Grout: Before & After

It occurred to me the other day that the grout on our tile floor was - perhaps - not meant to be black. :) So I went to Home Depot and looked for grout cleaner. The only one I found had a list of hazards as long as my arm, and cautioned that users would need to have their skin covered from head to toe, and wear goggles and a fume mask while using it. Oddly, that didn't appeal to me.

I went home and Googled "grout cleaner recipe." There were many to choose from, most of them a variation on the ammonia-vinegar-baking soda theme. Not having any ammonia or vinegar in the house, I searched for even simpler recipes. I finally found one with just two ingredients: baking soda and water. I mixed up a batch (3 parts baking soda to 1 part water), grabbed a scrubby sponge, and tackled the grout on the kitchen floor.

Take a look! (The top is the "before" and the bottom is the "after," of course!)

It's beginning to look a lot like...

...Christmas!

We finally put up and decorated our Christmas tree today.
We received a huge (HUGE!) box from Gus's mom, chock full of beautifully wrapped presents (as seen in the picture above). In an impressive display of self-restraint, we actually put them under the tree this morning without opening a single one (though we did gently shake a few)! We're both really looking forward to unwrapping all these mystery gifts on Christmas. Thank you, Gus's mom! :)

~~~
Monday update: We just received a huge box from my parents, too! Although those presents are not shown in the picture, they are also now in the place of honour under the tree. :) Thank you, Mom and Dad!
~~~

We also hung the stockings by the chimney with care, and set up the nativity scene on the mantle:

Note, if you will, Mortimer*:

And Mortimer's little brother*:

* For those not in-the-know, Mortimer and Mortimer's little brother are little crocheted macraméd mice that Gus and his family used to hang on their Christmas tree every year. They got promoted this year. Their new job is to guard over the stockings, protecting them from would-be sneaks. :)

Do you like what we've done with the house?

I broke our house. Gus and I were up in the attic last Thursday evening, fixing a hole in one of our heating ducts. We were standing on the rafters, which - in most areas - are covered with thin sheets of plywood. As Gus leaned forward to look at something, I moved backward, missed the plywood, and the next thing I knew, I was hanging by my arms, with my head by Gus's ankles and my feet dangling in the kitchen below!

The damage:

























There was insulation everywhere!

























We tried patching it up as best we could:















Fortunately, a friend of ours used to build houses, so this evening he's here helping us fix it properly. :)

Vacation!!

The second fall term is done, and I (Angela) am officially on vacation until January 9th! Today was the graduation ceremony for our level 6 students. Afterward, we had our department Christmas party at a co-worker's home.

While vacation for me is just beginning, Gus just got a new job! Yesterday, he started working part-time for Reaper, doing in-house computer programming work for them. During the semester, he can conform his schedule to mine (e.g., working mornings at Reaper when I'm teaching mornings). But for Christmas break, he'll be working 9-1.

We will not be going home for Christmas this year. That means, for the first time in 9 years, we will not be traveling over the holidays. We'll both certainly miss celebrating with our families, but the prospect of not driving on snow-covered roads, not having to split our time between western WI and eastern WI, and not having to worry about our cat, does ease the disappointment a little bit. :) That and the fact that it was 71 and sunny here today.

Creative thinking

My students were comparing two pictures of the same house, one before renovation and one after. They were supposed to describe the changes that had been made to the house.

One of my students didn't know the word for "chimney," so I asked if anyone else could tell him what it was. After several moments of silence in the room, another student offered, "I believe the term is: Santa's Entrance." :D

The moment you've all been waiting for....

I finally - finally! - took pictures of our new place. I took them on Thanksgiving Day, in the mid-afternoon. It was a beautiful day, with an afternoon high of around 75. Gus and I spent a few hours of the early afternoon at a local church, helping serve Thanksgiving dinner to some of the 2,000 people who stopped by for a free meal. After we returned home, we did some yard work and took pictures! (You can click the pictures below to see a larger version.)

And now, without further ado:

The front of the house


The kitchen/breakfast area


The living room


For contrast, the living room, before (note the lovely pink walls)


The back of the house


Hilton the Explorer


Our workshed and tree


Thanksgiving Day flowers


A strawberry?

