Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

I can't believe it's the day after Christmas! This is my favorite time of year and it always goes by so quickly. I do have to admit, Christmas was a bit strange this year. Last year was different too, combining households (my dad and step mom)... This year was different because I was actually with Chris on Christmas Day! Which was a first. It was also a first to be away from my dad and brother on Christmas Eve and Day. It was hard but it was also fun to be with Chris's family.


Well, this time next week, I'll be back at school. It's sad that we only have a week and a half... but I guess it could be worse, I could be working today. I am planning on enjoying my time off before going back. Once I go back, I start work on my 6 year degree (the one AFTER the masters) and teaching after school and... so many other things.


Anyway... Merry Christmas to all of you and a blessed and happy 2007!!!

Yahoo for Thanksgiving Break

It's official! My week is over and Thanksgiving break has begun. About 2 minutes ago, the last of my kids left the room and now, it's silence that I hear! YAHOO! :)

Seriously! It is a much needed break... Conferences took a lot out of me, they all went well (thanks for asking Amy!)... but they do just take a lot of energy.

So more thanksgiving... I am thankful for a wonderful job, with a wonderful class and working with a bunch of wonderful individuals. I am so very thankful for my family and my Chris... and my wonderful friends of times past (all you Mountain Park youth groupies) and those of present.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

Amazed and thankful

I am so amazed at how fast time goes by. I just looked at the last blog and it seems like it was forever ago. Well, an update.. the play went well. There is a possibility of being in another one later on... We'll see.

This week is conference week. I hate conference week. Being an elementary teacher, I have to try and meet with all of my parents. Which makes for a very long, very tiring week. Not only is it physically tiring, it's mentally tiring, which is worse. Tomorrow, I will start conferences at 1:10 and will go through 7:00. The conferences are scheduled in 20 minute increments.... Let's just say that I am not looking forward to tomorrow.

Thursday, however, I am looking forward to... On Thursday, I will get to leave as soon as all of my kids are on the bus (which hopefully will be around 1:10) AND I have a meeting tomorrow night about starting school. I am going back for my specialist/6 year degree. It's the degree between masters and doctorate. I am looking forward to finding out the details. Also, Thursday is Grey's Anatomy night and is one day closer to the weekend. :)

Thankful...I am so thankful for my wonderful husband and family. God has blessed me tremendously over the years and I am so thankful and praise God daily. I am also thankful for the many friends He has blessed me with over the years, some that I still remain in touch with and some that have touched my life in years past. Thank you to all of you.

It's almost play time...

I am so thankful that the play is this weekend. I am EXHAUSTED!!! I love being in the plays at MP, but I am really tired this time. We have so much going on that I am looking forward to having our Sunday afternoons back. Growing up, I always hated Sunday afternoons... there wasn't much to do between church services... and mom and dad always took naps... NOW, I understand why! :)

I hope that some of you are planning to come see us in the play. It's been a lot of fun to be in the play with Chris. He's really good and very cute... hee hee hee

Oh, and can you believe it??? TWO MONTHS TIL CHRISTMAS!!!! Wahoo!!!!

Full Moons

I hate full moons! I don't know what it is about them, but they make everyone (especially kids) CRAZY! My class has been absolutely nuts today! Right now, however, I am enjoying the peace and quiet in my room. The class is at recess! :)

Well, as you can tell from my infrequent blogs, I am still overly busy. I am almost to the point that I am overwhelmed with the business. There's no time to just sit and chill. I am always having to go somewhere or do something... and it's just going to stay that way, at least until football season is over.

Hmmmm... Oh well.

BUSY BUSY BUSY

I have been so super busy since school has started. Chris and I were asked to be in a play at my dad's church... so, we've been practicing for the play... Youth started back at our church, as well as my Bible Study, so there goes my Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Not to mention that a friend talked me into applying for school, again. So, I have been frantically gathering and completing information for graduate school (Education Specialist... the degree AFTER Masters).

AND, MOST RECENTLY.... (da da da dom...) I was nominated and elected Teacher of the Year for my school!!! :)

5 down 175 to go!

Well, the first week with the students is almost over (they are outside at recess)... It's been a fairly successful week. I think my class is going to be a good one, I hope so anyway. Speaking of, I hear them in the hallway! More to come!

