HI!!!

Hope everyone is doing well and is content. Election time is near, and this particular year seems fraught with excitement.

Since I am blogging about politics, I highly recommend Vidal DeLa Cerda for sheriff in Nueces County, and I encourage you to vote for him.
Glad you got the email. I am so looking forward to seeing your shelf, and talking online about the book club books in our group.
Please be sure I do not recommend people to vote for in a casual manner. In fact, this is the first time I have blogged on behalf of a candidate.

Vidal is the husband to my cousin Sylvia Lopez DeLa Cerda. Ray and I had the time to talk with them and get to know Vidal. He is a man with a heart for doing what is right. Not only does he want to serve, his previous experiences have prepared him for the obstacles and problems that arise in the office of sheriff.

Once again, I highly recommend Vidal DeLa Cerda for sheriff of Nueces County, and I respectfully encourage you to vote for him.

Here is his website so you can see for yourself.

ttp://www.vidaldelacerdaforsheriff.com/

Goals on the Line

Remember my dream about graduate school? I'm on my way. Lamar University offers graduate education programs online. Hopefully, if everything works out, I will begin online classes in June.

Christmas at the Bealls

This year Christmas was the best ever. Both of my girls were home for Christmas.

Jodie and her boyfriend Greg flew in on Dec 19th. It was wonderful to see them and to meet Greg personally for the first time. Greg tasted Texas Barbque and especially enjoyed the brisket.

Jamie and Cody drove in from Corpus on the 21st. Scot had to work, so he drove on Christmas Eve with Cody's special gift of his own little power wheeled car. It even had its own radio.

The presents were nice, but the best part was the family together once again.

Sacrifices

I haven't seen Jodie in over a year. We only communicate through email, and I see her pics on the Stennis newsletter.

My brother called and informed me the Navy took him off reserve duty and placed him on active. He will soon leave to another country for a year. When my brother told my mother he would be leaving, she squeezed him and said, " I will keep you in my heart." The tears streamed down my face.

Our family believes serving our country is good and noble and right; however, the burden gets heavy; the sacrifice is great.

AP English Institute

Ok, folks, you knew I would tell you about it. A week at Rice University studying the syllabus of Advanced Placement English. Bunches of English teachers together in class....What does that give you? Lots of opinions, obsessions with books, lovers of the beauty and power of language, and yeah, love of kids.

After enjoying Italian food at Birraperreti's, Jane and I took in an Agatha Christie play at the Alley Theatre. We stayed at the Hilton. Our rooms were wonderful, but not without a few issues. One night the fire alarm rang, and an announcement came on for everyone to stay in their rooms. I slept through the whole thing. Most of the other folks didn't and they complained about losing their sleep the next morning. Another day the water went out and when it finally came back on, we could only take cold showers! The hot water was working by morning. I told Jane poor little Paris probably won't receive as large an allowance this month because if the complaints were bad about the alarm, the complaints about the water abounded. It wasn't really that bad, more annoying.

After classes, we hopped on the Hilton's shuttle and wondered around the Village, tasting the unique cuisine offered in the middle of downtown Houston. One interesting restaurant we visited was Benjy's; it was modern American cuisine.

Instead of shopping for clothes, we haunted Half Price Books and bought more books for bookshelves at home already groaning under their current load.

By the end of the week, we learned useful information and are preparing to incorporate it in our classes for the upcoming year. We also made new friends and learned new teaching strategies from them. Quite a productive week.

JOHN MAYER CONCERT

Ray and I attended John Mayer's concert last Saturday in the Woodlands 'Rain poured down about three and four o'clock and we worried the concert would be soggy. Ray and I sat with umbrellas and ponchos and hoped for the best.

The concert was incredible. Mayer walked out in baggy jeans and t-shirt because he was and is unassuming.

The first songs were "Waiting for the World to Change, " and "Why Georgia. " Mayer interspersed his biggest hits with songs that were heavy on the jazz and blue side. His guitar sang all the moods of the blues, sadness, rejection, and worry. The performance ended with "Gravity" and people stood on their feet screaming and clapping.

