2008 Highlights

2008 has been a wonderful year! Here are some of the highlights from this year...

We had our reception in January for our Jamaican wedding!

We moved into our FIRST new house in March!

Our roomie/friend, SH, movied in at the end of May.

We got our new puppy, Truman, in June!

then  now

A couple of my friends from college got married over the summer.

   

Girls weekend during the summer!

Celebrated our first wedding anniversary in December!

So...all in all it was a great year. I am sure there is more, but these are the main highlights that I am TRULY glad happened. Have a wonderful New Year! Ring in 2009 safely and happily!

"But my breath fogged up the glass, so I drew a new face and I laughed..." Jason Mraz

Mr. S. got our gym membership temporarily worked out for us to go as guests for the next 7 days until they get the trade worked out with his company. He called me and told me early this afternoon that if I wanted to go that I could....so I pulled on my sweats and tennis shoes, grabbed my new iPod, and out the door I went. I went and did 3 miles...wow! I haven't been in about a month...and 3 miles! Goodness! I can't wait to go tomorrow!

New Year's Eve get together here at our house tomorrow night. We usually have our friends over, I make tons of different dips, and we play board games and Wii. Turns out to be a great night...oh, and drinks! Yum! I can't wait to have everyone over tomorrow night!

Speaking of which, I need to get the house cleaned up....why does the house never stay clean? Serisouly, I just cleaned it Monday. MONDAY! Really....I need it to stay clean. 

I found a great site to take care of all the books I read. It is called http://www.goodreads.com. It is free, you can write reviews, and read other people's reviews. It's pretty awesome!

"All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others." - George Orwell

A few of us went to see Marley and Me over the weekend. I had been very excited about this movie because I read the adult version of the book over the summer and I had just read the teen version to my students before Christmas break. I was so excited to hear that there was a movie coming out based on the book. Now, if you have read the book and you want to go see the movie, go in with an open mind. A lot of things are different in the movie from what is in the book. With that said, the movie is not bad. I really enjoyed it, but it was hard to stop reverting back to the book and picking out what they had left out or changed. Take tissues...it is a tear-jerker. Mr. S. said he had to bite his tongue so he wouldn't cry. Aw.

We had our final Christmas dinner for the season at his parents' house yesterday. His mom makes this awesome tortellini soup...it is SOO good. Mm...and she sent some home with us. Yum! It was a good time to stop by there and have Christmas. Truman went and behaved himself, which was so nice. But he ate a rawhide bone all day and his tummy is a little upset today.

I have decided not to make my resolution for next year to be to lose weight, but to be healthier. I have to start eating better because I think that it might help me feel better. I have been feeling icky...so I think it will help.

So....Tyra is on TV. Is it just me or does it look like she had a nose job? Maybe it's the makeup. Oh, and the Kardashian sisters...annoying. Their voices grate on my nerves.

Have a wonderful day!

Jingle all the way...

How I love Christmas! I woke up at 5:30am...that's how I am, I get REAL excited for Christmas. Mr. S. does not appreciate me scaring the crap out of him, however...and our roomie may wish that I would go away, but this is her third Christmas with me so she knows how this works. I LOVE getting up early on Christmas. I like to see the faces of the people I bought fun things for and have a great morning together.

Mr. S. loved his new Wii game and wrench set. Yay! And our roomie, Ms. H., loved her fleece blanket I made, Toy Story 1 and 2, and the earmuffs. All in all, good day.

Ms. H. bought me this super cute vest from Old Navy and a Wii game called My Sims. She also stuffed a Scentportable from Bath and Body Works in my stocking. Oh, and a muffin tin!

Mr. S. did good this year. New purple iPod and Puma tennis shoes. Awesome!

So, it was a good Christmas. We haven't celebrated with our actual families on Christmas Day for a couple of years now. It really eliminates some stress on the actual day. I am sure that once Christmas is on a weekend, that will change and we will make the drive home. But when it is during the week, we are at our house. Our friends come over in the evening and we have dinner, drink a little, and play games. It's a pretty good time.