First Day back

Today was my first day back to school. The first day is always kind of fun. You get to see everyone that you haven't seen all summer... catch up. It's usually pretty busy. Today was anyway. We had a meeting that lasted all morning, a catered lunch and the afternoon was pretty much on our own.

I have an intern this year, she seems very sweet. It was a bit unnerving at first, trying to decide what to do myself, much less tell someone else. But, I found somethings for her to do and it's been very beneficial to me. Normally, I bring lots of stuff to do home (cut out laminating, glue stuff, etc...) and I had her do a lot of it today... so.... that was really nice.

I always get sad the first week back. I think about how wonderful my class was last year and I am sad that they won't be returning. Hear's to hoping that this new class is just as good. :D

Crazy Cat

Okay, so I have posted about our crazy dogs and today I had to post about the psycho cat. Chris had the coolest cat when I met him. Mr. Kitty would chase the dogs, box and just was the coolest cat ever. Unfortunately a few years ago, Mr. Kitty ate the tip off the door stop and when we discovered what happened, his organs had already begun to shut down. :( So, I decided that I would get a cat. The apartment I lived in at the time, allowed cats only. So, one Saturday, we headed to PetSmart to get a cat from the Humane Society. I wanted an orange tabby, like Mr. Kitty was (did I mention he was huge? A bit like Garfield). We saw the prettiest diluted calico. She had the biggest green eyes and seemed to be the biggest sweetheart. We were fooled! Bailey is the craziest cat. She definitely came out of her shell. She doesnt' like to be held or even petted most of the time. Though she has gotten better. Being home with her this summer, it has been fun to watch what she does. She'll get in the craziest places (see the pics) and it just makes me laugh.

Viva!

This week, I am working at my church's VBS. I am teaching rising second graders. Let me tell you, they are a LOT different from 5th graders!!! PLUS, I have 9 boys and only 5 sweet girls! But, it's fun. The first day was a little rough, today has probably been the best day.

Our theme this year is "Fiesta." So, everything has a Mexican theme to it. We have a daily Bible point and when anyone says it, the kids yell out "Viva!" and they throw their hands in the air. It's really, very cute. :) I am glad that tomorrow is Friday and the last day...

Braves and Race

I DID IT! I successfully attended the Braves v. Cardinals on the 3rd and proceeded to finish the Peachtree on the 4th! I am so proud of myself. ... Of course, I could barely walk yesterday, but I did it! :) In fact, we all did... Jarred, Jennifer, Zach, Chris, dad, Sue and me... we all finished. Of course, Dad, Sue and I were the last in our group to finish but we didn't run as much. Well, dad did until his knee gave out. Sue and I kept a steady pace after running for a very little bit. It was such a blessing to walk with her. We had such a nice time and we kept pushing each other to finish. FOr a while there, I'll admit, I wasn't sure I would make it. The heat really, and I mean REALLY, got to me. In fact, I was officially overheated when I finished and the rest of my 4th was pretty much shot. But I finished, I got a shirt and will wear it with pride!!!

The Braves game was very fun, as you can see from the picture. WE all went, except Zach (who had to work). Smoltz was in form and the Braves had a homerun derby in the 3rd, rain delay and all. I was very disappointed that there weren't any fireworks. They normally have done the fireworks on the 3rd too. Oh well, there's always next year.

Big Test

So, I am on the eve of the big event. Tomorrow is the Peachtree... the race I have been training for, although I am not planning on running too much. I went and bought a new sports bra, a shirt with the quick drying material and NEW SHOES! That's right, I was fitted, thanks to the Big Peach Running Co. for a new pair of shoes. I am very excited about wearing them.

So, you would think that we would get a good night's rest before the big event, but no... we're headed to the Ted to catch some (hopefully) good baseball and (I know) great fireworks. For the past 3 years, we have been to the Braves game either on the 4th or the day before and the fireworks that they put on for the 4th are some of the best. I think they're better than Lenox... but that's my opinion. You can't beat watching them come up behind the field with the city in the background! :)

Cakes

I sold my first two cakes this past week! I am very excited!!! Of course, the first one was to Sue... who said she wanted the honor of buying my first cake. The second one went to my friend, Sarah. Both cakes were caramel and very close to my grandmother's cakes. Now, only 8 more to go until I can get my Kitchenaid mixer. :)

Walking vs. Running

So, the past two weeks, I have gotten up every morning (well, not every morning) to go for a walk/run. My brother has gotten into running, so I thought I would give it a try. I have never been the athletic sort... the most athletic I have come was dance (which I still love but rarely do anymore).

