Thursday, December 31, 2009

You can win.....


One of my New Year's Resolutions is to blog more frequently...and what better way to kick it off then a give away?!?!?! With an it created by yours truly! I am NOT trying to sell these....I made them for decorations/party favors and guests really seemed to enjoy them. I also made some for Christmas gifts and thought someone in the Blog world would love to own one!

HOW TO WIN:
1. Leave a comment with one of your New Year's Resolutions (1entry).
2. If you win this fancy, cute, adorable, trendy (ok, I'll stop tooting my own horn now) wine bottle lamp where would you put it (home, office, dining room, etc..) (1 entry)?
3. Tell me how I can improve my creation! I love constructive criticism (1 entry).

THE RULES:
*OPEN TO US RESIDENTS ONLY (I will pay shipping fees!)
*Make sure I have a way to reach you, by either enabling your email through blogger, or leaving your email in the comment.
*Winners are chosen by random.org.
*Winner has 48 hours to contact me, or another winner will be chosen.
*Contest ends Wednesday, January 13th at 9pm EST. Winner will be posted shortly after.
*Rules for each entry must be followed to be valid.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Thirteen things I did before Christmas Eve:

1. Decorated the candy house with my mom and aunts.

2. Got upset that Aunt Deb put roaches or rats (they are just ugly) in my pretty flower
garden. (She thought it was cute, I thought it ruined my flowers. Then, the discussion of
roaches went from gross, flying insects....to the roaches that were smoked in the 70's.)

3. Went Christmas shopping at Katy Mills with Stephanie on December 21.

4. Took my students on a field trip to the Health and Science Museum. We had a great time,
until they decided to throw rocks at the ducks. I won't tolerate animal cruelty, no matter
how small, so we were back on the bus and headed to school 2 hours ahead of schedule.
(I can't put pictures of my students up because it violates some kind of privacy laws.)


5. Went to see Dave Matthews Band concert in 3-D. It was an amazing show/movie and if
they ever come to Houston I will go see them. The 3-D was alright, but not necessary and
the glasses made my head hurt.

6. Planned and began packing for a trip to Montana.

7. Made the most difficult cookies of all time with my mom.
Gathering our ingredients. Nothing makes Christmas cookies taste better then 4 sticks of butter!

The green cherries that go in the middle of the cookies....I've never seen green cherries growing wild either, unless they weren't ripe. Even then they weren't this green.
The batter.....yummy!!!!!



8. Developed a love/hate relationship with the cookie & pastry press. It was very hard to use, and I never really got the hang of it. Maybe I will next year.

9. Canceled going to Montana.

10. Wrapped 4 AAA batteries individually. Joe asked me to and it was a little tricky, but they turned out cute!

11. Went Christmas shopping with David on December 19 and 22.

12. Watched Leroy, once again, do one of the strangest things I have ever seen a cat do. He was eating my blackberry yogurt....and loved it. Oh, Leroy, you are the craziest cat ever, but mommy sure does love you!

13. Went Christmas shopping with Joe, and for Joe (he had meetings so he couldn't do it all with me) over 6 times. I guess he doesn't call me his Elf for nothing. December 22 was our last trip for the year....so we hope!

I hope everyone had fun preparing for Christmas, and have time to enjoy the reason for the season with loved ones!

Monday, December 21, 2009

Magical Monday

After my sad Sunday I was really looking forward to some Christmas shopping with my BFF, Stephanie. I was on a mission to find a new bra, she was on a mission for quite a few Christmas gifts. I had a $10 Victoria's Secret gift card and a $10 coupon, so I was ready! New bra here I come..right?!?!?
I found the bra I wanted, $45. After I used my gift card and coupon I would be paying about $30-which, to me, is a reasonable price for a good bra. I go to swipe my debit card, and the cashier looks at me like I'm crazy. Huh?
She says, "There is a $4.07 balance on your gift card."
I'm kinda stunned and confused at this point, and so is Stephanie. She says (being the smart shopper she is), "Let's just walk out quickly."
We do and pull the receipt out. The bra rang up for $14.99!!! I still had another $10 coupon and money left on my gift card, so Stephanie decided she wanted one. I mean, for $14.99 I was goingget another one as well. We go back into Victoria's Secret and the bra is not.on.sale.
I'm not sure what happened or where the mix up was, but I got a Victoria's Secret bra for FREE today! Definitely M's Magical Monday!
(I got this bra for free!! Well, not this exact one as I didn't get bright blue and my FREE bra wasn't on a lovely model, but you get the point.)