Now it is time to clean my kitchen and nap!

Tis the Season

Truman is back. We went and picked him up this morning from the boarding place we left him at. He had a great time! When we left there was a white envelope in his bag, and when I opened it there was a Thank You card inside. Puzzled, I opened it and out fell a picture of Truman running in the outside area they have! In the note they thanked us for choosing their place and said that Truman was a sweet dog. Very cool!

The weekend was great! Mr. S.'s parents have rescheduled their Christmas, so we actually had the weekend to ourselves without the dog. I laid around the house and didn't have to take the dog out, get up early...all the fun stuff you do with a dog. Then we went to my mom's Sunday. It was a pretty good time. Mr. S. and I got some fun house stuff. My mom made me a cookbook scrapbook of favorite family recipes. It is so NEAT! Then I received some shelves with awesome baskets. It does not have all of these baskets in it. It is all open and then the baskets I got are striped.

Also, I received a $50 gift card to my favorite clothing store, a Sodoku book, and a wooden Sodoku board.

Those are some of the good things that I got! Mr. S. and I will have Christmas together on Christmas Day...so I am really excited about that. I am going to enjoy the rest of my break and read book 3 and 4 of Twilight. I am currently in the middle of book 3....I LOVE THEM! I think I am going to get back at reading and smell the yummy chicken I am cooking for dinner!

Sleight bells ring...

Good morning! Right now I am curled up with my cat on the couch and her kitty motor is super loud. Let me explain why she is in a good mood. There is no dog here right now. He has been out of the house since 4:30 last night. When there is no dog for that amount of time, her kitty motor gets l0uder. And for those of you unfamiliar with "kitty motor", I mean her purr.

Truman is at a boarding place that is supposed to be pretty nice. We thought we had to leave last night for Mr. S.'s parents' house, but his mom rescheduled our Christmas. Well, this place is so hard to get your dog into that we went ahead and kept our reservation. That means I got to sleep past 4:30am! YAY! Now, sleeping in still meant like 7am, BUT I got to lay in bed until 8:30. *sigh* I do miss that big yellow goon though.

Christmas break is upon me. Yesterday was a crazy day of caroling in the gym and Christmas parties. Now....break for 2 weeks. Weee!

**side thought** Why are there so many weird McDonald's Chicken McNugget ads? They weird me out.

When the Weather Outside is Frightful...

Our anniversary has come and gone. Thanks to everyone for the anniversary wishes! Mr. S. got me these gorgeous amethyst earrings (I will post pics later!) and we went to the Christmas program. The program was so good! Well, minus the preschooler that had a breakdown. One of the teachers told him to scoot back so he wouldn't fall off the stage. Instead he just collapsed into a ball on the stage and stayed there though 1.5 songs and until his dad came and got him. Awesome. Haha!

It's cold here. Very very cold. So cold, my car would not start yesterday morning. I had to wake Mr. S. out of his dead sleep and have him come and jump start my car. Later in the day, he tells me he was still pretty much asleep this whole time. Nice. No wonder my car started smoking at one point due to the jumpers being on wrong. Goodness.

Me: Um, sparks, fire, smoke...there's stuff coming from my car.

Mr. S.: Hmmm, oh, OH! S**t!

Me: *rolling eyes*

Yep, awesome.

For all of you that are freezing like me, stay warm! For those of you not freezing, well, unkind thoughts your way! Haha! Just kidding!

Just another love story

It is our ONE YEAR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY today! Yes, we survived year one! 

1 year ago today we were sleeping in Jamaica getting ready for t

The big day. Then we woke up, ate breakfast, I went to get my hair and make-up done, Mr. S. went for a run (what a guy-thing!), he was picked up at 1:00 and I was picked up at 1:15 (so I could get dressed without him seeing me), and we married at 1:30 on the beach. It was beautiful. The picture above the exact place we got married. Breathtaking.