Every morning that I am going for a walk/run, I put on my TWO, yes, I said two, sports bras and my tennis shoes and I go out the door. Our street is about a half a mile long, so I walk to the end and walk back. Yesterday, I walked it in 16 minutes. Of course, I need to get it down to 15 minutes in order that I can complete the Peachtree in the amount of time to get a shirt. My brother decided that our whole family should walk (or in his case, run) the Peachtree this year. So, the whole family is training (assuming my step sister is training too).

What I have decided on these daily walk/runs is that I really don't like running. I wish I did. But it hurts... it hurts my knees and my ankles. I don't think God made running for me to enjoy... But I will continue to try to run.

Soooo tired.....

Today I went on a shopping spree with my step mom, step sister... and her boyfriend. It really makes me laugh that her boyfriend came with us. Sue and I got to the Mall of Georgia around 10:30 ish... We left around 6:45. LONG DAY! But the fun that we had!!! :) We had such fun.

So, not only am I physically tired... I am also tired of the Braves losing. yup, that's right, the stupid Braves keep losing and it's making me very sad. For those of you that don't know, my husband (and myself) is an avid Braves fan. I mean, the Braves keep losing right, and what do we do, even though we're so frustrated with them???? oh yeah, we keep on watching them. What can you do?

Wahoo!!!

My summer has "officially" started... as of 1:45 pm today. I am done with the Writing Institute. Last week, I was so excited about the classes and the ideas... about 1/3 of the way into this week, my brain got full. Yup, my brain is full. I do not want any more information on writer's workshops or reader's workshops until I get the chance to implement some of the things that I have learned. My brain... is full....

By the end of this week, I was a very bad student. I have not paid much attention to any speaker. I have read magazines and other books, while these author's have been speaking. Now, I did hear some wonderful storytellers this past week. If you have a chance to read anything or hear Carmen Deedy... YOU MUST! She is fabulous! (and a Georgian, though not by birth... Cuban by birth).

Enough about writing. You might ask, well what now? Well, I am going to eat a very small lunch and then... I am going to bathe my precious dogs. Chance is the sweetest when you bathe him. He just stands there... Sammy, on the other hand, is a nightmare. Sammy is part pug. If you know anything about pugs, you know that they do NOT like the water. Sammy does NOT like the water. Therefore, he does NOT like to be in the bath. Above is a picture of Sammy. HE's an ornery (Sp?) old dog. But definitely a cool dog... and he LOVES Chris!!!

Writing

Okay, so I am taking this writing class for this week and next week. It's actually called the Writing Institute. And let me tell you... it's fabulous! I haven't ever considered myself a writer. In fact, I hated writing papers in school. Which means, I don't like to teach writing and I especially don't like to grade papers. But this class has gotten me so inspired! That, I have actually started to write some (In a journal type thing). Well, I guess I should tell you that we HAVE to write every morning because we'll actually publish a piece at the end of next week. When I say publish, I don't mean, actually publish a book or article. I mean, take it through the "writing process."

But, I am definitely enjoying myself. :) AND, I am enjoying putting pictures on my blog. Above is a picture of one of our dogs, Chance. Chance is the dumbest dog that you will ever meet. BUT, he's also the sweetest dog. He's a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, which were bred in England to be companion dogs. And that is what he is, a companion. He LOVES people, doesn't care much for other dogs (which our other dog Sammy LOVES to play with other dogs). There are many funny things about Chance. One is that he LOVES to eat! You would think that we starve the poor dog, because every morning when he hears us up, if we don't feed him soon enough, he'll start to whine. And, when you do feed him, he will inhale the food like a vacuum cleaner. He will NOT chew his food. He also will get scared super easy, to where you have to drag him outside, or down the street.

