Living Room Pics

Here's part one of the apartment pics. I'll post more once I can get the fourth leg on my desk (Ikea only had 3 desk legs left), do some cleaning, and take some pics of the rest of the apartment:). Two months ago the living room looked like this....

So, this is the living room now! There is still some work to be done but it is much improved and much, much more live-able. And, just ignore the gigantic, black, ugly heater that is part of the focal point of the room. Our landlords are very proud of that heater...we, of course, would rather be cold all the time than have to look at that ugly thing.

I will post pics of the rest of the apartment when they are internet ready. In other news...if you want to check out a recent blog post about Brent click here.

Perfect Timing!

I was missing my second graders a ton so it was perfect timing that Yash and his family came to San Francisco for a family vacation!

Yash was in my class in kindergarten and then I had the pleasure of having him again this year in second grade. Unfortunately, I only got to be his teacher for 2 months :(. He is such a sweet kid. The first day of school I asked the kids to share what they were most excited about in second grade. He said he was most excited to have his favorite teacher again.

When I told the kids I was moving to San Francisco he was pretty upset. His mom told me they were thinking of visiting San Francisco but hadn't decided until Yash insisted that they come here.

We had a great dinner and shared some gifts. Yash got to meet Mr. Couchman....he is my only student to get that privilage (My students always thought Mr. Couchman was my dad). Yash and I were both sad when the evening was over but he did invite me to stay at his house next time I'm in Dallas.

Brent's Prints

Brent's prints have been a hot item lately. He opened up his Etsy shop this week which you can view here, and has had lots of traffic. This is good news for me because that means I am currently employed...even though it's just part time. I am the store manager....the BOSS. It's a good job but I need a raise! Here are his two prints....

We also discovered a cool local store called Park Life that wanted to sell Brent's prints. Now, I just need to convince him to make a Valentine's print and Valentine's cards. I think that would sell well. Plus, I've got to keep products in stock so that I can keep my job.

In other news....I have started volunteering at a school that's walking distance from our apartment. I'm helping out a combined 4th/5th grade class that has 31 kids in it. The poor teacher has her hands full! I'm hoping that my volunteer work might help me get a job there next year.

Our First Visitors!!!

It was so good to have Amy visit because I haven't gotten to interact with many people except Glenda and Brent...and the mean DMV people...ugh. It was also good to see Amy because we missed her too!

After I picked her up from the airport we got the trip started out right by visiting Ghirardelli Square and having a huge waffle chocolate covered bowl of vanilla ice cream with Ghirardelli chocolate melted on top. It was sooo good!

We also spent some time walking around the wharf which is right around the corner from Ghirardelli. You can walk down Hyde Pier and see some old boats and some pretty amazing views of the city and Alcatraz.

The next day Glenda, Amy, and I headed out to the Japanese Tea Garden which is right down the street from our apartment and FREE on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9-10am. I didn't know what to expect being my first Tea Garden to visit but it definitely exceeded my expectations.

After the Tea Garden, Glenda drove us around for a tour of the city. We got to see all the famous sites like Coit Tower, Lombard Street, The Painted Ladys, and Grace Cathedral (below).

The last day Amy was in SF we got our new couch (I'm sure much more exciting for me than Amy) and Randy and Grandma Margie came in the late afternoon in time for us to see the sun set at Land's End. Land's End is a nice little area to explore and has trails that connect to the GG Bridge.

In this view from Land's End you can actually see the GG Bridge if you look really hard...but if you can't see it in the picture just come visit and I'll show you!!

Also worth noting, all of our activities were free except the ice cream and restaurants.

What makes going to the DMV better...

...driving across the Golden Gate Bridge! I was dreading going to the DMV because I had a feeling it was going to be miserable (I was right by the way). But, I was excited to get to drive across the GG Bridge. It was my first time since my family went years ago. It's just so BIG!

The pictures just don't do it justice...and it probably doesn't help that I'm driving while taking these.

...and 2 1/2 hours and $300.00 later I left the DMV with a temporary vehicle registration, a learners permit (because I lost my driver's license), and a promise (meaning a legal obligation) to be back in 60 days. The only bright side? I get to see the bridge again! Although I think I need to go on a bike ride or walking across it soon. It's only about 5 minutes away from our apartment.

Discoveries

I went for a walk today in Golden Gate Park and was surprised at how many sights were so close to our apartment. I walked two blocks from our front door and found the de Young Museum...

...and the California Academy of Sciences....

...and the Music Concourse.

Not too far down the road was the Conservatory of Flowers (below). There's much more around like the Japanese Tea Garden and Arboretum and Botanical Garden but I didn't come across them on my walk.

Another discovery that's not as exciting but worth mentioning is the shopping cart escalator at Bed Bath & Beyond. I'm sure they have these other places too but I've never seen one.

Looking forward to Amy & Randy Couchman's visit next week so that I can make more San Francisco discoveries!

Our Stuff Is Here!!!

The mover (yes one person) finally showed up Wednesday around 2pm. Since there was only one guy, it took 4 1/2 hrs. He grunted and groaned as he drug all of our heavy stuff up the stairs. He even commented on how heavy our stuff was. Yes, if you try to move a queen size mattress up the stairs all by yourself it is heavy. BUT, we got our stuff (with just 2 things broken....a cup and a baking dish)!!

The end product was a little overwhelming....

Since we obviously couldn't live very long like that I knew I had some major work to do on Thursday. I made some progress by myself but after lunch I was ready to give up for the day (maybe take a nap). Aunt Glenda came in the afternoon to help and forced (I mean motivated) me to work hard. She worked SO hard. She hung all of our clothes and organized the closet. She also found my t-shirt collection to be out of control and encouraged me to get rid of 2 trash bags of clothes. Thanks Aunt Glenda!! By the end of the day the apartment was much more live-able.

I'll post more pics when we're all finished.