Sarah Plain & Tall

Sarah has left the building...

2007-02-13T11:27:00.000-08:00

The Blogger building, that is. I've jumped on the bandwagon with Mimsies and moved.

Please follow me to my new blog on Wordpress. Sarah Plain & Tall has moved!

Change your bookmarks, leave yourself a voicemail. I will not be posting on this site anymore. I've opted for a change in design...bear with me while I make adjustments.

Peace out, Blogger.

Snow Day #2

2007-02-13T06:21:00.000-08:00

I should change that to Ice Day.

It all started with a 4:15 a.m. call from my principal. She said, "Sarah, I just got the call. We don't have school today. Go ahead and make your phone calls and go back to bed." So I drug my tired toosh out of bed and called four lucky contestants. I love being the one on the phone with good news, but I hate being the one that calls in the middle of the night. I contemplated waiting until 6:00 to call, but I figured this way, people could really sleep in...nevermind the heart-racing phone call at 4:20 a.m. I've always hated those middle of the night phone calls. You always know in your gut that something can't be right. Actually, 2 of the 4 people that I called were already awake (or they were good fakers). Anyway, how did I manage to write an entire paragraph about HOW I found out about my snow day?

I went out this morning to start shoveling for Dave to get out of the driveway...I got on a roll and ended up doing the entire driveway and all of the sidewalks. I don't know what got into me. I'm considering it my workout for the day. My arms are all shaky and tired now, but it feels good to look out at my handiwork. Too bad it'll be covered in a layer of ice by the end of the day. We're supposed to get a wintry mix all day, through the night and into tomorrow morning. Fun stuff.

So, snow day it is! I plan on staying in, cleaning the house and baking cookies. (I've held off as long as I could. This cold weather makes me crave baking!)

In other news: I'm in the market for buying a new cd. I haven't bought one in a while and I have credit from my sister-in-law and hubby to Borders. I've got my eye on the new Norah Jones cd. I'm also thinking about Nichole Nordeman. She has some amazing songs.

Any recommendations out there?

101 Things About Me

2007-02-07T13:07:00.000-08:00

1. I really like things that smell good. I love getting a new scent (lotion/body spray) before a big trip in my life. I like to associate smells with memories.

2. I am 6 feet tall. I did not play basketball or volleyball. Ask me how many times I’ve been asked that question in my life.

3. Once, when grocery shopping, I encountered an older shopper who said to me, “My, you’re a big girl!” He also proceeded to tell me about the world’s largest person and how tall this person was because “I would be interested to know.” All tall people want to small-talk about OTHER tall people. Duh.

4. I love waking up in the middle of the night and hearing a storm or rain on the roof.

5. I have always loved dogs. Since I was little, I’ve wanted many dogs. We currently have a black lab, Lucy, who is like our child. When I was in elementary school, I puff painted (neon puff paint, mind you) a t-shirt that said “#1 Dog Lover”. I kid you not.

6. I’ve always been worried that I wouldn’t think that my child was as cute as my dog. I’ve always thought that dogs were so cute. Especially Lucy. The older I get, and the more nieces I get, the more I realize that this probably won’t happen. Yet, the thought still lingers…

7. I usually hear and smell things way before anyone else. I have a super sonic sniffer and can hear like a dog.

8. I am a Christian. When I was 6, I accepted the Lord as my Savior.

9. I have played the piano since I was 8. I played “Chicken in the Corn” for my first recital. I threw up before that recital.

10. I love all kinds of music. If there was a job where I could sit, listen and appreciate music all day – I would be your woman.

11. I was born in Kansas, grew up in Arkansas, moved to Texas right out of college and currently live in Ohio.

12. I played the French Horn in band from sixth grade until my senior year in high school. I was offered a scholarship to UCA to play French Horn. I politely turned it down. My days as a “band geek” had come to an end.

13. I never thought I would leave Arkansas.

14. I love to travel. I don’t think I would have such a love of traveling if it weren’t for JBU (where I attended college). There were so many international students and people from all over the globe. It opened my eyes to life outside of Arkansas.

15. My husband is an MK (Missionary Kid) from the Philippines. He is ALSO one of the reasons why I like to travel.

16. It drives me crazy when people say Wal-Marts and AWANAs. There are no “s’s” on those words people!

17. I’m a closet Beyonce and Justin Timberlake fan.

18. If music is really good, I immediately get goosebumps. Singers that give me goosebumps: Sarah McLachlan, Allison Krauss, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston.

19. I was not a cheerleader in high school, but I secretly wanted to be one. I also knew all of their cheers.

20. In addition to #12, I was the drum major for 2 years in my high school marching band. We were the only high school band in Arkansas that marched military style. I was always (and still am) proud of that. We had a great reputation and an amazing band director. He has since retired. He is one of my favorite teachers ever.

21. Smells that I like: bread baking, bacon frying (but not burning), pumpkin spice candles, gingersnaps & cupcakes baking, and puppy breath.

22. The only sport I remotely like to watch is basketball. I just don’t get football.

23. My husband is a HUGE sports fan. This makes #22 a little tough.

24. I am the oldest of three girls in my family. We are all 2 years apart. And yes, the oldest sibling DOES pave the way for the others. I’ve done it numerous times. You’re welcome.

25. My parents have been happily married for almost 30 years. I am very proud of the fact that they are still together and are such good role models for our marriage.

26. Growing up, we always had family meals around the dinner table each night. I miss that about growing up. I can’t wait to have my own family meals when we have a kids.

27. My sisters and I love to sing together. We have recorded two cds. (We’ve only “sold” about 200) We have a blast singing together!

28. I have a degree in Graphic Design and a minor in Music.

29. I am now a special ed teacher.

30. My mom was also a special ed teacher.

31. I worked for the Josh McDowell Ministry for three years as a graphic designer right out of college. I met some amazing people and learned a lot about working for a non-profit organization.

32. In 2003, I decided that I wanted to switch careers. I got accepted into an alternative teaching program in Texas, took classes, took tests and got into the field. My first year in education, I was a teaching assistant in a self-contained special education classroom. The next year, I taught a preschool program for children with disabilities (PPCD) and now I teach a Multiple Disability class in Ohio. I finally feel like I have found my niche in the world.

33. I have big feet. Size 10 to be exact. But hey, if my feet were small, I’d fall right over, right?

34. I also love dance movies. Anything that has a choreographed dance in the middle of it – I usually love it.

35. I like to cook. Over the past few years, I feel like my cooking style has evolved based on who I’ve lived close to. It’s kind of fun to discover new recipes and ways to cook.

36. I’ve been married to my amazing husband for 5 years. We were married on September 29, 2001. Just two weeks after September 11. It was a stressful time with concerns that some of our guests would not make it to the wedding. Our biggest concern was getting Dave’s parents to the States safely from the Philippines. They both made it just fine.

37. I love to make stuff. Crafty stuff. I’m not afraid to tackle a project.

38. Even though I love my new career, I’ve always wanted to be a stay at home mom and have at least three kids.

39. Along the lines of #28, my husband is also a graphic designer. We had all of the same classes in college. He is the better designer, by far.

40. Dave and I did not start dating until our last semester of college. He tells me that he liked me all through college. I did not know this. If I would have known this, I would’ve run the other direction. I’ve always been shy around guys.

41. I’ve only dated two guys in my life. My brother-in-law and my husband. Yes, you read that right.

42. In fourth grade, we had a lip sync contest. My group did the song “I Think We’re Alone Now” by Tiffany. We rocked the house.

43. I like to chop things when I’m stressed. Guacamole is my favorite thing to make when stressed.

44. I also love to bake. Anything and everything. Dave has to ask me to stop baking because we both just eat it up.

45. We do not have any children…but we’re praying that it will happen soon.

46. I love to take pictures. I took one photography class in college and learned how to develop real film in a dark room. It was loads of fun. I would love to have my own dark room. I’m by no means a “photographer”, I just love to document life with pictures.

47. I have traveled to Mexico, Philippines, Russia and Tunisia. We have a trip to Australia planned this summer. I’ve loved every place that I’ve been to. It’s so fun to see different cultures. I think that every one should visit a third world country. It is life-changing.

48. I’ve always wanted to go to Italy. Dave and I have a goal of taking a trip there for our 10 year anniversary.

49. I’m not a super girly girl, but I’m not a tomboy either.

50. I do, however, LOVE to get pedicures. It’s the one thing that I love to do that is super girly.

51. I’m very low-maintenance when it comes to products and getting ready. I hate to take a long time to get ready, and I buy all of my make-up at Wal-Mart.

52. I’ve always had red hair and was often called Red and Carrot Top. I hate both of those names.

53. I wish that we lived closer to family. I think that life is too short to live far away from those that you love. (or is it whom you love?)

54. I love to wear fun earrings. I’ve developed quite a collection. My favorites are the ones I got in the Philippines. They were only 50 cents each.

55. One of my dreams is for Dave and I to stop working and to go live in the Philippines for a year. I would love to work at the New Faith Family Children’s Home and take care of those beautiful kiddos.

56. I loved my college experience. It is one of the best time periods of my life so far. The people that I met in college are family to me.

57. The first rated R movie I ever saw was Major League. I was in Kansas staying with my grandma and I called my parents long-distance to ask permission to see the movie. I am NOT a rule-breaker.

58. I absolutely HATE scary movies. Why would you want to spend two hours in absolute fear? It does not seem like a fun way to spend your time.

59. Another dream is for Dave and I to quit our jobs (I’m seeing a theme here) and go work at a camp in the summer. I’ve always liked camp. I think we’d be good “camp people”.

60. I love working with kids with physical disabilities. I get a kick out of helping with their physical therapy and seeing them progress.

61. Stores I would visit if I won the lottery: IKEA, Hobby Lobby, Target. I would have a different set of linens for every week in the year. I would also have a different set of dishes for every month. Dishes and linens are so fun to me.

62. I have very thick hair. I have to have it thinned when I get it cut. I would love to give you half of my hair if I could.

63. When I was little, I was playing outside with my cousins and my sisters. My cousin, Tim, was taunting a neighborhood cat with a blue plastic shovel. The cat headed straight for me and bit and scratched one side of my body. After looking all over the neighborhood for the cat, we finally had to go the hospital and I was signed up for a week’s worth of rabies shots in my booty. It was not a pleasant experience. I still remember what that nurse looked like.

64. My favorite color is teal. I think it’s gorgeous.

65. At the age of 28, I’m starting to really get who I am…and I like that.

66. I love to get mail. (the snail mail variety) I get really excited each day when I go and check the mail.

67. When I was little, I thought Amy Grant and I were friends. We listened to her ALL the time. I remember a dream that I had with her in it. We were really good friends and had a blast hanging out.