Home sweet home

We are about 85% settled into our new house. We moved in on Monday (the first day of the new term at work), and all of our belongings are here. Most of them are unpacked, too! Each room is finding its new purpose in life, with a dash of fresh paint to aid in the transition. There are still a number of little things that can be done to improve the house, but it's great as it is! And best of all, I can play piano as loudly as I want!

Our evening temperatures have been cool for the past week, so we've made use our fireplace a few times already. During the day, when it's in the 70s or 80s, we get a great breeze going through the house by opening all the windows in the sunroom and kitchen/breakfast area.

Work is going well. I'm teaching level 4 this term, which means afternoon classes, so I get to sleep in! I have 26 students again this term, and 11 of them are students I've had before. It's fun seeing familiar faces. And my student evaluations for the last term were high enough that I'm fairly certain that the students are happy to see me again, too. :)

I plan to add some pictures of the house to the next post, so stay tuned!

One down, one to go...

The first term of the fall semester is, for all intents and purposes, over. Today was the last day of classes, Monday my students will have their grammar final, and Tuesday I will give them their communication final. Next week is known as "Quick Turnaround Week," because we have to proctor final exams, grade final exams, and submit end-of-term grade reports for every current student, all while proctoring placement exams for the 60 or so incoming students.

On Friday next week we will get our teaching assignments for the next term, which starts the following Monday. Rumour has it that I might not be teaching level 3 next term. My supervisor asked if I'd be willing to move to either level 2 or level 4, and I said sure. It's always good to learn new things. :)

In other news, the house closing was moved up from November 1st to October 18th, which is next Wednesday. So in the middle of all the chaos at work, we'll be moving.

My family in the frozen northern wastelands got snow this week. It's been in the 70s here. I love Texas. :D

Mid-terms and other news

I have been very bad about updating this blog. If anyone is still checking it, here - at last - is an update.

I am teaching two level-three communication classes again this term. These are the same level, same skills as last term, which makes lesson planning a lot easier! We just finished week 4 of the current term, which means I had to enter mid-term grade reports for all of my students this weekend.

My 6-month review is coming up, so I have to be observed by both the communication curriculum coordinator and the program director in the next two weeks. I'm not looking forward to that, but since I know its purpose is to help me be a better teacher, I'm trying to look at it more positively! :)

Gus is still working part-time from home. He spends his days alternating between working, painting minis, listing things on eBay, and trying to ignore the incessant demands of our very vocal high-maintenance cat. Since I'm away from home during the day, he has also taken over maintaining the household, which is very nice.

And speaking of households: After eight years of carefree apartment living, we have made an offer on a house! The sellers accepted our offer and now we're waiting on the bank. If all goes well, the closing date will be November 1st and we'll officially be home-owners. How scary is that? Our current apartment lease is up the end of November, so we will have a full month to clean, paint, and do whatever else we deem necessary before moving in.

Now I realize that we may be accused of getting ahead of ourselves, but we spent last evening wandering the aisles of Home Depot looking at all the home-improvement items, flipping through decorating magazines, and staring in awe at the vast selection of paint chips. I even brought a few home!

In weather news, the weather has been fabulous since we escaped the clutches of August. Most days the highs have been between 75 and 85, and the nighttime lows have been in the 50s. We've had some great thunderstorms, too. Now that we've left the brutal summer behind us, I'm feeling quite positive about Texas. I can handle three months of bad (very bad) weather when the other nine months are perfectly livable. :)

Gus' mom is coming to visit us the first week of October, and my parents are driving down for a long weekend the middle of November. By the time they arrive, we might actually be moved in to our house!

Tune in next time for the latest adventures of Gus and Angela!

A quick update

It's Tuesday, August 22nd. Vacation is nearly over. I just signed a 9-month contract at UNT, so I'm officially a full-time permanent-ish employee! This morning I helped proctor the placement exam for 97 incoming international students, and 30 more arrive next week. We already have 180 or so continuing students, so we will have the largest-ever number of students this fall. It's going to be a busy semester! On Friday I will receive my teaching assignment (skill/level), and then classes start on Monday.

The trip to WI was great. I was at my parents' house August 2 - 7, and Gus joined me there on August 5. My mom's birthday was on Sunday August 6. It was nice to be there for her party! I returned to TX on August 7 while Gus went on to Indianapolis for GenCon. He drove back here on August 14, so now we have two cars again (we'd just had the one car since March).