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Sad Sunday

It's the second day of my Winter Break (I have to be politically correct, right?) and I am sad. I was supposed to be leaving for a snow filled, fun filled, excitement filled trip to Montana on Christmas day (do I put December 25 to continue being politically correct?)-but I canceled. And I am sad. I wanted to go play in the snow and go skiing and eat at Howard's Pizza, but I'm not. Geeze, I am totally Debbie Downer, but have you ever just been sad and confused? And wondered and wondered and wondered if you made the right decision? That's me right now, and I'm sad. In order to try to clear my head (which seems to be full of not only confusion, but a massive amount of snot) I am going to get into the Christmas spirit and make cookies with my mom and Joe! That should help, right? But I am really wondering---have any of you ever been just plain, old sad and really, truly wondered what the heck was controlling the decisions you are making? And why you were making the decisions you are?

I'm going a little deep on this Sad Sunday, I know.

Yes, my next post will be upbeat and positive. These are MY Memorable Moments, and this Sad Sunday will be one of those moments I won't forget and will always wonder if I did the right thing.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009


Monday, November 30, 2009

Recession????

As I water my house plants with left over water from work (it's free from the water fountain) in an attempt to lower my water bill, and calculate how I will pay tolls and gas in order to get to work next year (we have already been informed we are getting a $3000 pay cut) I wonder if I should ask for this:


or this:I think it's better then this...right? These commercials are nauseating.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009



Yes, one of my students really wrote this. No, it is not the correct answer. What do you think the answer is?

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Stephanie at Just the 2 of Us tagged me for this one...so here goes:
You must share 10 honest things about yourself and then choose 7 other people to nominate this award to!
10. I am terrified I will never get married. People always tell me 'you are still SO young', however, at almost 27 that just isn't true anymore. And if I never get married....
9. I am concerned I will never have kids. I see all these celebrities pop out kiddos at ages well over 40, but I don't want my kids' friends to think I am grandma! I also know you get thrown into the 'high risk' category at 35...and that's just around the corner for me. YIKES
!
8. I may have a touch of OCD. I check both locks on my back door and garage door, and the single deadbolt on my front door at least 8 times before I go to sleep. I have added opening the garage door to ensure the garage is closed all the way. It's bad...I will wake up in the middle of the night at least one time a night to check everything again.
7. I am extremely Liberal (not a very popular view for living in Texas). Extremely...here are some examples: I think drugs should be legal, I think prostitution should be legal, I am happy we don't have a Republican president. I think you get it so before I offend my few followers and readers I will stop.
6. I love my nieces as if they were my own children. Well, you know what I mean. Since I don't have human kids I can't really compare, but I do hope my sister and BIL have left the girls to me in their will. Of course I don't want anything to happen to them, but I would love raising the girls.
5. I have a crazy obsession/fondness/love for even numbers. And I often let it control my life. (Maybe I do have a full blown case of OCD.)
4. I love the students I teach. But, if given the opportunity, I would tell the majority of their parents how terrible they have done at raising them. (Again, since I don't have human kids I won't go in to detail, but manners, respect and common sense are often learned behaviors...I'm just saying!)
3. I let my heart influence too many important decisions. If you want examples, please ask, to me it's kind of sad and disappointing.
2. I insist that all closet doors and bedroom doors be closed. The only exception is when I sleep and I will not have the door closed when I sleep. (OCD is really looking serious now.)
1. I am blunt. If I don't like something I am going to say it...this especially applies at work!

I am going to tag as many people as I can for this, but since I don't have many followers I may duplicate what Stephanie did:
1. Krystyn @ Really, Are you Serious?
2. Papa Bear @ The Hall Family
3.
Rachel @ Clumsy Me, Oddity
4.
Stephanie @ A Little Bit of Sugar & a whole lot of Spice!
5. Tim (Yes, Tim. If Matt is doing it so can Tim!) @ Daugherty Family

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Wanna Win Something??????