This was from our wedding dinner that night...yes, they celebrate Christmas!

I must fill you in on the story of Mr. and Mrs. S. We have actually been a couple for almost 9 years. Yes, 9 years. We went to high school together and that is how we met. Funny story. We had compatibility tests as a fundraiser for our Student Council and you could pay $1 to see who matched up with you. Everyone did it because it was funny to see who you matched up with. I got mine back and saw this Mr. S. at the top of mine. I knew who he was because he played sports and I was a cheerleader. Later on I found out that I was at the top of his list. Weird, huh? We met because his mom was my cheerleading coach and we started talking. Things just fell into place after that. Sure, we had our bumps in the road. We took a couple of breaks so that we could grow as people at a few rough points, but life always brought us back to each other.

I must say, there is no one that understands me, makes me laugh, kisses me, hugs me, smiles at 

me the way that he does.

...and tonight we must spend our anniversary at my school Christmas program. Awesome, huh?

Cool website alert!

www.wordle.net

Type in your blog URL and hit create. It will pop up the words you use on your page and it makes the frequently used words BIG and the others are smaller. Then you can change the colors and fonts. It is SO fun! I had my students do it today because you can type words in or paste articles into it. Very cool!

It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice. ~Author Unknown

I am done with New Moon, book 2 of the Twilight Saga. Wow...wow...wow. I do not currently have book 3 at my fingertips, but I NEED it. Now.

Wrist update...it hurts. Badly. I scheduled an appointment for Wednesday. So much for waiting for break, huh? It's pretty painful. I have a brace...a clunky, ugly brace. We'll see what happens.

Our principal is back from maternity leave...life is back to normal again! I felt bad because she walked in in tears yesterday. She was sobbing, "I was okay until I got in the parking lot." Aw...poor Mrs. C. 

Gotta get ready for work. Good day!

Twilight Obsession

I have been intensely preoccupied with Twilight this weekend. Seriously. I started reading and could not stop. I finished the first book and I am about a quarter of the way through the second one. I am not going to lie, I was a little skeptical of these books when I started reading. I am not really into vampire books, but....this was totally different. The Edward Cullen phenomenon? I totally get it. He is so...wow. Perfect...yet frustrating. What a great read!

My wrist is still pretty jacked up. It is painful to type, flex, twist, move my wrist. It is on the ulnar side (pinky-side) right where that pokey little bone is. I have not felt this much pain in my wrist ever...it clicks when I move it from side to side. I think that it is tendonitis...I am going to brace it until I can go to the dr. at Christmas break. Bah.

Great weekend...last night was a girls' night out at the piano bar. What a GREAT time! Mr. S. dropped us off there and came back later to pick us up so we all could partake in the drinking. Yay! Good night! What a great husband! Only 4 more days until our one year anniversary!

I must get back to the town of Forks and see what is happening with Bella....thanks for the new obsession.

TGIF

Things that make this Friday even better...

1. Half a day - Yep, that means all the students will be filtering out of the school at 12:12, not 2:50. YAY! I didn't have as much to plan for today and I always feel more relaxed.

2. Christmas faculty dinner - Catered dinner in. Yep. YUM!

3. Back massages - This would be part of our stress-management in-service. They bring in massage therapists that will do a 10-minute back massage for us. It is the best 10 minutes I could have at school!

4. There are 6 days until Mr. S. and I will celebrate our 1 year wedding anniversary! Wow! However, we will be celebrating it at the Christmas program for our school instead of at a romantic dinner.

5. It's time for the weekend! That means I will be able to curl up with Twilight finally!

Christmas Survey

Thanks to WanderingDC for the post idea today!

1.
Wrapping paper or gift bags? I love wrapping paper like there is no tomorrow. Now, if I am short on time or it is a really awkward present, I sometimes use a bag. There is just more fun in ripping the paper off!

