THESE ARE THE GOOD OLD DAYS

I've Moved!

2011-02-03T16:04:00.000-08:00

Please visit my new page at

http://leeleelovely1.blogspot.com/

and change your links!

See you there!!

Simple Woman's Daybook

2011-01-18T16:41:00.000-08:00

Outside my window... cool air and wet ground. We needed the rain but I'm glad it's over!

I am thinking... that I am worn out today!

Around the house... peace and quiet except for the dishwasher

From the kitchen... baked tilapia and fried rice. It was yummy so I'll gladly have it again for lunch tomorrow.

One of my favorite things... accomplishment. I had several errands planned for my day off yesterday but only got around to a few. I tackled them this afternoon and thankfully just have a couple left.

I am reading... Wedding Etiquette by Emily Post with Chelsea. I crack up at some of the seemingly useless information in there. If you have a wedding related question and can not find the answer there then you have yourself a serious predicament.

I am creating... new centers for my class. I think they're finished and everyone seemed pleased with their activity today.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you.
None tonight! Have a good week!

The One Where I Fall On a Scarf

2011-01-13T17:49:00.000-08:00

What a week! After a snow day Monday, I returned to work and had a sub so I could do some reading testing. If I said "I'm going to show you some words. I want you to read them out loud to me. If you don't know a word just do the best you can" once I said it 21 times.

Yesterday was Wednesday but it was our Monday in every way possible. We rolled along pretty well and I had some brownies that I had made for myself during the snow but had to get rid of so I had bagged them up for snack. I really try to avoid bribing my kids because I want them to do what is right because it's the right thing to do and because I say to do it but around 2:00 those brownies became my saving grace for the rest of the day. One thing the brownies were not able to save me from was sliding across the room on a child's size brown fleece scarf and ultimately ending up on the floor after pushing a group of four desks completely apart. I guess there are only so many times you can say "Pick your things up off of the floor because if I fall it will be bad news for you!" In the end it wasn't bad news for her and I got a lot of hugs and really nothing corrects your behavior like thinking you've killed your teacher.

Wedding Talk: Worst Dresses Ever!

2011-01-11T18:05:00.000-08:00

So Chelsea and I have been busy with the beginning stages of planning for the big day. We've looked at some venues today and spent the night just talking about things, looking at books and laughing.

Bridesmaid dresses always get a bad rap but I trust mine will be fine. For fun I wanted to share some horrible dresses. Enjoy!

Whiter than Snow

2011-01-10T18:12:00.000-08:00

I love the snow on this little bird house. So pure and simple.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Psalm 51:7

Fun Memories from 2010

2011-01-05T17:00:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! 2010, like any other year, was full of ups and downs but I can definitely say I've had worse years and overall 2010 treated me pretty good.

Close to the beginning of the year we had a day of white here in Marshall. Of course MISD was the last to announce that school was canceled so we were up late making a snowman in the dark and then went for a morning drive once we woke up and determined we didn't have to work. Snow made for a nice long weekend.

Spring came and we loved the warm weather and ate some crawfish!

There were two graduations in our family. Lydia from high school....

And Dad from fire fighter training...

Summer came and I celebrated the end of my first year teaching with a fun party with this wild group
And headed down south for a getaway with Mom and Lydia

My summer went from this...

to this....

Which resulted in about four weeks of doing nothing at my parent's house and Mom taking great care of me before heading back to school.

I've had a ton of fun with these kids...

and can't wait to see how much they learn by the end of the year!

One awesome experience this year was seeing Garth in Nashville this Christmas with my favorite friend.

And speaking of favorite friend.... she will be a married lady by the time 2012 rolls around!

So excited that the 2011 wrap up post will include a wedding!

Thanks for following this year! Be blessed!

Update

2010-12-01T15:18:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update.

If you thought my last post was an annoying advertisement, which it really was, I wanted to let you know that I was emailed my promotional code yesterday and ordered my cards today.
At checkout my total was around $70.00. After my code it went down to $8.00 to cover shipping!!!
Totally worth your time!

I'll share the card after they've been mailed

Oh Christmas Card, Oh Christmas Card....

2010-11-29T15:02:00.000-08:00

I have a great site to share with yall! I'm sure you are all familiar with Shutterfly but if you haven't checked them out this year for your Christmas card then you have got to go check out their precious photo cards. Here are a few of the possible cards you may be finding in your mail box from me very soon.

My favorites are cards where the picture is the main focus.

These are fun and a little funky. I love the pink!

These are classic and both beautiful

Pick out your own dream card here!

Also, are you looking for a great gift? Check out the calendars Shutterfly has to offer! Mom has one with pictures of my sister and I, some months with recent pictures, some with childhood pictures, some with a mix. Last year for Christmas, my cousin Shelby gave our grandparents a Shutterfly calendar with a photo of Daisy from every month of her first year. They travel a lot and this was a great way to display her picture all the time in their motor home. Everyone needs a calendar! The best part?! Personalize the dates with family birthdays and special messages!

Ok, one last thing! Are you planning a party this holiday season? Unfortunately after throwing a Halloween bash I won't be but if you know me you know I love to throw a good party. If you do have a party coming up either for Christmas or to ring in 2011, Shutterfly also has the invites you're going to be looking for!

Now... Why did I post about Shutterfly today? If you have your own blog, go here to find out! Happy shopping!

10 Thoughts and Things from Thanksgiving

2010-11-27T18:44:00.000-08:00

Happy belated Thanksgiving! I hope you had a wonderful long weekend celebrating your blessings. Because my weekend has been so long and full of late night shopping and way too much to eat, I'm going to blog a numbered list of what's been going on.

1. Aside from the Lord, my family, friends, health, home, and all other things very dear to me, I'm most thankful this week for a break from school. We were off all week and it was much needed. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel that is this semester and the weeks until Christmas will be full of lots of fun and memories with my kiddos.

2. Sunday night my friend Jennifer sent me a text asking me to babysit on Tuesday and Wednesday. I debated at first how to respond because part of me wanted freedom on my break but I wanted to see her kids and help her too. I told her I would so I kept Cate, Maggie and Walt for two days. They are so much fun! We went for a long walk around Jefferson on Tues and to see Tangled on Wed. My review on Tangled- super cute!

3. Wednesday night Mom, Lydia and I went downtown to see the lighting of the court house. This year is beautiful! Washington St. is covered in colored lights and there are two light shows every night where the court house lights are choreographed with a Christmas song. So much more to do and see than in years past.

4. Thursday was a lot of visiting and eating with family. Lydia and I were gearing up for Black Friday on and off all day.

5. Thursday night around 11 Lydia and I went to pick up our cousin Shelby and headed out to Wal-Mart. We did our shopping there and got everything we went for. We dropped Shelby off and went straight to Old Navy. They were over capacity (a little before 2:00 a.m.) when we got there so we waited outside in a short line until enough customers came out for us to be allowed in. We did our shopping and got in line to check out. When I say line I mean a LINE! The line wrapped around the perimeter of the store and we were in it for over an hour. The trade off was great deals! PJ pants for $5 and I got some jackets and sweaters that are priced at $34 and $39 for $15. My receipt says I saved $96 so I thought that was successful. I've been trying to get a big sack of clothes together to get rid of and now that I have some nice new things I will be more motivated to clean out some. Hopefully.

We got home around 4:30 Friday morning and went to bed!

6. We saw more family on Friday and today (Sat.) and now I'm exhausted!

(Sorry the pictures stopped after 2 days!)

7. My Christmas decor is up at my house and I'm loving my tree. I will do a special post with pictures soon. There's a few more things I want to grab and add before I take the official pictures.

8. Tomorrow is church and getting ready for the week. I was so ready to get out of the school last Friday that I left my room a mess so I'll be up there at some point getting that cleaned up and prepared.

9. I think I mentioned in a previous post that Chelsea's cousin was very sick. She passed away this week. Please keep them in your prayers.

10. In less than a month Chelsea and I will be headed to Nashville to see this guy. So excited!

Have a great week!

Simple Woman's Daybook

2010-11-08T16:59:00.000-08:00

For today Nov. 8, 2010

Outside my window... ~cool and dark. Today was the first work day since the time change and I couldn't help but take a little snooze before dinner when it was dark at 5:30

I am thinking... ~that I have so much to be thankful for! The Lord does provide and meet our needs.

I am thankful for... ~such a productive day. I got busy as soon as I got to work and by the time I left my desk and table were both cleared off and pretty much all important things done.

I am wearing... ~my very favorite Gap sleep shirt/house dress and leggings

In the learning room... ~10's and 1's, the th sound, plants, maps and globes, proper nouns and Thanksgiving

I am remembering... ~a fun weekend with my sister and family

I am going... ~to Nashville in 6 weeks! Chelsea and I got tickets to see a guy named Garth Brooks. Not sure if you've ever heard of him.

I am currently reading... ~a book borrowed from a friend about creative learning stations

I am hoping... ~my kids finish out the semester strong and they all continue to grow and learn. They are so precious to me!

On my mind... ~Janessa. She is Chelsea's cousin who is very sick with leukemia and septic shock. She's our age. Her and her family are constantly on my mind. My heart hurts so deeply for them. I put my cousin Shelby in that place and can not even comprehend it.

Noticing that... ~ the sun lit mornings make me much happier

From the kitchen... ~Parmesan crusted tilapia, brown rice, asparagus, broccoli, and homemade granola. Don't start thinking that I'm some kind of super weeknight cook. The fish was from the frozen seafood section at Wal-Mart. You know that little cooler between the meat and bread? 25 minutes in the oven and a couple of minutes on broil and it is amazing! I've also heard you can get a package with more for your money at Sams. Check it out!

Around the house... ~dishwasher almost full, washing machine going, Dancing the the Stars on tv

One of my favorite things ~nights on the couch

From my camera...~
Lots of little witches, super heroes and one police man. Happy Halloween!

For more daybooks go here

Loooong Week

2010-10-21T17:41:00.000-07:00

It has been the longest week! It may have something to do with the fact that most of the day Tuesday I thought it was Wednesday and then on Wednesday it really was so I basically had two Wednesdays if that makes sense. I was out of my room testing today and stayed busy all day making sure I finished so today went by quicker and tomorrow is Friday and I always find plenty for us to do on Fridays. A few times a year my grandmas sisters and their daughters, daughters in law, grand daughters, etc. get together for a weekend and that is this weekend. My cousin Shelby and I are just going for the day Saturday and I think we're going to this craft fair. I remember going with my mom and aunts and grandma to something similar, it was called Connie Hines, when I was very young but I haven't been in a very long time, unless you count Canton and you know I've been there plenty. Anyway, I thought I would just share some pics from my phone that I've taken lately (ignore the quality.) Have a good weekend!

A few fun things in my house right now-

My sweet across the hall friend Lauren married our PE coach a few weeks ago. They are loving married life and the wedding was beautiful! This is the picture I took to show my kids the Monday after the wedding. They thought it was way cool they were married!

Simple Woman's Daybook

2010-10-07T19:07:00.000-07:00

Outside my window... ~dark and quiet sidewalks are wet from a sprinkler left on too long this evening in an attempt to save the herbs in our front bed from this drought

I am thinking... ~about a parent of a student I talked with tonight. Her situation makes me sad but her spirits are high. Lord please bless these sweet single mamas.

I am thankful for... ~God's faithfulness. I often wonder where this stage of my life will lead me but he will be faithful always.

I am wearing... ~plain blue Old Navy tee with a cami underneath, jeans, and Sperrys

In the learning room... ~things are ready for us to hit it tomorrow

I am remembering... ~friends from college I haven't seen in too long and fun times we've had together. It's been fun to talk over the last day or so as one of our own had the first baby of our little group

I am going... ~to shower and get in bed just in time to turn on the news and hopefully be out before the weather comes on

I am currently reading... ~Hostess With the Mostess
and other fun entertaining and decorating pages in preparation for a little Halloween party

I am hoping... ~for rain to wet our dry ground

On my mind... ~my sweet friend Kristen who had a tiny babe named Reid this morning. I have no words to describe how happy I am for her and Mark

Noticing that... ~ I'm not a morning person and my parents are right when they say my tone can be harsh and hurtful at times.

Pondering these words... ~none at the moment!

From the kitchen... ~take out chinese. It's been a low week for me in the kitchen. I've felt very crafty as far as decorating my home but not very creative with creating meals. Will start fresh Monday

Around the house... ~things are decently tidy. Knowing the landlord was stopping in for something today was my motivation to put things in their place this morning.

One of my favorite things ~is waking up to a cool room and staying under the covers dozing until time to get up

From my camera...~
Baby Reid!

For more daybooks visit http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

Bullet Updates

2010-09-08T19:09:00.000-07:00

I have so much to update that this is the quickest way. I'm afraid if I tried to write it out you wouldn't stick with me until the end.

*We're almost through the 3rd week of school. My class is darling! They keep me smiling and laughing most of the time and make me want to teach them and be with them. I couldn't say that a lot of times last year. I can already see with the changes I made from last year plus having a group that works a little better together that they are going to learn so much an do so well.

*My sister left for college (LA Tech) last Friday. Mom and Dad took her and got her set up. I hated to miss the day but could not leave my class so soon into the year. I went on Monday and saw her room and she showed me around campus and town. It was all very nice and she seemed to be doing really well. She is doing rush this week and has a few sororities she's interested in and classes start tomorrow.

*Chelsea and I have a new roommate. Aaron moved on to a new career venture and it made sense for him to be in the Longview/Tyler area. Mom mentioned to some friends at Elysian Fields that we had a room and they put the new ag teacher, Jessica, in touch with us. She came and checked out our room, liked it, we liked her and she moved in. We haven't gotten to spend a lot of time together yet but I'm very thankful to have her. Chelsea will be traveling most of the fall and I do not like staying alone so the Lord sent Jessica to us.

*This weekend my 1st grade team will be going to Ft. Worth for the bachelorette party of one of our teammates. It's been such a strange week after being out on Monday! We've had to squeeze everything into four days and are leaving as soon as the last kid walks out Friday afternoon so we won't have the usual after school work time. I loved my three day weekend and can't wait for our trip but will also be glad to start next Monday back in the routine we started last week.

*I am amazed at how well I feel after my surgery. I am back to 100% after recovery. Before the surgery I had several symptoms from the cysts and fibroid that weren't fun but that I was living with. It's nice for those to be resolved.

*That's all for now! Will hopefully have some pics soon!

Getting Well

2010-07-28T22:22:00.000-07:00

Hey friends! I got a really random email today from a girl at some fashion message board site saying she had been to my blog and it was wonderful. I'm sure it was just a form email but I got to thinking that if she did actually read it that it's way behind and that I better get it caught up.

Some of you may have known that I've had a little surgery recently to remove an ovarian cyst and a fibroid from my uterus. It's really been a trying time for me because I was both anxious about having major surgery (they couldn't do it laproscopic) and really questioning God about why I was having these problems. I think God's answer might have been to a) remind me I'm not in charge of everything, even my body and b) to slow me down.

Earlier in the summer when it was determined that I did indeed need the operation it was scheduled for the very end of July, yesterday actually. I was a little anxious about it being so close to school starting but everyone told me that I should be fine so I was ok with that. Well in mid July on a Sunday evening I was at home watching tv and texting Mom and I told her that I was actually starting to look forward to the surgery because I was starting to have some pain from the cyst. I knew that was the cause of my pain because I have had cysts on and off since jr. high. I ended up calling the doctor on call that night because I was just nervous that if this cyst was so bad that it needed to be removed and was now causing me such pain like it never had before, I was worried what would happen if it were to be leaking or rupturing. I got the other doctor from my clinic that night (I love them both!) and treated it with pain meds and was to follow up with my doctor if I continued to have trouble. The pain did ease up and I was able to babysit Monday and Tuesday, even had my cousin and her boyfriend over for dinner Tuesday night. I was still uncomfortable some but assuming I just would be until the surgery and I was ok with that.

I settled in Tuesday evening watching Real Housewives and reading blogs like any normal night. I was getting pretty uncomfortable from some pain but was determined to watch my show. I called my mom when it was over and let her know that I was afraid something was up. It was much worse than the spell on Sunday. I ended up calling the doctor (bless his heart, it was late!) and he was much more concerned at this point and began to explain to me that the cyst could be turning in way that was restricting the blood flow to my ovary which would, without removal of the cyst, kill my ovary. Being a nearly 23 year old with no kids yet, this is not what you want to hear. He encouraged me to go to the er for an ultrasound to make sure this wasn't the case and to get some pain meds. Mom rushed over right away and we went. I was so uncomfortable that they gave me morphine and luckly the ultrasound showed normal blood flow. We were thankful but were also realizing we were not going to be able to stand me having random bouts with severe pain for two more weeks. I talked to my doctor the next morning and within the hour he had my surgery moved up to the next Monday.

We went in last Monday morning and got things under way. I went back quickly and woke up well enough to eat lunch and visit with a lot of sweet friends, while only having minimal pain thanks to my handy pain med pump. It's been funny to remember back on the visits I had during that time. They're a bit blurry in my memory! ha! Mom kept commenting on how I wasn't sleeping like she expected I would. I was very happy!

I went home to Mom and Dad's late Tuesday evening and they've taken great care of me. I can't thank them enough. It's been tough because I am independent and in charge and having to be cared for and not able to jump in the car and go to wherever I want isn't an easy pill to swollow. I reminded myself over and over how my sweet grandparents were both in this situation for much longer and in much worse pain. I was with them constantly during that time but having a little bit of a glimpse at what it was like for them gave me a much different perspective. Again, I'm very thankful for sweet friends who check on me and visit and my family who's taken care of me and put up with me being on their couch for all of this time asking for things.

I'm recovering really well. My mom has been back to work so I'm up and down during the day taking care of myself more and more. When I start huring and get frustrated I have to remind myself that I have a large incision and stitches on my ovary and uterus so there are three places trying to heal and it hasn't even been two weeks and overall I'm doing great. I've caught up on a lot of tv and have just relaxed.

Thank you so much those of you who kept up with what all was going on and visited, checked up on me, brought goodies, and prayed! It's been a great blessing to be loved on!

Next on my agenda- breaking out of this joint and getting to my classroom! I'm so excited for a fresh new year!!

Summer Update

2010-06-30T06:35:00.000-07:00

So.... What's been going on?

Other than a work conference in Dallas and a quick trip to Abilene, summer has consisted of a lot of lazy days here in Marshall.

I've been keeping Henry and Jackson while Caroline is at camp. This weekend they will trade out and she will come home and Jacks will go. Hopefully I won't have to work so hard to get someone to go to the pool with me when my girl gets back.

