"The busy bee has no time for sorrow." William Blake

I just wrote out my whiteboard calendar for February, what a mess! Feb is a busy-bee month for me, that's for sure.

This weekend: going to lunch with blogfriend and real-life friend, Ms. Attitude. I am really excited because except for a couple of run-ins within the past three years, we have not really had a chance to sit down and talk to catch up. So that is today. The Superbowl is tomorrow.

Next weekend: My quarter-life crisis, aka: birthday, is being celebrated on Saturday with an Ugly Sweater Party thrown by my friends. Sunday will be what I will call, recovery.

Then Valentine's Day.

A baby shower.

The last weekend might be one of my favorites though! I am training to become an instructor for Body Jam. If you don't know what it is, check back with this post. It is a full weekend training that goes from Friday to Sunday and it is intense. I am super pumped!

My mom is having her gallbladder taken out this coming Friday, and I wish that I could be there just because that is what I feel like I need to do. Things are just not in a place where I can take off and go for that...so...yeah...she'll be okay though. No biggie. I'll post and let you know how it goes! I need to get around to take the dog to dog school. Weee!

"One may go a long way after one is tired." French Proverb

It's Thursday...thank goodness. We're almost to Friday.

I am exhausted. Thanks Truman for deciding to go to the bathroom at 3:30 this morning and THEN instead of coming in the house, running around the yard because you didn't want to come in. Therefore, I had to stay awake until you decided to come in. We almost had a frozen yellow lab. So close.

Poor husband...I fell asleep before he could even say good-night last night. I am that exhausted. 

I know I am tired because I am random.

The other night I made homemade pizza...as in, the crust was made with my bare hands, with yeast, and had to raise. Amazing.

I am still tutoring the little girl with Cystic Fibrosis...I have been keeping her in my prayers because there is a possibility she may need a lung transplant if her levels keep dropping. Pretty scary.

Ok....I need to get ready for work. Grrrr...I would rather be sleeping. Now I need to get hopped up on caffeine to make it through the day.

"Getting an inch of snow is like winning 10 cents in the lottery." Bill Watterson

Dear Weatherman,

I used to work with you once upon time before teacherdom. I know that you have no control over the weather, but I was really banking on you this ONE time. My 3rd graders are about to go NUTS because they have not had a snow day. With the promise of snow coming, they were really banking on today being a snow day. But alas, we are going to school today. Don't get me wrong, I am totally okay with going. Who wants to go to school on make-up days. But weatherman, I needed this snow day to keep my sanity. Today might be the longest day ever. I will send you my therapist bill when that time comes in my life because of this day.

Wishing I were snowed-in,

Mrs. S.

So...if you are a teacher you know that kids go CrAzY for a snow day. That is what I have been dealing with all winter. We have yet to have one snow day (yay! if you are a teacher you understand why that is great) and they are not in a good mood about it. This moring they are going to, first, be jumping around about the snow that did fall to the ground; second, grumbling because we are in school. But on the bright side, it is our 100th day! Tomorrow is PJ day...so I am WAY more excited about that. Oh, the joys of being a teacher.

Truman went to obedience class last night and got a little one-on-one with the instructor afterwards, according to Mr. S. Looks like it might have helped. Between that and the new collar/leash combo we were told we should get, things are much better. I take him to class Thursday, so we will see how well I can handle the beast. Or as I call him, the yellow bus.

Oh, Happy Chinese New Year! It is the Year of the Ox!

“On a bad day, I have mood swings - but on a good day, I have the whole mood playground” Charles Rosenblum

I saw an ad for one of those, "if your dr. prescribed you this medicine, let's sue them" kinda things. So, this is funny. I thought it was a joke because it was saying if your side effect included "excessive gambling", you needed to call them. Now, I am really sorry if any of you are on this medicine for restless leg syndrome that causes you to excessively gamble. I really thought it was a joke commercial. What a strange side effect. 

