this has been one of the best weeks ever. i'm thinking about calling vh1. my incredibly amazing and brilliant friends helped me celebrate my 25th on saturday. all i wanted for a party was to cook for them all, drink some wine, play games and yes, have a sleepover. little did i know that i really wanted customized shirts for all of us to wear. mine said "hail martha" and had a crown on it. others had pictures of me and said "marfapalooza" and "viva la martha" and other things that aren't appropriate for the general public to read. after dinner we played apples to apples and then went to my new favorite bar. callie and orly rounded out the usual austin crew and plenty of blackmail worthy pictures were taken. i woke up to a floor covered in confetti and egg shells and my friends slumbering - the sign of a good party.
monday i interviewed with two schools. wednesday i went back for a second interview with one. later that day they called to offer me a position teaching 7th grade english. i cannot express in words or thoughts how happy i am to be able to say that i am again a teacher. i miss having kids and challenging their little minds to grow. my school will definitely be a challenge because it's probably one of the toughest in austin. those are the kids i love and connect with the best though, so i'm sure i'll adore it all. i also get to real, grown up adoclescent literacy training in san antonio for just under a week in june. by the end of next school year, i'll be a super human teacher. you just wait. tomorrow, i get to go home and see my dad's side of the family and watch my baby cousin graduate from high school. man i'm old. it's been such a happy week, that i don't really care that i'm getting sick and my sinuses could combust at any moment.
a few weeks ago, i made a journey to REI to buy some new hiking shoes. they had a pair on sale for like half price and i'd been hiking pretty frequently, so i thought it'd be a good purchase. little did i know that i would make a life changing discovery in the process.
normally i don't like the assistance of salespeople, especially in the footwear department, other than the obligatory "can you get me a 7 in this?" kind of interaction. if they'd let me, i'd journey back to the storeroom myself and fetch my little magic box of hiking shoes. i guess that explains why i love buying shoes at target - that and the fact that shoes cost $10 a pair there. but i digress. so the helpful footwear salesman offers help set me up with some quality insoles since i plan to take the new kicks on a long(er) expedition with my sister this summer. i had to remove my socks and shoes and roll up my jeans so that he could inspect the shape of my feet. i don't know why, but i just find that entire process uncomfortably intimate and well, just uncomfortable. my friends have always told me that i have great feet, but something about a total stranger getting down and dirty with my toe jam is just icky. (read: i don't really have toe jam, but there is this underlying fear that it will have suddenly developed upon entering the store.) also, i hadn't shaved in a like a week, so i looked like a wild mountain woman. but hey, it's REI and that's kosher with them.
anyhow, mr. REI kneels down and begins the thorough assessment of my feet. after like 5 seconds he proclaims my feet to be perfect. apparently i have the kind of arches that would have made the romans cry. i have to say that it was nice to hear a licensed (okay, probally not, but a girl can pretend) professional tell you that some physical feature of yours is without fault, even if it just my feet. but aside from that, what does this mean to me? it means that i have been thoroughly neglecting my feet for my entire life. he stuffed some insoles in my hiking shoes, and i tell you my friends, it was like walking on flowers or clouds or babies' bottoms or something equally soft and fluffy. i had never known that my feet could feel so good. of course i by no means intend to suggest that i have stopped neglecting my feet; i still sport my completely unsupportive flip flops every chance i get. but at least now i get to feel bad about it.
i have been on a jane austen kick lately and have in turn decided that i want a jane austen romance. maybe it's because i relate to the main characters or just relish in her use of sarcasm, but she makes me smile and long for my own mr. darcy...i'm lame, but i know diane feels me on this one. :)
i went to the single most beautiful wedding i've ever been to this past weekend. my dear, dear friends joel and erin got hitched in dallas and although i usually reserve my greatest level of disdain for dallas, i was really impressed with where they got married. it was this incredibly idyllic, sincere and joyous ceremony. between the vows and the reception we wandered through the gardens and i was amazed at every turn. here is the sunset:
here i am making fun of the rotund statues:
and then of course the dancing and gorging and champagning began. i can say quite honestly that it might have been my dream wedding. too bad they got to it first. (ignore the devil eyes, my camera is possessed)
i have to say that the best part of the wedding is that i can say without a doubt that they are meant for each other. they have one of the best stories of how they met and fell madly in love and she moved across the country to be with him. they renew my hope that there is a man out there somewhere that will get me and be willing and able to do anything to make me happy. oh and i guess vice versa.
