We have one work day tomorrow though but thanks to my excellent teaching assistant I have little to do except play on the Wii!
We had Kindergarten graduation which was awesome. Daniel came along and said it was a privilege to be there. He was so helpful getting me all set up and taking 98 pictures! I had to give out awards in my own classroom following the official ceremony and I was so nervous. Daniel kept saying I did an awesome job and was so positive about the whole thing which made me feel great!
Then today was the last day. All the teacher and staff walk up to the road to wave and scream goodbye to the kids (it's a long summer) and then we go into the hallway and dance it up with line dances like the electric slide or macarena! Very cool.
Plans for the summer include a trip to Wilmington (where Dawson's creek was filmed) in just over a week. My family are coming for the best part of a month. Daniel and I will celebrate 10 years 'together' and 7 years married. I hope to take some day trips with my friend Amy.
As you can see from the quick post below I did pass my driving test. I have to say that while the road test in the car was easy the DMV NC definitely needs to improve it's organization....
The knowledge test part on the touch screen was not as easy but I managed to pass it.
The road test was 7 minutes long and I drove to a side road, did a 3 point turn, reversed back straight and did an emergency stop. Then drove back to the center 2 mins down the road....my uk driving test was an hour long and included reversing round a corner, parallel parking, dual carriageway etc.
I'm not complaining though, I'm glad it's done...and it is much easier to use my license to buy alcohol than carrying my passport everywhere and explaining how the date of birth is set out differently.
We also got cable tv and a new tv this weekend...I know we must sound indulgent but we have never been able to do this kind of thing...we are blessed in that my wage is tax free, I have done extra tutoring and that Daniel got a job so fast. It almost feels wrong to not be struggling and to have expensive things!
I'm getting excited about the end of school...we will be having a graduation for our kindergartners. They are just the sweetest thing. Even at 5 years old, they have been wishing me luck for my test, telling me not to worry and making me good luck cards. They are saying that they love me the most and don't wanna go to 1st grade!
My favorite recent quote is from a little boy in my class who is just so smart. Well they all are! I was giving clues to what the word female means, I was saying (names changed) lucy is female, Amy is female, I (Mrs McFarland) am female. He chirped up...does it mean pretty?! How cute!
Yesterday I got to see my parents and 2 of my grandparents on the webcam kindly provided by my cousin! It was awesome and both parents and grandparents were impressed with the wonder of technology! It was my Nan's birthday so I got to sing happy birthday to her!
I actually bought my own laptop the day after I presented Daniel with his. It was completely unplanned, just a spur of the moment good deal. We have never before even had the remote ability to buy stuff like this and I view it as a total luxury as enjoy it immensely!
School is busy, VIF told me my contract IS being renewed so I am am happy and hopeful about that as things can change with them until you are signed up in your own blood so to speak! There have be occasions for others where things do not work out as they were promised so I'm never 100% but as things stand right now we will be doing another year.
We also made some new friends, colleagues of Daniel's who live right around the block from us. We went out with them this week for chicken wings (well not me, as a former veggie I hate meat bones, I had chicken tenders and a honey bbq sauce which I loved).
We hung out with them and watched American Idol and Dancing with the stars (aka Strictly). I felt like we really clicked with them, it was awesome.
I have to take my NC driving test on Monday including a vision test, written test and road sign test, plus the practical test. I'm not confident! When I passed my UK driving test on the third try, I thought that was something I would NEVER have to do again! If you fail you keep going back daily til you pass!
The last few weeks I have been so excited. Daniel (my husband) has been saying for a long time that he would love an apple mac book. I had definitely planned to buy him some kind of laptop and in the end really wanted him to get exactly what he wanted and needed for recording his music.
Thanks to becoming tax free in the USA I was able to do this. I'm grateful I could.
It was very scary to do, I wanted it to be perfect so did as much research as I could!
The whole week leading up to the presentation of the mac book was so fun but so hard!