68. We had an Oak Ridge Boys album and would listen to it growing up. My sister, Annie, told me that she didn’t like the Oak Ridge Boys. I proceeded to tell her that I knew them and I would let them know that she didn’t like them. She started crying.

69. My youngest sister, Molly, had a brain tumor when she was little. She was one when they discovered it and we celebrated her second birthday in the hospital. I was only five when this all happened and I remember it being a really big deal. My grandma came to stay with us while my mom and dad stayed with Molly in Little Rock. They got to stay in the Ronald McDonald house while she was in the hospital. I only have a few memories of this time. One of them being Molly’s birthday party. The other memory is of me being really excited to see my mom and show her how long my fingernails had grown since I had last seen her.

70. I think that Molly’s life is a miracle. They removed her entire left frontal lobe. She functions normally and has no affects of the surgery. I think she’s amazing!

71. My sister, Annie, and I fought like cats and dogs when we were little. Every day there was some sort of battle. It took me going away to college for us to become good friends.

72. I love being outside. I’ve only been camping a handful of times, but I loved those times. I think it’s so fun to be out in the fresh air. I also like that you don’t have to shower and get ready. I enjoy being grubby.

73. In 1990, we were building our house that my parents currently live in. Before they started building, we would go out to our property every Saturday and pick up rocks. It was a great way to spend a Saturday.

74. Although I hated picking up rocks every Saturday (seriously, in Arkansas, rocks just grow out of the ground), I think it taught us a lot about good work ethic. Plus, we didn’t have a choice.

75. I love to dance to music when no one else is around.

76. My first tape that I ever owned was Tiffany. (Goes along with #42) My dad bought it for me and I was SO excited!

77. I do not like coffee.

78. I could eat pizza for every meal and never get tired of it.

79. When I’m stressed or have a lot going on in my life, I play the piano. It helps me to think through things. I’ve done this since I was in high school.

80. When I was in high school, I developed a heart arhythmia. For several years, I took heart medication every day. I don’t take the medicine anymore. I don’t drink anything with caffeine in it because of this. It makes me feel gross.

81. I had my nose pierced on a spring break trip to California my junior year of college. When I called my mom I told her I needed to tell her something. She asked me, “Tattoo or piercing?” I wore my nose ring for about 5 years. I took it out when I got into teaching.

82. People trapped underwater freak me out. I have a hard time watching scenes in movies with these things in them.

83. I grew up going to a non-denominational, Bible church. Currently, we are attending a Brethren Assembly.

84. I love antiques. I love to have a variety of different styles in my decorating.

85. I love to garden and work in the yard. I get a big kick out of watching my plants grow each spring. When we left our house in Texas, I cried when I had to leave my flowerbeds.

86. My favorite season is Fall. Hence the September wedding. I love the colors (they’re great redhead colors) and the smells.

87. I’ve always been good at remembering birthdays and anniversaries.

88. I am an obsessive list maker. I single-handedly keep Post-It in business. I’m sure of it.

89. I have amazing friends. I often look at my life and feel so blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life.

90. I do not have any tattoos. I’m pretty sure I’ll never get one.

91. The first time I mowed grass was in 2003. I was 25 years old.

92. I’ve had my kids’ names picked out for years. We’ll see if they end up staying the same.

93. I love Mexican food. I miss Tex-Mex. They don’t know how to do that up here in Ohio.

94. My first concert ever was Steven Curtis Chapman. I was 16. Dave’s first concert was Sting. In the Philippines.

95. I was an extra in a movie when I was in high school. The movie is Leap of Faith starring Steve Martin. We have a family friend/neighbor who used to do costuming for movies. They were shooting a movie in Dallas and we all got to sit in on a revival scene. We were there all day – close to 12 hours. The total time the scene lasted in the movie: just a few minutes. You can see my dad the best of all of us in the movie. It was fun, but really tiring. It made me glad that I didn’t do that every day.

96. I always wondered why teachers got so many breaks and summers off. I know now why. Teachers deserve every single break that they get. It’s tough working with kids every day.

97. My favorite concert I’ve ever been to was Sarah McLachlan at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. She is amazing.

98. I’ve never been a big sleeper. I don’t take naps and I can’t sleep in. I used to be a night owl, until I started teaching. Now I’m in bed by 10:00 every night. Sometimes 9:30. Growing up, I was always the one at the sleepovers who would wake up super early to watch cartoons by myself. All the other girls would sleep in until noon. I always felt like it was a waste of a day.

99. I have a really hard time finding pants that I like and that are long enough for me. It annoys me that every store doesn’t have pants in Long sizes. Big girls (#3) need jeans too!

100. I love going for walks when the weather is nice. It’s one of my favorite things to do in the mornings during the summer.

101. Mosquitos love me. They will always find me in a crowd and bite me 50 times before anyone else has been touched.

Snow Day!

2007-02-06T12:48:00.000-08:00

At long last. We've gotten a Snow Day. (or at least half of one) We dismissed school 2 hours early today because of the amount of snow that was headed our way. It was a good thing we did, too. It started snowing around noon and hasn't stopped. There's already about 3 inches on the ground. It's such pretty snow, too...I'm enjoying watching it from my warm spot on the couch. Now, I just need Dave to get home and all will be well. So, with some extra time on my hands, I decided to catch up on some blogging.

As many of you know, Dave grew up in the Philippines. When we've gone to visit in the past, we've bought a few brooms that they use a lot there. They're short, squaty brooms that have wispy bristles. They work really well. The only downside is that you have to hunker over to use them. (Which, for Filipinos is not a big deal. For me, the 6-footer, it is.) They look like this:

So, we have this friend, Ashley, who's mom, Mrs. Helen, paints brooms. Paints brooms, you ask? Yes. And they are REALLY cute. You can check out her website here. As a side note: You'll notice that she also sells My Brother's Salsa which is also amazing. It really tastes so good! Another little known fact: Dave designed her logo and labels for the salsa. I'm so proud!

Stick with me folks...I promise I'm going somewhere with this.

So, before our last trip to the Philippines, Mrs. Helen asked us if we could bring back a broom from the Philippines so that she could paint it. We did, and then also asked her to paint one for us. I had forgotten about it, to tell you the truth. But, today on our front porch was a box with this cute broom in it!

Isn't it great? And what I love most about these brooms, is that she paints a bible verse on the handle. This one has Colossians 3:23 on it. "Do all your work wholeheartedly." I just think they're wonderful...and they make great gifts! Go check out the website!

And, I must leave you with another picture of Lucy. She was waiting to come in the house after playing in the snow.

Christmas in February

2007-02-01T17:23:00.000-08:00

So my friend, Kristy (you know, the one in New Mexico that we're all trying to convince to start a blog?), well, she and her husband are starting the adoption process again. They had asked me a few months ago if I would design their adoption portfolio for them. I said, "why yes, of course". They sent me pictures and the rest is history. Here's the finished product:

Anywho, she's been telling me that I should "stalk the mailman" because a Thank You gift was on its way in the mail. Long story short: It arrived today. And oh. my. goodness. It's a great present!

Observe.

The box: A delicious size just begging to be opened immediately. I'll admit, I put off opening it for a few minutes because I was SO excited to open it, I didn't want that excitement to go away. (Is anyone else like this or am I just sick?)

Then, the opening: Such glorious wrapping and placement! I can appreciate good display sense when it comes to packages. When I send packages, I often do a "mock opening" before taping it up, pretending that I'm the person receiving the gift and making sure that it looks "just so" when opened. Again, probably too much information.

And the grand finale: The loot. There is some super fun stuff here! Every single thing she gave me was something I would have picked out for myself. How fun is this!?

Kristy, Thank you, thank you, thank you. You have made my month. Seriously.

Ramblings...

2007-01-30T16:28:00.000-08:00

I survived my Monday meeting. It was a doozie, but once again, I've lived to tell the tale. After the meeting I felt like I feel when I've cried a lot. You know that feeling? Total emotional exhaustion? That's how I felt. I hadn't been crying (not even on the inside) but I still felt that way. Weird, huh?

On the student front: I had one out yesterday and today because of fever and sent another one home today because he puked in my classroom. (Can't seem to get away from the puking...) So: I know of two students who won't be in my room tomorrow. God is smiling on me. After these last few weeks, it's pretty darn nice to have a few students out so I can catch my breath and catch up on paperwork. Don't get me wrong, I love my students, but it is truly AMAZING how much a room can change when one student is out...much less two or three. It's very close to a vacation day in my book.

On the home front: Dave and I are settling in to watch a Netflix movie in a few minutes. (Currently, he's taking Eddie for a spin playing Tricky on xbox...can't seem to tear him away from it at the moment - hence the blog entry)

Some fun tidbits for you:
- Dave got new glasses! As soon as I can sneak a picture of him, I'll post it. They're very different than his last pair. I like them a lot...makes him look older...and twice as cute.

- Lucy is on her little doggie period. She started last weekend. You would think that she was howling in pain the way Dave has been treating her. "Oh, Lucy, are you ok? Do you have cramps? Are you feeling bad? You poor baby...I'm so sorry..." blah, blah, blah. I hardly get THIS kind of treatment when on MY menses. (always wanted to use that word...never really have until now. lucky you.)

- For the past few days, every morning I've woken up to a light dusting of snow on the car and back deck. Every morning I pray that we will have a snow day. And every morning I check the news and see that my school district is NOT on the snow delay list. Hmph. There's talk of snow in the middle of the night on Thursday. Here's hoping that our snow day comes on Friday!

Ok, Eddie is finished and the movie is starting. I'm off. Hope all is well with you!

A Whole Lotta Love.

2007-01-27T15:21:00.000-08:00

Just want you all to know that I'm ok. Thank you for your words of encouragement over the past few days. The weekend is here and I'm slowly letting last week melt away. Monday starts a new week. I feel like I've learned a lot over the past few days. Integrity is a big part of it. I can only do my best and let everything else fall where it may. Life will go on...and it's too short to be totally stressed out about work all of the time. I will continue to choose to be happy and find the happy moments that remind me of why I love teaching.

On Friday we made a special winter snack in my classroom. We dipped pretzels in chocolate and rolled them in Fruity Pebbles and sprinkles. We also had hot chocolate with marshmallows. The BIG ones. Yum. I wish I could post pictures of my students on my blog. They are so stinkin' cute. I could probably get in big trouble for that, so you'll have to picture it. All of their cute little faces covered in chocolate. Chocolate on their hands. Chocolate on their faces. Chocolate on their necks. You name it. It was quite the sensory experience. That's the stuff I love. When they're not being weasels, or refusing to work, or puking. I love seeing how much fun they have with a fun snack. It was a good day.

So, thanks. Thanks for your love. I have a big meeting on Monday that I'd appreciate your prayers for. After Monday, I'll feel a it more free.