2.
Real tree or Artificial? Artificial, so I don't have to vacuum every single day!

3.
When do you put up the tree? Usually it is on Thanksgiving night or the day after.

4.
When do you take the tree down? New Year's Day.

5.
Do you like Egg Nog? I'm not really sure...it has been awhile since I have had it.

6.
Favorite gift received as a child? I got one of those Playschool Stoves with a yellow telephone. Goodness, that was a good day! (I was like 3.)

7.
Hardest person to buy for? Really, everyone I shop for is pretty easy. It can be my step-dad though, but not this year!

8.
Easiest person to buy for? My husband. He likes anything, really.

9.
Do you have a nativity scene? Nope.

10.
Mail or email Christmas cards? MAIL! I love Christmas cards in the mail...they are SO much better than bills!

11.
Worst Christmas gift you ever received? A cheese plate and knives that matched with a hideous Christmas decoration...Mr. S.'s grandparents buy everything on sale and put it in our bags. Usually, it is stuff none of us want...but I love 'em!

12.
Favorite Christmas Movie? ELF!!

13.
When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually it is like 3 weeks before Christmas...but I need to get on it this year!

14.
Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Probably *hangs head in shame* Not because it was bad, but because someone else would appreciate it more than I.

15.
Favorite thing to eat at Christmas and favorite Christmas dessert? My mom makes homemade cheesecake...mmm. My mother-in-law makes tortellini soup...yum yum yum.

16.
Lights on the tree? I prefer clear, but this year I had to have multi. *sad face*

17.
Favorite Christmas song? Carol of the Bells

18.
Travel at Christmas or stay home? We visit our parents the weekend before usually and then have Christmas day at our house by ourselves or with a couple of friends.

19.
Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Comet, Blitzen, Donner, Vixen, Rudolph, Cupid...that's all I've got....but I know there are more.

20.
Angel on the tree top or a star? Star

21.
Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Open on Christmas, but I am not opposed to one on Christmas Eve!

22.
Most annoying thing about this time of the year? People that over-decorate their houses...you know what I mean. There is THAT house that you drive by and shake your head because they're at it again. Over-decorating. *shudders*

23.
Favorite ornament theme or color? I like it different all the time...my favorite ornament is the one that we brought home from Jamaica after we got married last year!

24.
Handmade ornaments or store bought? Store-bought

25.
What do you want for Christmas this year? Whatever...I'm not picky. We are actually getting each other something small because we want to redo our floors.

Now it's YOUR turn to answer these questions..especially if you couldn't think of a post for today

Tuesday = take it easy day

Sick day = lay on the couch curled up in my pjs with books. Books and Diet Pepsi. I should be drinking water, but the Diet Pepsi helps my headache.

Phone call from my grade partner = hearing that my kids were monsters today. She said she can't really blame them because the sub had NO control and was a little out of it. Neat. I can't wait to see what she wrote on the comments on my plans tomorrow. Might be a day for an apology letter to be written by my students. Good thing we are learning how to write a friendly letter this week! Haha!

Watching Oprah's show on polygamists = a sick feeling in my stomach for people that live in this against their will.

Tomorrow = a day where I will either be at 100% or fake it like a rockstar. Yep.

Are you sure it's Monday?

Are you sure it's Monday? Really? You are sure. Hmmm...I would like another opinion.

Welp, it is back to work today. Of course it is freezing outside, snow is STILL falling (with little accumulation), and it is super windy. I hate having to put on thin dress pants and then trek out in the cold weather to go to work. Grrr....

It was such a great 4.5 days off though. I don't think it could have been any better. We went to Mr. S.'s parents' house for Thanksgiving day. We ended up going to a movie with our friends on Friday. We went and watched 4 Christmases, you know, to get everyone in the spirit of the season. It was a cute and funny movie. I liked it! We have a super close group of friends and we had a potluck Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday. It was so good! Then Sunday my mom and step-dad came up for a college basketball game. See, good weekend.