So I mentioned my conference in Dallas. This was my view and the whole week consisted of a lot of talk about teaching kids to read, cold conference rooms and some room service.
After a quick day in Abilene I rushed home because I was scheduled to be Minnie Mouse at Daisy's 2nd birthday party.
I think the picture says it all. It was a precious little party!

Thoughts from a Water Park

2010-06-14T20:48:00.001-07:00

Yay Summer!!

My summer started off in a rush as school ended and I headed to South Texas with Mom and Lydia. We've made a habit of sister/mom trips the past few years and they really are great fun.

We hung out around the river walk, did some shopping, ate goooood food but the biggest part of the trip was going to Schlitterbahn. We love water parks!

Mom and Lydia are big slide riders. I am too typically but on this trip I loved the tube river rides and laying out by the pools, because I'm the ultimate people watcher. Laying by the pool was where the thought for this post came about.

Here are a few random thoughts and questions from my lounge chair at Schlitterbahn:

Where is that mans wife and does she know he is wearing those goggles?

Roasted corn? Yes please.

Does the lady standing in the wading pool watching her kids play realize she's getting a little carried away with the dancing to Single Ladies?

That man does not need that turkey leg or ice cream cone!

More stairs?!

Hey! There's that guy again and his wife.... and he's still wearing the goggles!

And lastly, one more vacation observation that actually occurred at The Alamo:

Does the leash you have on your child really do any good when he's running so fast from you that you can't catch it?

Happy Vacationing!

PS: If you look to the right you will see a new widget that is the link to my "community." If you have no idea what Blog Frog is you should check it out. Tons of links to great blogs and discussions. If you're here because you came across me on Blog Frog, I'm glad you clicked over and hope you come back!

PPS: My in real life friend and blog friend Christina is probably the most educated person I know when it comes to food and she started a new blog just for that! Here is the link. I checked it out today and I know she'll have some great things on there!

Show us Your Life- Where you live: Marshall, TX

2010-05-20T20:21:00.000-07:00

Months ago when I was reading over the Show Us Your Life schedule, I remember seeing there was going to be a week dedicated to your town and I thought to myself that I would definitely love to do that. I was really excited when I realized it was this week!

I live in Marshall, TX, a small town in East Texas with about 23,000 people.

The center of our town is the downtown square which is home to the historic Harrison County Court House. The court house was built around 1900 and although isn't currently used was recently restored and will be open again soon. On the square and streets surrounding the center of town are several cute shops and restaurants. There are organizations who are very dedicated to making Marshall a great place to be and you can tell they've worked really hard to make downtown nice.

One of the main tourist attractions in Marshall is the Wonderland of Lights in December. There is an ice skating rink, carriage rides, home tours and a lot of lights everywhere.

I love downtown but another one of my favorite parts of where I live is Caddo Lake. Caddo is the only natural lake in Texas and Caddo Indian legend has it that the lake was formed from a giant flood but other theories suggest an earthquake. I love the narrow waterways and the cypress trees.

(Picture credit)

Another fun and interesting thing about our area that most people don't know is that Ladybird Johnson grew up in a beautiful plantation home between Marshall and Caddo Lake.

(Photo credit)

There's so much more I could say about Marshall but it would take a while. If you're interested in history and traveling to small towns, you should check out Marshall. Lots of B&Bs and good hotels. It would be a perfect weekend get away!

Crazy About...

2010-05-16T17:02:00.000-07:00

1. Every chance I have to get some sun! I layed out for a little while yesterday and got in the pool. It was amazing!

2. The new night shirt/lounge dress I got at Old Navy this weekend. So comfy!

3. A clean house with the last load of laundry in the dryer with the previous loads already put away

4. Steam coming from the dishwasher

5. A refrigerator full of groceries with plans to eat at home all week. I must stay strong!

6. A yummy lunch packed for tomorrow

7. Freshly pedicured toes

8. Roommates who are home. Wasn't a fan of being home alone for two nights.

9. The last week school with all 20 kids!

Loving Spring!

2010-05-01T19:05:00.000-07:00

It is so nice to be able to spend some time out side every day. We've used our front porch so much in the last few weeks. It's become my favorite place to be.
Last weekend Aaron got some crawfish and we spent all day outside getting some sun, eating, talking and listening to music. It looks like this is the only picture I have of the day. It's hard to take pics when your hands are dirty from crawfish.

School is winding down and I'm ready. Lately, I've been falling into bed every night and it's harder every morning to get up and moving.

Sorry for the short post. Just wanted to do a quick catch up. Have a great weekend!

Letter to Ronel

2010-04-23T18:40:00.000-07:00

For several months now I've been reading the blog of an amazing family, the Parkers, from Houston. They have 3 children of their own and had been in the process of adopting from Haiti when the earthquake hit. Their adoption was rushed and they were able to bring their son Ronel home. I read the blogs of others in the same situation and love to see how they have adapted their lives to love these little boys and girls who even though look different from them, are absolutely beautiful. I haven't watched The Blind Side yet because I know it will make me want to tell Aaron and Chelsea to bring every lonely teenager at Marshall HS home to spend the night, so you can imagine these little Hatian babies totally steal my heart!

I wanted to share this link to one of the best blog posts I've ever read. If you have a heart for adoption or kids for that matter, you have to read this! Such beautiful words.

Have a great weekend!

East Texas Easter

2010-04-19T15:16:00.000-07:00

I was so excited the week of Easter when I realized that the weather would be so nice and that it might actually feel like Easter!

I'm a little old fashioned and think that on Easter Sunday we should wear our Spring dresses and sandals. I know that what you wear to church isn't the important thing but it's a definite sign of the times to look around and see tee shirts and jeans at Easter Sunday morning church.
Dad's clothes looked nice. I can't say the same for his expressions!

When I was young I remember Easter at my grandparents, my mom's parents, on Sunday afternoon. We would eat lunch and hunt eggs with our cousins. With the passing of grandparents and few cousins who live around here things have changed some but we were able to have a great time with my dad's side of our family. I so regret not getting a group picture! When there's a little one around it's hard for them to not be the center of attention. Of course Daisy had to hunt eggs!

I love the sequence of the next few shots

It was the perfect evening to sit outside and visit. While we were out, Dad pulled out his fire department gear. Before long this is what went down. We laughed so hard! Poor baby was not feeling it!

Happy Spring!!

Would you Like Some Wine With that Chili?

2010-04-19T15:00:00.001-07:00

Well since this is my journal and chronicle of my life, just because I'm behind on posting doesn't mean that the things I want to post about will be forgotten. I have a few posts planned out in my head and hopefully will get them all done this week and be caught up.

A few weekends ago my friend Lauren (see previous post!) and her boyfriend and dad entered a chili cook off at the winery in Harleton, Enoch's Stomp. I didn't have any plans and it was a beautiful day so Chelsea and I decided to head out there and give their chili our votes.

I had heard of the winery before but had never been. I was so glad we went! It was so nice!

You could see forever, which is uncommon around here. I always feel so surrounded by trees that I think the view was my favorite part.

The band

The winning chili cooks and helpers!

We ate chili, drank wine, and walked around and visited. It was such a great afternoon! If you ever need a little Saturday get away, check out the wineries website here for their lunch menu and event schedule.

10 Quirky Things

2010-03-26T21:10:00.001-07:00

I was thinking tonight that I needed to post but there wasn't much this week to make a post out of. My week was really good by the way except for a small cold at the beginning of the week. My kids are working for bribes and I'm digging it. A few extra dollars on pepper mints, stickers, etc. is well worth me keeping what sanity I have left until the end of the year. Our class is over all so much happier too when everybody is working for something. We're all on our A game these days.

Ok back to what I was saying. I was thinking about something to write about and I was reading Beth Moore's blog and thought this was so cute. She listed 10 quirky things about herself. Here's mine

1. I can not stand to hear people eating or drinking near me. If I'm eating too it's not so bad but I can't stand it. Slurping is the worst!
2. Bad home decor makes me quiver
3. I don't like a lot of spicy foods
4. I tend to be so lazy with doing dishes that I throw away those Glad ware plastic dishes instead of washing them
5. On that same note, I've considered paying a house keeper to just fold my laundry
6. My family says I'm too negative. I have to be careful about that
7. I love the E*Trade baby commercials
8. Every time somebody says "sloppy joe" I sing the Adam Sandler Lunch Lady Land song in my head. "Sloppy joe, slop sloppy joe...."
9. I love to brush my teeth in the shower
10. I secretely (guess not very secret anymore) want to be some kind of employee for a TX Country music artist and spend all my time traveling to concerts. I don't know if such a job exists

Happy Weekend!

Mamas Don't Let Your Babies

2010-03-11T19:25:00.001-08:00

grow up to be cowboys

Texas Public Schools Week
Chuck wagon picnic

Weekend Wrap-up (On Wednesday)

2010-03-10T19:42:00.000-08:00

Friday night I went out with work friends for our 1st grade team member Lauren's birthday. Here's me and the birthday girl.

We ate at Posados and it's probably the only Mexican restaurant around that I don't have a staple, go to dish. Although I think I discovered it Friday night. Chicken fajita enchiladas are to die for! 2 cheese enchiladas with sour cream sauce and grilled chicken. Yum! I could eat sour cream sauce like soup though so that might have something to do with the fact they were so good as well as the fact I wear Spanx with my dresses. After we ate and visited, the couples got together for board games. I passed. I said it was because I was ready to change and lay down but truth be told, I was ready to put out the easter decorations I picked up at Hobby Lobby before the party. I'll show them to you in a seperate post.

Saturday was both lazy and busy at the same time. Mom and I had to go to a funeral at Crossroads that morning and picked up Lydia afterwards and went into town. We had lunch and went to Wal-Mart and the car wash. We got back to Mom and Dad's just in time to unload and load back up to go to Carthage for a family thing. We ate and played Last Word. Lydia and Daisy were the entertainment.

This week at school has flown by! We had a little change in our lunch schedule last week that we will keep through the end of the year. We are now going to lunch 15 minutes earlier so when we come back from our enrichment time, we only have about 15 before lunch which isn't enough time to really start anything. It's making the afternoons fly by because I have to do what I usually did in 30 minutes before lunch plus our regular afternoon activities. We stay busy! I've been able to open the windows and we've had a good time getting our work done and a little afternoon recess time too.

Spring Break is in 2 days! I hope it doesn't go too fast. I can't wait!

A Day in the Life

2010-03-05T14:16:00.001-08:00

Kelly's (I know I mention her in just about every post! Sorry she's my fav!) show us your life this week is what does your typical day look like. Here is a day in the life of a first year 1st grade teacher!

6:00- Alarm goes off for the first time. I hit snooze
6:10- 2nd alarm. Snooze againut
6:20- 3rd alarm. Snooze again
6:30- 4th alarm. Get up and get dressed and ready. Pack breakfast and lunch.
7:00- Leave home. I've gotten into a (bad) habit of stopping in at the corner store by my house in the mornings for a Diet Coke. Yikes! I need to stop that! My sweet friend Janie Jones is usually there too and I love seeing her in the mornings. She's so cheerful and always makes me smile. It gets my day off to a good start.
7:10ish- Get to school, sign in and go to my room. I don't have any morning duties right now so before I get my kids I pretty much just get things out and ready for the day and visit with whoever is around
7:45- Kids come in and start morning work. I stand at the door and meet them while I eat my orange and Special K bar (breakfast 98% of the time!)
8:00- Bell rings and we get started on calendar stuff and reading. We power through reading until 9:50 when the kids go to PE.
9:50-10:55- My conference period. I'm usually pretty productive but there are times when I waste this time and regret it later.
11:00- We get back to the classroom. We usually either watch a storybook video or I read something to them about a current event or our science or social studies topic.
11:15- Lunch
11:45- Recess!! My favorite thing!
12:10ish- Back to work. We do whatever science or social studies lesson or activity we have for that day
12:45- Math and math centers.
1:30- Tier 2 reading intervention. My kids have to work very quietly while I work with struggling readers. We have the kids grouped where we switch amongst the 4 of us 1st grade teachers. I love this time but hate how when one of us is out or we have some kind of afternoon activity (art, etc.) that it gets pushed aside. I wish it could be more consistant but I guess there's only so many hours in a day.
2:00- Second recess! My second favorite part of the day!
2:15- Writing. I love writing! We have great writing lesson plans and it's so fun to hear the ideas my kids come up with.
2:40- Pack up. This is the craziest time of the day. I'm trying to get folders stuffed with notes and papers and the kids behavior chart filled out and they're loud and usually bugging me and the ones who didn't have a good day are bombarding my table asking what color I'm putting on their chart. It's nuts!
2:50- I try to have everyone in their seat, the floor picked up of any trash and it quiet before I start calling everyone to leave. This is always my goal but happens about 80% of the time. Oh well. I have some sweet kids who don't leave until later who stay behind and clean up and help get things in order
4:00- I leave school!
4:15ish- Get home, get a snack, change clothes, and get on the computer to check blogs and facebook. I run any errands I have too.
6:00ish- Either fix something for dinner or go get something. Chelsea has had softball practice and Aaron has had soccer so our normal dinner routine is thrown off right now.
After dinner I usually lounge on the couch with my computer and watch tv until I get ready to shower and go to bed which is usually around 10:00.
I'm usually tired but not exhausted so I have to be careful and not stay up too late because I might not feel tired at night but will have a hard time in the morning.

This might have been totally boring but look at these sweet faces! Who couldn't have a great day with them?!

Just Call me Annie Leibovitz

2010-03-01T16:05:00.000-08:00

So excited to announce that I finally ordered a camera last night! I started thinking about a spring break trip to see family in Abilene and then a ton of fun end of the year activities at school, not to mention how boring my blog has gotten and decided I needed it. Who wants to look at someones blog or facebook page when there's no pictures? Not fun!

I picked out a Nikon L100 because I thought it was a great price and just fancy enough for me. Not too complicated but still a nice camera.

I paid extra for speedy shipping (when you're buying a camera whats a few extra dollars?) so it should be here by Wednesday and I'll be back in the swing of things.

Oh and since it is nice enough to come with a strap (the fist camera I've ever had that did) I had to get on Etsy and get this:

You know I love to go to Canton and to me Etsy is the on-line version. Love it! I got the strap cover from here if you're interested. She has super cute stuff and we chatted a little bit today due to some address confusion and she's sweet too!

One more thing- Today on Kelly's Blog I linked up with some other girls because she was having young (around college age) bloggers leave their link. Such a fun idea! I'm so excited to get my pj's on in a few minutes and look around at some of the blogs. If you're visiting from there I'm so glad you stopped by. Leave me a comment so I know who you are. If you're reading and fit the criteria but haven't linked up you should.

Have a great week!

Amazing Story!

2010-02-23T13:54:00.000-08:00

Hello! I don't have a detailed post about my life ready. It's been a hard week. Sprained ankle, messy house, runny nose, loud class, etc. have all about done me in for today but I was so uplifted by this. Kelly had it on her blog today as she was talking about how special a "snail mail" note can be to someone. I think the thing that touched me most is the guy in the video looks a lot like Dr. Sargent and this is totally something that he would do. Am I right girls? The rest speaks for itself. B

Checking In

2010-01-10T14:19:00.000-08:00

It feels good to be back on this side of a post being the writer and not just the reader. I had a great Christmas break and honestly was not wanting to get back at it last week but it turned out to be a fairly productive week. e. It didn't even cross my mind until I was out and about the Monday after Christmas that evWe had a couple of rough days with the kids (and me!) getting back into the swing of things but we're ready to power though and finish out the year. I'm so thankful for a job that allows plenty of personal timeryone else had to work. I'm very grateful.

My camera is missing so I'm disappointed that I don't have a lot of pictures to remember the last few months by and even more disappointed that I'm eventually going to have to get a new camera if it doesn't show up. I have no idea where it could be. I've looked all over my house, car and classroom. I'm checking craigs list all the time hoping to find a good used one for a decent price. Part of me wants to buy a bigger nicer camera that I know I will take care of and keep in a safe place but part of me also wants just another cheap point and shoot because I don't have the best track record when it comes to cameras. Oh decisions decisions.

It has been sooo cold this week! I don't think it got above freezing for 3 days. I spent a lot of evenings on the couch. Of course the night it rained it was nearly 40 so school went off without a hitch. I'm glad we didn't use a weather day though. I'll be thankful for those when they roll around. We still have a lot of winter left though so there's no telling what else we could have coming.

This weekend has been so lazy. Yesterday it was in the teens when I got up and I definitely didn't want to be out so I posted up in front of the tv and was so glad when Chelsea cooked breakfast. I didn't get up until about 2:30 and ran to Subway in my pajama pants and came home and took a nap while a True Life marathon was on. I finally got up and took a shower and Aaron, Trish and I went to Buffalo Wild Wings. It's hard sometimes to always be around couples but they are all so sweet to include me. I got straight in bed as soon as we came in and slept so good even after not doing anything all day. It was good to get out and go to church this morning and Janie and I had the best time teaching Sunday School. There is a little girl that I've had in VBS before and in my class when I interned at Elysian Fields who visited our class this morning. She is such a talker and we laughed the whole morning at all of the crazy things she had to say. She didn't know Janies name so she just said "Ms. Lynn" all morning long asking me questions and saying the wildest things. Her parents would probably be mortified at everything she told us. We were rolling! I'm going to eat with Mom and Dad and then head home. I might try to get some laundry done and folded but if it doesn't happen I'm not stressing.

Have a great week!

The Nester Tour

2009-12-13T18:55:00.000-08:00

It's me again with another home tour! I love looking at everyone's decorations and so I'm going to share mine even though it might seem short because well my house is not very big. Keep in mind I took all of these pictures with my phone so the quality isn't great. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Welcome to Burleson! Excuse the muddy boots on the porch. Our street doesn't go all out with outdoor decorations so we just did the berry wreath, small trees and of course we couldn't not wrap those columns. I think it's plenty for our little house and the trees are so cute lit up at night.
When you come in you'll see my favorite shelf. We don't have a mantle so the knobs on this shelf worked perfect for our stockings. I got these at Kohls for too cheap to pass up at the very beginning of the season. I dug and dug to find a Lee Ann L, an Aaron A and a Chelsea C. We keep the berry garland on this shelf all the time and it just happens to go with our berry theme. I love the deer and you can't see it good but they even have berries on their antlers. Gotta love the Hobby Lobby tree too!

This is our dining room. These old closet doors were a cheap and easy way to add something to the big bare room in the middle of the house. The berry garland matches the wreath on the door and I picked up the box and tree to go in here as well. Since I took this picture, I've started hanging our Christmas cards here too and it is sooo cute!