Ta Ta for Now.

Choosing to be Happy

2007-01-25T15:06:00.000-08:00

I hate to keep popping in and being negative, but there's no avoiding it. I would love to write a post about how happy hearts and stickers everything is right now, but it's just not. Work is no fun. To the point of me wondering why I even got into teaching in the first place. The amount of work, the amount of need that these kids have. I am one person. ONE. I cannot do all of it and it's killing me. I want to, but there are just too many kids and too many needs. Throw in a few crazy parents and we've got ourselves a teacher on the edge. I'm about to fall off and go to my happy place. I want to give my best to these kids, but because of the overload, I'm having to lower my expectations. I hate that. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only person dealing with this, but it's still hard.

I loved learning new elementary terms in my teaching classes. One of them was, "Give them two glows and a grow". "Glows" being the positives and "Grows" being something they could work on to make it better. So, in the spirit of happy elementary teachers everywhere, I'll try to give some "Glows" and not focus on the "Grows".

Glows:
1. I like the school schedule (lots of holidays/summer vacation)

I believe that's all I can muster up right now. I'll try more later.

Snow, Snow, Come Out in the Snow

2007-01-21T06:45:00.000-08:00

We woke up this morning to a wintry wonderland. Our first snow of the winter! We thought we'd be all ready to go to Sunday School, but by the time Dave finished shoveling the driveway, we knew we'd be really late. So, we're both sitting here resting and plan to go to the church service that starts at 11:00.

I love seeing Lucy play in the snow. She gets to happy and giddy! Dave shoveled the sidewalk and threw the snow on her. She kept biting at it trying to catch it in the air.

We love our Lucy girl.

The Last Mohican

2007-01-16T16:41:00.000-08:00

Posted by David
- a guest blogger.

Well the last of the Filipino Missionary Friends has done it. Congratulations, Ali, for a job well done. Over the holidays Ali proposed to his girlfriend, Jane and she said yes. The last domino has fallen as all other friends have since been hitched. We are all excited to hear the news and can't wait to see it all go down. A few pictures to remind us of our good friend Ali. The sexy beast is officially off the market.

A group shot in 03' sans Daniel. 95 degrees in Tagatay that day and the Euro looks ready for winter.

Note to Jane: not a bad cook, not bad at all. Just look at that smile on DS.

Good with Animals.

Here I am!

2007-01-15T15:20:00.000-08:00

I've been trying to get my picture over the the right there for a while now. Just a little pic to show my face. Well, after some help from Mimsies, I now have that photo. Long story short - for some reason my Mac wouldn't let me reduce my photo to 50K. All very interesting, I know.

Ta da! Here I am:

Not an Endorsement

2007-01-13T13:49:00.000-08:00

Well, we did it. We just purchased the vacuum of all vacuums. After much research and deliberation, we are now the proud owners of a Dyson vacuum. When I drove in the driveway on Wednesday, I saw this on our front porch:

It's just like Christmas all over again! I can't believe how excited I am about a vacuum. Seriously, though, this thing is designed really well. Even the manual is cool!

The cord is super long, it manuevers well around the house and all of the attachments have their own little place on the vacuum. It even has a super-long hose that I can stretch for miles. We've had it for three and a half days now and I've vacuumed two of those days. This thing makes me want to clean. Apparently, someone else wants to clean too.

I'm ok with that.

Work, Work, Work

2007-01-09T16:49:00.000-08:00

I feel like Cinderelli (remember the cute mouse in the cartoon that called her Cinderelli? I love that.)

i've been back to school a whopping 6 days since Christmas break and I'm already feeling like I need another break. These kids are taking it out of me. Special Education teachers have a laundry list of job titles. It seems like each day I'm discovering a new job title to add to my resume, should I leave this career and move on to another.

1. Teacher
(ok, that's a given.)

2. Mother
(although I am not one, I feel like I have 8 children each day when I walk in the building...especially when they keep saying my name over and over and over and over and over. Oh, did I mention diapers? Yes, we change diapers. Thanks to my wonderful assistants in the room, I've had to change only a few this year...but still. I definitely put my time in when I taught preschool in Texas. shooo-weee!)

3. Nurse
(Some of my students have seizures and therefore we are trained to give them the appropriate medication, should the school nurse not be around. In addition to this, we're always feeling foreheads and giving little snacks for tummy aches.)

4. Hairdresser
(From time to time we have to fix the occasional droopy ponytail or barette that has fallen out. However, today, I can actually add cutting hair to my list. One of my students got gum stuck in her hair and I had to cut it out.)

5. Mother - again
(The number of times I've wiped snotty noses and caught puke in my hand cannot be counted...I'm certain this is getting me ready for motherhood one day)

6. Juggler
(With nine students and all of them at different levels, I've learned how to keep them all occupied in some way while working one-on-one with them. It's been quite the lesson in multi-tasking.)

7. Correctional Officer
(I spend a good portion of my day scheming ways to keep certain students on task. These students try our patience every hour of the day and enjoy doing it. These students make it really hard to love my job some days.)

8. Architect
(This is a new one that was just added to the list today) Do you know what I love? People that do THEIR jobs. Today, we were asked by a person in charge of the school buildings to "sketch some plans" for a handicapped bathroom that is needing to be built in our school. You know, just give him the dimensions that a handicap bathroom needs and they'll do the rest. Excuse me? I know nothing about this. Nevermind that it's not even in my job title. (I'm all about going above and beyond, but come on!) We were mildly amused and annoyed at this request.

I love teaching. Don't get me wrong. I just think I'm having a hard time getting adjusted to school again myself. I cannot wait for summer break!

I'm off to research the ADA guidelines for dimensions of a handicap bathroom.

Christmas at the Mansion

2007-01-04T18:12:00.000-08:00

So my in-laws live in a mansion. Let me explain. They are working for CMML which is their mission organization that they have been affiliated with for years. They have lived in Manila, Philippines for 20 years as missionaries and just moved back to the states this past summer. They are now living in the “mansion” hosting missionary families that come through and taking care of the property. It’s the perfect place for family get-togethers!

Here is the backyard. The house was originally on over 200 acres of land. Now the mission organization only owns 17 acres.

As the story goes, the original owner of the home had it built in 1930 for his fiancé. (I know!) Apparently, he also owned a lot of horses and like to parade them in his backyard between these trees. Isn’t it cool? This was one of my favorite sides of the house. The sad part is, this guy had an inner ear problem and was told not to ride his horses. He did anyway and ended up having a riding accident and died before they got married. So, neither of them lived in the mansion. Sad, isn’t it?

Ok, back to Christmas. So we got to spend a full week with Dave’s parents and his older sister and brother-in-law. It was a great time! We ate lots of good food, played lots of games, spent a day in New York City and even snuck in a trip to IKEA. It was fantastic!

Christmas morning started with a phone call from Josh and Val. It was fun to get to talk to them. And it sounded like they had a fun and busy Christmas in Manila.

After we opened presents, we went on a hayride around the property. It was fun to get bundled up and spend some time outside. Lucy loved it at the mansion. Lots of spaces to roam free!

We had the most amazing Christmas dinner and we got to eat it in the formal dining room of the mansion. We transported all of the food and dishes down to this table to eat. It was so fun! We felt like royalty!

This is my sister-in-law, Heather and her husband, Bryan:

Here is a picture of Dave and his Grammy. Isn’t she cute?

I tried brussel sprouts for the first time. They were pretty good. I couldn’t eat a plate full, but this one made it down just fine.

We spent the day on Thursday in New York. We took a 2 hour train ride and landed ourselves in the middle of New York. It was my first time to visit. I loved it! It was a whirlwind day of trying to see as much as possible and as fast as our little legs would carry us. We started at Ground Zero (amazing, by the way, and very moving. I was surprised at how much it affected me being there), went through China Town, ate pizza at Cha Cha’s in Little Italy, took a subway to Central Park, visited the huge tree at Rockefeller Plaza, sauntered down the sidewalks of 5th Avenue (more like a mob scene – it was SO busy!) and finished the day in Times Square. We were beat at the end of the day, but we had a great time!

Central Park:

Rockefeller Plaza:

Times Square:

Lucy had her first swim in the ocean and loved every minute of it.

And I discovered my extreme love of jigsaw puzzles!

We completed a 1000 piece puzzle within a few days. (Actually it was 999 pieces - one was missing) Those few days of puzzle fun were full of good conversation, frustration and joy. I love puzzles! Can you find the missing piece?

All in all, it was a great trip. It was so nice to be away for so long and be completely separated from work and the day-to-day routines. To our New Jersey family – thank you so much for your hospitality! We can’t wait to come back to the mansion to visit!

Happy New Year!

2007-01-01T07:36:00.000-08:00

After spending a week in New Jersey with Dave's family, we're back in Cincinnati. Our friends Ryan and Shannon came into town yesterday and helped us ring in the New Year last night with Jared and Rachel. Much fun was had and much food was eaten.

Many stories and pictures to share, but for now I'll just say Happy New Year! I hope you've all made your resolutions and are ready for '07. Mine include eating better and exercising more...along with the rest of America, I'm sure. Have a great day!

"The diet starts tomorrow" - Janice, Friends

Oops.

2006-12-21T14:08:00.000-08:00

For those of you interested in making the Chocolate Mint Marvels that I posted earlier in the week, I've goofed on the recipe. Here is the updated recipe. Everything is the same, but I put the wrong amount of butter on the last one. (I've changed the old post) These cookies really are SO good! My neighbors and teacher friends love them! I highly recommend them. And to our family in Jersey - don't worry. I'll be bringing plenty with us!

Chocolate Mint Marvels (Don't you love that name?)

3/4 c. butter (stick and a half)
1-1/2 c. brown sugar
2 c. chocolate chips
2 eggs
*********
2-1/2 c. flour
1-1/4 t. baking soda
3 or 4 pkg of Andes mints

Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter and brown sugar in saucepan over low heat. Add chocolate chips and stir to melt; put mixture into a bowl and let cool. Add eggs, and then mix in flour and baking soda. Chill dough for 1 hour. Roll into balls and place on baking sheet. Bake for 9 minutes. Remove cookies from oven and place an Andes mint on each one. As the candy melts, spread it across the top of the cookie with the back of a teaspoon. Makes 3 dozen.

They are yummalicious.

My 12 Days of Christmas

2006-12-20T14:05:00.000-08:00

Sweet Freedom.
School is out for one and a half weeks. Yipee!

Here are my 12 Days of Christmas that relate to these past few days.