Now it is back to runny noses, overly-energetic kids, indoor recesses, grading homework, and limited bathroom breaks...but I wouldn't have it any other way.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I am stuffed...and I need a gym membership. *bleh* I feel the need for a run tomorrow. Maybe. Probably not, but it sounds nice, huh?

Not a bad holiday...it went well...yummy food, good company, and a nap. Yep, that's good.

Went shopping today, but nothing too crazy. I went and got Christmas decorations that were 50% off. That's right, 50% off! That means I spent $35 and got awesome decor for the house. Oh, I am excited!

'Tis the season to watch Elf, Polar Express, Love Actually....yes, Christmas is on it's way.

           

We're off to the theatre...

235 students go to a play. They take 4 buses, 12 teachers, 5 or 6 classroom aides and we set off for the play. You know, the kids were a little skeptical of going to a play (as they are EVERY year). It is like they forget how much fun they had the year before. We saw "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever". It was really awesome because one of my students was in it! My students were super excited to see him in the play and really talked him up when he returned to school that day. Very fun!

I am ready to stuff myself on turkey and potatoes. Really, that about covers it. My 2 favorite things about T-giving. Yum, yum, yum. Only 1.5 days of school left!! Woo!

The best thing about yesterday: falling asleep on the couch last night with no doggie interruption.

The worst thing about yesterday: being woke up at 10pm by my doorbell ringing! Ahhhh! (and I was by myself...freak out time!) It was safe though. Just one of Mr. S.'s co-workers that lives across the street dropping something off.

Saturday Night's Alright...Yep.

Another weekend...nothing too exciting going on here. We have discussed taking care of our floors, but who knows i this is going to happen. You know, it's cold...I don't exactly want to rip up floors here in Midwest, USA in the cold fall weather. Seriously. I hate cold weather. With our tile floors, we would have to have the windows open because of the dust...and it is freezing. Literally. So...maybe spring? Well see. 

Mmmmm...my house smells like spiced pumpkin. Yum yum yum...I love candles from Bath and Body Works. Thanks Roomie!

Yes, in case you didn't know, Mr. S. and I have a roomie. Now, some of you are probably like, "Woah, Mrs. S., you are a newlywed and you have a roomie?" Right, right, let me explain. Our poor roomie is a grad student. She needed a place to live because she is from Way in the West, USA and we live in Midwest, USA where her school is. She is a girl that husband and I went to undergrad with and we felt like it was stupid for her to pay a ton in rent when she is rarely home due to work, school, and her photography stuff (which is what she is getting her Masters in). She does not know when she will do her internship, so she didn't want to spend money on rent and then not live there for awhile...get it? Okay then. It's tricky. It's nice though...she pays us rent that goes towards our bills and mortgage and she is pretty fun to live with, too. 

Mr. S. does not seem to understand that when Mrs. S. is sick she does not want to get up at 6:00am to take care of the dog. That's right! He was up until 3am playing video games. Really. So, who wants to get up 3 hours later to baby-sit the dog? I went to bed at 9pm due to sickness and the wonderful margarita served to me by Alex, our new favorite watiter. Yep. So I was up to babysit the Monster. *le sigh*

I have some plans to see Bolt in 3D. That's right, don't be jealous.

Dog days of...fall?

Nose update...still running. Blech.

My poor puppy ended up at the doggy ER the other night because we thought he poked himself in the eye. Do you KNOW how much it costs to take a dog to the ER? Too much. Why must I like my dog? Why? We took him to the vet, they of course found nothing, gave him drops, and sent him home. He woke up the next morning and the OTHER eye was swollen. This dog...I swear...I think we got the defective one. I'm serious.

<--I want to picture that this was his doctor. Yep.

Achoo!