Christmas trees are hard to photograph but here's ours. I hope to get a lot of new ornaments and things at the end of the season to add a lot for next year. Hopefully I can keep this tree for a long time. I love it!
Of course we kept with the berries and added some poinsettias.

The kitchen doesn't have a lot but this sign is so fitting for a house of three teachers. It says "Please snow I'm a teacher." I found this at Canton after Christmas last year and forgot I had it until I came across it a few weeks ago. I was so excited! It's the cutest thing!

Thanks for stopping by! I'm so excited to see everyone's decorations! Merry Christmas!

Show us Your Tree!

2009-12-04T14:21:00.000-08:00

At Kelly's Korner today she is doing a show us your Christmas tree. I was so excited to post mine! Our house has very high ceilings and so I knew as soon as I started thinking about Christmas I knew that a tall tree would look so great. I picked out a tree at the beginning of the season and even though I looked around some I ended up coming back to it and I love it!

I looked for a long time to try to decided on a theme and after Chelsea (my roommate for you newbies) got a berry wreath for the front door I decided to go with the berries all around and threw in a few poinsettas.

I hope to hit some sales after Christmas and get some cute fun stuff for next year.
I love our simple first grown up tree!

Oh and something a little extra. Can you believe we had snow in Marshall today? Of course it didn't stick but my little first grade babies were going nuts! We went to the playground and they ran around singing Jingle Bells the whole time. So sweet! I even had a few kids ask me if since it was snowing if that meant it was Christmas today. So funny!

Happenings

2009-11-30T15:36:00.000-08:00

Ah it's been so long! I'm not even going to get into how I never post and blah blah blah because I feel like I do that every time I post.

Today we started back to school after Thanksgiving break. I spent the whole week at my parents house. I know they only live 20 minutes away and I could have just gone over there when I wanted but there's something about being in your own house that makes it hard to relax. I knew that if I stayed at home in town I would be constantly on the go cooking, cleaning, running around town, spending money, etc. so I decided it would be like a little vacation to just get out of here for a few days. The two times I did stop by my house I was so glad that I was away! Chelsea was home with her family and Aaron was staying here alone. Apparently all he did all week was go to football practice, eat out and play his new Playstation 3. My cute little house was a man cave for 6 solid days. I'm glad he enjoyed his break though.

I did a lot of relaxing but had a ton of fun while I was out of school too. One of my favorite things to do is shop alone. I love to shop with my friends and my mom but when I'm alone I can totally do what I want to do and take how ever long I want doing whatever I want. Monday I went to Hobby Lobby and the boardwalk but traffic in Shreveport was horrible for some reason Monday afternoon and I decided that I was not in the mood to be stressed over it so I came home early. I helped Mom get ready for our Thanksgiving company on Tuesday and Wednesday and we cooked and entertained on Thursday.

Now a lot of people have their own opinion about Black Friday but all I have to say is you can't dis it until you try it. We didn't go until just a few years ago and Mom and I have gone every year since. We've never gone after any big ticket electronic but have always gotten some smaller things (GPS, clothes, kitchen stuff, movies, etc.) for great prices. Not to mention there's just something invigorating about getting up before dawn and mingling with hundreds of fellow crazed shoppers. This year we did Wal-Mart and Pottery Tent and then seperated and Mom went to Bealls before she had to work and I went to Shreveport to GAP, Hobby Lobby, Target, Kirklands and back to Wal-Mart for some small topiary Christmas trees I had forgotten to grab that morning. It was a great day!

We had a late Thanksgiving celebration with my mom's side of the family Saturday night and after that I headed home. Aaron had done pretty good at cleaning up but between a little straightning up Saturday night and Sunday afternoon everything is back in order and we were ready for our routine to be back to normal today. Supper is in the oven, the Christmas tree is on, Modern Warfare is being played on the PS3. Everythig is right with the world here in Marshall.

13 1/2 school days until Christmas vacation!

Lasts

2009-10-26T19:20:00.000-07:00

So I know I rarely post twice a month, much less twice a day, but today is an exception. A few minutes ago I got in bed and it's part of my nightly routine to check my facebook and blogs before I go to bed. Kelly's blog is kind of a starting off point for me and when I got on I saw she had posted a new post tonight and yall, it is good!

If you don't go over and read it (which you totally should) the gist is that though weaning Harper and the scare of her best friend being really sick today she started thinking about life and taking advantage of moments because you never know when that moment can be the last.

It's funny that came up today because just this weekend Chelsea and I had a very brief conversation with just those same feelings. It was homecoming weekend for ETBU so we went to the parade Saturday morning and she and Matt to the football game that night. At around 10:00 we all met up downtown to see friends that were in town. The boys played pool and the girls sat around and visited. It was a little strange because it all felt so familiar but isn't the part of our life that it used to be. We don't see those people every weekend anymore. We don't go to that restaurant every weekend anymore. We used to worry about papers and tests and now we worry about teaching and coaching.

As we came in the door at home in the wee hours of Sunday morning, we grumbled at how late it was and how tired we were and even laughed a little at how a few hours ago we felt like we were teenagers and now we just felt old. Chelsea said, "How long do you think we can keep this up?" I laughed and didn't really have an answer but the thought was a little scary.

Life takes us places. For me it hasn't taken me very far as far as physical miles are concerned but as far as maturity and experience I've been though a lot. Friends have changed, living arrangements have changed, and I've seen close friends hurt. I've lost the grandparents who partly raised me and seen my family hurt over that. All that said, I've also seen God give my family a peace and understanding. He's also given us the baby my grandma dreamed of.

I know I've rambled but what I really mean to say is that we all need to be reminded sometimes that we don't know God's plans. We don't know because we're not in charge. He gives us sweet moments that we should treasure because we don't know when hurt will come one day and the memories of those moments get us through.

Have a great week!

Simple Woman's Daybook

2009-10-26T17:18:00.001-07:00

FOR TODAY Monday, October 26

Outside my window... Very wet and cold. When will the rain stop? Besides being an overall pain it makes it so hard to get up in the morning.

I am thinking...I'm tired of being congested and might not be far from some PM cold meds, a shower and watching tv in bed

I am thankful for... a warm dry home, my friends and my job

From the learning rooms...the /ng/ sound, simple fractions, plants, and family

From the kitchen...every man for himself tonight. I got home late and just had a few snacks, Chelsea did the same and Aaron had Sonic. Will attempt to cook tomorrow night.

I am wearing... jeans (paid $1 to United Way to wear them to work today) and long sleeved thermal striped shirt with a Monarch Crest, Colorado hoodie

I am creating... a well run organized classroom. We've had 40 some odd school days and I'm still working on it

I am going...to one day have all of my clothes and towels washed and put away all at once even if just for an hour. I have more clean clothes at the moment than I have in a while which has left me with a hanger shortage so most of them are in baskets stashed behind my closet door.

I am reading... Junie B. Jones Has a Monster Under the Bed to my kids.

I am hoping...this congestion goes away and doesn't turn into anything worse. Considering I missed two days of work a few weeks ago with fever, respiratory, sinus and ear infections I really can't afford anymore illness.

I am hearing...Legally Blonde on TV. Chelsea and Aaron are both for whatever reason silently enthralled in it as if they've never seen it before.

Around the house...Things are fairly clean. We usually clean up pretty well on the weekends and let things go a little bit during the week.

One of my favorite things...funny things my kids say. Today in a conversation about things we do at night, somehow things got out of hand quicker than I could gain control and one of my little girls said "My granny had a party and they must have been drunk or something because she was dancing and doing all kinds of stuff that she's way too old to be doing." I had to change the subject while I had this mental picture of drunk dancing granny. They're too much. Just too much.

A few plans for the rest of the week...a normal school week with the exception of a little fun for Halloween on Friday. CANTON IS SATURDAY! I'm so excited to go with my mom and aunts. Chelsea has opted to stay behind. Don't tell her but I think I hit The Arbors a little too hard and fast for her. She's scared she can't keep up.

A picture I want to share... This is probably my favorite fall picture ever! Two years ago Chelsea and Matt dressed up as pilgrims and came to my Trinity class. You'll notice that Henry is standing to the right. I asked him a while back if he remembered when the pilgrims came to our class. He looked at me really annoyed and said, "I know that was the girl in the blue car." Well then.

Whats on my Mind

2009-09-28T19:59:00.001-07:00

Just a few quick thoughts for tonight.

1. Why did I look at pictures from the beach on a weeknight at the end of September? I just stirred up all kinds of emotions that make me not want to go to work tomorrow and stay home and play with all of my little ones.

2. How was it that our TPRI and team planning day were both last week leaving my kids with a sub for 3 days? And how in those 3 days did my children conceive the idea that they were in charge?

3. Why is Canton only once a month?

4. Why do I have such a hard time making the effort to spend time and visit with friends I love? On that same note, why when I have a beautiful house with plenty of room do I miss living at Marcy's?

5. Why am I thinking so deep when I should be sleeping?

Enough venting for tonight. This sounds really depressing! My mom has always laughed at how Collin, my uncle who is only 6 years older than me, and I always think the worst things when we are tired at night. Every situation looks awful and hopeless to us right before bed but yet 99% of the time turn out perfectly fine come morning.

What I'm looking forward to the rest of the week-
1. My kids getting back into the swing of things and our classroom being a happier place than it was today.
2. Good behavior reward afternoon Thursday
3. Early release and a Mav football win on Friday
4. Canton with Chelsea on Saturday
5. A Tornado Potato while at Canton on Saturday
6. Loving on my Sunday School babies Sunday

Have a great week!

Thoughts From the Nail Salon

2009-09-26T10:04:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I thought I would be very tech savvy and attempt a blog post from my blackberry while at the nail salon. If you stopped by before now you noticed that all that ever became of that post was the title, which I have conveniently left the same. I should have known it wouldn't go well considering earlier this morning I was unable to successfully troubleshoot an incompatible cartridge message on my new printer.

I was at the nail salon this afternoon for two reasons. 1- I got my first pay check yesterday and my toes had been waiting on this day for months, and 2- my sweet sweet friend Jamie's wedding was tonight. She was so beautiful and the whole night was so nice.

Ok on a totally different note from what I usually blog about, I got to thinking today as I was cleaning up around the house and getting ready for the wedding that I wanted to share some of my favorite life saving items that I am constantly buying at WalMart and Target that get me through the day. I've been wanting to do a post like this for a while and never have gotten around to it.

1. Noxzema Bikini Razors
I love love love these! I even use them under my arms sometimes because they are so much easier to control than the wide razors.

2. Tervis Tumbler
These cups are insulated and great to carry around in the car with you while you're running aroudn town. I kept a Diet Coke in mine at all times through the summer. I love that they don't sweat and make a mess. They also make lids for them too.

3. Flip Side Crackers
These things are the best! I keep a box in my classroom and love to snack on them during my conference period or when I'm working after school. They're a mix of pretzel, cheese crackers and club cracker all in one. They're delish!

4. Rehab Party at the Hard Rock
I've always loved tru TV and basically all reality tv. Rehab is a huge party at the Hard Rock in Vegas and this is the behind the scenes reality show. It's dramatic and funny. We're loving it. Other shows we're wathing this season- The Office of course, Black Gold and Glee.

What are your favorite things right now? I want to do more post like this soon!
Have a great rest of the weekend!

Making the Teacher Dream

2009-09-16T17:57:00.001-07:00

You know it's been a long week when you go to bed on Friday night and as soon as you close your eyes begin to have visions of your classroom with every hand raised and every little voice yelling "Ms. Thomas, Ms. Thomas, Ms. Thomas!" This is actually what happened to me last Friday night. I immediately opened my eyes and willed myself to make it stop.

This morning when the hand raising and name calling got to be too much I told my kids about the dream and that I didn't want that to happen again. Fast forward to this afternoon during an extra loud stretch and I hear a little voice from the front yell, "Yall be quiet!! You'll make the teacher dream!!" Gotta love them!

Simple Woman's Daybook

2009-09-13T19:48:00.001-07:00

For today, Sunday September 13, 2009

Outside me window... dark and wet. It poured this evening and we sat on our porch and told stories of the weekend.

I am thinking... that it's crazy that I check 5-10 blogs a day and don't update my own near enough

I am hoping... for a good nights sleep. I need it to start the week.

I am wearing... A Boys and Girls Club tee and sleep shorts

I am thankful for... my family, friends, cozy house, dish washer, washer and dryer

From the kitchen... a ton of leftovers! We've eaten out all weekend and I think there is some kind of doggy bag from every meal.

I am creating... a well managed classroom. There will be a few changes in store for my little ones when the bell rings in the morning.

I am reading... nothing but lesson plans and blogs. Things have been a little too crazy for me to start any reading for pleasure.

I am hearing... my fan and traffic in the distance. By 9:30 things start shutting down around here and it gets so quiet and relaxing.

Around the house... things need to be picked up and put away and laundry needs to be folded. Everyone is in bed so the chores will wait.

One of my favorite things... sleeping. Can you tell it's bed time?

A few plans for the rest of the week... thankfully not much. We're starting the fourth week of school and I still don't have my stamina built up to where I'm not completely drained by the end of the day.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you... my new phone. If you keep up with me on facebook or twitter you'll remember that I joined the world of the BlackBerry this past week, much to Kristen's dismay as apple should really put her on an iphone commercial. Anyway, I love love love it so far! The navigation app got me to a friends house Saturday night and having constant access to useful(less) information via the www is just about as good as it gets for me.
More daybooks here

1 Week Down

2009-08-28T22:16:00.000-07:00

I survived the first week is about all I can say right now. My kids are sweet but keep me on my toes. Monday was total chaos. I came home thinking that a) I don't think I could ever be prepared enough for that and b) I'm working toward being an intervention/dyslexia teacher so I don't have to deal with supplies, parents and the first day of school. Compared to Monday though, Tuesday was a breeze. The kids behaved and I felt like I was organized and efficient. The rest of the week has been good too other than the fact that the kids are getting a lot more comfortable which means a lot more talking. There are some big attitudes in those little bodies.

I have one who is a roamer and gets up and aimlessly walks around the room every so often. When I call him out on it he'll say, "I was just coming to hug you!" I always laugh, hug him and send him back to his seat. I can't help it. Of course I have a few who are just going to enjoy themselves and have a good time no matter what. It's a party all the time. I love that they have such a zest for life and school but Miss Thomas needs a small break sometimes. Here's some pics of my classroom finished. These were taken last week. It looks a lot more "lived in" now.

Enough with school. There are other things going on. Maverick football started tonight. Chelsea and I took two girlfriends and we had a good time visiting and even though the Mavs didn't pull it off tonight, it was a great game.

So who knew Randy Travis was coming to Shreveport in September? Mom asked me if I wanted to go and I said yes so fast that I didn't realize it was his gospel stuff. Don't get me wrong. I do love Randy Travis in any genre and know all of this gospel songs because they are on constant repeat in the dollar store by Kroger but I was really hoping to hear Digging up Bones. Speaking of which, I've been strangely into music from my childhood here lately. I think Aaron and Chelsea might be wondering what's going on. I found out last week that Mark Chestnut was playing nearby but sadly it was on my Meet the Teacher night. It truly was a hard decision. Hearing All my Old Flames Have New Names live or the career that I'll have forever?

I'm officially rambling and done now. Will update again soon!

Changes

2009-07-27T18:12:00.000-07:00

Summer is going by so quick but there are so many fun things happening around here. Most importantly, we found a house! A few weeks ago I got an email from Dad that said our friend Doug had gotten some info about a house for rent and gave me the phone number. I drove down the street, didn't think it was a very good neighborhood and didn't think about it anymore. Last week, Chelsea was in town and after a few frustrating days of looking I figured I would call and see what happened. We met the lady at the house and walked in and it was furnished. The house was perfect but we don't need or want somebody else's furniture. We hurried through the visit and pretty much marked it off the list and went to meet a real estate agent we've been working with at a house about nine miles out of town on a huge piece of property that was beautiful. We really liked having the space and the layout and room size was perfect for us but the location and price wasn't so great. On Thursday as we contemplated moving forward with that property, the lady called me about the furnished house offering to move the furniture out. The rest is history. We move in on Saturday. I'm so relieved for this part of our grownup life to be over. Well, over for a year at least.

My classroom is coming along really well. I'm working on lesson plans some (not near as much as I should be) and starting to get some organizational stuff put together. I'm really getting nervous that I'm going to not think of something important but I know everything will eventually pan out fine. My sweet Aunt Kim made the valances for my windows and I'm so sad I don't have a picture but they turned out really cute.
Caroline put my calendar up the other day and I hung the alphabet. We had to take a picture of our first official finished project. At just 9 years old, she's all about some classroom decorating. She asks me everyday if we're going to work at my school today. I'll post more pics hopefully by the end of the week when I get some more done up there.

Lastly, I'm so excited about the way cheap, easy and quick project I did that I just have to share. I spent part of Saturday morning in Hobby Lobby. While I was wandering around I saw this lamp. I've looked online trying to find a picture of it but couldn't. Anyway, the base was black and the shade was red. Around the top and bottom there was a thin leopard print piping and a leopard print ribbon tied from the top the bottom. It was darling! I immediately decided that I was adding red and leopard print to my current brown and white room decor. I was set on the lamp until I picked it up and saw the $60+ price tag. I tried to think of ways to make it work but couldn't bring myself to buy it. It wasn't long before I was in "make it myself mode." I went right over the ribbon section and snatched up a spool of leopard and headed across the parking lot to Pier 1. They had throw pillows and lamps on sale and with a little bow tying this is how it turned out. Sorry for the poor quality (and mess on my table.) It's from my phone.
I wish the lamp shade was red but I think with the red pillow and my brown and white duvet it will be perfect. I've had a lot of room designs through the years and I'm thinking this one just might be my favorite. I'll post lost of pics when it's done.

Dodge These Bullets

2009-07-13T16:49:00.000-07:00

There is so much to update I think the easiest way to go about such an extensive post is to just go with the bullets. Sorry it's the best I can do for today.