12 - Students munching on pizza for lunch. (We had a pizza party today - I love me some Papa John's)
11 - As in A.M. I will be sleeping until this time tomorrow morning.
10 - Times that one of my students said my name in about 10 seconds.
9 - Hours of driving (Actually it's 9-1/2) this Friday.
8 - Pieces of leftover pizza that I snagged for dinner tonight.
7 - Time that I'll probably be in bed tonight.
6 - Number of students I had in school today due to the flu bug hitting our school with a vengeance.
5 - Days 'til Christmas.
4 - Number of neighbors that I need to bake cookies for. Mmmm, Chocolate Mint Marvels...
3 - Adoption portfolio books that I finally finished - Hope you like them Kristy!
2 - Days until we leave for New Jersey to spend Christmas with Dave's parents, sister and brother-in-law.
1 - Tired, but happy teacher.

3 more days...

2006-12-16T05:35:00.000-08:00

Only three more days of hyper students. Students who can't stop talking about Ho-Ho (Santa) and asking me if I'm going to buy them the racecar that they want for Christmas. Three more days of high-strung elementary students who are having trouble sitting still for 3 minutes straight. Three more days of paperwork that is due 2 days (2 days!) after we return from Christmas break. Three more days.

But, in those three days, we're gonna have some fun too!

Monday: Bowling for our Community Outing and a birthday party for one of the assistants in my room.
Tuesday: Lunch in the Community with my students' parents and decorating gingerbread men (and eating them!) in the afternoon.
Wednesday: PARTY DAY! Our two classes are doing a gift exchange, craft session and pizza party - throw in an assembly and a visit from the Big Guy himself and we'll send those sugared-up kids home and call it a day.

Now I just have to figure out when I'm going to do my paperwork.

On the docket for today:
Baking and LOTS of it! I have about 20 people at my school that I'm giving cookies to. I love to give gifts and baking seems to be the best way to do that without breaking the bank. I got these cute little tins at a candle outlet for 10 cents each...so I'll be filling them with 3 cookies and tying them up to give to some unsuspecting teachers/staff. It's not big, but it's fun.

The cookies I'm putting inside are amazing. I found the recipe in the American Way magazine when we were flying to Mexico. I ripped out the recipe and brought it home. (What? They always tell you to take the magazines home with you...) If you like to bake, here it is. It's not hard to do at all:

Chocolate Mint Marvels (Don't you love that name?)

3/4 c. butter (stick and a half)
1-1/2 c. brown sugar
2 c. chocolate chips
2 eggs
*********
2-1/2 c. flour
1-1/4 t. baking soda
3 or 4 pkg of Andes mints

Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter and brown sugar in saucepan over low heat. Add chocolate chips and stir to melt; put mixture into a bowl and let cool. Add eggs, and then mix in flour and baking soda. Chill dough for 1 hour. Roll into balls and place on baking sheet. Bake for 9 minutes. Remove cookies from oven and place an Andes mint on each one. As the candy melts, spread it across the top of the cookie with the back of a teaspoon. Makes 3 dozen.

They are yummalicious.

Oh Mexico...numero dos

2006-12-09T05:34:00.000-08:00

So I wasn't too quick on the 2nd part of our Mexico trip. Christmas decorations came out, cookies have been baked and work has been taking up a lot of time and energy. Here is the rest of the vacation story:

It's time to answer those burning questions.

Questions 1: How much guacamole can one person eat?

A lot. And when I say a lot, I mean every day for lunch. Not kidding. It was SO very good!

This was our last night there eating Mexican food.

They had an Oriental restaurant and we all got to try the sushi. I was not much of a fan, but Annie was.

Question 2:
Do iPods survive dips in the pool?

No. They do not. I accidentally dropped my parents iPod in the pool (it slide off of my swimsuit). It was literally in the water .2 seconds and the thing was fried. Thank goodness for that first year warranty! I just spoke to my mom last night and she already has her fixed iPod back in her hands...with no charge for anything - not even shipping! Thank you Mr. Macintosh!

Question 3:
Did anyone in our party wear a speedo?

Oh my goodness yes. My brother-in-law, Dylan was feeling quite (ahem) comfortable around us. It was his first time to wear a speedo and he let us know "I've never had to use this much sunscreen before."
You can read more about Dylan (and Molly) here.

Question 4:
How many times was I told "no" on this vacation?

Once. The last night we were there we had Mexican food. I ordered steak fajitas and they brought out corn tortillas. I asked if they had flour and they came back from the kitchen apologizing over and over that they did not have flour tortillas. This was the only time of record that I was told "no". I threw a complete fit and made a scene.

Not really.

Question 5:
Can you really order two steaks in one sitting?

Yes, yes you can. Ask my brother-in-law Walt. He did it twice.

Question 6:
How lazy can one person get?

6 words for you: Room Service 24 hours a day. Pretty lazy.

I highly recommend this place if you ever find yourself in Mexico with some travel money.

Aventura Spa Palace is:
"The seventh tier of heaven" ...Walt
"Like Willy Wonka for adults" ...Annie

The Voice of an Angel and Convincing a Non-Blogger

2006-12-06T14:50:00.000-08:00

If you do not own this cd, promptly get up from your sofa and go to the nearest cd-sellin' store. It is wonderful!

In other news - I'd like to throw a shout out to Kristy in New Mexico. See, I'm trying to convince Kristy that she needs a blog. She has all the perfect ingredients:

1. She's funny
2. She's a great writer
3. She takes amazing photos
4. She's really funny
5. Seriously, she takes a TON of photos

So, help me convince her to start a blog. Any comments I get, I'll send on to her (or she can just read them). Come on...tell her how much fun it is!

Thrilla in Manila

2006-12-02T15:39:00.000-08:00

I'd like to say a big "Welcome" to my sister-in-law, Val. She has joined the blogging world. She lives in Manila, Philippines with her hubby and their two precious little girls. (We miss you guys!) Go check out her blog. It's going to be loads of fun!

A Saturday "To Do" List...

2006-12-02T06:16:00.000-08:00

1. Unpack the suitcase that has been sitting in the middle of the dining room for 5 days. But if I do this, it will mean our Mexico trip is truly over...

2. Clean my entire house from top to bottom. Not a big goal, really. (Why do I do this?)

3. Drag up all of our Christmas decor from the basement and sprinkle it throughout the house.

4. Grab the Mr. and go pick up our very first fake tree. (I'm breaking down...this is HUGE for me - in 28 years of my life, I've never had a fake tree.)

5. Start some holiday baking.

6. Rake and "winterize" my flowerbeds.

7. Oh, and we've got to do something about this:

The winds were just a tad bit strong yesterday. (That's our garage under the tree)

Para Tu, Mamasita

2006-12-01T14:14:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Mom!
I feel so fortunate to have you in my life.
And you're just so much fun to hang out with!

(I know, I know. we all have 3 chins in this shot...but it still makes me laugh)

I love you!

The Rhythm and Dancing of Uganda, Africa

2006-11-29T18:46:00.000-08:00

My sister, Annie and her husband Walt are headed to Uganda tomorrow. They will be spending two weeks taking pictures and video to help to spread the word of what is happening in Northern Uganda. This is a part of the world that is really suffering. Please be in prayer for them as they travel and spend time in this unsafe part of the world. Annie sent me this video tonight and I thought I'd post it for you to enjoy as well. How precious are these kids? They have got some SERIOUS dance moves.

Here's the blurb: This is a music video from Uganda, in East Africa, where orphans can dance and praise God despite their suffering. It's a compilation of clips from someone's missions trip to the city of Kampala, where they worked in a children's village and in a local Christian church. Visit www.africagreaterlifemission.com for more information.

Oh Mexico

2006-11-28T17:10:00.000-08:00

We're back from a wonderful vacation. It was a bit hard to go from perfect, 85 degree weather to cloudy and 53 degrees. I'll admit, I didn't have the best attitude at work today. However, the real world must continue. We had a splendid time and I have tons of pictures to show for it. Too many, I think. I will most likely be doing this in shifts. Tonight, we'll start with a few favorites. I'm pretty sure I'm going to do an entire entry just about the food and another about the resort and the incredible service. So without further adeu, let's get this photo train rollin'...

Our last night in Mexico - eating at La Hacienda. Muy Bueno.

This is what I did for 5 days straight. (the laying out, not the pictures)

The sisters - waiting for a table at breakfast.

On Thursday night, we had our Christmas in my parents hotel room. Mom had brought her docking station for her iPod so we had the classics playing while we opened presents (Amy Grant Christmas, of course). Here is our 2006 Christmas picture. (the unofficial version) We also dressed up one evening and Walt (my brother-in-law/family photographer) took pictures of us all. I still don't have them (ahem, Molly), but when I get them I'll be sure to post the official photograph.

And these are my super-fun parents. Without them, this trip wouldn't have happened. My sweet grandma passed away in February and left my mom some money. Instead of just buying something, mom wanted to have an experience that included all of us, so they took us on a family vacation all together. We toasted to grandma numerous times throughout our vacation. We love her so much and miss her lots! Thank you grandma!

In my next blog post you'll find out the answers to these pressing questions:

How much guacamole can one person eat?
Do iPods survive dips in the pool?
Did anyone in our party wear a speedo?
How many times was I told "no" on this vacation?
Can you really order two steaks in one sitting?
How lazy can one person get?

Wish you were here...

2006-11-22T15:46:00.000-08:00

viente y seis hours and counting...

2006-11-20T07:30:00.000-08:00

That's right you non-spanish speakers. 26 more hours. (I am SO fluent) In 26 hours we will be headed to the airport to transport ourselves (and a bunch of our stuff) to Mexico. Riveria Maya to be exact. I will try my best to do a blog post from there, but no promises. Mrs. Sarah needs a vacation. I will if the mood strikes me.

I have parent-teacher conferences today and tomorrow and then I'm outta here. Currently, it's 10:24 a.m. and I am still in my bathrobe. I love this. One of my favorite things about not going into school at regular time is that I can lounge in my p.j.'s as long as I want to. Quite possibly one of the best things ever. However, working from 1:00p.m. to 8:00p.m. is NOT one of the best things ever. Yes, we had to rearrange our schedules so that our parents could come to the parent-teacher conferences. I, however, have to go in even earlier because I have left my room in shambles. On Friday, I got the wild idea to rearrange my entire classroom (with the help of one of my teaching assistants). I was really excited about it until about, oh 4:10p.m. Then, I just wanted to go home.

Any of you teachers out there know that the last day before break - when the kids leave, YOU leave. That is the best feeling in the world to say goodbye to your students as they board the bus and then skip and jump (in my case hobble) to your car. Sweet freedom! A whole week of no students! I did this, after I had moved bookshelves, desks and huge binders. So, today I'm going in early to make my room look presentable and scrub the crayon off of my table. (I've got a lot of faith that the magic eraser will help me do this)

Anyway, I'm off. I hope you all have a fantastic Thanksgiving! Enjoy your turkey and stuffing. I'll be feasting on tortillas and salsa.