Fabulous!!

Summer Vacation in the HIll Country

BEWARE: ROAD TRIP STORY

Steep Trails and Dangerous Curves!

For the first time in three years, Ray and I went on a vacation. We loaded Ray's trailer down, and we left from Corpus to Utopia. Along with Ray's brother Louis, Dina, Daniel and Lindsey, we drove to River Haven Cabin Retreat in Utopia.

We cruised through Pleasanton, Jourdontan, Devine, over the Santa Anna Creek, through Biry (don't blink), Hondo, D'Hanis, Sabinal, and finally after Utopia. While we drove, we notice the landscape gradually changed from flat lands to hills. Ray, Lou and Tux pulled the trailer with the Jeep, and Dina and I and the kids drove in her Durango. As we drove, the kids watched their DVD players and listened to music on their iPods. I created a playlist of summer songs for the trip, and Dina had loads of CDs with 80s music.

Utopia is a quiet, sleepy town with the Sabinal River running through it.Our cabin had satellite TV, three bedrooms, AC, stocked kitchen deck, fire pit, and the Sabinal running behind the cabin.


At night we listened to the cicadas chirping and waded in the crystal clear river with the perch nibbling on us.
The next day, Daniel woke up with a insect bite that made his ear swell up quite a bit. He was courageous about it, and thankfully, he recovered quickly.



Later Ray and I drove to Bandera and hunted for antiques. We ate Mexican food at a cute restaraunt called OST (Old Spanish Trail). We drove to Leakey and enjoyed the scenery.



I found some cool wildflowers I had to pick for my scrapbook. When we reached the Frio River, I waded the river a little to enjoy the cool water. The river was not as cold as people said it would be.

The next day we drove with Lou and Dina and family back to Concan and enjoyed a fabuous meal at a resteraunt called Neal's. Neal's was located by the Frio, and we watched people tubing down the river from the terrace.

Late in the afternoon, we waded in the Sabinal and enjoyed finding river rocks. The water is clear and cool, the river was shaded by live oak trees, and a small man made dam made the pouring water sound like a baby waterfall.


The sun set, and the guys made a fire in the pit so the kids could make marshmallows.
In the morning everyone packed up and Ray and I drove home leisurely. We enjoyed being out in nature, and being with family.

STUCO Academic Banquet

One of the Student Council's major projects is hosting the Academic Banquet. The banquet was for about 275 people.

I looked for bids and hired a caterer. This year the menu was chicken fried steak, buttered potatoes, salad and bannana pudding.

We decorated the invitations and mailed them out. We Shanghaied the Home Economics teacher into decorating the main tables with linens and loaning her silver punch bowl. The kids covered all the other tables with blue, white, and silver table cover. We used our glass gloves and tea lights for atmosphere.

After looking and scrounging around, we came up with deocrations for the banquet. This year we laid out books with academic materials such as flasks, beakers, microscopes. All the members were assigned tasks and were lectured to death on dressing appropriately. After the banquet, the clean up takes forever but is finished.
The pics below show my STUCO in their everyday dress, and the night of the banquet when they are all gussied up.

Jodie~Sailor of the Day~BSM Third Class

~Captian Johanson~JODIE BEALL~

Exciting news! Jodie was honored with Sailor of the Day. The Stennis has over 5, 000 Navy personnel, and she was named SOD. She received this honor for her careful, meticulous work, and leadership among her shipmates. We are so proud of her. The letter we received from the captain stated Jodie won this honor for her hard work and perserverance.

The news became more exciting when Jodie told us she is now an official Boatswain's Mate, Third Class. Boatswain's Mate is one of the oldest ranks in the Navy and is predominated by men. Jodie worked hard and endured much to make this rate, and now she is a third class.

Jo has many jobs and some of them are driving the Stennis, driving small boats for find man overboard, playing the pipes when the Captain comes onboard, and multitasking many jobs while working with a crew of her shipmates.

Lonesome Dove Patio is Finished

After much sweat and work, Ray finished the patio. The green ferns and rocking chairs make it a cool place to relax.