Check out my amazing sister's blog for a chance to win!!!!!!

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Explicit Material! Read with CAUTION!

Upon our return to work for the 09-10 school year, we were told paper would be very limited- it's expensive, and we waste too much of it. OK, no big deal. They will give us other tools/resources to use to teach. We get all these lovely, colorful, 'exciting' power-points that tell us how technology has changed over the years. While I am 26 years old (which most think is quite young) it made me feel old...I have no idea what the gray haired folks felt like. Anyway, we were told to you use our document cameras (ELMO) as often as possible in order to not use up the limited supply of paper we have. OK, no problem. Use the (ELMO) or make class sets...got it.

Fast forward to 7 painful, boring, miserable staff development days later...The kids arrive to their first day of school. As many of us go over our classroom rules and procedures (using our ELMO's, of course) our bulbs start to go out. We can just replace it, right? I mean, if we can't use paper and are forced to use the ELMO they should have replacement parts, correct? It's just common sense. Ummmm, not so much. The bulbs are $385 each, and our school doesn't have ANY, or the money to order more!!! At this point we are all thinking "ARE YOU F*&^ING CRAZY, SCHOOL DISTRICT!?!?"
So, people are all upset at our Technology Specialist (who I will call 'Tailpipe', and will explain why later) for not telling us what to do to maintain our ELMO and not ordering bulbs But wait, 'Tailpipe' tells us we should have all cleaned out the filters to our ELMO's before using them. What? Como? Air filter? That wasn't on the power point. Then 'Tailpipe' let's us know we are supposed to be responsible for cleaning our equipment.
WAIT JUST ONE MINUTE!!!!!...'Tailpipe' is the Technology GURU at our school. If we touch anything he goes off on us! Seriously, he is the grumpiest, most angry evil person I have ever met (at our school, at least)! So, he can't admit that 1) he didn't clean the equipment while it sat in his office all summer 2) he didn't order the bulbs to replace the broken ones and 3) he recommended that our district get equipment that has such expensive replacement parts.....and he is a SPECIALIST!!!
So, why do I call him 'Tailpipe'???? He has one of those Smart-cars. And he brags about it all the time. (I do know they are good for the environment and all, but for the cost and what you get they are a rip off. But, he loves to remind me he can plug his i-pod directly into the outlet! OMG! That's amazing! I can plug my i-pod into my 1998 Nissan Altima!!!!!!) Anyway, I have decided that he must love his car so much because it is putting out. I can just picture him waking up in the middle of the night, running into the garage (of course his Smart-car can't sit outside) to spend some time with his Smart-car's tailpipe. I know it's disturbing, but if you knew the man you would agree!
And that tailpipe is hard to get to..... I guess 'Tailpipe' loves a challenge!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Thirteen Reasons I am Excited to be Back at Work:
1. A. Cutter
2. W. Cipriano
3. N. Hancock-Webb
4. D. Taylor
4. L. Walls
5. L. Sanders
6. K. O'Connell
7. Gonzalez
8. Carter
9. V. Hernandez
10. S. Lancaster
11. K. Hallberg
12. B. Harrington
13. K Pugh

I am looking forward to a great 2009-2010 school year!!!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009


Capturing a picture with Blubs and Sampson simultaneously....I had fun! Clearly, the girls were over it!

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Thirteen Interesting Things that Happened on my Summer 09 Trip to Atlanta:

1. I had to take the tram for the first time at Intercontinental Airport because my mom dropped me off at the wrong terminal. (On my return trip, all the trams at the Atlanta airport broke down and it was a mess.)
2. I had to walk outside to get on the plane.
3. The plane was the size of my car...
4. And the guy I sat next to was as big as Santa clause.
5. There was a lady carrying a funoodle as a carry on item (they cost $1, and it was totally in the way).
6. The SkyMagazine claims their fake zombie that can be placed in a flower bed is one of their number on sellers!?!? Seriously, it looked like one of the actors in Thriller, and they claim people love to have it in their yard year round.
7. The SkyMagazine also sells a marshmallow gun. Not a paintball gun, or a water gun....a marshmallow gun. WHAT?!
8. I asked Izzy if Sassy (the family cat) needs to make a pee pee...she said, "No, Emily. Sassy doesn't have a booty." And Izzy was serious. HiLaRiOuS!
9. The lady at Gymboree asked Krystyn, "Is that red hair?" Neither of us could believe the lady just asked that. What other color would it be?
10. I tasted some homemade baby food I thought was great. It tasted like banana nut bread dough...and then I was told it had beans in it, and breast milk.
11. I was made fun of because I am from Texas...
12. And then the waiter tried to make it up to me by saying, "I meant you were from Texas, as in Miss Texas."
13. And then he asked if I was going to come see him the next day at work.