'Ole!

Lots of things, really

2006-11-15T18:01:00.000-08:00

In my absence of blogging, life continues to go on at break-neck speed. So much has happened. Wait, it is too much, let me sum up. (can you name that movie?)

1. Mimsies meet Trim and Fashionable, Trim and Fashionable, meet Sarah. Bloggers united at a Ohio Red Robin late Sunday evening with husbands in tow. Fries were eaten, stories were shared and friendships were strengthened. It was so great to meet Trim and her husband! You can read more about our experience on Mimsies' blog.

2. My life as a gimp continues. I've discovered that the stylish boot is about 1 inch higher than my other shoes causing some delightful back tension. Oh well, at least my foot is getting better.

3. Our trip to Mexico begins in only 6 short days. It cannot get here fast enough! It seems that my students have caught on to the fact that Thanksgiving is coming soon and feel the need to be extra hyper. Only two. more. days.

4. Dave and I just went to see the Titanic exhibit tonight. They were offering a teacher preview night, so we both got in for $5 each. It was an amazing exhibit! There were all kinds of things that they recovered from the bottom of the ocean. It was fascinating to see actual money, china, clothes and letters from the ship. I highly recommend it if it comes to your area!

5. We made a fun purchase last weekend. After much saving and even more researching by my techy hubby, we went and picked up one of these. The best part? We got wireless! I can now lounge on my sofa under my favorite blanket and surf the world wide web in complete comfort. I can get used to this!

6. I've been working on an adoption portfolio for some friends/family. It's been a fun little project. This has been consuming a lot of my "after work" time.

7. I haven't forgotten about showing Halloween pictures - I just haven't had time to get it all together. Maybe over the weekend. I better stop building it up. We weren't THAT funny.

8. Dave and I joined Netflix a few weeks ago. LOVE IT. Go to check the mail and, oh what's that? A movie right in my mailbox? Thank you very much, Mr. (or Ms.) Mailman. When we're done, we stick it back in the same envelope and put it out for the magical Netflix fairy to whisk away and return with another that WE picked out! We have already watched Inside Man (some language but good) and Nacho Libre (quite funny, actually - lots of good one-liners).

Nachooooooooooo!

Look! A new shoe!

2006-11-10T06:10:00.000-08:00

I have a stress fracture. I don't know how I got it. Weird? Yes, it is. My foot had been hurting for two weeks when I went in to see the doctor this past Monday. He x-rayed it and found a stress fracture. "Are you a runner?" he asked. No. "Are you a dancer?" No. I wish I had a good excuse for something like this, but I just don't. I haven't even worked out since school started back! My theory: one of my sweet kiddos in my class might've stepped on my foot at some point and I just don't remember it. Gosh, I don't know. I got a bone density scan yesterday to see if I have any problems there. I should hear back from the dr. in the next few days. In the meantime, I get to wear this stylish boot for three weeks. THREE WEEKS! That means I'll be sportin' this look to the beach in Mexico when we go over Thanksgiving with my family. Sigh. It's going to look great with my swimsuit.

Do you know who I am?

2006-11-05T11:05:00.000-08:00

Ok, so it's 10 year reunion update time. It was actually fun. There was a great turnout (about 1/2 of our graduating class) so it made it interesting to say the least. Friday night consisted of Dave and I calling up our good buddies, Zach and Lisa. We were NOT going to do this alone.

We went everywhere together that weekend. "Safety in numbers" was our motto. We headed to the Homecoming football game where we had a whirlwind of ,"Oh my gosh! I haven't seen you in forever! What are you doing now?" type of conversations. The next day, there was a family shindig at our park in the middle of town. Here we could all show off our offspring and really see each other in the light of day. (It was very dark at the football game)

The prize for most kids went to the Herods (Dave was my prom date my Junior Year of high school). In 10 years, he and his wife had 4 kids! No one else even came close to them!

I got to see my best friend in high school, Brandy, and meet her husband, Chris. It was so fun to see her! We were partners in crime all through junior high and high school.

One girl had the nerve to come up to Zach and ask, "Do you know who I am?" Zach (being a no-nonsense kind of guy) said, "no". Then she took off her sunglasses and said, "Does this help?" Again, he answered no. How can you do that to people? Come on! Take note: this is a cruel thing to do to someone at a reunion. Never, ever do it. My cousin, Joanna was there too. It was great to see her!

Then came Saturday night. Oh, Saturday night. You have to understand where I grew up. Small town (about 7,000 people) in rural Arkansas where the nearest mall is 1-1/2 hrs. away and the nearest airport is 2-1/2 hrs away. So they had this get together planned on Saturday night at the Elks Lodge. One word to describe this place: shady. We called up our partners in crime and added the Herods to the list. We were not going at this alone. We head out to the country where the Elks Lodge resides and pull into the parking lot. As we exit the car, we can hear "Ice, Ice Baby" blaring from speakers inside. One of the spouses threw out the idea that we could just turn back now. "We can't do that!", I shouted, "I hear 'Ice, Ice Baby' playing - I'm going in!" On our way in, we noticed a bunch of motorcycles parked out front - one of them being in the "Exalted Ruler's" spot. yikes! We just HAD to stop and get a quick picture.

It totally made me think of Chevy Chase when he goes into the biker bar pretending to sell real estate. (Harley Davidson of Harley Davidson Motorcycles) Anyway, I digress...

As soon as we stepped in the door, I realized why I had never gone to the Elks Lodge before. Dark, Smoky, Loud and overall very creepy. To our left on the wall behind a big stage was this display - reminiscent of The Wedding Singer.

Apparently, there was supposed to be karaoke something that night - it never happened...not while we were there at least. So we all make our way to a table that has red and black balloons on it (our school colors) and little votive candles. (oh, so romantic) We spent the next couple of hours visiting and observing that really, everyone is still kind of the same. Some people had changed a lot, but some were still doing the same ole thing. It was really interesting to see what 10 years had brought to our class. I'm really glad that I went. The spouses of our class were such troopers! Dave sat through hours of mind-numbing Mena "fun" and didn't complain. (much)

I did find it amusing that the people voted "Best Personality" (myself and another classmate) were the ones sitting back at the Elks Lodge taking it all in. I didn't really feel like being social once we got there. It was too weird. I just took it all in. I got up a few times to mingle, but I had a short leash. I would quickly come back to the table and the safety of good friends. Which, I think is ok.

So, that's it in a nutshell. For your viewing pleasure, I've got one of my senior pictures to show. (Please don't ask what I was thinking with these earrings. They went GREAT with my prom dress)

Oh, and Halloween was fun at our house this year. That's another post for another day...pictures to come.

Viente y ocho

2006-10-21T14:23:00.000-07:00

Today is Dave's birthday. (It is also his dad's birthday. Happy Birthday Papa Phil!) I've always thought it was so neat that he shares a birthday with his dad. Dave talked to him this morning over the phone and then we headed to Mimi's Cafe for birthday breakfast with Mimsies and hubby. It was a nice morning. He's headed to a hockey game tonight with the boys. Mimsies and I will be having a girlie night of a chick flick and dinner. More to come on the 10 year reunion. Dave was a trooper! He deserves a medal for surviving the weekend!

Happy Birthday Dave! I love you!

Is it already time?

2006-10-10T16:53:00.000-07:00

I've become that person. That person that says "I'm going to my 10 year high school reunion".

How is it that I've been out of high school for 10 years? How is it that I don't even remember who I WAS in high school? It's just all too weird. So much has happened in my life in the past 10 years. I went away to college, met the most amazing people I've ever met in my life, fell in love with a boy who grew up on the other side of the world, and got married. If I think back to my senior year of high school (Class of '96 rocks!) I would've never dreamed that in 10 years I would be living in Ohio working as a teacher. Isn't it funny?

We fly out on Friday morning. My parents will pick us up in Little Rock and we'll make the 2-1/2 hour drive to my precious little town. We'll be hitting the homecoming football game, taking a tour of the high school and working through mind numbing conversations with people we hardly know anymore. I'm weirded out by it all, but I'm also very curious...

I'll be sure to fill you in on all of the awkard details!

We Gonna Party Like It's Yo Birfday.

2006-10-01T12:49:00.000-07:00

It's been an eventful weekend. Friday, September 29, was our 5th Anniversary.

We celebrated in style by hitting Belterra Casino Resort & Spa.

We spent the weekend eating amazing food, sleeping, watching movies and enjoying the sights. Dave even got me a special spa pedicure for our anniversary. It was de-light-ful! I spent 50 whole minutes getting my feet rubbed, scrubbed and wrapped. They finished it off when some red polish. My feet were as soft as a baby's bum by the time she was finished.

Today, October 1st, is my birthday. I woke up this morning and opened my birthday cards. Then Dave surprised me by giving me this! I wasn't expecting it at all! I'm so excited to get it all hooked up. (He's downstairs playing with it right now)

So, after leaving our little resort in the middle of nowhere,

we headed home for a nice, quiet afternoon. I decided I wanted to do my favorite things today, so I requested a walk with Dave and Lucy. After our walk, I ran to the grocery store to get the essentials: chocolate chips, sugar, vanilla...Baking is something else I love to do. While I waited on the cookies to bake, I gave myself a birthday treat:

Yumma-Yum:

The best part about my birthday? It's the beginning of fall! My favorite time of year!!

But Our Princess is in Another Castle...

2006-09-23T07:46:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Ryan and Shannon came into town for a visit. Ryan, Jared and Dave all grew up together in the Philippines, so these boys have one special bond.

The bonus is that all of the wives get along great as well!

So, needless to say, we love it when one of the "boys" (and wife) come to town. We spent the weekend reliving our childhood and busted out the old school Nintendo. We had a weekend full of Mario, Luigi and all of their antics. We had a blast!

Apparently, I'm the Nintendo weirdo because I don't play with my thumbs like the rest of the world. Mimsies took a picture, she was so fascinated. Anyone else out there play like this? Maybe it just runs in my family!

How do you spell stress relief?

2006-09-10T19:29:00.000-07:00

My life is full of so many unknowns right now. Many of them having to do with school, many of them personal. It's times like this that I find myself so overwhelmed that I don't know what to do with myself. Throughout my life, when a stressful time would come around, I would find myself in front of the piano more. Playing piano has always been a good way to relieve my stress. When I have a lot on my mind, I can sit and play forever and just think. I might give that a shot tomorrow.
I hope you all had a great weekend. Enjoy the week!

Guess what?

