Grateful

For those of you who have been students, or married to students,
you'll understand my excitement that financial aid came in today!!!

Yep. This little dancing guy is me.

.

We've been INVADED!

Soooo... apparently the late summer/early fall period is uber-breeding time for fruit flies, which reproduce faster than rabbits! I did not know this. If I had, I would have nipped it in the bud early when I first noticed a few little flies around the kitchen last week.

I predict that the eggs hitched a ride on the bananas I bought last week... or the ones I bought the week before. Either way, apparently the eggs hatch into larva (yep... worms in my kitchen, ew...) and then into flies. This whole lovely process takes 10 days. Not a pleasant thought imagining this whole process taking place on or around my food. YUCK!

After reading on the internet, I created some traps, which I set last night. This is the collection I was able to gather within 24 hours. I am hoping is the majority of the flies, and that the few stragglers will join soon.

This trap was a bowl with apples, covered in plastic wrap, with small holes poked in it. The flies get attracted to the smell, climb through the holes, but can't get out again.

This trap is a bowl of cider vinegar, with a drop of dish soap. Apparently the soap breaks the "tension" of the surface of the liquid, so when the flies land on the top, they sink (and drown!!) instead of walk on top.

Can you believe HOW MANY there are?? This is only after noticing these pesky buggers last week. I always thought that the down side of leaving rotting food out was you might get ants. But apparently these are just as likely to appear.

So, warning to all my friends. Wash your fruit when you bring it into your home, and (when possible) store in the fridge, as the flies are extremely sensitive to the cold.

Again... yuk!!

Awe... so cute!

After looking at photos on other peoples blogs, I loved the idea of scanning and posting old photos (thanks, Donna!), so I scoured my collection of photos we stole - um, I mean "borrowed" from our parent's collections, and tried to find photos of Monico and I at about the same age... which is hard when you don't have that many.

Hope you enjoy!!

This is a photo of me at 8 months (circa September 1979).
This is my favorite photo!!!

This photo of Monico looks as if he is about 3 months old.
Look at all that hair!!! Sheesh...

In this photo (taken at G&G Bagley's) was taken summer 1980,
so I would have been 18 months

It's anyone's guess on how old Monico was,
but my best guess is 12 months.
LOVE THE BLUE SUIT!!!

As a child of the 80s, I think this photo (circa 1984) is iconic:
a "Big Wheels" AND "jellies"?
Awesome.

Monico at his first day of school.
Have you ever seen a more complacent Kindergartner? LOL

And, just for fun, this is one of the engagement
photos we took (circa April 1998).

It's finally here - Monico started school today!

I know what you are thinking, and "Yep. I totally took a picture of my man - with his lunchbox in hand - as he was heading out for his first day of school." How could I not, when he looks that cute!

So, today is day one of the Master's in Teaching program,
and Monico's last day will be August 15th(ish) next year!
It is soooooo exciting to think about how
close Monico is too his goal of becoming a teacher.

No more job (or paycheck!)... time to head back to school

Monico is officially done working.

His last day as a file clerk for the Dussault Law Group, the same office I STILL work at as a paralegal (yes, I got him the job...) was on Friday, August 29th, and he starts class tomorrow morning!

Monico at his desk...

We had a going away party. Not much time for decorations,
so I tried to be clever with dri-erase...



We got the fiesta platter from Azteca restaurant down the street... YUM!!




We had some fun golfing this weekend. We did 9 holes at Interbay Golf, then did
the18 hole putting course. It was a FANTASTIC mini-golf location.
Had we not done the 9 holes, I wouldn't have even known it was there.
Monico won by 2 or 3 strokes.
(Out of humiliation, I actually didn't do the final tally, so I don't know for sure.)
We will definitely be back again for a rematch before the weather turns too sour.

Although the sun was out, it was kind'a chilly... thus my hat/sunglasses and sweatshirt combo.

As prep for his first day of school, I gave Monico a haircut.
Although we've been married for this long, one of the things I was previously
NEVER allowed to do was cut my husband's hair.
However, as he has now joined the ranks of the unemployed students,
he has agreed to let me do it to save the $20 or so he spends each time he goes.

Oh yeah, since we don't have a hair-cutting cape yet,
we used an emergency poncho instead!
Kind of ghetto, but it worked really well!

I think i did a fantastic job -- if I say so myself!!!

(Before)

(After)