It was a great trip, with many memorable moments!!

Monday, July 20, 2009

CaUtIoN...this is all my opinion!

To begin with, I was planning to be in Cancun right now, but plans changed and I am in Katy. Which is actually good! Me and David are not together, however, we are going to remain friends. I know at times it will be difficult, but he is very important to me and we are both committed to being friends.

I just looked at perezhilton.com (I do love my celebrity gossip) and saw Mischa Barton is in the psych ward and getting all kinds of crap for it. I went through a terrible break up about a year and a half ago, and I am pretty sure at some point I should have been committed for being a wee bit mentally and emotionally unstable. Last time I checked we are all human...even celebs. I don't think it's great Mischa is in the psych ward, however, if she is getting the medical attention she needs shouldn't that be supported? If Steve McNair's girlfriend got the help she needed, they would both be alive still. And what about the wrestlers that lost it and killed their families last year....a little time getting medical treatment may have changed things. Eva Mendes went to rehab, it was never reported why she did (which doesn't matter) and she is doing fabulous! I just want to try to be supportive of people getting help, not criticize or poke fun. If I were in the public eye I am sure they would be able to post horrible things about me every day...I am human and make mistakes.

Now, on to Jon and Kate Gosselin.....what are they thinking? Both of them? Him dating a girls so young is all good if it makes him happy...but parading around saying they are going to make an Ed Hardy childrens clothing line together? GAG!!! I do think Jon and Kate are free to date other people but haven't they learned parading around a romance/relationship in the public eye is not healthy? What does that teach their kiddos? I also think Kate needs to be left alone. Yes, she was mean and snappy with Jon on the show, but it is edited!!!! Come on people! And if you don't like her hair then don't like it...doesn't mean you need to make rude comments and give it a nickname.

If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all....I learned that young and do my best to follow it. I do make mistakes, but I am trying and will hopefully learn from them.

Not sure where all this came from, but I am reading The Shack right now....I believe it has something to do with it! Great book for sure!

I will continue to read my celebrity gossip as it is one of my favorite guilty pleasures, but does it have to be so mean and hurtful? It is still interesting to read about people that have more money and power then I ever will, but please make it more positive! Mischa, I hope you get the help you need!

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

JC Update

So, do you want the good news or bad news first? Well, here is the bad news...I went to JC today to weigh in and get more food. I have gained 3.5 pounds. My consultant, Anna, who is awesome and positive told me not to worry it is probably just water weight.

The good news, I have lost 19 inches since I began the program! I have lost 3 inches in my bust, 4 inches in my abs, 6 inches in my waist and 6 inches in my hips! That was very exciting! I could tell I was getting a little smaller because my clothes fit more comfortably. However, I still have plenty more LBs to shed so all my clothes fit!

Here is an updated pic:

I feel like it's a little deceiving, but it is one of the only full body pics I have.

Thanks for all the positive, motivational, inspiring words from my blog buddies! I really appreciate them! We leave for Cancun in a little over a month....I want to look HOT in my bikini!

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Post-It

Go here for a chance to win recycled Post-Its. Genius idea!

http://www.reallyareyouserious.com/2009/06/post-its-go-green-review-and-giveaway.html

Thursday, May 28, 2009



Thirteen items I cherish, but have given up in order to reach my goal weight:

1. Grey Goose

2. Jalapeno Potato Chips

3. Miller Lite

4. Starburst Fruit Chews

5. Heineken Lite

6. Hot Cheetos (aka Hot Fries)

7. Wine

8. Pasta (except JC prepared entrees)

9. Bud Light

10. Cheese Enchilada Dinner

11. Margaritas

12. grits (once I start eating them I can't stop)

13. Vodka Tonic...oh, how I miss you!

I do believe it has all been worth it and hope I am able to make this a lifestyle change. After making this list it is very apparent to me I love liquor way too much.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

JC

It stands for Jenny Craig. On April 20, 2009 I became a member of the Jenny Craig world. And I am so glad I did. (However, my bank account is not....cost $435 to join and pay for my first week of food.) On my first visit, I weighed a whopping 176 pounds.
I am 5' 7.5" and I weigh 176 in this picture...David is 6'1" and weighs 190. I NEED JC's help and guidance!