2006-09-04T15:36:00.000-07:00

Yep. Our car is back...

and still not 100% fixed. It appears that even though we were rear-ended, the trunk is still not fixed. When we opened it to see if everything looked ok inside, we couldn't get it shut again. The latch is broken. You would think they would check that out, you know? Anyway, we're taking it to yet another body shop tomorrow and hopefully it will be finished soon.

and: DAVE IS HOME!!!! yea! My 2 weeks of being single are over and I am SO glad. It's great having him back. However, the day he got back, we had a big group of friends from college come to visit us. Between Mimsies house and ours, we've hosted 10 adults, 2 toddlers and a nine month old all weekend. They all just left a few hours ago for the airport. It was a great weekend of catching up and enjoying yummy food. Here is a photo for your enjoyment:

Hope you all enjoyed your long weekend. Here's to 4-day weeks!

For you, mom

2006-08-27T17:27:00.000-07:00

Well, I survived my first three days of school. God bless the person who thought up the idea to have the 1st day of school in the middle of the week. I honestly don't know if I could've done a full week. After a weekend of sleeping and trying to catch up around the house, I'm back at it again tomorrow. Special thanks to Mimsies and hubby for the deli-shoes meals that I get to partake in. You guys are a blessing to me!

This picture is for my mom. Every year on the first day of school, we would always get in our new outfits with our new bookbags and we'd stand on the front porch and show what grade we were going into with our fingers. Since it's my 2nd year of teaching, I thought it appropriate to set up the camera with the timer (dave's still in London) and capture the moment at 6:45 a.m.

Our little Barbaro

2006-08-19T18:16:00.000-07:00

What a week! A week ago today we went canoeing with Mimsies and her husband. We also took along the dogs, figuring they would enjoy being in the water and would get good and tired. Well, they did have a blast - and Lucy was quite the little water pup. She was actually crying in the boat because she wanted to get out and swim. She was adorable! When we were almost home, we noticed her limping when we pulled over to the side. She had sliced the pad on her left foot really bad and it was bleeding a lot. Thankfully, we were close to the end and could wrap it up and take her to the vet right away. Long story short: Dave and I spent three and a half hours in this emergency room. Has anyone out there been to an emergency vet? Wow. It was quite the experience. Lucy was fine, it's just that she wasn't the priority when there were dogs and cats literally dying all over the place. So, we waited patiently and finally got our girl back to us complete with a nice pink bandage with purple hearts.

We took her into our vet on Monday morning and she got 4 staples put in. He chose not to bandage it so it could air out and hopefully heal quicker. By Tuesday morning one of the staples was out and by Tuesday afternoon they were all out. (I imagine they're either still in her little tummy or in a pile outside in the yard by now) Back we go to the vet on Tuesday afternoon. This time, she gets sutures and a new bandage.

They ask us to come back again on Friday. I have been to the vet 5 times this week. 5! And we've spent well over $300 so far...the hits keep coming. She's still got her little red bandage on and we're scheduled to go back again on Monday. Lucy is fine. She's just ready to have the bandage off so that she can go outside and play with her ball. This is really killing her! The worst part about all of this is that we just have to keep going back to the vet every few days. Oh well, it's not like they're terrible people. We have a wonderful vet!

Enough about that. I fear that I have become one of "those" people who won't stop talking about their pet. I'm done.

In other news:
My classroom is almost ready. Inservice starts on Monday and the First Day of School is on Wednesday. I'm excited and nervous and anxious. I've worked for three weeks getting my room ready. It's time to get crackin'.

Dave has been given a wonderful opportunity to go on a business trip for two weeks. To London. (As in England) Leaving tomorrow. He found out about this on Friday. Yesterday. Yes, I know. I am excited for him, but part of me is being selfish and wants him here while I go through my first 2 weeks of a new job. Also, I'm a bit leary about all the London action that we've been hearing about in the news. Please pray that he'll have a safe flight and visit.

Alright, I'm gonna jet. Just wanted to do one more post before it gets crazy this week. No promises on frequent blogs from this girl. School is back in session and I have a feeling I'll be dog tired when I get home. I'll do my best.

Ta Ta for now.

Car Update

2006-08-15T19:02:00.000-07:00

There is still no white car in our drive way. It has been over 4 weeks. They told us we would have it back in 3. Last we heard it was going to the shop to get painted.

aye yay, yay.

Until then, we'll keep rockin' it in the rental.

2006-08-15T05:46:00.000-07:00

August 15, 1983
That was a fun day. Grandma came to stay with us while mom and dad went to the hospital. I remember getting the phone call that we had a new baby sister. We were ecstatic! Someone to dress up, boss around and love on was going to be coming home soon!

Through these past 23 years, we've all learned a lot about you:

- You have the sweetest, most tender heart because you would cry when Annie and I fought.
- You proved that you're one tough cookie after your surgery. (that helmet was a great look on you)
- You know what you want and who you are as a person
- You've never quite liked junk food like the rest of us. You were the "I'd rather have fruit, mom" kid.
- You have a voice like an angel...no seriously.

There are so many things I love about you. So, here's to your day being a super special one. We love you very much!

Happy Birthday Molly!
Love, your big sis

p.s. go ahead and laugh it up at my poodle perm. i'm used to it.

Bulletin Boards and Laminating

2006-08-08T08:21:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let you know I'm still here, just super busy. My life is consumed with cutting, pasting, organizing and finding that perfect file box for my classroom. This is my last week to get things set up before I start orientation next week. I'll show the finished product this weekend. Until then, enjoy your week!

This just in...

2006-08-01T14:08:00.000-07:00

New pictures of Courtney's (and Steve's) little Caleb. Isn't he precious?

I love you Courts! We are so happy for you!

One more thing

2006-08-01T13:13:00.000-07:00

Don't you just HATE it when you do this to a new box of cereal?

uuuggghhhh!

I felt like some sort of she-man after it happened. What comes over a person that they can rip the bag halfway down? I was at a loss for words...so I grabbed my camera.

(They're my most favorite too!)

Back to School...

2006-08-01T13:05:00.000-07:00

The lack of posts lately is due to several things - one of them being that I've started working on my classroom for the school year. I have two weeks (that's two) until my summer is officially over. So, I've started making my room into the sanctuary I would love for it to be. Mimsies was a dear yesterday and came and helped me move furniture and affirm me as I made decisions. It was so nice to have her there!

This is what awaited me yesterday;

After much sweat and deliberating, this is how we left it yesterday. (I did some additional work on it today - it's getting cuter, I promise!)

Shocking transformation, isn't it?

I'm kidding.

Congratulations Sarah U!

2006-07-27T09:41:00.000-07:00

Sarah and Ryan are the proud parents of a healthy baby boy who was born early this morning.

Hilton Head

2006-07-26T13:02:00.000-07:00

Here are just a few pictures (from our 100's to choose from) from our vacation in Hilton Head, SC a couple of weeks ago.

Poor, poor car

Anybody remember glow worms?

These were THE best crab legs I've ever had...claws down.

So Mimsies and I were in the market for some new sunglasses.
What do you think?

We stopped in Knoxville, TN to spend the night on our drive back to Ohio. We stayed at a Hampton Inn (have you experienced these beds? - delicious!) Anywho, we also saw Pirates of the Caribbean while we were in town. And this LOVELY display was just calling our names inside the movie theater!

Must. create. more. space. for. map.

2006-07-26T06:14:00.000-07:00

So I'll post a few extra entries today to make that happen.

A few things:
1. I leave in about 2 minutes to take Lucy girl to the vet. Complete with her red ball (to distract her from the shots) and a stool sample. Nothing like following your dog around the yard to see where the fresh pile is.

2. I have two very precious friends who are super preggo and overdue. Neither of them has had their babies yet. Please pray for them that it will happen soon! You can visit Sarah U's blog to read more about how one patiently waits for a new little one. Love you Sarah and Courts! Can't wait to meet your little guys!

3. Painted my guest room yesterday. It's nice to have that done - however, my shoulders and arms are entirely too sore today for such an activity. I feel old.

Have a great Wednesday!

Oh, the places I've been...

2006-07-26T06:10:00.000-07:00

create your own visited country map

I got this off of this website which I snagged from nervous giggle's blog. I thought it was kind of cool. Feel free to make your own map of places you've visited!

Testing...

2006-07-24T15:33:00.000-07:00

Ok, so for the longest time, I've been trying to figure out how to link things in my posts. I'm going to give it a shot. Please check out my friend, Mimsies' blog.

Did it work?

I'm back!

2006-07-22T10:02:00.000-07:00

Whew. One week of vacation in loverly Hilton Head + One week of counseling 9 year old girls for a week at church camp = One tired girl.

To sum up:
Hilton Head was fantastic! I will defer you to Mimsies' blog (click on the link to the right) to see pictures of our time there. I will post more soon. Many of you know that we got ourselves into a little fender bender while on the island. Mimsies also has a picture of my poor car. We found out that it had $9,000 worth of damage to it and we won't get it back for another 3 weeks. sigh. At least it wasn't my fault!

Camp was also fantastic! I enjoyed meeting lots of new people and getting to know the girls in my cabin. I'm looking forward to next year already! However, I slept the best I had in months last night. Those girls are active! It was a lot of fun - I had forgotten how much fun it was to be grubby for a week! One of the best quotes came from one of my campers while walking back to our cabin one evening. She asked me, "Sarah, did the Spice Girls break up after Baby Spice got arrested?" How does a 9 year old know this stuff?

More pictures...

2006-07-05T10:21:00.000-07:00

Those of you who read this blog and would like to comment, I just changed the settings so that anyone can comment. So, you Xanga users and non-bloggers: feel free to write me a little somethin' somethin'.

Our 4th of July was pretty low-key. We hung out around the house and did some odd jobs. We grilled burgers and brats for lunch and then later in the afternoon, we started watching season 1 of LOST. We made it through 2 episodes before we were lured outside by our neighbors and their fireworks. We spent the rest of the night sitting in our neighbor's front lawn watching him light bottle rockets and some mysterious number called the Titanic. It was a fun night.

Now, more pictures of our weekend with my sister:

Molly and I:

Eating dinner on the deck:

We made sure that they got a taste of Skyline Chili Coneys - a Cincinnati favorite:

In my last post, I mentioned Asha Imports. Here is an example of what the Sari Blankets look like. We worked on putting tags on them while they were visiting:

Only 2 more sleeps until we get to leave for Hilton Head! We'll head out on Friday afternoon and start our 12 hour drive to South Carolina. We'll meet up with Mimsies and her husband, one other couple and a Brit from Japan. (All the boys grew up together in the Philippines) I cannot WAIT for vacation to start! Now I'm off to do more laundry and cleaning. Toodles!