Chelsea, Aaron and I are still looking for a house. We found out today we were too late applying for the one we wanted. Starting the search over at square one.
I realized last week that I could buy a house and make payments for what I'm paying in rent. The idea of renting knowing I will probably be in this same position in a year makes me ill. Nobody will give me a loan to buy though so I guess it's not the right time.
I'm house sitting a few nights over the next two weeks. I told Christina it wasn't a great time for me to stay the whole two weeks but would come in and out. Until I got here a little while ago I forgot how much I love it. I might stay more than I planned.
I moved my stuff to my classroom but still have a lot of work to do. I plan on working up there tomorrow. I'm fixing to start working on lesson plans and have in service next week. It's all really here and happening quick.
In anticipation of moving sometime in the near future I did a huge over haul on my closet last week. I still feel very accomplished about that.
In spite of the triple digit temps I have a Canton craving like never before. I "need" some things in a bad way. My mom refuses to go in the heat and I'm pretty sure my friends will agree but it's really all I want to do for my birthday.
Cate, Henry, Maggie and Walt are taking swim lessons this week. Half of Walt's lesson today was spent clinging to me as I sat on the edge of the pool and the teacher tried to coax him into the water while he was yelling, "I want to see Ms. Eee Ann!" and reaching for me. I snuck away and I'm not sure how much was really accomplished.
Potty training update from my last post: Several tee tees on the potty but no number twos. Lots of accidents....
My sister is crazier about her summer job at Water Town than I thought any one person could ever be about anything involving work. Mom had to make her take a day off yesterday to rest or she would have gone in. She's so tan it looks like she needs a bath and her hair is completely sun bleached white.

Did you survive that? Sorry for the lack of pictures and the overall lameness of my blog lately. I'm looking into ways to spice things up and motivate myself to do better. Keep checking back!

Weekly Update

2009-06-29T08:58:00.000-07:00

After a week at the beach with the Trueloves, we're all back home and real life has returned. Actually, it's returned for most of us, but there are some changes in store for Walt. This morning we've started a little potty training. I read Mckmamas potty training tips this morning and she suggested not putting any bottoms on them at all but considering I have 4 other kids here I can't watch him close enough to make sure he doesn't go on the floor in his room and I never know. For that reason, he's wearing training underwear so I'll know if he's gone. So far nothing. We'll see how things go. I feel like this might be the very beginning of a long process.

*Update: While I was typing this I heard the girls screaming and went in to find he went in the toy room. I have the timer set for 20 minutes at which time we'll sit on the potty again. Oh what a day this is going to be.

In other news, I'm a litte too young to be a die hard Michael Jackson fan but I love celeb gossip so I've been stuck on TMZ all week. Mom and I were talking yesterday about how our society hurts celebrities by putting them in a fish bowl (and I'm guilty of playing into every bit of it.) MJ started so young and was famous his whole life to the point that he couldn't have been normal if he had wanted to. It's a shame that being a person of noticed talent can result in such a sad and tragic life and even sadder that there are three kids left behind.

I can't believe that July 4 is this weekend. Our family from Abilene is coming in and we're having a gathering at my uncles house. I'm looking forward to a laid back weekend with them. I would love to go to the fireworks in Shreveport. The traffic is crazy I'm sure so I don't know if we'll attempt it but I think it would be tons of fun.

Last but not least, can you believe whos birthday was on Friday?
Happy Birthday Kristen! I thought of you out on the beach. I love you! Have a great year!

Summer Lovin

2009-06-17T12:20:00.000-07:00

I'm an awful blogger. It's been over a week now and I haven't finished talking about Jamaica and haven't blogged about anything else either. In case you can't tell, I'm not worried. I did post all of the Jamaica pics on facebook yesterday and you can go see them here if you wish.

Work is in full swing and we're getting our summer routine down. We're able to get a lot more time in at the pool this year because Walt is so much more independent. Last year we didn't take him at all and could only go when there was someone else to watch him. The girls have had some friends join the country club this year so they almost always have somebody to play with.

Bible school is this week and is going really well. I'm teaching second grade and all together there's about 20 kids that we split up into two groups so I've had around 10 all three nights. The theme is Boomerang Express, this Australian train thing. I was a little skeptical about it at first because it is definitely different from any of the themes we've had before but it's turned out pretty cute. I've been praying all week that the Lord would help me as I get worn down and unmotivated and every night when we the kids get there and we get started I'm always glad I'm there.

I'm starting to get as excited as the kids about going to the beach Saturday. A few months ago the Trueloves asked me if I would want to go on their family (Kurt's family, parents, brother and his family) beach trip. I don't turn down a trip to the beach even if there is some babysitting involved. I would be babysitting at home so why not babysit at the beach? Seven whole days of sun. Gotta love it. I know my dermatologist will in about 10 years.

Have a great rest of the week!

Jamaica Post #1

2009-06-09T06:37:00.000-07:00

It's a quiet morning around here so I thought I would do a quick Jamaica post.

We got there on Monday afternoon and didn't do much but ride to the resort, ate a lot because we were starving and then went to the beach.

On the way to the resort

The views from the balcony of our room

The pool at sunset

Tuesday we stayed by the pool except for when we walked down to the local craft market right down the beach from the resort. We expected everything to be really cheap but even after you talked them down it wasn't much different than the upscale shopping we did later in the week. Not to mention the pressure they put on you to look at their goods. It was ok to visit once but we had no desire to go back. I didn't take any pictures down there. You're not missing out on much.

Later that afternoon we went snorkeling on this boat.
It was the three of us and two boys about Lydia's age plus the guide. We got to see the coral and a lot of cool fish. It was all fine and pretty until Lydia and I got sick. The water was way rough and did not mix with our motion sickness issues. I wasn't feeling so great but didn't say anything because Lydia tends to make fun of me when little things make me sick. It was only a few minutes later she looked up at me and said "I think I'm going to be sick." At that point I looked up and realized we were a long way from the boat and still had one more reef to stop at before swimming back. Lydia ended up throwing up over the side of the boat when we got back to it and I just felt nasty for a while. After we took a nap we ordered some room service we felt much better. The guide took Mom's underwater camera while we were out there and took a lot of pictures. I'll be excited to see how they turned out because it was beautiful on the reef.

We had late dinner reservations that night at the little steak house on the resort. I ordered the pork chop and it was delish! Mom and Lydia both had steak which looked good too. We spent the rest of the evening reading in bed and watching tv.

I'll post more later but at least this got me started. Wednesday we went to Dolphin Cove and Dunns River Falls and that is a big post in itself so I'll get to that soon.

I'm watching the Roth kids this morning while Marcy is at an appointment and I think a trip to the pool is in order for this afternoon when she gets home. I also need to go by the real estate agent office and attempt to try to find my roomies and I a house. My hope was that they would find something while I was out of town last week and I would come home to a done deal. No such luck. Now it's my turn to work on it for a while. I know we'll find something, the looking is just so much work. I am excited to see what we come up with. Anyway, have a great day!

We're Home!

2009-06-07T07:33:00.002-07:00

After a great relaxing week, we got home to Elysian Fields last night at about 11:00. We had a wonderful time! We swam with dolphins and sting rays, climbed Dunns River Falls, snorkeled, saw some pretty scenery and relaxed by the pool a lot. I'm so glad we were able to go! We had a wonderful time!

I'm uploading pics as I write this and will be posting them in the coming days. I would love to sit here for the rest of the day and relive our trip for you but a family event at the church where my grandpa grew up and Miss Caroline's 9 year old birthday party are on the agenda for the day and I want to do the pictures and stories justice when I do post them all. Here's a quick preview to get you excited to see the rest.

We can go to the tropics...

2009-05-30T09:34:00.000-07:00

If you need me between now and next Saturday I'll be in Jamaica.

Have a great week!

Pomp and Circumstance

2009-05-26T16:12:00.000-07:00

As we sat in the sanctuary at Trinity this morning I was overcome by the complete cuteness of the 4 year old class as they graduated from preschool. I was so proud because I have had most of them in my afternoon class at some time or another but there are those few who I've kept at home, fed, read to, snuggled with and tucked into bed. They are so grown up. So fun and creative.

As their teachers called their names individually they each walked to the microphone and said what they wanted to be when they grew up. Maggie aspired to be a vet while Henry had decided on police officer. Annabelle's response that she wanted to be a mommy moved some to tears. It was such a fun and special time. We all held back tears as they sang "I am a Promise" to close the program.

Walt watching Maggie walk by

Maggie, Henry and their class

Ada and her class

Henry

Maggie

In continuing with the theme of growing, changing and moving to bigger things, I got to work at the preschool after the graduation and found a huge surprise lunch and gift in my honor for graduation and ending my time at Trinity. Of course we had a ton of food...

Graduation hat cookies
Some of everything else

The biggest surprise was the wonderfully thoughtful gifts that everyone got together and got for me.
They put together this beautiful basket of more goodies than I could name here and a very generous gift card to the teacher supply store as well as a huge stack of carpet squares for my kids to sit on in my classroom. I was overwhelmed by their thoughtfulness. Tomorrow is my official last day and I'm sure it will be a bit emotional but I'll know that my friends will still be my friends, we'll just be working in different places. Thanks so much guys! I love you!

Redneck Yacht Club

2009-05-25T07:09:00.000-07:00

The potential for poor weather didn't deter Doug, Amber, Lydia and I for heading out to the lake yesterday afternoon. It rained on and off the whole way out but it turned out to be a beautiful day.

My dad went to work for Doug's dad a few years ago and he's been a great friend ever since. Now sweet Amber is around too and we always have a good time.

I'm so excited for summer! Happy Memorial Day!

The Nanny Diaries

2009-05-21T17:46:00.001-07:00

I've started two posts in the past two days that I haven't finished. Oh well. Life has been a little crazy.

Us Trinity teachers and kids are on the count down to three more days of school.
We teachers pass each other around the building and there's always a "we're going to make it" or "3 more days!" After we're off on Monday, hopefully Tuesday and Wednesday will go fast.

I know most of you know that I babysit a lot and even though I've referred to myself as their "nanny" on occasion, these last two days I've really felt quite nanny-ish.

Last night Jackson had a double header so Caroline, Henry and I went to the country club to swim for a bit. Even though it was a little chilly we swam for an hour or so (I did a lot of lounging) and then started drying off to go inside the pro shop for some ice cream. As soon as I got Hen's towel out and started drying him off I looked up to see the pro shop guy locking the door. I could have gone into the bar side and gotten some ice cream but since it was Wednesday night dinner and my appearance was quite shabby, we opted to run through Sonic on the way home. I ordered each child a dollar menu candy sundae which to Henry's dismay came with whipped cream and cherry. His melt down resulted in a conversation about being thankful and an explanation about how I can easily remove that part when we get home. After I told him that I would gladly eat his sundae if it was so awful he decided he would let me fix it. We got home, I scraped whipped cream, kids showered, we read Dr. Seuss and they were in bed before Jacksons second game even started. Marcy, the queen of our domain here on Victory Drive, came home so I went to the nanny quarters, finished my book and fell asleep.

This afternoon resulted in some of the same, minus the swimming and ice cream of course. Henry stayed at the preschool with me until the rest of the kids had been picked up and then we walked over to the church where his mom and Jennifer, the queen of our Jefferson palace, were working. Cate, Caroline and Catherine were waiting for me to take them to gymnastics and Walt was playing in the nursery. We grabbed him, and all headed for Gym Fit. When the princess' class started I got Maggie, whose class had just ended, and headed off to Jefferson to drop her and Walt off to their dad. I was running right on time but Maggie was fussy and hungry so we had to go through McDonalds where of course I had to get something too. When we got to their house we ran in and I ate quickly and got back on the road. I boogied back to Marshall arriving at Gym Fit eight minutes late. I walked up to the doors and poor Caroline was sitting in the hall way waiting patiently for me. When I walked up and could see those little pink and white cheer shoes sticking out from around the corner, I knew I had the potential to be in trouble. I apologized in excess and after a few hugs she promised she wasn't mad at me. We came home and met Marcy with the boys before she headed out to the rest of her plans for the evening. We've all had a few cookies and are relaxing together here in the castle for a little while before bed time.

Marcy and Brendan are planning to get away over night this weekend. The kids all have reservations at friends houses so after they are all gone on Saturday morning, I'll be free for the weekend with the exception of little Fergie dog (that's a true royal name isn't it?) She's had a bacterial infection this week that has brought about some "funky poo poo" as Marcy would explain, so I don't know which I would prefer- three busy kids or a pooping chihuahua. Oh well. Such is life here at the kingdom.

5 Minute Post

2009-05-18T07:40:00.000-07:00

I'm determined to make this quick because my class is playing in centers and I should be doing other things.

This weekend was fun and restful. I started Friday off running errands around town with Maggie. We made a few stops, including Bare Necessities, the consignment shop downtown. I found some darling sandals that are originally quite pricey that looked brand new for about half of the retail price. I was pretty pumped. I made an appearance at Field Day at Sam Houston and then headed to the country club. It was so nice to visit and swim and soak up the sun.

I kept our pastors kids over night Friday and stayed with them until late Saturday night. We swam a lot, watched a few movies and a lot of Gilmore Girls on DVD and napped quite a bit too. It was nice and relaxing.

My cousin graduated from LSU Shreveport yesterday so after church we were off to the graduation. The speaker was the developer who created The Board Walk and some other areas of Shreveport/Bossier. Of course he said the regular graduation stuff but more than once said that whatever you end up doing with your life, it will be meaningless without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It's so cool to see a business man with such success give God all the glory. To continue the graduation celebration we all met at Sho Guns for dinner. It was nice to spend time with family and you know I love love love Sho Guns.

Today I'm subbing at Trinity for the last day. Sweet Maggie broke her arm over the weekend so that has been the topic of conversation for the day and of course shes in need of a little extra Miss Lee Ann attention today. They think she will only have her cast for a few weeks which is great because we're going to Gulf Shores and a cast would definitely interfere. Speaking of beach, two weeks from today at this very time I'll be jetting off to Jamaica with Mom and Lydia. We're getting way excited and are still trying to decide what trips away from the hotel we want to take. Can't wait!

Oh and yeah I know it's Monday and sorry this isn't a Not Me! post. Maybe later if I come up with some confessions worth sharing. Have a great Monday!

Not Me! Monday

2009-05-10T14:18:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday! As Monday approaches, I begin thinking of all the silly things ~~I did~~, didn't do this week.

One thing that comes to mind was definitely not becoming emotional in a somewhat upscale downtown store one afternoon this week when Ada told me that I could wait for her outside of the restroom. I am so proud that the baby girl I've helped rear for four of her five years is independent enough to not need me and would never come close to making a scene in public about that.

I also didn't go into Banana Republic on Friday evening, see the large SALE signs everywhere, take it upon myself to select and purchase many great pieces, only to return them this afternoon after I looked at my bank account. I never shop on impulse and regret the decision later on.

Lastly, I didn't sneak just a few bites of chicken and one shrimp out of my sisters leftover hibachi meal in the refrigerator thinking she would never notice. Since I didn't do this at all I also didn't realize that I had eaten a very noticeable amount and come up with a story about said leftovers falling out onto the floor and me having to throw some away. She paid for that expensive meal and I have much more self control.

Your turn! Spill your guts over at McMama's page!

Where I Live

2009-05-08T21:40:00.000-07:00

Hopefully I can get this post up before midnight and it will still be Show Us Where You Live Friday at Kelly's Korner. Last week I loved sharing my tiny guest house kitchen and this week I can't wait to show you my tiny guest house living room. I never want it to sound like I'm complaining about my living situation. I totally love my little house and am blessed that my sweet friends would have me stay there.

Excuse the wall paper but this is my living area (I'm not going to call it a room) from the front door. To get a better idea, this is one corner of one large area of the bottom floor. My bed and dining table is also in this same room.

This is my coffee table and messy catch all baskets. You can't see very well in this picture but that is a little iron candle holder with some bead garland. Super cheap.

I had these pictures in my bedroom at my parents house years ago and came across them recently and put them here with these other pieces. I love animal print and really like how the zebra and leopard looking print looks together with the pink.

I also consider this part of the living area. To the right of the front door is my little wine rack shelf. This shelf is super heavy and ended up there because it was going to be a pain to move. I threw all of this stuff on there and this is how it turned out. You'll notice my little vase collection on top beside the picture frames. Those blue glasses came from Crate and Barrel for less than $10 including shipping.

There you have it! My living area corner. Thanks for stopping by!

M is for the Million Things

2009-05-07T15:46:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things about Mothers Day are the sweet things kids make at school. The 4 year olds at Trinity made a Mothers Day book. Inside, a page said, "If I had a million dollars I would buy my mom a..." Here are some of the responses.

A car
A million brownies
A cookie cake
A hedgehog
A purse
Spaghetti
Some new grown up magazines
Henry said "stuff for her CASA office." His mama is the CASA (court appointed special advocates) director for Harrison County (as well as my great friend) and does an awesome job. She does deserve a million dollars worth of stuff for her office.

My mom always...

plays on the computer
works
sleeps
stays in bed
picks me up from school
cooks me lots of food

This was my favorite! (EE is the optional afternoon program. If you don't stay you go to carpool.)
I like it when my mom...
Gets the pattern right. Carpool, EE, Carpool, EE, Carpool, EE and doesn't forget me up here.

When my own little sister was in elementary school she did a questionnaire similar to this. On the question about something our mom always says she responded "mell of a hess" (which my bank president, school board member, Sunday School teacher mom did say quite a bit)

Gotta love em! Happy Mothers Day!

Not Me! Monday

2009-05-04T08:32:00.001-07:00

It's a glorious day! Not me! Monday is back! Time to air the dirty laundry for all to see.

Last week when the first grade class I did my student teaching in went on a field trip to the skating rink, I certainly did not leave the school ahead of the bus, stop of at Target and arrive at the field trip location nearly an hour late. I would have been more responsible than that and keep up with the school bus and actually been a part of the trip.

On Thursday when I was keeping Conner while Lynsey cleaned out the garage and we went to Wal Mart, I did not encourage him to say "I know I'm cute!" after several fellow shoppers commented on his absolute adorableness. Me teaching a toddler such a conceded response and defy all the manners he's been taught thus far would have been out of line and I wouldn't do it.

This weekend when I graduated from college I did not make the comment to the people sitting around me that I was totally ok with not graduating with honors because Dr. S looked completely seductive and got extremely too close as he was placing the medallion around your neck. Dr. S does a lot for the school and I would never accuse him of being a weird creeper.

In conjunction with this comment, I did not remind my friends of the philosophy I held during our early semesters in school that if I did have such a philosophy would go something like "It may pay to get A's but C's get degrees." Through college I did all of my homework, went to every class and most definitely did not stay out too late at night causing such a philosophy to be acceptable.

There you have it. My confessions. Your turn! Check out McMama's site to find out how!

The Long Awaited Day

2009-05-03T15:11:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was it. The long awaited graduation day. After four years of studying, writing, reading, practice teaching and more fun with friends than I could ever put into words here,

we took our seats,

listened to Dr. Riley make his last ever speech,

stood on stage with Dr. Lubcker,

smiled for the camera,

took a pic with the ever supportive family,

hugged best friends,

We were graduated! Time to PARTY!