How in the world did I gain so many lb's....HAPPY HOUR, BEER, HAPPY HOUR, BEER, HAPPY HOUR...I think you get the picture.

I went last week and have lost 15 pounds and am at 161. My goal weight is 135....JC wants my goal to be 140. Why 135 lbs?

There are several parties/HAPPY HOUR's scheduled at the end of the school year.

David and I go to Florida in July and I know I will gain a few lb's while there.

I will be off for 2 months with nothing to do but eat, and go to HAPPY HOUR!.......

I could go on and on, but I really need to get in shape. So, I am eating JC food and going about once a week to weigh in. Also, I have given up alcohol almost completely (and so has David in order ti support me and my goal). I went without it for 3 weeks and had a few drinks last Friday, but didn't go overboard. (David...went WAY overboard!)

So, I have decided that blogging about my goal will hopefully help me reach and maintain it...along with JC, working out, no booze, my wii fit and a bikini staring at me every day!

Also, if I nix the drinking (only until I reach my goal weight) and hit my goal before my trip I get $400 from a certain someone to go shopping with! If that's not motivation I don't know what is!

Monday, March 23, 2009

New Stuff

I have been so busy that I have not had a moment to post! Here are some of the new items in my life I have acquired since my last post...and I don't think I could live without:


Hot new high heels! I got these at Target for $29.99...and I got 3 dresses the same day that were all under $6!!


A fancy-schmancy wine opener...that only cost $9.99!

I saw these at the Rodeo when I tortured myself by going to the Jonas Brothers (just not impressed, but my sister and friends had fun). I knew my 'voice of reason' would tell me I don't need to spend $300 on cowboy boots...especially since I already have a brown pair and a pink pair. Well, I decided after several mornings of waking up and thinking of nothing but these boots that i actually NEEDED them! But, I got them brand new on e-bay and saved $65!!


DAVID! No, he is not new in my life but his title is....he is my boyfriend! And he seriously spoils me rotten! Glad we are going to do all we can to make it work this time!I can't post a picture of this but I kinda have a new schedule..track season is over! i don't have to stay at work until 5:30 and work at meets anymore, well, I may next year.

I also finally have a bed in my guest bedroom and it sure is looking cute! I am hoping Izzy and Natalie will stay with me in a few years. I will post pictures of it once I hang some pictures on the walls.

WOW! This post was totally all about me. Next time I will not be so selfish.

Thursday, February 19, 2009


Thirteen things that are on my bedroom floor at this very moment:
1. 3 pillows
2. gym bag
3. Eclipse (I am almost finished)
4. my new pink and black (fake) snake skin high heels...I like to wear them around the house because I love them so much!
5. LanoLip lip gloss (this stuff is awesome!)
6. a huge teddy bear...gotta cuddle something at night
7. 5 empty bottles of water
8. paperwork for my girls track meet on Feb. 21
9. 2 bags of clothes from Target....
10. 1 bag of clothes from Charming Charlies...I can't refuse a good sale!
11. 8 pairs of shoes
12. a DVD I have had for too long and need to just send back to Netflix
13. a copy of my itinerary for when I go to Atlanta for Spring Break!!
I know what you are thinking, why am I blogging and not cleaning my room???? I am not in the mood. That's it. It's not disgusting, but it sure is messy...I just don't feel like cleaning things up right now. Ever felt that way?