Happy Birthday Sweet Lucy

2006-07-04T11:54:00.000-07:00

Our little black beauty is 4 years old today. 4 years ago in August, Dave and I drove to pick her up from the breeder. She was a tiny, pudgy little thing with a belly that swayed back and forth as she walked. It just barely missed skimming the grass as she'd waddle along. She is a precious precious pet and as silly as it may seem, she's made life more fun for the past 4 years. Happy Birthday Lucy! I'll get you a new ball for your present. I promise.

Fun with the Filas

2006-07-03T11:57:00.000-07:00

My sister, Molly, and her husband, Dylan, came to visit this past weekend. They just left a few hours ago. We had a great time with them. It's so fun to have company come to visit! We had a great time showing them around Cincinnati. They're on their way to Cornerstone Music Festival in Illinois. They'll spend the week there at their booth for Asha Imports (www.ashaimports.com) where they'll sell their imported goodies from India. Check out their website. They've got some really neat stuff and the money goes to a great cause.

More pictures to come...

Hilton Head and selling our junk.

2006-06-26T09:22:00.000-07:00

Hello! We had a busy weekend with our yard sale. Amazingly enough, our c-r-a-p brought us about $85! We then immediately turned around and bought a $15 side table from our neighbor's garage sale...doesn't that always seem to happen? Anyway, it was fun and we got rid of some junk. The LOVELY dress I'm wearing was a gift from a dear friend that we met in North Africa. She gave my sisters and I each a gift - this was mine.

I'm sorry to say that no one wanted to purchase this lovely item on Saturday and it now resides in our garage sale box waiting to be brought out again in September.

In other news, I finally made sweet Lucy a new doggie bed. This one's nice and fluffy. She loves it! Here's what it looked like before:

And after:

Dave and I also got some new shoes last week. We both were in serious need of a new pair of kicks.
Here they are:

The Hilton Head planning meeting was a hit! We all walked away with our own little jobs. Jared and I found that we were the "serious" planners. We both like lists and spreadsheets a little too much. Mimsies and Dave threatened to go and watch 24 while we finished our meeting. We all stuck it out and had a good time. I think round 2 might be scheduled for this week. Less than 2 weeks to go until we're on the beach!!!

oh yes.

2006-06-22T14:29:00.000-07:00

It's that time. After dodging boxes full of c-r-a-p for almost a year, we've decided to make a little moolah with our junk. Trash to treasure, that's what I say. We'll see if the Westside thinks it's a treasure. So, I've made these eye-catching signs (still seeing orange when I blink) and plan on putting them up tomorrow morning after the monsoon hits. (we're under a thunderstorm advisory as I type) I'll keep you posted on how much cash we make. I'm setting my sights high - $20-25. Hey, that way if we make more I'll just be surprised.

In other news, my class is finished!!!! yea!!! I've completed a 3-week online course and I feel like I've run the marathon. I am SO glad that it's over. Mimsies helped me figure out the depths of PowerPoint and I created THE most fabulous powerpoint presentation you've ever seen. I'd love to post that here for you to see (because it's SO interesting) but I have no idea how to do that. I'll try for that later.

So, now my days are spent (guilt-free) lounging, running errands, going for long walks with Lucy (and Mimsies and Murphy) and overall enjoying my days without work. What a nice feeling to know that have a job lined up for the fall. sigh. In just 2-1/2 weeks we'll be heading to Hilton Head, SC for a week of vacation. We can't wait! We'll be meeting up with some close friends (including Mimsies and her hubby) and will spend a full week just lounging at the beach and enjoying each others' company. Tonight is our first "planning meeting". The four of us (Dave, me, Mimsies and Jared) will be meeting up to discuss all the details. (Can you tell we're excited!?) I'll let you know if anything earth-shaking happens at our first meeting. I'm pretty sure there will be a 2nd and a 3rd too.

Alrighty, that about does it for this update. I realized that I hadn't written in a while, so I wanted to get you all (who am I kidding - the 3 of you) up to speed. Hope everyone is having a fantastic day!

57 degrees in June

2006-06-11T18:41:00.000-07:00

yuck! The weather all weekend has been cold and rainy. It feels like fall again! I'm ready for more sunshine! Just a quick update - only one more week to go on my online class and I will be FREE for the summer. I can't wait! I just turned in my 2nd paper and now I have a week to get a kickin' PowerPoint presentation together on Homeschooling. Mimsies is going to show me the ropes of PowerPoint (I'm a Mac girl). If any of you have any homeschooling stories or experiences, I'd love to hear them. I'm supposed to research the pros and cons of Homeschooling. It should be interesting. Hope you all had a great weekend!

A little Somethin' For You (you know who you are)

2006-06-08T13:15:00.000-07:00

I borrowed this from Pecos Girl's blog. (Who you can find on Mimsies' blog...still can't figure out this link thing)

Ten Favorites:
Season: Fall
Color: Teal (you know, that blueish/greenish color)
Time: 8:30a.m.
Food: Italian
Drink: Crystal Light lemonade, Sprite, water
Ice Cream: Strawberry Chip from Graeters
Place: Boracay, Philippines
Sport: Basketball and Baseball when the Red Sox are doing we

Nine Currents
Feeling: Bored
Drink: Water
Time: 4:16 p.m.
Show on TV: nothing
Mobile Used: Samsung
Windows open: dos
Clothes: jean skirt and gray t-shirt
Thought: I'm hungry for some Mexican food!

Eight Firsts
Nickname: Sa-woh (some poor kid in Kindergarten who couldn't say his "R's"
Kiss: Walt - my brother-in-law (different story for a different day)
Crush: Rick Walker
Best Friend: Cindy Crowder (lovin' the new last name!)
Vehicle I owned: the Chevy superNova circa 1987
Job: Vet assistant at the age of 14
Date: Walt - watched the Batman movie with catwoman and the freaky penguin
Pet: Candy the cocker spaniel

Seven Lasts
Drink: Water
Kiss: Mr. Dabids
Meal: chicken salad w/ crackers and cottage cheese
Web Site Visited: my blog
Movie Watched: Supersize Me
Phone Call: Rachel - discussing our grocery run for Mexican food tonight
TV Watched: some silly show called Cheyenne on MTV. (told you i was bored)

Six Have You Evers
Broken the Law: Yes (it kills me to say this, but it's true...i'm SUCH a rule follower!)
Kissed Someone You Didn't Know: No
Been in the Middle of/Close to Gunfire: Yes - Mission Trip to Chicago in the ghe-toe
Skinny Dipped: No
Broken Someone's Heart: Don't think so - but if I have, I'm sorry!

Five Things:
You Hear Right Now: my dryer and my computer
On Your Bed: Sheets, comforter, pillows
Things You Ate Today: BBQ Pringles, lunch (see above), eggs and toast, orange juice
Things You Do When Bored: read blogs, watch t.v., e-mail friends
Things You Do For Comfort: bake and chop stuff (i love to make guacamole when I'm stressed. Lots of chopping!)

Four Places You Have Been Today:
Haven't been out today - went on a walk with Rachel. (does that count?)

Three Things on Your Desk Right Now:
cell phone
3-hole punch
my diploma that needs to be hung on the wall

Two Choices:
Coffee or Tea: Tea
Spring or summer: Summer

One Place You Want to Visit:
Italy

Sunshine, DMB and some lemonade

2006-06-06T12:42:00.000-07:00

I had my first summer '06 moment today. After perusing the clothing area at Target, I came home, ate lunch on the patio and then went to put my swimsuit on. Some sun on these legs was in order. I cranked up some DMB in my car, poured myself a tall glass (lemonade) and soaked up the sun. (to borrow a few words from Sheryl) It was great! Except, 3 minutes into it I was wishing I was near a pool. I've never been one of those people that can lay out for hours and hours in the hot sun and not go near any water. As a kid, I was the one who was in the pool swimming all of the time while my cousin stayed in the sun, baking herself. I just don't have the patience for laying out. I have to be doing SOMETHING. I chose to catch up on some card writing and then my sister called and we talked for a while. It was fun. After awhile, I had had enough, so I turned off my car and headed inside. On my way in, my neighbor asked me a question. I didn't realize she was out on her deck too. She lays out EVERY day. I'll look over and see her just chillin' in a lawnchair on the other side of her patio table. She is a true sun goddess...she can't get enough of it. Me? I would be bored to tears.

I'm putting in another picture of me and my girls from the wedding last weekend. This was at rehearsal dinner.

Good times in Oklahoma...

2006-05-30T12:43:00.000-07:00

I just returned last night from spending 5 days in Tulsa, OK for my best friend's (C's) wedding. It was so much fun - I didn't want it to end! I spent the time "coordinating" the wedding and running errands for the bride. For 3 days before, my best buds and I got to spend quality time together: hanging out in the hotel, going shopping and throwing a bachelorette party. It was a fantastic time! So fantastic, that saying goodbye to all of them made me misty. I miss my girls. I miss living close to them and seeing them more often. It was such a fun time! I'm attaching a few pics from our weekend. (Isn't C a beautiful bride?)

The Girls

My buddy Tara

Wedding Coordinating

C & T - so precious!

Me, C, my sister Molly

All our college friends

Mother's Day and Touring the City

2006-05-17T07:29:00.000-07:00

A few more from our weekend...

Weekend 'o Fun with the folks

2006-05-17T07:27:00.000-07:00

Saturday was perfect with planting in the rain and Primavista in the evening. Yum-O.

Thank you Mimsies!!

2006-05-17T07:24:00.000-07:00

My dear friend, Mimsies and her husband made me an Apple Pie to celebrate my getting a new job. It was delicious!

Thank you, Thank you!

I'm Employed!

2006-05-16T16:07:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to let you know that I got a teaching job for next school year. I'll start in August.

HELLOOOO summer!

What a relief to know where I'll be in the fall! What a relief that I got the job that I really really wanted. What a relief that God knew all of this before me. (and still, I worry...) I am thrilled with the way things have turned out!

In other news, my parents left this morning after a nice 4-day weekend here in Cincinnati. We had a wonderful time showing them around and just hanging out. We enjoyed some delish food and even managed to sneak in a movie. (p.s. MI:3 is surprisingly very good!) It's always so good to have the folks around. I miss being able to hop in the car to drive to see them on the weekends. Oh well, such is the life of a Midwesterner, right?

pictures of our weekend to come...

I'm Thankful for...

2006-05-08T14:35:00.000-07:00

I decided I needed to redeem my last post a little. Nobody likes to open up a blog and read a bunch of yucky stuff. I will try to make up for it with a few things today.