Needless to say, falling asleep early last night and taking two naps today hasn't been difficult. Summer is in sight and in exactly one month I'll be laying out in Jamaica.

Where I Live

2009-05-01T14:11:00.000-07:00

Today Kelly at Kelly's Korner is having Show Us Where You Live Friday- the kitchen edition. Although I haven't looked at any one elses posts, I think that if there was an award for the smallest kitchen I might possibly have a shot. Just saying it's a slight possibility.

For those of you not up to speed on my current living situation, I live in the guest house of a great friend. It's refered to as the guest house, the back house, the cottage, the smallest house ever, among other things. This is my kitchen.

This is the view from the hall way. That is my tiny sink and that is the hot plate that when I use when I do cook something that requires more than the microwave.

This is my very cute and practicle note and picture hanger from Southern Living. There is another piece just like this that typically would hang at the bottom of this one but for the sake of space that piece is on the opposite wall. I'm constantly changing out the pictures and putting notes and cards on there. I love it. You'll also notice my stack of papers and pen cup. The top of the microwave is central command for the cottage. All of my important papers end up there.

This is my little dry goods rack. In the past it has been more organized than it currently is but this is about being open and honest right? You'll notice I like pasta a lot. Lucky for me pasta is very easy to prepare with a hot plate. There's just other snacks up there, granola bars, wheat thins, water,Diet Coke, etc.

Now in true Cribs fashion I had to get a shot of inside of the fridge. You'll notice mostly breakfast foods. This is simply because that is the only meal that I regularly eat at home and do not go out for. Bacon and scrambeled eggs with cheese is my favorite breakfast but when I'm pressed for time I go with the standard sausage biscuit. There's also some fruit and juice in there and of course sauce for my pasta.

There you have it. The grand tour. Thanks for stopping by!

Guest Blogger

2009-05-01T09:31:00.001-07:00

Good morning blogosphere! Today you have the rare treat of hearing from one of my favorite people. She's incredibily talented in many areas including world travel, cuisine, dance and Disney movies. She is none other than Miss Savannah Peteet. You'll notice an interview portion along with some original words from Savannah herself.

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I want to tell everyone that I'm Violet. I'm Violet because I watch The Incredibles too much so I had to be Violet and then I got my super powers a few weeks later. I want to tell you about my super stuff. I use my super powers to fight the bad stuff.

What do you like to eat? "Pizza"

Who's your best friend? "Ester. She that house next door? That's Esters. She lives right by me."

What do you learn at school? "I always learn about fun things. One time I was learning all about seeds and it was a good thing."

Tell me about your dance recital? "I'm doing a Tiger and Hokey Pokey. Those are the ones. That's all"

That's all I want to tell the people. Can I type my stuff now?

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Blah Blah Blog

2009-04-28T17:23:00.000-07:00

I've done it again. Gone forever without blogging. Even being encouraged by seeing that people are actually coming to my page doesn't seem to really motivate me. I know it's the lack of internet access in my house that is the problem but I do get online enough at other places to get in a post more often than I do.

One occasion that I would have posted had I had access would have been at 1:30 this morning when I lay awake. On and off over the past week I have had a terrible cough. It will hit me and will last for hours. I take my Wal Mart brand medicine and usually go to sleep and wake up and it's gone. Yesterday evening it was awful. I had to go to the grocery so while I was there I grabbed some Nyquil thinking the syrup might work better. I got home and took it and went to sleep. The last time I took Nyquil I was a zombie the next day so I really expected to sleep though the night and sleep in this morning. No such luck. I guess in the beauty of woman hood and my ever changing body, my bladder doesn't out last antihistamine anymore and at 1:30 I was up. I ended up watching tv for a while and going back to sleep eventually.

Today was my first day off of student teaching. I twittered last night that I am in student teacher detox. I'm so excited to be done and excited to graduate but keep thinking of my class and even at times planning things for them in my mind. I take my last final of my under grad college career tomorrow. The good thing about it is that after I've spent all this time in school an all essay open book test on assessing the needs of students doesn't really require a lot of studying on my part so I won't have to be hitting the books tonight.

It's so nice to be finishing a semester and not have to be moving. I've outgrown the closet in the cottage and have started moving some stuff into storage upstairs. I loved that big closet when I moved in but I've become like an aquarium fish and have grown to fit my surroundings.

I'm oh so thrilled for Saturday! Not only do I graduate but I'll have all of my friends and family and people I care about most in one place for the party Saturday night. My parents are amazing to do all of this. It will be a big time.

This has been a crazy random post but that's the way my life is these days. Crazy, yes, but I've terribly happy!

The Breeze

2009-04-22T17:43:00.000-07:00

I lost sleep last night over what I suspected would be the craziest day of the semester. The nasty cold I've been plagued with didn't help either. I had a major expensive certification test at the college across town at 8:30 and an real life job interview at 1:00. Since I am indeed human one major event in a single day wears me down but add another, a job interview none the less, and I'm done for.

I would love to share all the excitement in detail but just got a call to meet Chelsea for Bodacious so I'll keep it brief.

My test was great. It was on the computer and I finished in half the time I usually take on cert tests. I'll never take another paper test for certification. Oh and how do I think I did? I don't want to sound over confident but there weren't many I didn't know.

Ok now this is the tricky one. As some of you know I interviewed for a job in Marshall and since the formalities aren't really complete I'm not going to post the details but I'll just say it was a great meeting.

Why did I loose sleep again? This day turned out to be a breeze!

This Might be Interesting

2009-04-21T08:52:00.000-07:00

Hello All! Yes I am posting at 10:00 AM and no I'm not in school. I am off today in preparation of a certification test I take tomorrow. I've gotten a lot done this morning. Sadly studying for the test isn't on the list. I've taken two tests already and haven't studied but just a tad for each of them so I'm thinking I'll keep my streak alive. I've passed them both so I'm confident in this decision.

I've heard several two shocking things over the past few days which started to make me feel... humm how do I say it? Political maybe? I've noticed since I put my traffic counter up that more people are reading than I thought so maybe I can get some feedback with this one.

You know I love Slumdog Millionaire and you might have also seen the news story over the past few days concerning Rubina Ali's father attempting to sell her for $200,000. How sick and absurd! Apparently the dad hasn't seen any money from his daughters fame and performance and is trying to cash in on his share. Rubina still lives in the slums with her family and a trust fund has been created for her and the other children in the film for when they are older. Thinking on the flip side of the issue, one might say that it was wrong to involve these families from the slums who have never had anything in the global mania that is Slumdog Millionaire. I see their point. Hummm something to think about.

Weeks ago Dad mentioned to me that he saw on a message board where some guys were discussing a new song by Pat Green and were highly offended. I didn't know what he was talking about until this morning when I was driving and it came on the radio. I could get on google and find the lyrics I'm sure but I'll just say it goes something like I want to be a country star, I'm tired of playing these gigs that don't pay, I'm buying a ticket to Nashville blah blah blah. I was totally upset by this as who were the ones buying tickets and driving all over the state to support him in those gigs that didn't pay anything? Us. Me, my family and my friends. Would he be where he is today able to buy his ticket to Nashville without the fans like us that got him started back when he was singing Take Me Out to the Dancehall at the Athens rodeo and Louisiana State Fair? Absolutely not. See ya Pat. Best of luck from East Texas.

Lovin It

2009-04-18T11:41:00.000-07:00

It's a dreary weekend here in East Texas but I really don't have any complaints as I have nowhere to be and my only responsibility is to entertain and supervise children as they come and go from outings. We're just relaxin.

Last night Matt played at OS for the first time in a while. As he was playing, Chelsea and I sat together and sang along and discussed how just a mere two years ago he played outside, it was the perfect night and there was probably twice as many people there, all of which were our classmates and it was one of the best nights of our college years. Last night's crowd was not near as big and was a totally different group of folks. Crazy carefree college friends have given way fellow teachers who's nights typically don't go as late as they would have in years previous because we're in the real world now and things are different. Chelsea and I definitely didn't let our long week interfere with letting our hair down and bit though. As the weeks of college are becoming few, we're all about soaking it all in and we had a great time. It was a lovely night in downtown Marshall.

As I mentioned, today I'm just keeping the kids. Marcy and Jennifer took all kids except Jackson and Walt to the movies. Walt has played choo choo's and is now resting. He's talking so much. I called him down from upstairs earlier and after a few times of calling his name with no response I hear in a very frustrated voice, "MeeMee I tomin!" It was precious! The other kids will join as later as the mamas have other obligations and I'm sure there will be a lot more laying around watching it rain.

Eggless Easter

2009-04-11T17:56:00.000-07:00

Easter is upon us and the Thomas household is currently egg-less. It all began this afternoon as we were busy in the kitchen....

I started potatoes for potato salad, fresh green beans for tomorrows lunch and put eggs on to boil for the potato salad and to dye this evening. After taking those dozen or so out of the very large container of eggs in the refrigerator, Mom took the remaining raw eggs that were intended for tomorrow's breakfast and in order to free up space on the shelf, placed them into a smaller Tupperware container and placed them in the egg section on the door of the fridge.

Nobody thought much about this and the door was opened and closed many times as we finished preparing dinner, cleaned up, and got everything together to dye eggs. As the dying was winding up and Dad was carrying our creations to the fridge, he opened the door with apparently more force than we previously had, and the container of eggs that had rested at the top of the door came crashing onto the floor.

Now, you must know that an ongoing conversation amongst our family over the fast several weeks has been my dad's inability to control his use of inappropriate language in times of stress. As he's been almost single handily building a covered patio by our pool, said colorful language has been part of the past several weekends. It's just the way he does things and we love him for it.

So as we're all gathered in the kitchen, Mom is doing dishes and Lydia and I had just bit into a cup cake, the egg's came crashing down in true Humpty Dumpty style and of course Dad's reaction was less than fitting for such child friendly rhymes.

"Who the h*** put the d*** eggs in a d*** plastic bowl?" "D***it Lisa!" The three of us could not contain our laughter as the eggs lay at Dad's feet and he tried to keep the dog from getting in the middle of it. "I understand if one of the kids had done that but shouldn't you know? Why don't you just put a d*** sign on the door that says caution eggs in little bowl barely balancing on shelf?" Dad is also laughing at this point and I run to the bathroom as my extended laughing and large class of tea overtook me.

The next several minutes was filled with the kind of laughing that almost hurts all over, takes your breath away and makes it impossible to accomplish anything until it's passed. In the hour or so since we've discussed what to do for breakfast. Mom suggested we go to the sunrise service because they are serving a continental breakfast afterwards. Dad declined as he feared the greeting when we arrived might go something like this:
"Welcome Thomas family. We're so glad you joined us this morning."
"Yeah we had to because we don't have any d*** eggs."

All that said, I do want to say how much I love Easter. I love to sing Up From the Grave, spend time with my family and celebrate how great the love of Christ is that he would die for us and most importantly that he rose and LIVES today. How awesome! Happy Easter!

I've Missed You!

2009-04-06T18:47:00.000-07:00

Woah is this blog looking pitiful! The end of student teaching is in sight and has kept me busy this past week. Not just the teaching part but trying to get a lot of friend time in as well. Chelsea cooked one night and I went out with Kristen and Traci one night too. We sat on the patio at Jalapeño Tree and it was quite lovely. Thursday is usually a pretty big night for us around here as we consider it the beginning of the weekend even though we still have to trudge through Friday at school. We watched Slum dog Millionaire at Matt's and loved it!

Lydia had prom this weekend so Friday night and Saturday was filled with preparations for the big event. I don't have any pics on my computer but she was stunning. Other than the events surrounding that the weekend was pretty dull. Finished a book and napped some.

This evening I took the prom dress to Longview to be sold through a boutique Mom had made arrangements with. That took a whole two minutes so I stopped by the Knowledge Knook while I was in town. I had a $20 gift card and was able to get 2 packs of borders and some other bulletin board goodies. I got it all for about $0.43. Yay!

Jackson had a baseball game tonight and since the wind and cool was too much for Caroline and I we stayed home and watched Dancing with the Stars and got her down for bed. Their daddy brought Henry home shortly after and he and I read Horton on the couch together before I tucked him in as well. I love reading that book to him! When I get to the a person's a person part I pause and he says "no matter how small!" As I was laying him down he reminded me of a funny picture we saw in a random book last summer. As far as I know that picture has not been discussed since that day and I have not seen the book. I have no idea what brought it up but he does have a massive memory and imagination.

I have this week, next week and a few days of the next before student teaching is done! I can't believe it. My parents along with Chelsea's are in party planning mode and it's going to be a weekend full of celebration. I can't wait! It's hard to believe it's here.

Ollie Hopnoodle!

2009-03-28T19:30:00.000-07:00

So tonight I was thinking about an old movie. Was I the only one that watched Ollie Hopnoodles Haven of Bliss over and over as a child? I haven't seen it in years and we only had it on VHS and don't even own a VCR player anymore. I found it for cheap on a random website and plan to buy it. I realized in a clip on Youtube that the mom on Ollie Hopnoodle was Naomi on the show Mama's Family, another all time family favorite. What wholesome entertainment we enjoyed as children!

More Fun than I can Handle

2009-03-28T10:25:00.000-07:00

I love my community. I love the kids. I really love events that bring the kids together to do something fun and hear something about Jesus. It is for that reason that I was out at 10:00 this morning at the elementary school playground handing out candy and stickers to little ones ready to hunt easter eggs in the high 30 degree temps. It was encouraging to see so many families who aren't church members come out and enjoy the show by the balloon artist, hunt eggs, and enjoy the event set up just for them. Many asked about donations. It feels great to tell them everything is completely free. Makes the weather a little more bearable.

I came to Mom and Dad's after the hunt. Mom is at Women of Faith and Lydia is gone somewhere so it's just Dad and I. He asked if I wanted to go shopping at Academy. I said yes but he hasn't gotten out of his chair or said anything else about it. He does that a lot- brings up something and then you never hear anything else about it. It bugs me. He's on my sisters lap top that doesn't ever work right. He's complaining that it doesn't work. Will we ever make it to Academy? Probably not.

Even if we don't do any shopping I'm glad it's the weekend. My patience and enthusiasm dwindled greatly by the time 7th and 8th periods came along yesterday. Their tendency to continue to talk while I was and my frustration in talking over them was not a combination that was working out very well. I didn't feel good and was just wasn't in the mood. I thought I might be getting sick but as soon as I got home I was much better. Just sick of school for the week I guess. I ended up going to eat with Deanna, Ben and little Samantha. I felt so special that they would invite me to join them on their family night out. I ended the night watching TV on the couch with Chelsea and Matt.

Mom is headed home to take a nap. Dad still griping at computer. Lydia still MIA. Please don't be too upset that you're missing out on all of the fun around here.

Get a Kit

2009-03-23T16:29:00.000-07:00

This morning on my conference period when I was checking MckMama's page, the home of Not Me! Monday, I was shocked when in place of her usual Monday staple was an update that her sweet babe Stellan was in the hospital struggling with some unexpected heart problems. Several months ago when Stellan was in the womb he experienced these same issues and was not expected to survive. The Lord healed his little heart then and he was born perfectly healthy. A treatment for respiratory issues Stellan was experiencing over the weekend has caused his heart to return to a very fragile condition. Check out MckMama's site for more info and pray pray pray that the Lord would place his hand on tiny Stellan and heal his heart again. All that said, no Not Me! Monday today.

A few weeks ago I was talking with Mom about what to do for a very important gift I have to give soon. We discussed several options and I decided on a scrapbook. I've done small projects like this before but usually become bored quickly and get mad when mine doesn't look like the example on the package. Anyway, after school today I decided to go to Michaels and get some of the stuff and get started on this little project. I want to give myself plenty of time.

I walk in and get a cart. If you every shop with me, you know that I get a cart in any store that has them because I have to put my purse in it. The scrapbook stuff is right by the door so I started browsing around and was quickly overwhelmed. Do I do a 12x12 book, 8 1/2x11, what kind of cover should it have? I decided on an inexpensive 8 1/2x11 memory book and headed over to the paper. I got a few sheets that I liked but I knew it wasn't enough. I meandered up and down the aisles several times but could never make my ADD mind focus on the what seemed like thousands of embellishments, stickers and fonts. On my way around the far shelf one time I spotted some nifty little kits. Paper, stickers, everything for an 8x8 book all in this one package. It was just the style I liked and everything. Perfect. I was saved right before I had a craft store induced anxiety attack and called my aunt and offered to pay her to produce the whole thing. I quickly disposed of my previous selections on a vacant shelf, grabbed the design kit, an 8x8 book that was on clearance, and hit the checkout.

As I waited in line I glanced over and noticed a gal who looked a lot like I probably did just minutes before. From what I gathered she was attempting to create a beaded name tag holder on which to place her work ID. Two sales ladies, one with poor eye sight, were attempting to help her select the correct pair of pliers for the pieces she had picked out. Bless her sweet soul.

Slowin' Down

2009-03-22T10:58:00.000-07:00

The whirlwind that was the last couple of days has encouraged me to slow it down some for today, this last day of Spring Break.

Friday morning I kept all 3 Roth kids and the Truelove girls. The kids played outside in search of a secret underground door and a mystery to solve. There wasn't a lot of selection for 5 kids and a hungry babysitter for lunch so we loaded up and got Whataburger and Sonic to go and finished the afternoon off with picking up little Truelove and going to the park. When I was finally kid free I packed up and headed out to my parent's to spend the weekend.

Yesterday we had planned to meet some of my dad's family that was in town for dinner but before that Mom wanted to go to Norton Art Gallery and take some spring pictures of Lydia and I. They turned out great and really were fun to take but being pretty, smiling a lot, and walking all over that huge garden is tiring. By the time we had dinner, ran through the mall, stopped by our aunts house and the drove back to Texas I was done for.

Needless to say after the dog woke me up this morning and Mom came in and said that they were going to go to Lowes and work around the house instead of going to church this morning I was thrilled. I ate pancakes and as soon as they took off to Lowes I got back in the bed. Diet Coke, spaghetti, my computer and Real Housewives of NYC with a little laundry mixed in is all thats on the agenda for the day. Speaking of which, I can not stand Ramona. I know everybody gives Alex and Simon a hard time, understandably so because they are ultra creepy, but Ramona's weird mannerisms are about all I can take. Overall I guess I'm just a bigger fan of the Orange County girls.

See you tomorrow with some Not Me! action. Here's a sneak peak from yesterday.

Check it out!

2009-03-19T12:18:00.000-07:00

What's the fastest week of the year? Well spring break of course. I guess it doesn't help that I have spent approx. 18 hours of it driving East and West down I-20. Yes I did it. I drove to Abilene and back and then turned around the very next day and drove to Ft. Worth and came home the next day. That's what spring break is for right? Yes I thought you would agree.