I submitted my thesis for publication but I won't hear back for at least three months, so I'll just put it out of my mind until then. I also submitted a proposal to present at the local TESOL conference next month. I won't know about that for another week or so. Lots of waiting!

Gus has been busy working and socializing and hanging out with me. It's been nice having so much time together while I've been on vacation!

We still haven't taken any pictures while here in TX. Someday when it's not 103 degrees out I'll try to get outside with the camera.

Vacation

Friday July 28th was officialy the last day of the term. Finals were on Monday and Tuesday last week, grading and writing final grade reports took all day Wednesday, and the graduation ceremony for students who had successfully completed Level 6 was held on Friday.

Now I'm on vacation until August 22nd! What's in store? First, I'm going to spend 5 days at my parents' house. Tomorrow (Wednesday) I fly up to Minneapolis, my parents will pick me up at the airport, and we'll go back to their place. I expect my mom and I will spend a lot of time in the next few days discussing plans for another trip to England. :)

Then on Saturday Gus will fly up to the Twin Cities to spend a couple days with my family. Monday I fly back here while Gus heads over to his brother's place. He and Vince will drive to Indianapolis for GenCon for the remainder of the week. Next week he'll spend a few days with his family, and then fly back here on the 17th.

While he's gone, my plans are to re-vamp my thesis and submit it to a professional journal for publication. I have no idea if they'll be interested in it, but it's worth a try. If I do get published, it would look very good on my resumé!

That's all the news from Texas, where the sun is scorching and the ground is parched.

The end of the term

Today was the last day of class. My students have final exams on Monday and Tuesday next week, but today we had a class party complete with food, drinks, and Pictionary. :) Great fun was had by all and I finally took some pictures. (Note: As always, you can click a picture to see a larger version.)

Class 1


Back row, left to right: Tomo (Japan), Ali (Kuwait), Angelo (Belgium), Ruslan (Kyrgyzstan), SK (South Korea), William (Taiwan), and Saad (Saudi Arabia)

Front row, left to right: Anne (Thailand), Yusuke (Japan), Nabeel (Saudi Arabia), Olga (Ukraine), Ghily (Chile), and Guca (South Korea)

Class 2


Back row, left to right: Ebru (Turkey), Seng (Cambodia), Abdullah (Saudi Arabia), Fatih (Turkey), Ahmmed (Saudi Arabia), and Tariq (Saudi Arabia)

Front row, left to right: Eli (Indonesia), Vivien (Taiwan), Mohammed (Saudi Arabia), and Elnur (Azerbaijan)

Exports

Yesterday, one of the new vocabulary words my students encountered was "export." I asked them for examples of things their countries exported. Here are some of their answers:

• Azerbaijan: oil


• Turkey: marble


• Japan: electronics


• Rwanda: coffee


• Indonesia: wood for furniture


• Kuwait: oil


• Saudi Arabia: oil


• Thailand: hand-crafted items


• and so on...

I asked them what they thought the U.S. exported. After a few of them responded along the lines of "McDonalds!" and "technology", one of the Saudi students grinned and said, "Soldiers!" :D

Tidbits

Time is going very quickly! This is Week 4 of the 8-week summer term and I have to get mid-term grades submitted at the end of this week. So far this week my poor students have had two quizzes in my class and an exam in one of their other classes, and they will have a listening exam and a reading exam in my class before the week is done. Needless to say, they're a little overwhelmed. I just remind them that there's a reason this program is called the Intensive English Language Institute!

One of my students today referred to a rhinoceros as a "unicorn". :P This same student also said that people who don't have enough food to eat are "depraved" (instead of "deprived", I presume)! Sometimes I just have to laugh at them!

When we were on our drive from Colorado Springs to Denton last month, we witnessed a few, um, interesting things, things that made me shake my head and say, "Only in TX! (I hope!!)":

• Trinidad, CO, is located just a few miles north of the CO/NM border, an absolutely beautiful area of the country. Just off I-25, the main thoroughfare through town, is the Budget Summit Motel. In my experience, most motels have a "vacancy/no vacancy" sign, which - when there is vacancy - displays the word "vacancy". Pretty standard, I believe. Yet the Budget Summit Motel is unique. Instead of doing what is plenty good enough for all the other motels out there, their vacancy sign just says: YES. Not "YES Vacancy" - just YES. In all capital letters, too. In May, I was fortunate enough to drive past this gem of a motel 5 times, and every time I saw that sign it made me giggle. In my warped little mind, the "YES" of the vacancy sign was always vocalized in an enthusiastic shout and accompanied by an energetic fist pump. :P
  


• We drove by a town called Electra, TX. On the outskirts of town there was a billboard that advertised the "23rd Annual Goat Barbeque!!!" Goat barbeque? Goat?? I'm familiar with the concept of a pig or cow roast, but really...goat?!? Amazingly, they even have a website.
  