Monday, February 16, 2009

26....

is old? Wow! I Didn't know until today that at the ripe old age of 26 people consider me a cougar. Well, not people, but the bagger guy at Kroger did. I was checking out and had $80 worth of groceries, so my cart was pretty full. The guy (I should say BOY) put 3 items in a bag and disappeared....I look one lane over and he is helping a very attractive young girl bag her 10 items. I just stared at the boy, I couldn't believe he left my pile of groceries sitting there for me to sack. I have no problem putting my groceries in bags, it's no big deal, I am not above a bagger. However, to leave me for some cute, young (she was maybe 13, and with her mom) girl to sack her groceries...ouch! Wrinkle cream and Botox here I come!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Too Honest

As I have mentioned several times before I teach 7th and 8th grade Special Education. Usually, my students are pretty well behaved and don't get into much trouble. However, one afternoon I gave them free time on the computers. There are only 6 computers and 10 students, so some had to share. They usually go to the Disney Channel website or funbrain.com. Both sites are very appropriate and educational. Well, little did I know one student decided to go to Google images....YIKES! Although most inappropriate sites are blocked, the thumbnail pictures still show up on google images. This student, I will call him J, has always loved girls, and yes, I do keep a close eye on him. He decided to use Google images to look up porn, in my classroom, while I was actively monitoring them!!!
Of course I took him off the computer immediately and sent him to the office. I try not to write my kids up, but i didn't want the district to do some kind of search and find out one of my students attempted too look up porn and I did nothing about it. So, he goes to the office and the assistant principal decides this needs to be a parent conference. Mom gets there and the student tells her and the ap that he was trying to look up the word "puse" (for those of you not familiar with special education students he was attempting to spell pu$$y). He was very honest and I was floored! How can you say you were trying to look that up in front of your own mother?!?! Now he is only allowed on the computer for the specific program needed for my class and doesn't have internet access...which you think would be OK, right????.....
Nope! Not for J! I passed out a set of educational magazines for the class so we could read a play that was in it. My students love to read plays! They usually put someone famous on the cover and do a small story about them, to get the kiddos interested in reading. This cover had Rhianna on the front. Great for middle school students, right? Great for every kid except J....who was licking the magazine because he wanted to "kiss" Rhianna. WHAT??? He just wanted to kiss her, he said. I explained to him it was not appropriate and actually disgusting because other students would be using the same magazine.
More exciting stories from my classroom to come......

Thursday, February 5, 2009



Plus 7!

I asked Krystyn to respond to her tag. My comments are in italics.


1. You give people the benefit of the doubt all of the time, almost to a fault. Definitely to a fault, but we won't mention any names here.
2. You love my girls almost as much as I do. YES I do!
3. You love unconditionally.
4. You are very forgiving (sometimes it takes time). It always takes time for me.
5. You are very loyal. Getting stabbed in the back sucks! Treat others how you want to be treated, kind of my motto.
6. You LOVE to shop. I sure do! I kinda think I am good at it!
7. And, you love to find good deals (you seriously find the best stuff at TJ Maxx, Marshalls and even Walmart). Our momma taught us right...I always go straight for the clearance racks, and clearance section when shopping online. Plus, you have to be in the mood to shop!
8. You hate the sounds of metal on metal (in fact, you are probably cringing just reading this). I just puked in my mouth...seriously, why don't people use plastic more often? It's washable, too. One of my students was chewing on a paperclip the other day! I completely flipped out and almost cried til it was out of his mouth! And he has braces. YUCK!!
9. You make me eat with a plastic fork because apparently, I bite my fork when eating. Yes, you do. I make everyone do it when they bite metal utensils. Hot soup is the worst!
10. When you drink tea, you like to dump the tea bag into the water and drink all of the crunchy goodness. I seriously love my Smooth Move!
11. You closet is color coordinated. Color coordinated, dresses in one area, skirts in another, dress pants next to them, tank tops in their own spot, spaghetti strap shirts in their own place...etc! I even have a section for new clothes, I have so many I forget to wear them.
12. You probably have 5 of the same shirts in different colors. If it looks good, and it's on sale, of course I do! And I usually get you one, too!
13. You like to threaten to take my clothes, even though they are too big for you. STOP! They are not too big for me, and they are super cute but I won't ever take them. I like adding to the Hall family wardrobe as much as possible.
14. You like all doors (closets, bedrooms, bathrooms) to be closed when you go to sleep. True! But I can't sleep with my bedroom door closed. I don't want the babies to be stuck in or out for an entire night. Oh, and I check my front, back and garage door probably six times to make sure they are locked before I go to sleep.
15. Your cats are like your kids (you probably know their birthdays and adoption dates). They are my babies and they do have middle names and last names!
16. You could drink a cold beer as soon as it is offered. Of course! This is Texas...and I will do the same anywhere else!
17. But, you like a good glass of wine, too. Drinking one as I respond to this! And zoE is sitting by the computer, and Leroy is on my lap.
18. You love your iPod (and I'm pretty sure you have more than one of them). OK, I do have two, but one really was never mine. My radio doesn't get good reception in my car so my ipod is my essential, but I love it regardless.
19. You have a hard time telling people "no." So very true.
20. You like to visit Atlanta, but would never move here. If I found a hubby there, I would move!

