Stephen and Kimberly's Blog: A week of relaxation

This past week I had a nice week off from school...Mid-Winter Break. It was a very nice and relaxing week around here. I was able to finish 2 books....I cooked some nice dinners....and I was able to run a lot...without being tempted to skip it. We had also gotten about 6 inches of snow on Wednesday night, and it is still sticking to the ground today! It has been extremely cold lately...getting down to 20 degrees last night...we had no dog walks this week!! On Tuesday Abby and I were able to discover more of Downtown Seattle, and discovered the Sodo district of Seattle. We found a European/Mediterranean Grocery store that had the most wonderful cheeses I had ever laid my eyes on. We had also tasted many of the samples as well....yum! I also have fallen in love with a cheese called Dorothea...a nice Gouda infused with dandelions!! It was just fabulous. Abby had wanted to go to Big John's PFI...and I have now fallen in love! They have wonderful Italian pastas, spices, and other items that are fabulous!! We were also able to go to a bakery that Abby had seen on Evening Magazine. We went to Alaska Silk Pie Company. It took us a awhile to find the place, and we went in not knowing what to expect. We were able to tour the whole bakery, meet the owner, and taste some of her creations! We of course bought some pies and they have been so delicious!! It was just a great day!

This week I was also to catch up on my DVR recordings, and start researching for my Master's Degree I plan on starting this summer. I absolutely love the show "Off the Map". It is so great. I love how it is made up of not-well-known actors and I absolutely love the story lines. The shows are about these young doctors who are working in Central America. There are such great plots such as trying to extract a python that is wrapped around a person, cutting someone loose from a zip-lining adventure, cutting off someone's leg that is trapped underwater, and of course I love the part of the show where one of the doctors is falling for a mysterious, and handsome local that is unfortunately a criminal as well! The show is great, full of suspense, and not bad looking actors! :)

This week I have also been able to research for financial assistance for my Master's Degree. I have settled on applying to Grand Canyon University, located in Phoenix. I know, I know it sounds weird, but this college is a great price, and I can do my whole degree online....which is great having my full time job as well. There are several other teachers at my school going through their program and are very happy with it. I plan on getting a degree enhancing my reading program, helping me better teach literacy which I am always seeming to struggle with, there is just no one right way to teach it!! I feel that going through the program will give me a clearer approach to the best practices to have in my classroom. I have been looking through financial aid forms, and looking at all of these ridiculous scholarships as well. Did you know they have 3-sentence scholarships? All you have to do is write 3 sentences, and if they like your answer they could give you like $2,000?? Some of these scholarships look so bogus to me.

We will be going over to Koriann's house tonight to celebrate my Father-In-Law's birthday!! Yesterday we were able to go to Spud's Fish and Chips on Alki with him and Abby, and then we saw the movie Unknown! Great Movie!! I absolutely love spending time with his family who are so welcoming and kind.

I hope you all have had a fabulous week as well, and a wonderful weekend!

Enjoy some of Steve's Recent Pictues he has taken!!