Honeymoon

Man, I would give anything to be back on our honeymoon. I can't remember if I said, but we went on a 7 night cruise. And let me just say that if you have never cruised before, I definitely recommend it! We went on a Royal Carribean (Explorer of the Seas, to be exact). We went to Belize, Costa Maya, Cozumel and Georgetown (Grand Cayman Islands). It was fabulous. I have to admit that I was nervous about cruising. I was afraid I would get sea sick. Let me tell you, I took one of those patches and was fine. I definitely recommend it.

So, the first picture is on the ship at sunset one night. The second one is at Sting Ray City, where we went to swim with the sting rays. Chris doesn't like this picture and would probably kill me for posting it. The last one is Chris reading on the beach in Costa Maya.

You know I thought that the beaches in Florida on the coast were beautiful. And, don't get me wrong, they are... but the beaches in Mexico... GORGEOUS! STUNNING!!! AMAZING!!!!!

Pictures

Okay, so I finally had the time to put some pictures from the wedding on the blog. And, of course, I don't have a single one of Chris AND me. So, my next post, I'll put a few from the honeymoon.

I haven't had the chance to add the pictures because our wireless is not working properly... and my photos are on my computer and the wire is hooked up to Chris's computer. Fun huh? So, I decided to just hook up the wire to mine. (I know, too much information). :) Oh, and the one where I am with a friend, that's Jen. She and I have been friends since seventh grade. She was my matron of honor and I am so thankful to have her as a friend, still... after all these years.

YAY!!!!

It's finally here! The last day of school... WAHOO!!! Currently I am sitting in my room, with ONE (yes, that's right...one) student. I have 4 students that are helping the PE teacher with the little people and the rest have gone home. That's a perk of teaching 5th grade. We have a huge celebration the morning of the last day of school and then they all go home after lunch. Only a few stay (the ones whose parents work here, or parents weren't able to attend)... which is nice. They help us clean our rooms and get ready for the summer. My one student right now is so enthralled with "The Parent Trap"... the original one. It's really cute!

So, now that summer is officially here, I will have time to figure out how to put pictures on the blog. I know it's probably a lot easier than I think, it's just the matter of taking the time to do it. Not to mention that for some reason our wireless isn't working at the house (and that's another thing to work on this summer)... and I don't have all our pictures on the computer yet. Of course, the ones that the photographer took are copyrighted and I won't be able to put them on, (They are SOOOO good, have I mentioned that?). Another project for the summer is PAINTING! The walls in our house make me sad because they are bare. They are white and bare... and we don't want to hang pictures yet because then we'll have to take them down, patch the walls and paint.

I know you're wondering what else I have planned with my summer. It seems like such a long time but it ends up passing by so quickly! I am actually taking a class the first two weeks of the vacation (next week and the week after). THEN, NOTHING... I cannot wait. I feel that I have been on the go for, well, forever... so that makes me very happy to have all the time to work on the house and get it set up how I want it.

I am also going to start selling cakes. I brought a cake after Mother's DAy, that was left over to school (teachers will eat anything)... and got such a wonderful response that I thought I would bake another cake and see if that went over as well. AND, it did! So, I am now going to sell cakes for $25. So, if you need a red velvet cake, caramel cake OR any other kind of cake, just let me know! :)

Is it over yet???

We have 8 days of school left. And let me tell you, it's dragging on by. Today, we don't have a normal schedule and we won't next Friday either due to Field Day. Second and third grades have field day today... which means, we don't have specials (art, music, PE, etc...) and we don't have recess. So, I have not had a break from my special friends ALL DAY LONG!!!

I can't complain too much, as I am blessed with a good class. I have a very smart class (most of them anyway) and most of them are very, very, very sweet. There's only a few that have a hard time being a nice person, but they do have their good moments too.

Right now, I am counting down the minutes (we have ONE hour) left in the day. And then, we have 8 whole days left until summer vacation. Of course, I have 10, but the students wont' be here and it's not so bad. I am looking forward to a very nice break. Since I got married during the school year and wanted time off, I had to try very hard not to take any time off. So needless to say the honeymoon was a lovely rest but I am also looking forward to being home and settting up house. I am hoping that we have time to paint soon. The walls are so bare! (why hang anything up when you know you want to paint???)

I promise...