One of his friends was telling him all about Garage band, which would be perfect for his music and all week he was talking about saving for a mac and how he doesn't think he will get one, and did I know how much the teacher discount was? I had to play dumb.
So at 5am , April 17th 2009 (eastern standard time) I asked him to close his eyes and laid the mac book in his lap.
His reaction was priceless, he was shocked, delighted, clapping his hands together like a little child! He had only vaguely hoped, like a child at Christmas, that he would get his birthday wish but I had managed to be discreet about exactly how much tax money I got back.
He even dreamed that night that he got one, and kept asking me if he was still dreaming.
You may be thinking that this sounds superficial but it really isn't. I told him all day long that he deserves it. Here is why...
Daniel has never had a brand new computer, he has had hand me downs or built them up. Most of our married life has been financially tight. The ironic thing is that he actually bought ME a new pc once year, as well as my awesome DSLR camera last year. When people around us have had things come easily, even seen as a necessity, he went along with slower, older models that wouldn't run everything he needed or wanted, or store everything he needed. He got an external hard drive to save precious writings, ( he is a wonderful writer) but it crashed and he lost it all. We have NEVER been in a position to spend this much money on something like that and might not be again in a long while.
He also deserves it because he is so supportive of me and my career. Yes, we both wanted to come here and experience as much of the world as possible. But it was a long run for him to have no work permit, no job and a lot of free time which can be unfulfilling. But he chose to focus on his music and song writing and he has been dedicated daily, despite the old PC he had to use to do it. When he did get a work permit, he got a job in his desired field instantly. Yep, he's that good!
Check out his musichere or here. He write gorgeous, melodic songs and sings and plays them in a way you can't help but love.
He is humble, patient and so unselfish, more unselfish than anyone I know. And that, Danny Mac, is why you deserve it. I love you.
My very good friend Amy spend the week with her family in Ohio. She returned today (well yesterday right before midnight) and we were determined to catch up!
She brought me some kiddie electrolyte drinks to replace all the goodness my body had been losing and a beautiful beaded id badge holder for school. She is so sweet.
I had just started to feel better so I sugested as it was a gorgeous sunny day that we head out to try to find a park - Freedom Park - not to far from where we live. I'm so glad we did, it was beautiful walking around the lake and sitting watching people go by.I just love the doggy water fountain!
The in the evening, I felt like i wanted to try to eat and came up with the idea of going to a British Pub my friend Lindsay had pointed out to me a while back. It is called Big Ben and it was awesome, the menu was VERY British, we had roast beef and yorkshire pudding and Amy had fish and chips. I had apple crumble and Daniel had bread and butter pudding.The fish was HUGE!
It was lovely to have a taste of home! So I am a lot cheered up and hoping to sleep well before school nice and early!
I always think of F.R.I.E.N.D.S when I think of Spring break, when Ross's then girlfriend Elizabeth is going on Spring Break and Joey is like is is just spring break or spring break! woohoo! Or something to that affect.
Well my first Spring Break sucked.
It started off well. Monday was a teacher work day because of all the snow, but after leaving school we went out for lunch and caught the movie 'the wrestler' at the cinema.
Rounded off the day with Dancing with the stars, which seems so much more fum when there is no rush to get to bed afterward.
Tuesday was a lazy day, a lot of sleeping and slobbing around.
Wednesday was errand day, posted a package, got the oil change done on my car, and the evening was fun, got to see a play at Daniel's work for free called 'Shear madness'. It is set in a hair salon and is a whodunnit type thing. The audience gets to join in and ask questions of the suspects.
Then began the sickness I can only describe as a stomach bug. And it is still going on today (Sunday)
I'm dreading going back to school. I was so looking forward to this break. The first break since Christmas. (America doesn't beleive in half terms) I don't feel rested, I feel drained and down.
The next break will be when school is out. For summer.
In good news, Daniel had his first paycheck. Happy Easter....my chocolate drought is over for now, not that I can enjoy it.