Today I was scheduled to meet my sister for lunch and had a few minutes to kill so I went into our local Burks Outlet to check it out. I'll say I was quite impressed. I didn't see anything over $12.99! The best deal was the Mossimo tee's that Target has for $8 were $4 at Burks. They only had green, black and white but if you buy those things as much as I do it's a great deal. I was in a hurry and didn't take a lot of time to look at everything but do plan to go back. It's one of those "have to dig for it" kind of stores but the prices are worth it. Check it out! Let me know if you come across any amazing finds.

Not Me! Monday

2009-03-16T14:46:00.001-07:00

Are you ready? Here goes the second installment of Not Me! Monday.

In the last week I surely did not take the whole morning off of student teaching to attend a job fair that I only stayed at for an hour. I would have never sat and watched The View and then meet friends for an hour and a half lunch all when I should have been at school. I always go to school for every minute that I should.

While traveling six hours across Texas this weekend I did not get a huge piece of toilet paper stuck to my shoe in the bathroom of a Loves travel stop and in an attempt to remove it using my other shoe tear it and end up with toilet paper on both shoes. I also did not stand on one foot at a time and scraping the bottom of my shoe against the corner of the sink to remove the toilet paper from not one but both of my shoes. Only goofy people do that kind of thing in a public bathroom and I am not one of them.

While in the shower recently I did not look up at my massaging shower head that I have never adjusted and wonder what it would be like to turn it to the high massage mode. As I turned the shower head I surely turned it the correct way and I absolutely did not pull the entire shower head off in my hand causing all of the little inside pieces to fly all over the shower and high pressure water to pelt me directly in the face. I take much better care of the cottage than that and am definitely smarter than to do such a thing.

Ok you're up. Honesty time. Go here to check out the fun.

Spring Break!

2009-03-13T10:33:00.000-07:00

What crappy weather! I'm hating it right now. Had to get that out. On to more important things.

If you've kept up with me on Twitter any today, you've seen that spring break officially began a little while ago. We're leaving for Abilene in a few hours and of course I found it necessary to leave school a good two and a half hours early in order to prepare. By prepare I mean go to Wal Mart, get Peking, get gas, and sit here and blog and watch Bold and the Beautiful. All of these tasks definitely justify skipping out on my state required student teaching.

Last night ETBU treated us to an etiquette dinner in an attempt for us country kids to learn us some manners 'fore we gradeate come May. This fancy smansey lady from College Station led us through dinner teaching us the correct way to act. It was fun and the food was pretty good too.

Also yesterday was our annual job fair. I've never paid a lot of attention to it before but this year I decided that it was probably pertinent that I get some info and attempt to get a job. I've applied at Marshall and found out from the lady at the fair that they will be doing interviews in April. That was the best news of the day because I was getting nervous that I hadn't heard from anyone yet. Overall it was a successful day. We got some useful info and I picked up some applications to mail around.

Ok sorry this hasn't been the most interesting of posts but that's whats happenin folks.

We'll be headed out west here in a while. Hopefully driving out of the rain soon. I'm not sure I've ever been so ready for a spring break. I don't know if I will post (which probably doesn't surprise you) but I will be twittering. By the way, those of you who aren't twittering- you should. It's the thing to do. I've had an account for a while but am just recently getting more involved. Check it out. I've given you more than enough opportunities now. Happy spring break!

Not Me Monday!

2009-03-09T17:00:00.001-07:00

For a while I was stuck on the Daybook. Even if I didn't blog all week I would do my Simple Woman's Daybook without fail on Monday. Well since I haven't done a Daybook nearly all year I figured now would be a good time to move on to something a little different which leads me to Not Me! Monday- the post where I can be truly honest (which I always am :) anyway) about all of the goofy things I've been up to this past week.

For example...

I never ordered a huge portion of beef friend rice PLUS an egg roll for dinner the other night with the intention of saving half for lunch the next day and sat on my couch and ate the entire meal in one sitting. Nope. I would never do that.

Or...

My laundry that was washed isn't still in my closet not hanging and not put away and I didn't strategically close the closet doors this morning when I left so that the ac repair man and my friend/land lord wouldn't see.

I also didn't stand in the Jalapeño Tree bathroom with Chelsea on Friday night and pull a large amount of toilet paper off the roll, fold it up and place it in my purse because I was out at home and Walgreens was out of my way.

Nor did I turn and laugh at school today when one of my students smarted off to one of his classmates who had been driving everyone crazy and totally deserved it. It would have been very unprofessional of me and inappropriate if I would have laughed at such a thing instead of correct it. I never think it's ok to pretend I didn't hear things in order for someone to get what was coming to them. I'm a much better teacher than that.

Ok wasn't that fun? I feel much better with those little tidbits off of my chest. Now it's your turn. Save the Not Me! Monday pic, put it in your post and spill it all. Afterwards, go here and put yours in the Mister Linky box and read all of the others. Enjoy!

Welcome Warm Weekend

2009-03-07T18:26:00.000-08:00

Aren't you proud? Two posts in one week and a brand new look! I have a feeling I'm coming around.

Friday I had the pleasure of joining the 5th grade at Sam Houston to Caddo Lake for a very educational science field trip. Our little trip was so exciting it made the front page of The Marshall News Messenger this morning. We sampled water, learned a lot about erosion, saw a collection of animal skulls (it sounds gross but was really cool) and learned about migration among other things. The beautiful weather and well behaved children made for a wonderful day.

I was in the mood for a huge nap by the time school was over and after Oprah I was down for the count. I woke up right as it was getting dark and headed up to the soccer game to hang out with Chelsea and make our what has become weekly Friday night trip to Jalapeño Tree. After we had vented our student teaching frustrations of the week I headed home and with my window cracked and the cool night breeze coming in I headed off to sleep.

I've spent today at my parents house. This afternoon everyone had something to do except me so I spent a big part of the day catching up on blogs and working on my own. When Mom got home we went walking and then came home and in joint effort made a very tasty Mexican dinner. Lydia is out with friends so Mom, Dad and I sat on the porch after we were sufficiently stuffed and are now settled in to watch TV for the night while the laundry that has been piling up on my bathroom floor for a good two weeks now is washing.

On another note, I've taken over the Summer Reading Program for the church kids for the summer. There aren't a lot of meetings and I have a pretty good budget so things should work out but now I'm presented with the reality of having to find some sort of theme and get this thing organized. Serving through 1st and 2nd grade Sunday School has been a huge blessing and I know that this will be too.

Speaking of Sunday School I have to share about these awesome kids and some of the funny things they say. We usually have about 10 kids a week but these are a few of my favorite.

M and J are brothers, one year apart. M will tell you that he doesn't play he just builds and works like a man while J doesn't take life quite as seriously. M claims to be building some kind of cat houses for the neighborhood cats. These things sound more posh than my own house. I was also informed last week that he is building a convince store that will have better prices than Wal-Mart. A few weeks ago M was talking began talking about some people named C and H. After I asked who C and H were he said, "That's my mom and dad." Surprised I said, "Your parents let you call them C and H?" M very nonchalantly said "Yeah. I'm 8 now. She had to know it was coming."

B is a very bright little girl who is homeschooled and takes every opportunity to share that with us. A couple of weeks ago during a lesson on Jesus taking the time to get to know people, we played a question/answer game in which we took the time to get to know each other. As B was having a hard time finding words (for the first time ever) to answer one of the questions, she said "I'm just a princess redneck country girl." Honey, aren't we all was my only reply.

A Dream Away

2009-03-03T15:32:00.000-08:00

So here I am again- close to 2 weeks without a blog post. I read blogs daily(like this one and this one) that get thousands of hits and these girls actually make money from blogging. What a life. I don't know how many hits I really get but it can't be very many considering I'm doing good to post twice a month. Everyday when I look at these sweet girl's posts I think of what I dream this blog might become someday. Maybe it will come. I've got to get motivated.

Speaking of being motivated, my two planned beach trips have motivated me to get in shape a bit. I'm watching what I eat and the pretty weather has really got me wanting to walk in the evenings. Chelsea and I walked from ETBU to the square and back last week. It was fun and I really want to make it a regular thing.

Mom and I went to Canton Saturday when was definitely my walking for the day. We got some good buys and it was of course a great time. One of my favorite new things is this. Check it out. So handy.

Weekend Update

2009-02-20T17:05:00.000-08:00

I'm babysitting the Roth kids tonight and while we're watching the Nickelodeon Original Movie Spectacular I thought I would update quickly.

Student teaching is glorious. The kids are great and my love for teaching is back. I leave this school and start in 5th grade on Wednesday. I'm excited for yet another change considering theres been a lot of that already on this little journey.

I had company in the cottage three nights in a row this week. Monday night Cort was over and we watched Nights in Rodanthe. I haven't finished it. I was disappointed. If you've seen it you can probably guess which part I'm talking about. Cort was less than interested and when Chelsea came by I turned it off. Tuesday night we had a very small high school reunion. Nello was in town and he and Jessica came over. We had a few drinks and caught up. I stayed up too late but it was worth it. Finally on Wednesday night Kristen and Traci came over after class for dinner. We had Hamburger Helper, corn and ice cream and talked for a few hours about life and things. I love them and such fun can not be described. Kristen and Mark are on a huge new life journey and I couldn't be happier for them and of course we had to hear all about it.

After entertaining all week, last night I worked on my Marshall ISD online job application, ate Chinese food and got in bed early. I'm working on the last disc of Big Love so after an episode of that I was down for the count and was asleep by about 9:30.

Marshall schools were released at noon today but since my teacher loves me dearly and I taught all morning so she could put grades in the computer, I got to leave at 11:00. I took a few hours off before I went to take my practice 4th-8th grade reading certification test. I took it in the workroom of the education office and found it nearly impossible to focus with all the buzz going on around the office. Not to mention that it was beautiful outside today and I knew that my friends were all doing much more fun things than me. Needless to say I'm not sure how well I did but like I said it is only practice. I hopefully I pulled off a 75 and can take the real thing and be done. Chelsea mentioned a little run to J Tree tonight and after the afternoon I've had I totally can't wait.

Tomorrow is Mardi Gras in Jefferson. It will be fun to spend the afternoon with friends. Mardi Gras is one of my favorite seasons.

Sunday will probably be a regular Sunday at Mom and Dad's house- church, rest, food and laundry.

Overall life is happy and things are well. My house is clean and a great weekend is upon us!

Hannah Montana's Cousin?

2009-02-10T18:58:00.000-08:00

So I've noticed that my last two posts were pretty much depressing. I want to take this opportunity to announce that things are looking very up. Like I've said before, I can't go into details but lets just say that I'm in the best school and with the best group of teachers. I'm happy to be there and they're happy to have me. What could make for a better working environment? I'm in first grade now instead of Head Start and the kids personalities are so much more developed and fun.

One little girl has really caught my eye. Her name is Emily and I worked with her one on one for a while the very first morning I was there. The teacher had me helping here take a reading test and she decided very early on that she was going to take advantage of my help and pretend that she didn't know anything. I didn't fall for it and made her read the questions and answer choices and only helped when she was truly struggling. After she read several questions correctly you could tell her confidence was soaring and she looked up at me with the sweetest snaggle toothed grin and said in this little Hispanic accent, "I can be da teachewr now!" I melted right there.

Today the kids lined up to go to the car riders line and I heard giggles from the middle of the line and looked to see Emily in a group of kids. One announced that Emily had said that she was Hannah Montana's cousin. Emily, smiling brightly, kept saying "I pwomise she is!" Miguel, who I had never heard speak said boldly from the front of the line, "Well I guess that Spider Man must be my cousin then."

They're great! More fun stories to come!

Long Lost Friends

2009-02-04T12:53:00.000-08:00

I know it's been a while. There are several reasons but the most vital excuse is the lack of internet in my bed. Since I've started the blog that has been my primary creative location. I come to the big house and get online daily but never seem to be in a blogging kind of mood at the time. Not to mention that life has been so crazy and a little tough for me lately that it seems too overwhelming to write about and I never feel like reliving it all over again to share. So this is an overall update.

Student teaching has been iffy. It's not very professional of me to share a lot on here but we'll just say that prayers are appreciated. I know I'll make it. When times get hard, after I pray for strength, I always take a little mental checkout and daydream about my Jamaica and Alabama beach vacations that await me when this is all over. It gets me through the day.

The house is still good. The independence is great. I'm kind of a home body so I have definitely gotten lonely at times and am glad to go to my parents house on the weekends but overall I love my own bathroom and being able to make however big of a mess I want whenever I want and leave it there for however long I want. I even find joy in cleaning it up and relaxing when my house, although very small, is very clean.

Marcy is so generous to open her house to me so often to use the internet and visit. She's provided many home cooked meals and always a listening ear. Her kids are precious and I'm loving all the time with them. Caroline and Henry decided on Saturday night that they would spend the night. With jammies on and everyone ready for bed we ventured across the driveway out to the back house. Mom had given strict instructions that we were to watch one Disney channel show and go straight to bed so that everyone would be rested for church. We enjoyed our show together and when it went off I turned off the tv. Henry decided that he wanted to sleep in the bed with me which would put Caroline on the couch. With this arrangement in place, sis decided that she was much too tired for couch sleeping and needed the comfort of her own bed for a good nights sleep. Of course Henry decided that he would go home too so we all bundled back up, put on our shoes and headed home. We had just experienced the shortest sleepover ever. Oh well. We'll try again.

Even though my posts are few and far between, I am keeping up with all of yours. Trust me, I have definitely felt the effects of a blogless lifestyle and hope to be back on the wagon soon.

Stages of Life

2009-01-13T17:25:00.001-08:00

Last week around this time I got a little down about things. The realization hit that my fairly carefree life as a college student had ended. Although I still technically am a college student, this is a new way of life.

I'm getting up at 6 as opposed to the 8:15 alarm of last semester and get to school before dawn. My teacher doesn't take a lunch break so therefore I don't either. I eat breakfast and lunch with the kids and might get a few minutes of down time while they nap. I have meetings/class at ETBU twice a week and am still babysitting. I'm not complaining. I'm simply adjusting.

Since I'm living in the backyard I've somewhat taken a bigger role babysitting/hanging out with the R's. I come home most afternoons to many families worth of children playing in the yard and since I'm not doing a lot of napping these days, it's fun watching them play. Marcy and I have visited for hours on end and I love the new closeness that the kids and I have. It's almost relaxing to come home and feed, play with and bathe them (I'm writing this from the stool in the bathroom as Hen plays in the tub.)

Life is still great but in a new way. A good nights sleep that is needed to make it through the next day has replaced going to a friends house at midnight because the memories that were made were way more important than the sleep that was missed.

Classes with friends my age have been replaced by 17 three and four year olds who love to touch my white girl hair while needing so many hugs and positive words while capturing little pieces of my heart everyday.

This week is much easier than last and I know that will continue to be the case. Life (and teaching!) is good!

The Simple Woman's Daybook

2009-01-11T16:59:00.000-08:00

For today, Sunday January 11, 2009

Outside me window... an assortment of motorized toys rest under clear dark cold skies after an afternoon full of fun.

I am thinking... that I'm getting hungry.

I am hoping... that this week goes well student teaching as I continue to take over more responsibilities in my class.

I am wearing... Hollister hoodie with jeans and house shoes

I am thankful for... church meeting today. Kids in Sunday School were sweet, children were baptized and one professed Christ. Sweet times. I also ran into my beloved babysitter from childhood. I am very thankful for our time together in front of Wal-Mart this afternoon.

From the kitchen... Marcy just fixed my favorite zucchini soup. Just what we needed after an afternoon out in the cold.

I am creating... lesson plans. It's endless really.

I am reading... nothing consistent. I long to get into something good but haven't had the energy this past week. I want to soon though.

I am hearing... the Golden Globes beginning. Was it just us or did Miley Cyrus look like she was on something? Not impressive this evening.

Around the house... My little cottage is somewhat clean. Bed isn't made and a few dishes are in the sink. Clothes are in the washer and dryer. I hope to get things a little more under control before bed tonight.

One of my favorite things... Ziplock Steam Bags. The possibilities are endless.

A few plans for the rest of the week... teach, babysit, and wedding on Friday night.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

Happy Birthday week Walt!

Daybooks Galore!

I'm Alive!

2009-01-05T17:59:00.000-08:00

After many days of packing, moving, unpacking, and resting I'm back and alive. The internet is down at the Roth/Miss Lee Ann compound and the Dish Network man is expected for tomorrow to hook up my TV so I'm at Kristen's watching Jon and Kate Plus 8 and doing all of my internet catching up.

I'm loving the guest house. Chelsea calls it Snow White's cottage. I don't know if her cottage had 80's wall paper and red carpet but apparently she has a vision. The kids are amazed at my constant presence and find any excuse possible to come over. It's precious.

I student taught for the first time today. My teacher and our aide are great and the kids are sweet. I was very tired when I got home and still haven't come to the reality that I have to go all day every day. It's a hard concept for my little mind to grasp.

I know it's day book day. I'll be back at it next week.

The Simple Woman's Daybook

2008-12-29T20:29:00.000-08:00

For today, December 29, 2008

Outside me window...starry skies and crisp cold

I am thinking...what a day it's been! I love days when I wake in a totally different place from where you end up going to bed and I'm able to look back on a such a full day.

I am hoping...that the rest of the week is restful and productive

I am wearing...my Nick and Nora night gown. I've never been a night gown kind of girl and would laugh at Chelsea last year when she got into them. I got my first one this year and have become quite fond of it. While it is long sleeved it's not floor length like I remember my great grandma wearing when I was little. It is quite stylish as far as night gowns go I would have to say.

I am thankful for...the time we spent in Abilene this weekend. Although that drive gets old, it's always worth it.

From the kitchen...Mom and Dad fixed some venison fajitas tonight. I went out for dinner so did not join them but the remnants are still on the counter. Everything else is all cleaned up.

I am creating... some storage solutions. My closet is a mess and I absolutely must get some things packed up and stored away else where before I move this weekend.

I am reading... ETBU Student Teaching Handbook. I will start it tomorrow.

I am hearing...Mystery Diagnosis on TV. Mom and I love to watch these shows and try to diagnose everyones ailments. When it's very obvious and we're right we feel really smart. My guess for this guy is West Nile Virus.

Around the house...Things have quieted down in the past few minutes since Dad has gone to bed. He's spent the evening telling us every detail of his weekend duck hunting trip. Lydia is babysitting and the cat and dog are resting.