• In Chillicothe, TX, one can find the perfect Christmas or birthday gift for every member of the family - at the Cowboy boot factory outlet. Yeehaw!
  


• Apparently the people of Clarendon, TX, are honest to a fault. As we drove through town we passed a little motel named: "It'll do!" motel. We didn't stop there for the night. I can't imagine why....
  


• Also in Clarendon is a church that advertises "Cowboy services every Saturday night." I didn't know they still made cowboys! I'm half tempted to drive back there some Saturday, just to see if clouds of dust rise from the parched earth as the thunderous pounding of hooves foretells the impending arrival of the rugged cowboys and their vast herds of cattle. What do they do with their horses and cows during the service? Are there cattle pens for the cows out back and hitchin' posts for the horses out front? Do the cowboys wear chaps over their bluejeans and bandanas around their necks? Are their belt-buckles the size of TX? I want to know!
  


• Here in TX I expected to see cattle, including - especially! - Texas Longhorns. Being a horse fan, I also expected to see lots of horses. After all, this is "horse country". But when we drove past Iowa Park, TX, it wasn't cattle or horses, or sheep or goats, or even llamas that we saw. Nope. Here in lush, green TX, we saw a herd of camels.
  
  According to RailPictures: "In the mid-1800s, the US Army experimented with using camels as pack animals in the desert. The experiment failed for numerous reasons, and one account of the tale ended with these words: The Texas herd was auctioned off in 1865, but some were released into the desert.... Many Arabian camels roamed through Texas, California, and Arizona. The last authenticated sightings of camels in the wild occurred in the early 1900s. [The camels here in TX] are running wild in an enclosed area.... They are there apparently to keep mesquite trees in check which they do a good job of. They are not wild in the true sense of the word...but they have been elusive." So there you have it! Camels in TX. :)

One week down...

I completed a whole week of work! It went very well and my students are all great (except one, who is a pain). There are twelve students in each class, and they hail from countries such as Azerbaijan, Turkey, Ukraine, Taiwan, Kazakhstan, East Timor, S. Korea, Chile, Cambodia, Belgium (though originally from Dem Rep of Congo), Thailand, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. This term is eight weeks long, although the final week is just that - finals!

The classes are both held nearly two hours each day (8:30a - 10:15a, 10:30a - 12:15p), so I teach about twenty hours per week. I am required to hold two office hours per week when the students can come see me for additional help. Other than that, I do not need to be on site. Of course, there are papers to grade, lesson plans to develop, activities to create, and so on. I could bring those home in the afternoon and do them here, but I prefer to finish my work at work.

Gus's brother is here for the week, keeping him occupied while I'm gone during the day. Hopefully that'll help ease Gus's transition from both of us being home 24/7 to him being home without me and being responsible for the housework. :)

The only other news is that there hasn't been a drop of rain in the four weeks we've been down here, and the daytime highs haven't been below 95 since June 3rd (the nighttime lows have been right around 70, which is pretty nice - too bad I sleep at night). In the next seven days the highs are only going to be below 100 on one day, when the high is supposed to be 98. That's ok, though. There will only be another 3 months of this heat before it starts to cool down again! :P

Yee-haw!

Howdy, y'all! It's official - we are gen-you-wine Texans now! On Tuesday we got Texas license plates for our car (it still freaks me out when I see them) and on Wednesday we got Texas drivers licenses! They won't arrive for another week or so, but as far as TX is concerned, we belong. That's a frightening thought.

Getting my new license was a breeze. I just went to the DMV, gave them some money, read line 5 from the vision test machine (EML5 2DS9 T6IQ or something like that), posed for the camera, and handed over my MN license. Easy!