Oh goodness...could I just feel good for one day? Really...one day? I just get to feeling better and then *bam* my nose runs. I was leaning over one student's desk today and I had to tip back up because I am pretty sure I about dripped on her desk. Ew. Yeah. Ew.

2 students gone today were the ones that take the most energy. Happy Monday! Wooo!

Tomorrow is twin day and my grade partner and I are having super secret outfits. We're pretty psyched. I will share it here, but it is top secret to those we work with...because that's how we do. We're iron transferring t-shirts that say I *heart* G3 (I love grade three). Then on the back it says Mrs. S. and Mrs. G. with the number 3 like a b-ball shirt. Pretty excited! Then we are doing pigtails with pawprint ribbon. We're just that cool. Not gonna lie.

Off to take some cold medicine and blow my nose...yeah, sexy. I know.

"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole." ~Roger Caras

This is the monster known as Truman. He is only 6 months old. He'll be 7 months here in about a week. When we took him to the vet last he was 77 lbs. Yep, huge. Mr. S. wanted a huge dog...welp, he won. I, myself, wanted something more of the 10-20 lb. variety. We are very far from that. No good. I love the big dork though. He can be a big pain in the ass, but he can also be a sweetheart.

So....I saw flurries last night. Honestly, I hate winter. I can deal with snow if I can watch from the inside. I think it's pretty then. Being cold just irritates me a lot. Being in Missouri...welp, this doesn't really help my case any.

Mr. S. had to go into work today. He is NOT happy about this. Whaddya do? At least I get some quiet time here at home for a bit.

I need to clean my upstairs...I think we have a visitor coming next week. Clean, clean, clean.

"Wine is bottled poetry." Robert Louis Stevenson

I find myself slightly addicted to Hills. I don't have cable right now (there are other things Mr. S. and I want more and cable costs too much), so I have to watch The Hills online. I am nearly 25 years old and I love the Hills. After watching 30 minutes of a TV show, I sit there thinking, what's next? But the episode is over. Damn Heidi and LC. Damn them both and their lives I find slightly addicting.

My cat is a little more than all over the strings on my hoodie. Seriously, it's annoying. She eats them until I have to throw her off my hoodie.

Mr. S. and I went out to the new Mexican restaraunt that we love here in town. The main waiter knows us and makes sure he waits on us when we come in. He is pretty awesome!

I definitely need to go to bed. I am exhausted!

"Opportunity knocks for every man, but you have to give a woman a ring." Mae West

As I am getting ready for work this morning I can't help but think, what if I were a guy? Seriously. I mean, my husband would be rather unhappy, but...When guys get ready they get to roll out of bed, maybe shower, slap some gel in their hair, brush their teeth, get dressed, and go. Ok...when I get up I have to wash (every morning because I have very fine hair that is limp and awkward if I don't), dry, and straighten my hair, put on my make-up, and get dressed. Grrrr......Could you imagine if life were just a little simpler? Hmm...

So I saw that November is National Adoption Month. I know there are some people on here that either know someone that has adopted, is adopted, or is tied to adoption. There is a great book I heard about on the news that Jamie Lynn Curtis wrote called Tell Me About the Night I was Born. It is a book about adoption for kids. I thought that I would pass it on to the blog world so you all could pass it on to anyone you see fit. 

Update on grad school: I am currently filling out the rather annoying online application. Yay!

"If only we'd stop trying to be happy we could have a pretty good time." ~Edith Wharton

Don't go to Wal-Mart on Saturday. I knew this. I did, really. Yet, Mr. S. and I found ourselves at Wal-Mart this afternoon. Another thing that didn't help was the fact that the local university is playing a football game today, so it was CRAZY BUSY! It took awhile, but we got done in pretty good time and didn't get out of there with too much extra stuff. Haha! Our checkout person's name was Moonstar. Really. That's what was on her nametag...and I am pretty sure it wasn't a joke. Oh, dear.