One of my favorite things...nights out with girlfriends. I went out with Deanna tonight for the first time in way too long. We ate Mexican food, I took her to see the back house, picked up some things from Wal Mart and visited a lot. I love nights like that.

A few plans for the rest of the week... Mom and I are staying home together tomorrow. I plan to do some cleaning, packing, etc. Tomorrow night I'm keeping the Trueloves and then Wednesday night the Roths and Trueloves together. Thursday more time at home before starting the move to the back house over the weekend.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

Lydia sitting in my lap in what is probably Christmas of 1993. The side pony tail accompanied by the large bow is a signature look of mine from those days.

Christmas in Pictures

2008-12-26T18:04:00.000-08:00

I'm home alone tonight as Mom is buying groceries while Lydia is at the movies and Dad is on a duck hunting trip. The house is in a disarray as the tree has been taken down but nothing else really has. There are a few boxes piled up by the back door and my Christmas presents are piled up by the love seat. Suit cases are out around the house as we're getting packed for a quick after Christmas trip to Abilene early in the morning. All of this is the sight of a Christmas come and gone. On an upbeat note we have many pictures to remember such a special time and it is my joy to share them with you now. Enjoy!

Our Christmas started last weekend on a little family weekend get away to the Gaylord in Grapevine. They have a fabulous ice sculpture exhibit and Mom hopes to make it a tradition to visit every year. Took so many pics that I had to be pick and choose. These are my favs.

Posing in front of the pretty (and warm!) fireplace

Lydia, Dad and I in the ice cave

The whole fam on the way out of ICE. Everything in this picture is ice, including my hands at this point.

Christmas Eve came and after the candle light service at church we went to Carthage to Uncle Jake and Aunt Lacy's for the Jones Christmas.

Mom and Aunt June looking on as Lydia opens her goodies

Aunt Lacy recovering from knee replacement and checking out her new slicer

We always open presents from Mom and Dad on Christmas Eve night. In our earlier years this would just be a few gifts as Santa would visit during the night. Now this is all of our gifts from them except for a few stocking goodies on Christmas morning.

Lydia and I with our treasures. I got a lot of teacher stuff and Lydia got a few things for her room and other various things she asked for.

Dad looking on as Mom digs into a gift

Dexter finally got the Santa that has been in his stocking for the past few weeks. He violently rips the stuffing out of any stuffed toy he gets and is content with playing with just the skin until Mom finally throws it away. Santa was still fairly stuffed in this pic but his remnants are laying beside me now wet, tattered and completely empty.

On Christmas day we headed back to Carthage to the Getsay's for the Thomas Christmas. We had a great lunch and opened the presents that our Secret Santa had selected for us. Aunt Kim had me and I received a beautiful jacket and more teacher stuff. She did good!

Baby Daisy in her Christmas best

Shelby and Dad looking on as Dale opens the cooler bag that I carefully picked out for him at Bass Pro the day after Thanksgiving

Daisy working on her present
Me checking out my classroom decor letters. So cute!

We were all so blessed not just materially but with such memorable time together as well. Can't wait to read of your families Christmas adventures!

Two Sleeps til Christmas!

2008-12-23T20:50:00.001-08:00

Last night I had the best time with Cass and Ada. Conner ended up bailing on us and hanging out with grandma. We ate some pizza and cookies and watched Shrek the Halls and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Cass has really impressed me lately. He's really acting like a first grader. The door bell rang while we were working on dinner and since I didn't know who it could be I asked him to walk with me out to see who was there. It turned out to be a relative dropping off a gift and when I closed the door he asked, "Why did you need me?" I said "Well I guess because I didn't know who it was and didn't want to go by myself. I needed you with me." He perked up. He felt so grown.

After we were stuffed with more pizza and cookies than I would usually allow, the three of us were cuddled up in the den. Cass turned and said, "It's two sleeps til Christmas!" Ada and I started cheering and clapping and Cass looked back at me and with the sweetest smile said, "Merry Christmas Miss Lee Ann." "Merry Christmas to you too Cass-man"

The Simple Woman's Daybook

2008-12-22T08:12:00.001-08:00

For today, Monday, December 22, 2008

Outside my window...It's cold! I personally haven't been out but it's that kind of cold that you can just look out and see.

I am thinking... that this little break of mine is getting shorter by the day. I wish it would just sloooooooow down a bit.

I am thankful for...Marcy and Brendan opening up their guest house to me. We spent part of the afternoon yesterday moving boxes of family mementos up the narrow windy stair case to the upstairs bedroom for storage to open up the bottom floor for me. I'm excited to finally have some space that's all my own, (even if Henry wants a sleepover or two) and be a little part of their family out in the back yard for a few months.

From my kitchen...nothing yet but I'm getting hungry! Mom is doing Christmas baking on Tuesday. We went out of town this weekend so shes running a little behind on the Christmas goodies. I might round up something today.

I am wearing...the same maroon long sleeve tee from last week, it's my favorite, and some blue pajama pants with showmen who are wearing bright colored sweaters, hats and scarves, riding on sleds. This will probably be what I will be wearing if you were to ask around 3:00 this afternoon as well.

I am creating...a student teaching wardrobe. This weekends shopping helped a lot! The Parks in Arlington has a huge Forever 21 and if I hadn't been so rushed by the family I could have stayed for hours. I got several tops and a pair of pants.Still looking for shoes. Will get on that after the holiday I guess.

I am going...to keep Cass, Ada and Conner all together tonight. I haven't seen Conner in about three weeks and am so excited. It should be a good time.

I am reading...still nothing. I've really just needed a break. Don't judge.

I am hoping... that everyone has a lot of fantastic fun on our trip to Abilene this weekend. Christmas with that side of the family is going to indeed turn out better than expected.

I am hearing... Alvin and the Chipmunks. Such a sweet movie. "Dave,how do you feel about an indoor pool?" "Toaster waffles!" Love it!

Around the house...Mom cleaned a lot yesterday! Everything is tidy for Christmas.

One of my favorite things... Christmas snacks. Cookies, Chex mix, sausage balls, fudge, etc. Yummy!

A few plans for the rest of the week... a little bit of shopping tomorrow, Christmas festivities, Abilene on Saturday. Can't wait!

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

A wine bottle Christmas tree at the Gaylord this weekend. So cool.

More daybooks here!

Favorite Christmas Clips

2008-12-18T12:09:00.000-08:00

A short conversation at work led to the discovery that a dear coworker, who shall remain nameless, has never seen Christmas Vacation. This little talk got me to thinking about my favorite Christmas movies and it is with great joy that I share with you some of my favorite clips. The embed thing wouldn't work so you're going to have to click the link. I don't have time to figure out whats going on. Enjoy!

We didn't buy a lot of movies when I was growing up but I remember the day we purchased Home Alone on VHS. I love it to this day.

We've been watching Frosty at work a lot this week. So sweet!

This Sesame Street makes me cry. I know I'm a baby. Forward to about 4 min in to miss the singing. This is the best clip I could find. We have the Sesame Street Christmas special on VHS recorded right off of PBS by my grandma- the queen of VHS bootleg movies.

This is my all time favorite! I can't remember a time when I haven't watched Christmas Vacation. This is my favorite part!

There are so many more and I know I'm forgetting some good ones. What are yours?

What's wrong with the toilet?

2008-12-17T10:40:00.000-08:00

Nap time has started 15 minutes early for the second day in a row. The quiet that has been afforded to us due to this pleasant phenomena has led us to discover that we have some kind of issue with the toilet and it continues to run. In turn our relaxation causes it to keep running as nobody is in the mood to get up and check it out. I guess sometimes you just need to slow down and hear the toilet.

I spent part of the morning shopping downtown. I had three special gifts to buy. I meandered through Charley and Bella's for the longest time sipping hot cider and contemplating the best buy. I ended up with this beautiful Santa for my boss to go with her blue Christmas decor. The kids all wanted to feel his fuzzy coat when she brought it in during lunch. We both cringed as little pizza sauce fingers reached up for just a little feel.

Next I picked out a ball with a hand painted Texas flag. We're doing an ornament exchange at a preschool only Christmas get together. The gal whose name I drew is from Utah so I wanted to give a little Texas to her tree. I've seen these ornaments for years and always wanted one. I guess giving one as a gift is close enough. Every year they also have some with the old court house on them. That's really what I want. Someday I'll start a collection.

Last but not least I went across the street to The Dressing Room and picked out a little lotion and lip balm set for the last special person. I ran into a friend and we visited while I looked. Time got away from me and before I knew it I was almost late for work, again. Going in there is such a great time. I'll finish off today shopping with Dad for Mom after work. I have some ideas but will not divulge them here since apparently she does look at this occasionally.

Ok so is it weird that I enjoy going to the dentist? I tell Chelsea this all the time and she can never understand. I'm going this afternoon and I'm excited because having my teeth cleaned is like a massage for my mouth. I could do without the scraping behind my permanent retainer but I love leaving there feeling so fresh and smooth. I've heard of these dental spas. I would be so up for that! Having my feet rubbed while I lay back in a massage chair with Carol cleaning my teeth. Ahhh lovely! Carol does fix me up that's for sure. If only she could just fix me up with her son...

Keeping the Spirit

2008-12-16T20:06:00.000-08:00

Today started slow. I set my alarm so that I would have time to lounge around a little bit before getting ready for work. The lounging got out of hand a little bit and I ended up nearly running late, especially after I stopped at El Chico for a last minute gift card for my Secret Santa for the staff party tonight. Don't get me started on how long I think it should take to produce a gift card and how long it actually took the El Chico employees today.

Lunch is never good at work when I go into it frustrated. I don't know how many times I said "HURRY UP!" as children continued to fart around all over the room. When everyone finally got on their mats, I ended up turning Frosty off early and extending nap by a few minutes. I needed some time to get myself back together. It worked although I don't think anything short of three weeks will help much at this point. After work I visited with the Peteet's and picked up my lovely Christmas gift. After a quick run in Big Lots I headed to the party. It was good but I couldn't get home and into my pjs quick enough. Two more days of work and the true break begins. I'm trying to stay in good spirits and enjoy everything. My kid's tendency to tune out all words of instruction and take twice as long as usual to accomplish anything isn't helping. I'm trying.

I got a text from Kristen this afternoon asking for Rockette pics. As promised, here they are!

Opening

Toy soldiers. Mom's favorite

Christmas in NYC

Santas kept coming from everywhere and then they put them on the backdrop. My favorite

This nativity was absolutely beautiful! There were sheep, donkeys and camels, and children reading the Christmas story. So sweet.

Simple Womans Daybook

2008-12-15T10:39:00.000-08:00

For today, Monday, December 15, 2008

Outside my window... An empty playground sits under a grey sky encompassed by near freezing temps

I am thinking...what am I going to do while the kids sleep today? I should probably put on my makeup and plan something for them to make/do this afternoon.

I am thankful for...the pay checks I deposited today. Some in savings and some in checking. It's a good feeling to be financially secure.

From my kitchen...nothing today. Dinner tonight will be take out or every man for himself as everyone will be doing their own thing.

I am wearing...jeans, a maroon long sleeve tee with a black puffy vest, my new gold and black necklace and some slip on Ugg knock offs.

I am creating...crafts for my class for the week. Apparently we're not going to have much outside time so it will be my job to keep everyone busy and in line.

I am going...to see the Rockettes tonight with Mom.

I am reading...haven't started anything. I echo Christina. My brain is just tired.

I am hoping...that Christmas with my mom's side of the fam turns out better than I expect. It's the second Christmas without my grandma and it will be the first that my uncle and aunt in Abilene hasn't been here. I understand that they feel the need to begin their own traditions with their baby in their new home but I selfishly want them here. My other aunt is having a knee replacement so I don't even know what their status is going to be. Overall it's just much different from the Christmas' of my childhood.

I am hearing...silent sleeping children and the heater blowing in warm air to keep them toasty warm until they wake.

Around the house...the cat is probably destroying everything. I didn't take the time to lock him up. I really don't like that cat.

One of my favorite things...Christmas. I'm sure you could tell. I love the parties and special events but most importantly I love love love to talk about Christs birth with kids. It's the sweetest joy.

A few plans for the rest of the week... work and work parties, shopping with Dad, Dallas on Saturday and Sunday. I need to find time to help Marcy clean up the guest house, aka my new humble abode.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

Savannah and I at the Christmas parade in what I believe would have been 2006. She was psycho over candy canes and yelled "CANNIES" though the whole thing.

Corn Dip

2008-12-14T19:06:00.001-08:00

I'm posting this for Kristen but it's wonderful if you've never had it. This was the dip at my birthday party for those of you who were there.

Corn Dip
1 can Mexicorn- drained (it's a little can on the can veggie aisle)
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

Mix together. It's better if you let it sit covered in the fridge for a little while if possible before you serve. Eat with corn tortilla chips (Plain Doritos or something similar)

Visions of Christmas

2008-12-14T17:32:00.002-08:00

My week of joyous holiday cheer continued on to make for a wonderful weekend. Mom got me up early Saturday morning to help her finish up Christmas shopping. We stopped at Walgreens and printed Christmas cards, went to Academy for guy gifts, the mall for more gifts and an amazing sale at Bath and Body Works, Cheddars for lunch, Knowledge Nook because I can't stay away, and Fisherman's Market for fresh fish to cook tonight. We ended with grocery shopping back in Marshall. We got home and rested for just a few minutes until it was time to get ready for the parade. I had Cass and Ada and Lydia had her babysitting clients and we were honored to be able to watch the parade amongst friends and fellow Trinity family members on the square. We threw all the kids in the back of the truck and although they all ended up in the street before the hour long parade ended, everyone had a great time.

I'm posting pics from the weekend activities. There's a lot going on this week so I will try to keep the pictures coming of all the fun.

Kids watching the parade

Ada and Maggie

Olivia, Henry, and Maggie

The little Rudolphs headed to Taco Bell

Annabelle, Savannah, Christina, Meadow and Emily passing by in their float

The stars of the show

Dressing Up

2008-12-12T13:05:00.000-08:00

Here lately I've really gotten out of the tee shirt rut I was stuck in. Yesterday I was going to wear a tee shirt to work and couldn't do it. My grandma always said that a lady should get up and get dressed in the morning, "put on her face" (aka makeup) and wash her hair even if she was just staying home because it makes you feel better about yourself. I'll be the first to admit that when I do get a day off I'm not up putting on my makeup but I understand exactly what she was talking about. I feel that since I am out and about all day and most importantly keeping peoples kids that I should look presentable and stylish. The downside of this new attitude is the cost of said stylishness. I went to The Dressing Room during my break today and spent most of what I made last night on a necklace. This will be the test to see if my mom really reads my blog. Whats the point in making money if you aren't using it to live and enjoy yourself? I enjoy myself when I feel pretty and apparently that costs money. There you have it.

Soooo speaking of new looks and such, you might I have noticed a new look around here. This was my nap time project today. I've been trying to create a unique signature look. I don't know if this was exactly what I had pictured but then again I'm not even sure what that was so this will do. I know the Roth kids are missing from the header. In my search of all of my pictures I have yet to find one of all three R's together. I'll be working on that.

Loving the Season

2008-12-11T11:30:00.000-08:00

With school finished I'm having some time to finally get into the spirit of the season. Yesterday at work I only had our three girls stay until craft time and we finger painted giant Christmas trees to work on decorating the rest of this week and next. They had a great time and are so excited about our project. Today I brought all of my favorite children's Christmas books for us to start reading. The kids are all tucked in extra tight and napping in preparation of our exciting afternoon. I'm trying to not miss a moment and take it all in since this is my last Trinity Christmas. Speaking of taking it in, oh what a fabulous lunch we had today! Our cleaning lady prepared an authentic Mexican feast as a Christmas gift to us. We had tortillas, mole, rice, beans, guac, hot sauce, and some taquito things. It was all out of this world and homemade of course. We don't have the opportunity to visit with her a lot and she probably doesn't know much about us but I'm sure she could tell by the ever increasing size of our waist lines that a meal was the way to our hearts. Mrs. Silvia is truly a blessing.

Last night I had the pleasure of spending the evening with the Trueloves. The weather was nasty when Jennifer brought Cate to me at the preschool and we grabbed Maggie from her class and went to pick up Walt and go home. Despite the cold everybody was in happy spirits and we got home and ate a meal of gourmet fish sticks and Doritos before playing trains with Walt and cleaning up a slight slime mishap in the girls room. Jennifer got home and I got plenty of "bye bye meme" kisses and made the drive home to Elysian Fields. I've never been more relieved to be in my own bed.

Tonight Henry, Maggie, Cate and I are off to see the Budweiser Clydesdales. They come to town every other year for Wonderland and the parade. I've gone with my family every year they've come and it's slipped up on us this year and until Marcy mentioned it this morning I wasn't planning on going. The kids are excited and so am I.

I'm working Santa's Workshop again tomorrow night. Marcy seems to be raising quite a bit of money and I'm glad to be able to help her and CASA. My dad's company party is tomorrow night as well. My buddy Doug has been in charge of orchestrating the whole thing so I hope to be able to make an appearance there as well. My family has been so blessed in the past few years by Dad's job move. He had worked at his previous job my whole life and was constantly stressed about them not having enough work and the future of the company. He went to work for Lewis Engineering and it's truly been a blessing for the whole family.

Saturday night is the Christmas parade. It's a wonderful tradition for my family and for the last few years I've had friends and kids come with us too. This year I'll have Cass and Ada. I might see if Dad will take the truck down early enough to get us a good spot. It should be a good time.

I'm falling more in love with this time of year everyday. I'm so thankful for the family, friends and town God has given me to enjoy it all with.

My Last Night

2008-12-09T21:41:00.001-08:00

So just now as I pulled into the library parking lot and took my place it hit me very hard that this is my last night at school. Of course memories began to flood my mind and a few tears began to flow. It's been that kind of week really. It started on Monday when I worked the Christmas program practice with my class. I had just gone through the motions consoling the worried and disciplining the out of control when I looked up and the 4 year old class, my kids from last year that includes Maggie, Henry, Annabelle and Ada, were singing in their sweetest angelic voices "Thank you God for all the gifts you give us. Thank you God for all the gifts, you give us." I lost it. I felt a little silly and tried to move on and stay busy but the scene played over and over in my head for the rest of the day. After next week my class won't be my class anymore until I come back for a few weeks in May. The preschool has been huge in my life for three and a half years and even three day weekends are hard for me. This is going to be an adjustment.