Once things get settled down and I get some good pictures from the wedding, I'll post... Until then, you'll just have to wait! :)

I AM MARRIED!!!

Thank you to everyone who thought about me on the 22nd. It was an incredible day! I could not have asked for a better day!

So, I am married now. It's strange that I don't feel any different! :) THe biggest difference is that now at 9:00 PM I don't have to head home because I am already there. :) It's strange getting used to a new name now too. My students have mostly done a nice job of calling me by my new name. Though some still call me by my old name. They were very sweet and had posted welcome back signs all over the room for me. So that Monday when I came in, they were there waiting.

Cruising is the way to go. If you haven't ever been on a cruise, I highly recommend it! You get to see so many amazing and beautiful things and it is great when you don't have to pay for food, because it's already included. We took full advantage of the dining room. It was awesome to get dressed up each night and be served a formal 4 course meal. WONDERFUL! It was also great to just relax!!! You should definitely check it out if you haven't been on a cruise.

WOW

In less than 5 days, I will become a married woman. CRAZY!!! I can't believe that this week is FINALLY here. It seemed that it would NEVER come and now it's here. I feel like I have been in a dream/daze state all week. I haven't slept a good night's sleep in a few weeks and am tired and have so much to do. I thought I had overprepared for all that needed to be done and yet I still have a list of things that I need to do. Good news is that my plans are finished (plans for the substitute). Next on the list is entering grades and finishing up the grades for midterm progress reports. I just have to keep telling myself that next week this time, I will be on a cruise... actually in Belize, I think... SO EXCITED!!!!

16 days

16 days to go!!! I can't believe it! I can't believe that it's Spring Break and I can't believe all the things I have accomplished this week and all the things that still need to be accomplished. WOW!

So, after this week, I have a 4 day week at school and then I work 3 days and have 2 off before the wedding... I can't believe it!!! Crazy!

So, I was looking for something good on the radio and heard my favorite Dave Matthews song! and so, on the way home tonight... I listened to it quite a few times. I love it! It's such a great song AND it makes me think of college and going to his concerts. I don't go to many concerts anymore. Chris doesn't see paying so much to go listen to music. Which is fine with me, he would rather go to the Braves game... Which is also fine with me. :)

Thursdays

I like Thursdays. On Thursdays, about half of my class has gone to their "gifted" class. So, on Thursdays, my class is quiet. I think that the ones that are left like Thursdays, too. It's almost as if they come out of their shell, instead of being in the shadow of the gifted ones.

Well, the countdown is under 1 month... 29 days to be exact.. On one hand, it seems like the year has just slowly passed by (school year). On the other hand, we have 6 days until Spring Break, 38 days of school and 29 days to my wedding. I can't believe it's almost here. As I think about what little time is left, my shoulders begin to tense and well, I get a little stressed. I still have a lot I need to do or figure out. But it's all the little things, like finishing up the programs (yup, I am doing them myself), writing thank you notes to the wedding party, coming up with a play list for the dj (or at least what NOT to play). I am tying up all the loose ends. It's been a fun week. Three days this week, we have had a package waiting at our house. It is fun to open the boxes to see who this wedding gift is from. And I have been surprised each time.

Being 30 is okay. I don't feel much different. I had a lovely birthday. My dad brought me yellow roses (mom's favorite)to school. My closest friend brought me irises and Starbucks that morning, which was a wonderful surprise! Especially since I had talked to her a long time the day before and she didn't even hint! :)

The Big 3-0

So, tomorrow I turn the big 3-0. I can't decide how I feel about it. I am actually kind of indifferent about it. Maybe because I have the wedding rapidly (though, not fast enough) approaching. But usually I am so excited about my birthday. I usually plan a night out with my family and a night out with my friends. This year, I have done neither. Well, the family thing is a given... but I haven't decided where we're going to go out to eat. Friends have asked over the last week, what I have planned for my birthday. And, I didn't even think about it this year until recently. And now, I think I just want to spend some quality alone time with Chris. I would actually love for him to take me out on a "date." It's very rare that it feels like we're on a date. I would love for him to take me to a movie! :)

Spring

I don't know about you, but I am ready for Spring!!! I LOVE the Spring and absolutely loved the weather this past weekend. Wasn't it lovely? I wish I could've enjoyed it a little more, maybe by working in the yard... I know, I know, why would I want to work in the yard??? Well, seeing as how it's our first house, and it needs a lot of yard work... I'd like to get started. It seems everytime I have time... it's raining and cold! PLGH!

