It's 80 degrees here...

Yes, that is correct: today's temp is probably pushing over 80 degrees. Now, who wants to visit El Paso?...that's what I thought! Although, I'm having a hard time determining appropriate attire for this weather. I mean, it's February 17. People at the grocery store have on shorts and flip-flops, but I just can't do that...I mean, it's February. And these people didn't come from the gym; they're just in their summer clothes. I've even seen some tank tops. And while it's definitely warm enough outside, I just feel crazy wearing this except in the privacy of my home at this time of year! Although, I have considered attempting to lay out...You see, our front door opens to the mountain, and the afternoon sun comes from that direction. I also never see my neighbors, so I think I could get away with a few hours of uninterrupted sun...but I risk my dignity. When we were looking for apartments here, some of the complexes boasted that their pool was open year-round. Yes people, pools in El Paso are open year-round. I now understand why: it's 80 degrees in February. I'm totally OK with this...I'm a sun-lover!

Saturday we had a "Brigade Fun Day" for Brian's entire brigade (about 3,000 soliders + their families). Brian calls this "mandatory fun"...haha! It would've been really fun if we had kids; they had all of the vehicles, guns, mortars, and tanks out for the kids to climb all over and look at. They were precious-I loved watching them shriek and laugh and climb all over this multi-million dollar equipment! The day was beautiful; sunny and warm! And apparently, the UV rays were working their magic too; Brian and I both got sunburned! Not tan, sunburned! We got to see some friends and I got to meet some of the guys who Brian is working with as well as his office, which was really fun. The guys are really nice, but none of them are married! Ha! So I'm flying solo in the "wife" department, although some of them have girlfriends, so I'm remaining hopeful :) One awesome thing of the day is that an incredible organization called "Steaks for Troops" cooked 5,000 steaks for all us....5,000! Apparently they had been working on them since midnight! And honestly, they were pretty good steaks! Definitely worth the wait. Although, we came across a travesty: west Texas does not serve sweet tea. Very sad. Realized this after I took a huge gulp of my tea and subsequently grimaced.

This week has had quite a bit of good news! Dad is in Tucson for business, so he's coming to visit this weekend-very exciting! Plus it means it gave me the final push to finalize the house. I finally got a vacuum cleaner, so hooray my carpets are clean!

Brian and I have found "our" Mexican restaurant! Now I know this sounds ridiculous, but we've been looking for a good one and this place is incredible! It's a hole-in-the-wall that's been here for decades and the food is incredible. We'll take you there when you come :) And, it's really close to our house! In addition, I have found some great "chic food" restaurants, so girls, when you come, I have cutesy, trendy places to eat. Brian doesn't like going to these kinds of places because he says he doesn't get enough to eat at them...haha!

I'm in the process of becoming a substitute at the Canutillo ISD (Independent School District). You have to differentiate between districts in El Paso, because there are 5. Crazy! It's not the closest to our house, but as long as the road in the mountain doesn't close down, then I'll be able to make it to the schools in about 30 minutes. That sounds long, but it takes at least 25 minutes to get just about anywhere here other than the grocery store/gym. But there is a chance that the road could close any morning...the intense wind here causes rock slides. Terrifying.

Today I found out that I am now (drum roll please) a genuine, CERTIFIED TEACHER!...in Mississippi. haha! But hey, I've got the certification, so now I can get the ball rolling on becoming a Texas educator. This whole licensure-transfer thing is a hassle! Apparently there is some legislation in Congress that's trying to allow military spouses who hold licenses (in things like medicine, education, vet med, and others) to have a special license that will easily transfer to other states...praying this goes through, because it's going to save me a lot of time, money, and hassle!

And finally, I have house pictures. But, I need to put them on the computer, so I'm going to post them in just a bit!