As for my last night at school, I couldn't have spent it better. The big finale of the Christmas program was tonight. It was beautiful. As the opening remarks were given I looked around and saw Chelsea and Matt slipping in on the back row. How can I stay upset with her? I'm getting much better. We've had some good times over the past few days. After it was over and I came in from the cold, I watched a few episodes of The Office on the couch with Chelsea while I finished up all of the assignments that are due tomorrow in order for me to check out and be done. As I worked and IMed Cort on Facebook, we decided to go look at Christmas lights. That's kind of our thing I guess you could say. We drove around for a while before I decided that I needed to go to Wal-Mart and get a new laundry hamper to aid in the packing up of my room. I have a ton of dirty clothes and am becoming increasingly bothered by the week at having to carry all of my laundry down the stairs and out to the car in about 3 super heavy baskets, bags or hampers. I found a huge hamper with a lid on wheels! Let's just say I think it will be worth the money. On my way home I stopped off at the library to see Traci and decided to stay and blog on the faster computer. I have the finishing touches to put on my research paper, I have packing and cleaning still and must get a little rest before my test at 8:00 in the morning although I know it won't be much. I thought about doing some kind of Top 10 memory thing but there are too many to list and some that although they are classic college memories I'm too ashamed in my now adulthood to post them here. Ok no more sadness. I'm not even graduating yet. This isn't the time. Good night! My last night!

The Simple Woman's Daybook

2008-12-08T05:55:00.000-08:00

For today, Monday, December 8, 2008

Outside my window...sun is shining on a cool crisp December morning in Marshall.

I am thinking... of my plan of action for the day. I need a pumpkin pie by 11:00. I guess I'll just run in Wal Mart. I've taken a shot to my domestic pride. I'm not a store bought pie kind of gal and if I do buy my sweet treat I want it to be in a little white box suited with a label from a little down town cafe. I'll make it up to them.

I am going...to help the preschoolers practice for their Christmas program. I usually go to all of the programs but the Christmas one always falls during finals week were I have a little bit of free time in the mornings making me ever so available.

I am thankful for... Christmas break! Although I'll still be working for another week, there will be no school! The month holds so many fun adventures.

One of my favorite things...getting up in time to relax a bit. I'm a snooze hitter like no other and to actually turn off the alarm and have some time before actually having to get ready is very nice. I tend to actually run late on the days that I get up early. Go figure.

I am reading...nothing until I go home on Wednesday. Then it's back on the road with the Twilight saga.

Around the house...is not as clean as it was last week. I have to pack my entire room up by Wednesday. Maybe I can find some friends to save the day. Hint hint....

From the kitchen...nothing of mine. Definitely not a pumpkin pie.

I am wearing... my favorite new Christmas plaid pj pants with a Marshall Mavs tee

I am hearing... absolute silence for what will quite possibly be the only time today.

A few plans for the rest of the week...work, Christmas program, finish finals, move out. Too boring for details

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you... the finished Christmas tree that Mom, Lydia and I created. The best one yet in my opinion. I wish the pic had turned out clearer.

Click here for more Daybook fun!

I'll blog with you....

2008-12-06T13:37:00.000-08:00

Savannah is sitting in my lap and as soon as the blogger page came up she said, "Is that your blog?"I said,"Yeah it is. Let's write." She replied with an excited, "Ok I'll blog with you!" So here we are. Savannah's blog...

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aqkgdfjghvihnjbjkbhijlk;jk;juhll[chxsjl[lp-pholgp[jgd gokhopky-ky-kjlgokk' l/'lvflgo;kryo0[th

"I'm just going to type! I don't want to write my name. I love all those f's" Oh what fun!

In other news, Santas Workshop was a total joy last night. Bundled up families of all kinds came in out of the cold to write letters to Santa, make a toy, have their picture made and of course give $1 to CASA to sign Santa's List. There was a large elf crew assisting in the toy making and periodically they would jump up on their stools and break into song. Such a joyus time.

This morning I helped Mom and Lydia finish the Christmas decorating at home. There was way too much stuff for the places we had but we made it all work and with the purchase of some ribbon and other various decor this afternoon the tree will be complete and all work done.

Mark and Christina are off to a Christmas party and Savannah and I are going to join in on the trip to the pottery in a little while and will probably grab some dinner too. She quickly became bored with the whole blogging thing and has gone down to the sun room to work on her treasure map. I asked her if I could finish this before I joined her and she said, "Sure if I can have another snack." Sneaky little thing.

Faster than Phelps

2008-12-05T10:26:00.000-08:00

Periodically Capital One sends Mom to various meetings about people skills and being a good manager, boss, etc. One of the last ones she attended involved some kind of personality test in which you were categorized as a doer, a follower, etc. and they were challenged to categorize themselves, their employees, and family. Mom told me later that night that she only had to read the first few characteristics under the doer list to know that was so me. Boy is it true! When working on our big unit project this semester I had to catch myself several times in the meetings as I was beginning to sound a bit too bossy, although I still wouldn't hold back much and would just begin my sentences with "I don't mean to be the boss, but...." Luckily for me I had the best group in the world and they would laugh and teasingly (I think) call me "the boss." If you listen in on a shopping trip between my sister and I, especially when Mom is present for me to feed off of, it won't be long before Lydia will proclaim the famous, "Shut up Lee Ann you're not my mom!" It's a classic.
All that said, you have to imagine that when the possibility of Chelsea and I moving off campus next semester came up, I jumped in a swam with it faster than Phelps. I was on a mission. I knew what I wanted and even though there was never a lease in my hand, I would remind classmates who suggested car pool arrangements for next semester and my boss who was looking for a place for a few coworkers to stay that I would be living off campus. I was figuratively out of there. Well this morning all reality hit and the dreams of off campus quiet and freedom came crashing around me as Chelsea revealed that she wouldn't be able to go in on the deal due to some unforeseen financial aid situation. I was really upset and hurt as I thought about all the time and stress I had put into this whole thing and how next year when I need a house more than likely there won't be one in that neighborhood, my dream neighborhood. As I thought about all of these things and was not happy with Chelsea, my best friend, I kept trying to remind myself that technically it was never a for sure thing and I had just made it that way in my mind. I should be used to this feeling as my strong willed personality has led me into it many many times and it has a prominent place in my life, although it hurts just as bad everytime.
On the bright side, it never lasts long. Rather it's disappointment from a car that I had picked out and didn't get or a boy who turned out to be a jerk, something better always comes along. I know plain and simple that God must have something better in store for me. I keep reminding myself that next fall when I really will have to get a house, that I'll be able to do it all on my own and that more than likely my bathroom won't have blue tile walls with mauve floors.

Does that include an Advil?

2008-12-03T18:59:00.000-08:00

What a headache of a day it's been! Chelsea and I are still in the very midst of the house hunt. Yesterday we looked at a house on Shirley St. that we loved. It's yellow and cute in the perfect neighborhood (just 4 down from Christina!) This morning we checked it over again, met with the owner and the only thing keeping us from writing a check was him wanting to only do a year long lease. I understand this is pretty standard and I don't want to sound as if I have little faith that God is going to provide, it's just a big step. 6 months- I can do. We left there and called the owner of another prospective property and set up an appointment to meet at the house at 12:00. At 12:40 when she had yet to arrive we left and went on about our day. I heard from her at 4:00 to learn that she had forgotten our appointment. We'll try again tomorrow with her. After a long day of debate and discussion, we've decided on a few propositions to present to the Shirley St. house guy and see if we can make a deal tomorrow.
The figurative headache of the rental property market has created a very literal one that is pounding away as I sit in the library. There is a lot I should be working on but I finished the lesson plan I needed for tomorrow and for now that's all I can will myself to do. Getting down here was a chore in itself. I've watched at least 3 episodes of Reba, eaten 1 large bowel of spaghetti, and sent more text messages than I can count in the hours between work and homework. The dreary weather seems to be directing my thoughts toward a possible movie rental and early bed time. Oh, and an Advil.

The Simple Womans Day Book

2008-12-01T20:42:00.000-08:00

For today, Monday, December 1, 2008

Outside my window...the sky is dark and the air cold.

I am thinking...that there has to be something I have to do in the morning. Surely it's not possible that I'll be able to not set the alarm tonight.

I am going...to bed when I finish this. I stayed up way too late last night and want to fully enjoy the benefits of sleeping in tomorrow.

I am thankful for... having my best friends back safely with me in Harrison County. Traci, Kristen and I spent all morning together in class, breakfast, class again and lunch and I couldn't have been happier. I missed them terribly over our short little break.

One of my favorite things...hanging out with the Roth kids. Marcy and Brendan both had meetings tonight and Jackson was out with a friend so Caroline, Henry and I shared in soup and bread for dinner while the radio played in the background and we all sang along to our favs while we visited and laughed. It was a great time.

I am reading...the research paper over and over again. One more short section and it will be dones-o. I'm waiting until it is finished before I begin the second book in the Twilight series. I learned today from a co-worker that the 4th book is the best so I'm ready to get there.

Around the house...everything is tidy for the most part. We just got back so all the junk that usually makes its way into the common areas is still neatly stashed away in our bedrooms.

From the kitchen...nothing. A trip to the grocery store is planned for tomorrow in order to stock up a few essentials to last us these last few days.

I am wearing... jeans, a purple long sleeve tee and a black and white paisley Forever 21 pull over with hair in the signature messy bun on top of my head.

I am hearing... the Dr. Phil episode that came on after the show I was watching when I started this. I usually don't watch it and if our cable was working I might would find the remote and change it but this episode has me somewhat intrigued. It's two women who married brothers, had children and divorced. Their ex husbands have now taken their children and left without a trace. I'm sure Dr. P will save the day.

A few plans for the rest of the week...work and keeping Conner tomorrow. I haven't seen him in two weeks now and miss him like crazy! Wednesday night I'll work the CASA donation station at Santa's Workshop downtown (stop by and see Santa and give us a buck!) Dad's going out of town this weekend so I'm sure I'll be spending some time with Mom and then keeping Savannah on Saturday night. Don't forget the paper and other random assignments that need to be finished.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you... this image comes to mind each time I hear something about Twilight. Edward. Oh la la!

More Day Books!

Tis' the Season!

2008-11-30T10:02:00.001-08:00

It's a beautiful blustery day outside and inside I've set up shop at my parents bar to write this quick post and attempt to work on the never ending research paper. This holiday weekend has been eventful for lack of a better word. Wednesday night Lydia and I had both finished Twilight and decided to go watch the movie. I started out fine as the film rolled on and as the plot thickened I began to feel a little woozy. I tried to put my nausea in the back of my mind but it never went away. Finally, about 30 min from the end, I jumped up, ran down the dark stairs and made it to the trash can in the hallway before I lost my dinner. I was convinced to see the end of the movie and I really did feel better so I went back to my seat and finished out the show. The feeling better didn't last though and I was sick every hour until about 4:00 am Thursday. As my family bustled around the kitchen I stayed in bed willing myself to keep down sips of 7UP. I joined the crowd at the table for the blessing and gave myself 1 scoop of potatoes that I never touched and quickly bid everyone farewell and settled in for a long nap. I was able to eat an apple and grilled cheese sandwich later that night and was back to myself by Friday morning just in time to partake in the Black Friday festivities.
Lydia chickened out so Mom and I ventured out into the rain down the interstate at about 5:15 and made it to Bass Pro right after they opened at 6:00. We were in search of Christmas gifts for a long list of family members and a new GPS for Mom and Dad. We meandered through the crowd and left there with much success just as the sun was coming up. The day after Thanksgiving provides a great sale on Yankee Candles so Mom was egar to visit Ellis Pottery and select her favorite holiday scents. With candles in tow we stopped by the mall to investigate a few of the items that Lydia had indicated on her Christmas list and then made stops at JC Penny, Kirklands, Target, Sams and Wal Mart, before making it home and unloaded at about 1:00 and crashed for a long afternoon nap. As we rushed around Shreveport I couldn't help but think, how materialistic does this make me look? Do these people around me see a greedy $3 towel, $10 sweater snatching worldly girl who lives for nothing more than a good deal and the newest and best? As Mom and I visited and laughed while we looked for the treasures that would bring a smile the faces of our most beloved family members, I was reminded of how much I love the spirit of giving that the holidays bring and it quickly added to the happiness and fun of the day. The Lord definitely blesses me through the selecting and giving to my loved ones. What a great blessing!
That night Collin, Melissa and baby Tessa visited from Abilene. Tessa opened her first Christmas gifts and we visited for hours and caught up on time together. I woke up Saturday to find out that Lydia had come down with the stomach issues that I had just been relieved of, but she seemed much worse. I spent the day running errands and going to a birthday party with my aunt only to come home late in the afternoon to Mom very anxiously caring for Lydia, who had developed severe stomach pain and hadn't held down anything in over 12 hours, discussing going to the hospital as it was obvious she was becoming dehydrated quickly. We loaded up and I drove the ill one and the worried mother into town. We got into a room surprisingly quick and they began iv fluids and after a selection of tests and a few nausea meds, she was diagnosed with ovarian cysts, which we've both had before, and of course the stomach virus, we departed for home at about 1:00 am.
Today we're keeping it low key. We skipped all church activities and slept in. Lydia is much better but still resting on the couch. We're fixing to begin the Christmas decor project and Dad and I just took down the large collection of tubs and boxes of family Christmas treasures. The garage currently looks like a small family has packed their belongings and the moving truck will arrive soon. The kitchen is also in full swing as we prepare one last holiday weekend meal for the Abilene visitors and others to enjoy tonight. Following those festivities I will load up the Lexus, just as I did a little over a week ago, and depart for Marshall in anticipation of finishing this semester. The research paper is still lingering, cleaning and packing must be done, hopefully I'll hear from the girl about the potential rental property, the work schedule will continue and I have signed up for one night volunteering at Santa's Workshop helping Marcy out. What an exciting time of year!

Bring on the Break

2008-11-25T05:44:00.001-08:00

It's funny how I can escape out to my parents house and not open my computer once and never think once about it but when I'm in town I become extremely irritated over our poor internet service as if I can't live without it. That's been pretty much the scene for this Thanksgiving break so far. I've checked my email once but had to catch up on the blogs this morning as I lounged around at the Trueloves waiting for all three messy haired stinky breath children to make their way up to the den for snuggles and breakfast. I should have known that the break wouldn't be all sitting at the house in Elysian Fields and that I would have to work a little bit. The break so far has been glorious! Friday I made the 20 minute journey out to my parents house with a huge load of dirty clothes and the paperback copy of Twilight (I know I'm a little behind.) I enjoyed the quiet of being home alone and got a little nap before my family came in. After dinner we sat around the fire fit behind my dad's shop and visited until Mom and I got a little too chilly and opted to relax in the living room instead. Saturday morning I woke I hear that Doug had shot a deer and was fixing to be at the shop to clean it. I put on my boots and took coffee down to the busy deer processors and sat on the stool and visited while they worked. When Doug was off to the meat market to deliver his venison to be made into yummy smoked sausage, Mom, Dad and I were off to Lowes to get the supplies needed to finish off the bathroom remodel project that began a couple of weeks ago when Dad's two year temporary fix to a plumbing issue finally gave out. We picked out a new mirror, towel racks, etc. and it should all be installed and complete by tomorrow. Sunday was a great church day followed by an afternoon of napping and continued reading on Twilight. Monday I slept in and read the morning away before deciding I couldn't take another day in the house when this season of holidays allows for so much shopping. I showered and got dressed and was out the door to Shreveport. As I've explained to Mom, I think I would almost rather have an afternoon of shopping alone than a massage. It's pure relaxation. I meandered around World Market, did some hardcore purchasing in Target and got a few much needed things at the Hallmark Store. Overall it was very successful and I returned relaxed and care free. Today I'm in my pajamas still as I was up before dawn to drive to Jefferson. I planned on going back to sleep before the kids got up but it didn't happen. The girls are watching cartoons and when I finish this I'm going to go down the hall and listen at Walt's door for chatter indicating that he might be awake. We've got a pretty low key day planned and will probably only play outside and finish decorating the Christmas tree. I'll stop by the grocery store for Mom before going back home tonight to finish my book and do some more relaxing. I pray that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

A Day So Full

2008-11-20T23:51:00.000-08:00

Although my days are typically jam packed, it's been a while since I've had one quite this crazy busy. My alarm went off this morning around 6:40 and since I showered last night I hit the snooze a few times before I hit the off button with the intention of getting right up. About 20 minutes later I woke from a dead sleep in which I was dreaming I was picking out an outfit, and panicked. I rushed around and got out the door in a fairly reasonable time and made it to Sam Houston right as the bell rang. Rushing down the hall to my classroom took me back a little to the days of running down the hall in jr. high in order not to get a tardy. I fought the urge all day to leave early and powered through until 2:30. I grabbed a diet cherry coke from sonic (I'm working on it Christina I promise. I'm going home for Thanksgiving and Mom doesn't buy them so maybe that will do it) and then stopped by the preschool to retrieve my very generous Friends of Trinity Christmas bonus gift and took that puppy right to the bank. When I got home I decided the fore go the nap I so desperately longed for and worked on some homework while visiting with Randi and Chelsea who lounged carelessly in the living room. As usual time got away from me and before I knew it it was time to run off to Jefferson to keep my Truelove darlings. I rushed around (looking back on it, I'm not sure why we were in such a hurry...) and eventually got everybody something they wanted to eat between Walt's pitiful cries for Jennifer. I finally gave in and went on a mad search for a Thomas the train DVD in an attempt to hush him. Thank you Thomas for the quietness you afforded me tonight. After a fun giggly bubble laden bath of kiddos and some cookies from grandma we all gathered in the girls room for some play time. The kids played and I collapsed on the bed. I never went to sleep but pretended to in order to see Walt's reaction. When he noticed that I was "asleep" he stood in the middle of the room pointing at me and looking at the girls saying in a very concerned tone "MeMe night night, MeMe night night!"(MeMe is my new Walt given name by the way) It was priceless. Jenn and Kurt came home shortly and after a few slobbery snotty night night kisses, MeMe was on the road headed home to the list of assignments and chores that awaited before the beginning of the break of Thanksgiving. I have planned all week on possibly pulling an all nighter tonight. I'm pretty much finished with the results of my first of two themes for my action research paper and once I knock out the second and do a little cleaning up for room check and packing for my week in Elysian Fields, I'll be off to bed.
I'll always have busy days but the reality that this college kind of busy is drawing to an end is hitting me hard this week. It seems that everybody is starting to think about our time in school and it seems that we're definitely sharing memories and thoughts this week. I'll have a few take home finals to do when we get back before the end of the semester but for the most part this is pretty much my last hoo rah of homework, friends, and coffee filled nights. We'll still be college students next semester but without the demanding course loads and day to day classes. The change is bitter sweet. Ok maybe more like semi-dark chocolate sweet.