I'm Thankful For...
(in no particular order)

1. Friends who offer an encouraging word when you're down and not having your best of days
2. A clean dog who smells nice
3. A comfy patio set to sit on
4. Knowing that I can turn to God at any time and tell Him how I'm feeling
5. The smell of roasting garlic
6. The anticipation of company coming to visit (my parents in only 4 days!)
7. A hug from my husband
8. Watching my plants and flowers grow each day
9. Getting snail mail that isn't junk mail
10. People that work at the state who answer their phones

"Blah Week"

2006-05-04T14:32:00.000-07:00

I hate to write a post about the yucky things that have happened this week, but I feel in the mood to do so. Here are a few highlights:

1. Got a letter from the state board of education telling me that I need to take just one 3-hour class before I can get a job, but I will need to take an additional 24 HOURS of credit during the next 2 years. All of this is being required of me, a certified teacher in Texas (complete with a certificate that is good until 2010). ugh.

2. Meeting a candidate who was interviewing for the same position I'm interviewing for while subbing in the elementary school. I know there's competition out there, I just don't want to have to meet them.

3. While holding hands and helping a little girl with special needs to the bus, I walked past a pole outside. She however smacked right into the pole and immediately got a knot the size of a quarter on her forehead. (it also had a scary looking purpley line down the center of it) Thank goodness it didn't split open.

4. Having to tell multiple children over and over and over and over again to stop talking kind of gets old after a while. Ah, 5th grade. Bless 'em.

I'll give some happier news later. Just not feelin' it today.

Spring Break follow-up

2006-04-30T13:06:00.000-07:00

So I finished my chair project. It took me about 3-4 days to complete it all. After I was finished I decided I don't want to have to paint chairs EVER again. Too many little spindles! In addition, I did clean my house, but it wasn't until today (ahem, one week after spring break) that I gave it a good cleaning. i.e. mopping the floor.

Things I love about a clean house:

1. vacuum lines on the carpet
2. a shiny, paw-free kitchen floor (can you spot the black beauty in the picture? look closely...)
3. the yummy apple smell of the lysol (seriously, it smells great!)

So now, I need to catch up on my bible study and do a few loads of laundry. We're going to our church's communion service tonight. It'll be the first time we've attended since we started going to the church last November. It's taken us a long time to say we're ready to go to a Sunday night service. We've both been out of the routine of going on Sunday nights. I don't think I've gone to Sunday night church since I was in elementary school, to tell you the truth. How many of you go to Sunday night services? (I realize there are probably only 2 of you that read my blog...maybe this will pull in some new visitors)

Trash Day

2006-04-21T07:10:00.000-07:00

When I'm not working, I love taking Lucy for long walks around the neighborhood. It's one of my favorite things to do to start my day. The following interaction happened on our walk this morning.

Trash Man: "Hey Red! How you doin'?"
Me: "I'm good, how are you?"
Trash Man: "I'm good - now that I got to see you today"

wha?

I'm all for being friendly, but him calling me "Red" made me come close to running at him with fists flying. How did he know how much I HATE being called that? Maybe he's been talking to Mimsies...

ah, Spring Break!

2006-04-17T12:27:00.000-07:00

It's a late one this year, I'll give you that. I'm just happy to have one.

My TO-DO's for this week of Spring:

1. Paint my dining room chairs. I painted the table last year so I guess it's time to make the chairs match.

2. Help plan the flowers for my bestest friend, Cindy's wedding.

3. Clean my house from top to bottom and back up again. It is DUR-TEE

Wishing I knew Arabic...

2006-04-14T07:45:00.000-07:00

To go along with #1 of my Top 4 experiences in North Africa, I thought I'd post this sub-par photo of some of our new friends. The woman on the right (we'll call her L) is the mother of the girl (Z) on the left. (That's my sister, Annie, in the middle) L has 3 other daughters in addition to Z.

Z is the only one in the family who is fluent in English. She translated for us the entire time we stayed at their house. In this picture, Z is reading messages that we had written their family in English. She would read it out loud and then translate it into Arabic for her mother and her sisters. They loved hearing what we had to say! I've never wanted to be so fluent in Arabic! I wish we could've talked to her like we do to our friends here. It made for an interesting visit. One I'll never forget.

It's strange, isn't it?

2006-04-11T16:30:00.000-07:00

A week ago I was on another continent and today I was driving down the same Midwest roads I've always driven on. I went to another school to fill another subbing position at an elementary school and guided the students through a phonics lesson. I ate lunch in a teacher's lounge and small talked with a few people. Then I drove home, cooked dinner and watched a little t.v.

It's amazing to me that life can be back to "normal" just like that. If I'm not careful, I'm going to fall right back into my regular way of life and forget my North Africa trip all together. I don't want that. It's the last thing I want right now, actually. This trip was such a life-changing thing for me and I don't want to devalue it by a simple, "It was great!" when someone asks how my trip went. We went through debriefing together as a group at the end of our trip while we were still in the country. It was a great time to really think through what we had experienced that week. How we felt about the things that we experienced. We had the chance to categorize our experiences into a Top 4 so that when people do ask how the trip was, we can give them more than just a quick, "Great".

My top four consisted of these things:

1. Spending the night in a family's home in North Africa. This included them giving us their 4 children's' beds and cooking us all a delicious dinner (that they started cooking around 9:30p.m. and was served to us around 11:00pm). We also had a super fun time of dancing, singing, and playing games. It was amazing! The hospitality blew me away. They wanted to give us the best of everything that they had. What was even more amazing, was that only 1 of the girls spoke English. We had such a good time, and the majority of that time was spent acting out things and laughing. It was wonderful!

2. Visiting abandoned babies in a hospital. We walked into this hospital and made our way to the floor with the abandoned babies. What we found was astonishing. The first thing we heard was a few of them crying. We walked into a closet-like room that was stuffy and had poor lighting. On either side of the room were bassinets lined up one after the other. Each one holding a precious little one that had been abandoned by their mother. When I first got into the room, I just started crying. I couldn't stop. I couldn't believe that all of these babies were not wanted. I couldn't fathom the thought of NOT wanting such a precious little one. And there were 17 babies in there. 2 of them were twins that were born the day before we had gotten there. We spent the next 3-4 hours bathing them, feeding them, changing their diapers, clothes and bed linens. It was so hard to tear ourselves away from them. We were able to stop by this hospital one more time before we left the country last Friday. It was nice to go and see them again. On the 2nd day that we went there were 21 babies there.

3. Harassment by the locals. We're white. That's just a fact. And when a group of white WOMEN walk around an Arab country, there's trouble to be had. We got so many comments you wouldn't believe it. It really was crazy. I got really good at looking straight ahead, making no eye contact, and acting like I didn't have a clue what they were saying. It was ridiculous. We kept a running list of things that were said to us while we were walking. Now, I say all of this because it was funny. I don't want anyone to get the impression that I'm being rude about this group of people. I mean no disrespect to them...(even though they kind of disrespected us.)

Here are a few of my favorites:
- Oh, you look very nice. Are you from Jamaica?
- Can I help you? ....For sex?
- Oh my god, you are such a flower.
- Sex
- Lovely face, lovely hair, lovely body

I think I'll just leave it at that.

4. Taxi Rides. These were a highlight in the week. You never knew what you were going to get. Some loved you, some said 2 words to you. (All in Arabic, of course) My sister, Annie, knew a little of the language and she always sat up front and talked to them and told them where we needed to go. The conversation always went like this: Oh, you speak Arabic? You lived here? Ah! Are you from England? Do you speak French? (we'd tell them we only spoke English) Then they'd start telling us all the words/phrases that they knew in English. "Hello" "What is your name?" "How are you?" "My name is..." It was great. We have some hilarious video footage of these interactions. I can't wait to watch the video again.

So that's my top 4. It's a mix of emotions - I feel like the whole trip was. Some things were hilarious, some were heart-breaking, some were so spiritually heavy that it made us turn straight to God when we'd go into a place. This is what I liked most about the trip. The total dependence on God. In a place that is completely Muslim, I leaned towards Him even more. It was good for me to be in that type of setting and to need Him. I don't think I do that enough here.

We're so comfortable in our little lives. People say they believe in God, but they don't feel or talk strongly about Jesus. Why don't we do that more? Why don't we profess our love for Him more? After a trip like this, I feel like I can be bolder in my faith. What do I have to lose? I mean, there, we had to be so careful about what we said, but here - we don't have to. We can say anything we want. It took me going to a Muslim country to realize that I don't do near enough here to sing His praises to people that I interact with each day.

My sweet husband...

2006-04-10T10:42:00.000-07:00

He had roses waiting for me at home after he picked me up at the airport. He also brought along Lucy-girl who was sitting in the backseat wagging her tail when she saw me come out of baggage claim. Then there's the beautiful pottery that I managed to get home in one piece from North Africa. I could not buy enough of this stuff! I finally had to stop, because I knew I would have trouble getting it home. I only had 2 casualties in all, which isn't too bad, I'd say.

Back from North Africa!

2006-04-10T09:36:00.000-07:00

Aslema! (Hello in Arabic)

Well, just like that, I'm back in the U.S. I just spent 9 days in a beautiful part of the world. I was on a team of 8 women who went to North Africa to pray for the country and for their cities. We met so many amazing people and I was fascinated with learning about a new culture and part of the world. I have so many stories to share and so many pictures to post, but for now I'll just stick to a few. One of the huge blessings about this trip was getting to go with my sisters. We had the opportunity to sing for a few people while we were there, and it was so neat to be able to share God's love in this way. I am still processing all that God was trying to teach me over the last week...I will continue to share stories throughout the coming days as they come to me. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

Bislema! (Goodbye)

oh how i love spring...

2006-03-30T13:18:00.000-08:00

i really shouldn't be messing around with my new, fun, little blog right now. i should be packing...and doing laundry...and going to the grocery store. see, i'm leaving to go to Africa tomorrow afternoon and i don't have a thing packed. seriously. what am i doing? i'm procrastinating, that's what i'm doing.

i got to sub in a preschool class today. it was so fun! it made me miss my kiddos from my classroom last year. i wonder what they're all up to this year...anyway, just wanted to put a quick note in here before i start my chores. i hope you all (translation: rachel and anyone else that has found this blog) have a great week and i'll see you back here around April 10.

oh no.

2006-03-29T12:45:00.000-08:00

forgot the title on the last one and somewhere along the way we ended up looking like martians. this could be the beginning of a short friendship with blogger. hopefully, more to come.

2006-03-29T12:41:00.000-08:00

well, i've done it. i've started a blog. until i can figure out all of the bells and whistles, this is what you're gonna get: a few pictures and some ramblings from me. i just had a job interview this afternoon...i'm hoping they'll call and tell me they can't go on without me and offer me the position. i'll just have to hold my breath until then. i think that it went well and i feel pretty good about it. the photo above is of us on our anniversary weekend trip to Indianapolis last fall. good times...

testing...

2006-03-29T12:25:00.000-08:00

Trying this out to see how it looks. Will post more later.