On a sign outside of a church it said something to the effect of "Jesus died for 'MySpace' in Heaven". Yep. Good stuff. Get it...My Space...MySpace. Yep.

I worked in my classroom today and got things done. It feels good to go in and get things done that need to be done. I had some cleaning to do, copying of papers for next week, things to make for my SmartBoard, and just some planning to do with my grade partner who also came in today. It was a good day!

Holy Cow...what a long couple of days

**Edit**

I want to add in that I know that the auto industry needs money. I promise I do. I just got frustrated. I know people that work there. I just want to say that they need to balance some things out in the world. I am so sorry if I offended anyone. I was highly upset at the time.

**

Let me get my irritation out of the way first...Do you know what bothers me? Teachers being cut from schools and hearing that schools are cutting millions of dollars from their budgets. Then hearing that auto companies are getting billions to bailout. Now, would those people have a job if they didn't have a teacher? What about all the shit you give teachers for not reaching the unreachable No Child Left Behind Act? How can we do that when you make it to where there are teacher cuts putting over 25 students in some classrooms? I can't give enough attention to all those students. I'm just sayin'. I am sure there will be more, but I had to get that out today.

Thanks for all the lovely comments over the past couple days...that felt awesome to see 7! Wee! I needed that this week, that's for sure.

I took the dog to obedience class by myself last night. If you need a laugh, you should probably go on the nights I am there without the husband. That might be the best time to see some funny stuff. For example, we started out with the helpful Halti (which the instructor hates, but it is the only thing I can control him with) and Truman decided he was done working 5 minutes in because he hates the thing. I took it off and he about ripped my arm off and he would do NOTHING. I was exhausted when I got home. After he jerked me around the room, wouldn't sit, tried to make friends with everyone and everydog....it was just...the longest night ever.

Bombshell at work yesterday: One we knew about, our Superintendent is retiring. The one we didn't know, our principal is leaving after this year to stay at home with her baby. She just isn't happy being without her little one. Sad days for us, but yay for her!

So you had a bad day...

Today has to be better than yesterday. Yesterday, while dressed cute, was not a good day. I was running late, couldn't find my purse, my students were rowdy little boogers, I had to tutor and didn't realize it, I had a kid throw up in my room (I really felt horrible for her because I am pretty sure she was mortified, how could you NOT be?!),  my poor husband had a hell of a day at work, and Jolene was not kicked off the Biggest Loser last night. Yep, one of those days.

I think we could be getting Dish tonight! If not tonight, then this weekend. We have rabbit ears and the box right now because we didn't think we needed the expense. Problem is that the station that Mr. S. makes commercials for is not seen with that box, so we need to get Dish to see it...and it would be nice to see the Soup and not to watch The Hills online :)   Oh! And we get DVR! I have never had this and I am pretty sure this will spoil me like no other! Weeee!

I must get ready for work so I am not late this morning. I would love to stop and get a cappuccino!

You've got to move it, move it

What is Body Jam? -Jaded Jill asked

I figured that I talk about it, but I never really described it. So, here it is.

It is a 55 minute cardio class set to music. You warm up, do a cardio block, do a slight cooldown, another cardio block, and a full cooldown. It is choreographed and the first half you do all the moves and keep adding to them until you go full-out at the end. Then you leave all those moves and start with new ones in the second half. A lot of times you start with hip hop and then move into latin, techno...something like that, in the second half. The songs are a lot of the popular ones. Like right now there is Get Low by Flo Rider. There was Gold Digger, Rockstar...then there are some you don't know, especially for the latin and techno. It is so much fun! The moves all stay the same for about 3 months and then they switch releases. 

The more that you go and really get the moves down, the more calories you burn because you get better and better. You can add more and more to your moves and you aren't concentrating so hard on if you are doing them right after you have gone a few times. The first couple of times you feel a little funny because you migh be a little off, but you will get the hang of it after awhile. I love it though. 

No one is watching you because they are concentrating so hard on making sure they are doing it right. They turn off the lights in our class and have a disco light and a small room light in the back for just a little light in the room. It's perfect!