For Gus, however, it was more of an adventure. Though we didn't realize it at the time, his MN license expired on his birthday - April 28th! Even the nice policeman didn't notice when he stopped Gus for speeding on May 4th. :D But about a week ago Gus happened to look at the expiration date (I'm not sure what prompted this) and discoverd that he was no longer a licensed driver.

When we went to the DMV on Wednesday, we crossed our fingers in hopes that the clerk renewing our licenses wouldn't notice that Gus's had expired. No such luck. Instead of the easy route I took, Gus had to take the written AND driving tests again!! He passed, of course. So now I can let him drive my car again. :)

In other news:

• It has been in the 90s here for the last 10 days or so. The lows at night are in the 70s. Right now - 11pm - it is 79 and there is a gentle breeze. I have the balcony door open and Hilton is sprawled out on the balcony, sleeping. He loves it out there! First thing in the morning, as soon as we get out of bed, he scampers over to the door and meows for us to let him out. :) He spends quite a bit of time out there.
  
  
• I got a raise! I haven't even started working yet (that happens on Tuesday), but I got an e-mail from my boss saying that a proposed pay increase was approved by the provost, so all the teachers in my department are getting a raise, effective immediately. This boosts my expected salary by 26%!!
  
  
• Although the official assignments haven't been made, it looks like I will be teaching two level-3 communication classes this summer term. These classes cover reading, listening, speaking, and vocabulary. Fortunately, the department provides me not only with textbooks to use, but also with lesson plan outlines for the whole term. That makes it seem a little less overwhelming!

We're here!

Just a quick update. We arrived in Denton around 9pm on Sunday evening after a 12-hour drive from Colorado Springs. Since I had already gotten our apartment key, we went directly to our new apartment. While Gus unloaded the truck, I began unpacking. By 1am the truck was empty (except for the piano) so we called it a night.

Monday we hired local piano movers to carry the piano up the stairs and into our apartment. We spent the remainder of the day unpacking.

Tuesday I had orientation all day at the university. While I was there, Gus finished all the unpacking. :)

Wednesday we spent most of the day exploring our new hometown. There is much more exploring to be done, of course, since the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex has a population of 5.7 million, making it the fifth largest metropolitan area in the United States.

I don't officially start work until May 30th, so I have some time to explore, relax, and settle in before I start earning my keep!

Let's recap, shall we?

Here's what the last few months have looked like:

• February 13: Submitted final draft of thesis.
• February 27: My birthday. :)
• February 28: Defended my thesis. Passed!
• March 2: Submitted finalized and signed-off thesis.
• March 3-4: Picked up Budget moving truck, packed, loaded truck.
• March 5: Went to a wonderful party at my parents' place in WI.
• March 7: Left MN.
• March 8: Arrived in CO.
• The remainder of March: Job hunted.
• March 24: Interviewed and signed on with Globelink tutoring company here in CO Springs. Never heard from them again. :)
• April 3-5: In WI for Grandma's funeral.
• April 11: Learned that the University of North Texas (UNT) in Denton (Dallas) was looking for full-time ESL teachers for their Intensive English Language Institute.
• April 15: Submitted application to UNT via priority mail.
• April 26: Interviewed at Pike's Peak Community College. They have no work for me.
• April 26: Got a letter of interest from UNT.
• May 1: Arranged an interview at UNT for May 5th.
• May 3-4: Drove from CO to TX.
• May 5: Had interview at 10am. ReaperCon the rest of the weekend.
• May 8: Drove back to CO. Got a phone call from UNT at 4pm, offering me the job. Accepted the offer.
• May 9: Spent the morning online, looking for apartments in Denton. Drove 1/2 way to Denton in the evening.
• May 10: Drove the rest of the way. Found an apartment. Picked up paperwork at UNT. Picked up apartment key. Drove 1/2 way back to CO.
• May 11: Finished the drive back to Colorado Springs. At paint club in the evening to say goodbye to our friends.
• May 12: We will pack our apartment.
• May 13: We will pick up and load the Budget moving truck.
• May 14: We will drive to TX.
• May 15: We will check into our new apartment.
• May 16: I will attend an all-day orientation at UNT.
• May 17-29: Unpack and settle in!
• May 30: Officially start work.

My head is spinning.

18 months and $20,000 later...

It's here!

My new piano arrived. :) Actually, it arrived a week and a half ago, but I just took a picture of it.




















Hilton seems to be enjoying it....