Any other questions???? Feel free to ask!

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Maybe I found my husband...

Australian swimmer Matthew Mitcham, openly gay. Nevermind.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Give Away at Krystyn's Blog!

Krystyn, my fabulous, amazing, gorgeoues, kind and sometimes fiesty (in a good, protective way) sister is having an amazing give away! Go now...the tote is too cute! I NEED it!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

I have been feeling under the weather and just plain sad the last few days, but my family and friends sure know how to make me smile and feel loved!

I came home Saturday afternoon to find these sitting on my porch:

With this note attached:
It made me so happy I cried...nothing feels better than tears of joy!
My co-worker, Amanda, made me a vegetarian dinner! It was absolutely delish! Here is a picture of the leftovers she sent me home with:


While I was there we made candles. It was a really fun process, and I think I have a new hobby. I got to make them the color and fragrance of my choice....very cool! They match my house perfectly!

Amanda, not knowing this is my favorite flower, got me this cute little plant, too! I have already planted it in a bigger pot and have it on my front porch next to the bigger version!


Thanks so very much for reminding me how loved and blessed I am to have you in my life!

Thursday, January 15, 2009



Thirteen reasons I re-did my bathroom (for Rachel)

1. There was a leak behind the tile.

2. The tile started to mold.

3. It smelled like someone pooped in my bathroom when I took a shower.

4. The linoleum was ugly and stained.

5. I love taking long baths!

6. Hurricane Ike destroyed my roof...

7. and some of my ceiling...

8. and some of my sheet rock/painted walls...

9. and some of my carpet (I had a mushroom growing inside my house by my back door because the carpet was soaked)...

10. and I have a good insurance company that issued me more than I needed to fix the necessary repairs...

11. and my dad, Joe, has some serious hook-ups with carpentry/tile work...

12. and I got my roof replaced and bathroom fixed and still have money left over!

13. Last of all, I picked out the tiles and border all by myself, man not needed!

Yes, I love my new bathroom, except the gold trim. It was very expensive to have all that changed so maybe if I teach summer school I will. Thanks for the compliments!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009


Before:




AFTER!!!!!!







Friday, January 2, 2009

SpEcIaL Ed At It'S bEsTeSt

My 7th grade students will take the writing portion of the TAKS test this year, so I have been trying to teach all I can to prepare them for success. On the writing portion, they have to respond to a prompt as well as answer multiple choice questions on the revising/editing section. They have really been struggling with spelling common words, so I have been giving them spelling tests. We work with the words for 5 days in class, and the are assigned to study the words for homework every night. The last test I gave them was these 5 words: about, above, across, because and below.



I gave my kiddos 10 minutes to study with a partner before the test. I even offered to help some of my kids that are shy and don't work well with others. I noticed one of my very talkative students was not working with a partner. I asked him why and he told me he had studied at home. WOW! They DO care about their grades, education, success, future, etc.....right?!?!?



This is the above students way of 'studying':

he wrote the spelling words on the OUTSIDE OF HIS HAND!! Then, he told me they weren't the spelling words and he was NOT trying to cheat!! WHAT? Um, precious, sweet student of mine...you are cheating so go wash your hand and we can discuss this when you come back.

I had to take several deep breaths! His mother works in the district and I know I should have called her but I decided to give him a zero and extra homework....I didn't have the energy to call and tell her just how 'special' her precious baby boy is!

Yes, I am glad I have a few days left of Winter Break. I love my job and my students but I felt compelled to share with the blogging world what my days can be like. Fun stuff and good times are always happening in my classroom!