For those of you that can find the classes, go! These are Les Mills classes. They are hard to find and I know only one gym in my area that offers them. There are BodyJam, BodyPump (I love both of those), BodyCombat, and a few others. Go here to check it out! Les Mills Website

Sleep 'til you're hungry, eat 'til you're sleepy. ~Author Unknown

What a weekend! Mr. S. took Friday off and I came home to him ironing clothes. Yes, ironing! I don't even iron. I like to throw things back in the dryer on "freshen". Impressive stuff from Mr. S.

Went out and saw Grand Turino...really good movie. As long as you aren't too offended by racial slurs and can look past them to see what the movie is about...you may enjoy the movie. I liked the story.

I went to Body Jam today -- oh, how I LOVE that class! There is another one tomorrow. I think that I get the chance next month to take training if I want to teach the class, which I do. It would really hold me accountable to stay fit and I love Jam. 

Dinner was at our house tonight. This is the recipe I found on kraftfoods.com. 

Buffalo Chicken Party Sandwiches.

 4 cups shredded cooked chicken

1/2 cup  hot pepper sauce for Buffalo wings

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup  KRAFT Real Mayo Mayonnaise

1/4 cup KRAFT Ranch Dressing

6 stalks  celery, finely chopped

1/4 cup KRAFT Feta Cheese Crumbles

12 small  sandwich buns (3 inch), partially split

1-1/2 cups KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese

COMBINE chicken, hot sauce and water in medium saucepan; cook on medium heat 5 min. or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

MEANWHILE, mix mayo and dressing in small bowl. Stir in celery and feta cheese.

SPOON chicken mixture onto bottom halves of buns; cover with Cheddar cheese, celery mixture and tops of buns.

YUM! Dinner was sooooo good!

I earned another award from my wonderful friend Ms. Attitude. Thanks! What is great about her is she is a real-life friend. Ooooh. Yep.

I see that I need to pick 10 people to get this award. 10. Wow, that sounds like a feat.

I may come back to that....for now....I move on.

So, Megan at Wandering DC (she is gorgeous and has some touching, funny, sweet, and a mixture of wonderful blogs) had this fun game where the poster leaves you a letter and you put 10 things you love that start with that letter. I totally had to play. I love things like this. She commented back with the letter R. Here we go!

10. Rainbows on the beach

Picture from the place we got married!

9. Reese's PB Cups!!

Something about peanut butter and chocolaty goodness...yes...yum...

8. Reality TV

   

Damn you, reality TV, and your cheesiness! I can't stop watching!

7.  Recipes from kraftfoods.com

If you have not gone there, go. Run! It is awesome. There are recipes for EVERYTHING!

6. Raisin Bran Crunch

Raisins, bran, and a crunch. Serisously, what more do you need?

5. Roses (Sunset)

 

Not just a red rose, but a fun rose! Like sunset roses.

4. Relaxing on the couch.

Very comfy...

3. Red margaritas (strawberry!)

Oh, margaritas...how you make my Friday complete.

2. Really sweating in Body Jam

This is what I love to do for a workout. Awesome!

1. Romantic nights with Mr. S.

They really are the best. :)

If you would like a letter, comment and let me know. I am sure I can round up a letter for you! That was pretty interesting and way trickier than I thought!

Wind chills below zero make me unhappy of a morning. I don't want to get up, get ready, or head out the door. I have decided after spending the weekend with my friend that has automatic start for her car, that I need it as well. It might be the best invention ever. Ever. You can be almost anywhere, hit a button, and your car starts. If you remember to turn your defrost or heat on, your car is warm when you go to get in...amazing. I need it.

Truman went to obedience school last night. They have lessons on Mondays and then you can go back 2 other nights a week to have some reinforcement. Guess who needs those reinforcement classes? Yep. Truman just had some major ADD during class. Too much going on for him to pay much attention to us. I think Mr. S. was going to lose it at one point. It was pretty cold in the building and he was breaking a sweat. As nicely as possible he was trying to do all the right things...say "sit" as sweetly as he could, pet him, praise him...but no, nothing. He did SOME things okay...just not exactly what he needed to do. I had to remind him he is only 8 months old and it might take a bit. Oh this should get interesting.