I had a wonderful weekend, though. I was surprised by my "Hallmark" friends... They threw me a surprise shower. It was so fun and I was definitely caught off guard. I had a kitchen shower yesterday. It was a lot of fun too! Chris and I both LOVE to cook, so we were looking forward to this one. I got a lot of neat things and I am so excited to use them!!!! But I guess we must wait until we're officially married!

So, I still have to comment on Grey's Anatomy. I was looking so forward to last night. Only to be a little disappointed with the ending. But, I guess that's why they keep dragging out the Meredith-Derek reunion. ... so that we'll keep on watching.

On Friday, we went shopping at Perimeter after work. We met Chris at Cheesecake Factory. We walked in and were talking to Chris, when out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of someone that I knew. I saw an old friend, who was once... one of my best friends. I am pretty sure that he caught my eye too... but he walked on by without saying ONE WORD! Whatsup with that???? This old friend of mine, was a diamond in the rough, so to speak. There was no one quite like him. He knew exactly what to say and do for whatever drama was going on in my life at the time. My mom absolutely LOVED him. However, when my mom passed away, I was sure that he would be there... at the funeral... a card, a phone call. He wasn't. I have not heard hide nor tail of him since. And I honestly just don't understand. Does anyone understand such a thing? So, I am a little at fault for not calling him out on Friday night. But let's just say... confrontation is NOT my strong suit.

Grey's Anatomy

Okay, so I am hooked and addicted to Grey's Anatomy. It's sad really, that I am so hooked on it. I was very sad last night when I had to go to bed at a decent hour (rather than be up late and miserable today), because it was not on last night. I love the show... partly because the main character's name is Meredith, just like me. But mainly because Patrick Dempsey is WAY Too cute! :)

So, on a serious note, things are starting to happen for the wedding, which is WONDERFUL. We are under the 50 day mark... under 7 weeks... I am soooo ready!!! We have our final meeting with our pastor tomorrow... meeting with our organist in a couple of Sundays. I am ready for this thing to be done with! Invitations have gone out, it's really fun to see the responses I get in the mail each day. It's fun to wonder whose it will be when I open the envelope.

February 27, 2006

So, it's that after school time again. The kids are working on a computer program so not much for me to do. :)
Things are going well. I am starting to get a little stressed at the wedding planning, though not too bad. The little things are just starting. I have been waking up in the middle of the night thinking of things that I need to do. Which, is not cool. I haven't had a good night's sleep in a long time. And of course, last night, I had to stay up late to watch "Grey's Anatomy" because it's my favorite show and I JUST CAN'T wait until the next day... Sad, isn't it?
I am ready for the month of February to be over... and March to be over as well. I am ready for Spring and for April... :)

February 10, 2006

So, one day I'll be really snazzy and add some pictures, but until that time... :) you'll just have to be bored with words.

I have been checking out some friends' blogs to see updates of babies and lives. It's kinda nice to keep in touch that way (or at least see what everyone else is going through).

We are down to 71 days to the wedding and counting! It's seeming to speed up a little bit, maybe because I am not harping on it as much. But the showers are fun, I have to admit. The last one was wonderful. My mom's friends were the hostesses and it was a high tea. Mom would've loved it! :)

And I have 5 pounds to go! WAHOO!

I am so glad it is Friday. Fridays are easy days. Currently we go to the computer lab directly after lunch... which allows me to play on the computer (I SHOULD be grading papers, but what fun is that???)

January 23, 2006


Today there are 88 days until the wedding and I cannot wait! Everyone keeps telling me how quickly the time will pass, and it's not going very quickly...

I have my first fitting on Thursday! CAn't wait. But, I am a little disappointed that I haven't lost all of my weight yet. (I have been in a little slump)... But, hopefully, I will get out of it soon and will finish losing all of the weight that I would like to lose.

The showers are starting and what fun! I am really enjoying them... It's weird to be the center of attention, though.

WEll, bus dismissal is now. Catch ya later...