Mr. S. and I discussed me going back to school for my Master's degree. I think that the decision is, yes, I will be going back to school. I have been inquiring about it for a little bit and asking him about it, but the decision had yet to be made. I think that I am going to go for Educational Technology, which sounds fun to me. Nerd, maybe? Haha! I will update more as we learn more. I still have to take the GRE, apply, and get accepted. Whoa...lots to do.

I love oil burners, by the way. They are the best thing ever. Ever. My house smells like chicken and noodles because of dinner and my wonderful oil burner makes the house smell like cider. I love the smells of fall.

A closed mind is a good thing to lose.

With all the election coverage going on, parents talk at home. If you are a parent, you may want to take note, student conversations at school often mirror what you say at home. I have a mental TMI (Too Much Information) file in my brain for some of these moments. Some I wanted to share on the election...

Child 1: "I heard Obama is getting rid of all the weapons in the world."

Child 2: "I heard that Obama is going to die like Martin Luther King."

Child 3: "McCain is so old that he is just going to die."

Child 4: "Obama kills babies. With a baby-killing machine."

Child 5: "Obama is going to change the flag AND the pledge. Oh, and black people don't have to pay bills 5 days after Obama is in office."

It has been a L-O-N-G week in third grade. I do not tell my students who I vote for (a lot has to do with a conflict of interest because they go home and tell mom and dad, it is easier to avoid the comments) and I tell them that I vote in confidentiality, so I don't have to disclose who I vote for. They pestered me for awhile, but it has subsided now. I just hate having to take some of those comments from above and detangle them, if you will. It's rough. Please be careful how you word things at home...students repeat what they hear. Trust me.

I am congested like it is no one's business. Thanks to Tylenol Cold: Severe, I can temporarily handle it. But ick...it's gross. I woke up yesterday hacking. I sat down next to my husband and said "Aren't I just so hot right now?" He just looked at me with his eyebrows raised. I guess this is a no? Haha!

Thank you, Becky!

1. Post this award on your blog.

2. Link to the one who gave it to you. 

3. Link the original post here (I linked it to Smile! It's Becky's blog above)

4. Pass this award to 5 deserving friends!

5. Post these rules.

The winners are...

Yeah, Except for Not! She is hilarious! You will be entertained by her quirky writing and funny stories!

Happy Meals and Happy Hour: I love the hilarious pictures and videos that are posted!

Ashley's Antics: She marks herself as the crazy cat lady. She has wonderful short posts that make me giggle.

McMommy Chronicles: She is a great mom that has some wonderful stories. I really enjoy her site.

MsAttitude23

Eat chocolate...it makes everything better for at least a few seconds.

Much better day today. Thank goodness. I needed a better day.

I love days that I enjoy my students and we have a wonderful day. It makes those parents not seem so bad. *sigh*

My dog just ate a ladybug...he's awesome, huh?

Since my husband works for a TV station he is camping out there to help them with election stuff tonight. Boo, TV station.

I feel random today. Very random, hence the random post that jumps around like an ADD kid with light-up shoes.

Alright, I only wanted a short post today. I am going to finish grading my papers and getting my day ready for tomorrow. Later!

When all else fails...just cry a little.

Are there days when you just hate life? I mean, maybe that is a little dramatic, but I am going to play on that for today. This is my blog, and I can do what I wanna. Anyway, I need to vent, so 'ere we go.

I started this blog now for the third time. I don't want to seem like a bitch. I really don't. So here I am just stopping what I was going to say. Let's just say that I don't know what to do anymore. My job as a teacher cannot end at 3:00. You hear that all the time, but how many of you realize this is true? My day ends but I come home for 4 hours a night and grade papers, plan lessons, update websites, ponder parent issues, and so forth. My poor husband doesn't understand how I can work for 4 hours and have ONE day done. Yeah, me either, Mr. S. Sorry. 