"Happiness comes when your work and words are of benefit to yourself and others." Buddah

What a great weekend! I went to visit a friend in STL with another friend from our college days. My friend, E, that lives there works at the Fox Theatre and she had free tickets to see Kristin Chenoweth. In case you are not sure who she is, here is a brief rundown...

As Glinda the Good Witch on Broadway

In 4 Christmases

So...I am only going to post those 2, as those are my favorites. Anyways, great time seeing her this weekend. We went to the show and as we are walking up there are 2 women wanting their picture taken. So we stop and try to get it just the way they want it, they can't get the flash figured out, and we can't get the moving billboard where we need it...then it works! Next they start asking us how much we like Kristin and I thought they were signing us up to be on a mailing list...no, they weren't. The woman goes, "Well, I am her manager, find me after the show and I will take you back to meet her." Meet her? Meet Glinda? Oh dear! so...we watch the show with excitment, go back after the show, end up in the private party area, and bam! we meet her!!! She signed our tickets and took a group photo with us (coming later). She is so sweet and funny! It was so much fun!

The weekend, overall, even without meeting Glinda...I mean, Kristin...was awesome! I slept in a great apartment on the 14th floor overlooking this beautiful cathedral, went to some really fun places, and had really good dinner thanks to the hostess. It was just great.

Then a LONG drive home Sunday. And now it is time to begin Monday. I need a cappuccino.

"Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory." Albert Schweitzer

Exciting time! I get to go hang out with 2 of my lovely and wonderful girlfriends this weekend! We haven't seen each other in awhile so this should be pretty fun! One of our other friend's mom just had a stroke, so she can't join us this weekend. Though I am bummed, I definitely understand. I am pretty psyched about this weekend though. Think about it...no dog = sleep, girls weekend = complete craziness and fun. Yes, good weekend ahead.

So...Truman is going to school on Monday. We signed him up for obedience classes last night. He heads to his first class on Monday night. I can't wait!! He learns so quick that this should be perfect for him (and us!).

My students have been such rockstars this week! I love it! They have been read to come in and work and they have done such a great job. I love the change in them right after Christmas break. They come back rested and almost more mature. It is so great! 

There is a little girl at our school that has cerebral palsy. When she gets sick often times she ends up in the hospital so that she can get constant care for her breathing. She landed back in there after Christmas after her family had the flu. The family was concerned because she falls behind easily in school, so they were going to have the hospital come in and do school with her for an hour a day. They were going to charge...get this...$80! For an hour! Needless to say, when the school found out about this, they decided to help and they are taking care of it and sending a teacher and paying them (less) through the school to go and help the family. I am one of the two volunteers that has stepped in to do this. It works out because there are only a handful of us that live in the city that the hospital is in (we commute to work). I went last night and I am just amazed at what a ray of sunshine she is. With the situation that she is in, she is still the happiest little girl I have ever seen. She doesn't look like life has handed her sour lemons or that life is hard on her. She looks like a little girl that is just happy to exist. She is so funny and we had such a good time. I can't wait to go back on Tuesday to see her!

“Consider how hard it is to change yourself and you'll understand what little chance you have in trying to change others.” Anonymous

We are hack to school now. I'm not going to lie, I was not super excited about it. I walked in the door just wishing I were at home in bed. I think I missed them more than I thought. It has been okay. Really, it hasn't been that bad. The kids are pretty excited because it is time for them to do all the "important" third grade tasks. You know, multiplication, cursive...that kinda thing. So...they are in good spirits and I am in good spirits. We'll see how long it lasts!

