on the 16th. My current job was really understanding, and the school was respectful of letting me work a few more shifts at AAFES so I could officially give my two weeks. So this will be a new adventure.

To celebrate, Mason and I had dinner at Olive Garden (yum!) and then went to the casino right over the border in Oklahoma. On Thursdays they have military night, where they give you $10 to gamble with. We had to register for a club (all free) and then you use a card to play on the machines. We were each given $20 worth of money to play with on the cards because we had our military IDs and had signed up. We agreed that we'd only use the money that they gave us, and out of the free $40, we ended up making $37.90. Not bad! Next week we'll probably try again. All in all a good end to a good week.