I am tired of feeling like I am a failure this year. That is how I feel. People can say, "No, you are doing great," all they want, but this is not fixing anything. I want this year to stop and I want to move on. I am stressed out, sick, breaking out, beginning to overeat....and life just sucks. I have to step back, but how can I when I feel like I am being pushed forward every time I turn around? 

Enough. Enough is enough. I am done. Ok...on a lighter note. This weekend was terrific! We went to a couple's house this weekend and dressed up and had a great time. It was awesome to get away and have a good time for once. I was glad to get away. Truman went to the vet to stay the weekend and I just picked him up tonight. This was great so that I could come home yesterday, nap, get work done, and clean the house minus the dog! Woo!

Okay, speaking of work, I am going to get some stuff done for tomorrow and cook some dinner. Later!

"Always strive to excel, but only on weekends." ~Richard Rorty

Questions for yesterday (since I am posting this the next morning):

• Why do parents send their ADD kid to school in a shirt that has blinking lights on it? Do you hate me?
• If you are the one that ran a red light and you are stuck in the intersection, do you have the right to get mad at the person that is probably flipping you off or cursing you in the car that would like to get through the intersection when it is their turn?
• Why can't I enjoy cool weather?
• How come my husband's phone has to go off every 3o minutes when he has a text message (starting at 3 something in the am, mind you)?

Those are just some concerns I had yesterday/today.

I would really like to go shopping...seriously. I maybe need to win the lottery. That is my solution. It may helped if I play, but I don't. Maybe I should. 

That mouse in my house...I think that it is still here. We set traps last night. We had better get it because it creeps me out. Gross little things.

I feel random today. Should make for an interesting day at school. If the teacher is random...watch out!

I need to get out of here and put on makeup, dry my hair, get dressed, warm up the car (since it is FREEZING here), and go to work. Is it Friday yet?

My mom came up today...good times! They redid the Michael's store in our town and it is AMAZING! I totally forgot until I walked in and it was so different. My mom was like a kid in a candy store. We were there for over an hour, and I probably could have spent more time in there. Mmmm....if only I had more money.

That seems to be the theme of my weekend, "If only I had more money". Then I could have ALL the scrapbook stuff for my wedding book, these awesome shoes that I saw at Shoe Carnival, and about 8 million clothes at Old Navy. I saw these green pants.

Now, typically, I would not buy green pants, but in person these are amazing. Old Navy pants just don't fit me right though, and I need more practical pants. Damn being practical. I did buy turquoise shorts this year. Maybe I will try New York and Co. They definitely have pants that fit my poor short legs. 

Anyways...this weekend is flying by and I wish that it would s-l-o-w down. I am really not in the mood for this week at school. Busy, busy, and Halloween. Dreaded holidays at school. I love it for one reason. We have a costume contest by grade and the kids get very original. One kid came as a washer last year. With fake bubbles, clothes, and soap attached. It was serious. I will have to post some photos. Goodness!

Alright, this is enough for today. Maybe I am rambling. It's okay. Have a happy weekend!

"Parenting is a lot easier to get into than out of." Bruce Lansky

I survived parent/teacher conferences. Thank goodness! There were some interesting people, that’s for sure…it really explains some of those kids and their choices. *sigh* If I were keeping a list of excuses, I should have started it last night, because I heard ‘em all.

Today was a nice half work-day. I stayed a little later and cleaned my classroom. I am a little cluttery, I’m not gonna lie. I cleaned and got some important things done. I still have stuff to do though, which sucks. Seems like there is ALWAYS something to do.

Now I am home, with the dog, which doesn’t quit barking. Ever. I would love a nap. Love. Will this happen? Doubtful. The backyard is nasty, squishy, and super muddy, so I can’t put him back there while I get some shut-eye. Damn.

Busy weekend ahead. My mom is coming here tomorrow and I have no idea what we are going to do, and I still need to clean the house. Again, damn.

I hope everyone else has a wonderful weekend!!