I made a recipe from the Biggest Loser Cookbook. Now, I am sure that it, if cooked correctly, is good. I don't think I did it 100% correctly. Mr. S. said that he really liked it. I really didn't. If I keep this up, I will definitely lose weight because I ate like 1/2 my dinner last night. So..I have some changes to make to that recipe. Oh...and due to the smoke from the frying, the smoke detectors went off AND my house still smells like dinner this morning. Neat.

Frustration has been my word of the day here at home. I need to stop being so frustrated, but when the big, yellow dog won't sleep, all you do is clean, and then once you clean, it all ends up back as a mess in a day...I get frustrated. Grrr....that's my rant.

It's cold. 19 degrees this morning. I was looking at the weather and the highs have been in the 30s (Welcome to Midwest, USA!). Then Friday it's going to be in the 50s, and then it goes back into the 20s and 30s for highs the next days after that. Stupid weather...okay, that is rant pt. 2.

Time to put my face on and go to work. Good day! I said good day!

Award Time

Thank so much to Jaded Jill for this wonderful award! I was so excited when I saw it in my comments!

The award states "This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

I choose: (I am only choosing 6.)

Learning to be a Wife

Lions, Tigers, and Boys, Oh My!

Ashley's Antics

Your Wishcake

Yeah, Except for Not

Life with Attitude

"A change will do you good." Sheryl Crow

I have been to the gym, let's see, a total of 4 times this week? Each time I went I ran 3 miles. 

Okay, ran might not be the right word for it...I combined running and walking for 3 miles. I would love to be able to run a full 3 miles and not stop. About.com has a great plan for traning that I should start following next week. I am a person that needs an ultimate goal to train for so that all the work seems worth it. Yep. Thanks to yourwishcake (Click on the name to go to her blog!) for the thoughts here. If you have not checked out her fun and quirky blog, you should!

I bought The Biggest Loser Cookbook. I have yet to cook from it, but I have made a grocery list and I am ready to go.

I am laying here on my couch with my dog (See, after he wakes up to go to the bathroom REALLY early of a morning, he won't sleep back in his crate. If I put him in there, he whines and barks, and I feel HORRIBLE because our roomie is sleeping. So...I get up. Sometimes it is 6am, like today. Most days it is somewhere between 4:45 and 5:30. I try to tell Mr. S. I am just conditioning for having a baby someday. Haha! The only way that the dog will let me get any extra amount of sleep is if we lay on the couch. Now, if we get home at like midnight from our friends' houses, then 5am is TOO early for me to want to be awake, and I need extra beauty sleep on the couch. Mr. S. is tired of not waking up together. I am tired of not sleeping in my bed. Someday. Someday.

I need some breakfast. My tummy is rumbling. But first, a nap.

"The key to change is to let go of fear." Rosanne Cash

I have been debating this post today. I haven't been sure exactly what I wanted to post about, but I know that I want to. So...here it goes.

Some things that I want to accomplish in 2009:

*Touch base with my friends more. Some friends live here and some live far away. I feel like our friendships have been neglected lately and I can't deal with not having them in my life as much anymore. 

*Manage our finances. I am going to begin keeping track of where my money goes every month once my January paycheck gets here at the end of the month. I have to start putting more money back and figuring out where my money is going each month.

*Be healthy. This does not mean lose weight, but hey, I am all about that, too! I am just thinking more along the lines of doing something active each day for at least 30 minutes. Also, cooking healthier and making better food choices. I feel really good about this choice. I have to do this for my health. Does this mean I can't have junk once in awhile? Heck no! Just no more hanging out in the teacher's lounge snacking!

*Be more organized. Wow, this is a big one for me. I need to really sit down and concentrate on this one and I am not expecting it to hit all at once. I am going to take on a little at a time so I don't overwhelm myself. I just need to get a handle on life.

I know this is a lot of stuff to accomplish. I have 365 days to work on these things. I am not tackling them all in one day or even all in one month. I am going to try them a little at a time. If I do too much then I will definitely just stop and not get anything accomplished.

Okay...I am going to consult this post once in awhile to see where I am throughout the year! Haha! Alrighty...off to organize something...tee hee.