Disclaimer: I KNOW that I am not fat, nor am I saying I think I am fat. I am out of shape and not happy about it, that's all!

Thirteen Reasons I want to lose Weight:
1. I am not happy with my body.
2. I only have 3 pairs of jeans that fit me (yes, I own 18 pair).
3. I got on the scale and I weigh more than some knocked-up person I know that is due Oct. 16.
4. I have cellulite...on my STOMACH!!!!!
5. 2 dresses that used to be big on me barely fit over my hips and butt.
6. One of my students (that I had last year) asked me how I got so fat over the summer (in his defense, he is a little guy and trying to gain weight for sports, etc.)
7. I eat food that is bad for me...all the time!
8. I spend too much money at Happy Hour....
9. I drink too many calories at Happy Hour....
10. Then I eat to many calories at Happy Hour because I feel good and 'don't care', when deep down I do and get upset about it later...when Happy Hour wears off!
11. I am single and have time to work out.
12. I want to be healthy, not just lose weight.
13. I want to listen to people complain about their weight...and NOT want to jump in the conversation.

Wordless Wednesday

Me and my department head! We were so excited to be at work after Ike!

Nesting?!?!?!

So, I understand that all preggo women go through a period of 'nesting' where they get everything ready for the baby. My question is this: Is nesting contagious? As many of you know, my sister is knocked up with Sampson (no, that is not the real name so don't get all excited) and was nesting some when I was there. Why have I been doing so since I returned home? I have vacuumed my entire house twice a week, bleached everything that could be bleached without being ruined, fertilized my lawn, watered every day, put up a bird feeder, put up a new wind chime, washed every piece of laundry I could, organized and re-organized my closet, organized my garage and cleaned out my car. So, am I nesting because I caught it from my sister? All you mom's out there...what do you think?

Atlanta

I have been truly blessed and lucky to have been able to visit my sister and her family three times this year! Still, I am not sure how they can call Atlanta home, but it's not changing anytime soon so I have learned to live with it and buy tickets when they are cheap! Here are some pictures of me and my Blubs from the visits this year!


We tried to take a picture of ourselves at lunch:


After our attempt at a photo, Izzy started to model for me! She was cracking me up, especially since she has been in a 'no picture' mood lately. here are her glamor shots:

This picture cracks me up, too! Izzy really wanted to hold my camera but since it is still pretty new to me, and I didn't want it destroyed I told her she could not have it. She was not too happy with that and gave me this look:

How pathetic, yet so darn cute!

I like to do fun things with Izzy, since I don't see her very often. We went to Kangazoom or Kangajump or something like that one day...she had a blast! And it's a killer workout!

We got there before the place opened up and she was so good waiting in the car to go, "JUMP!!!"

Little Miss independent:

We both look so innocent...right? This is was the trip after she covered herself with A&D Ointment, but before she did it with Vaseline. Anyone need a free babysitter????

I can't wait to visit again, and when I do I will get to hold Sampson. Feeling the baby kick and have hiccups is great and all, but I am ready to hold it and spoil it rotten!!!! Thanks Papa Bear, Krystyn, Izzy, Sassy and Sampson for letting me come visit...and continuing to do so even though I seem to let Izzy make the worst messes!

Catching Up!

I have been so busy since school started! Volleyball began the third day of school, so I am not leaving my school until 5:30, sometimes later, every day. I know, that's not that late, but when I have to drive from Aldine to Katy in rush hour traffic, it's not so fun. Here are some of the fun things I did this summer! (I did teach summer school, so it was not all fun!)

My grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a family trip to Mackinac Island. It was fun, relaxing and beautiful. Unfortunately, the place constantly smells like horse poop. There are no motorized vehicles on the island, so you either walk, ride a horse, or take and horse and buggy carriage. Add it up= horse poop aroma 24/7!


Krystyn and Me at the casual family dinner:



Mom, Great Aunt Rose and Aunt Theresa on the ferry ride to the island:



Krystyn, me and Mom going to the formal anniversary dinner:


Krystyn and me before the formal dinner. She is one hot momma!



Our mom and her two sisters, Deb and Theresa:


We did have a really great trip. I was able to see family members I only see about every five years. Congrats to my grandparents for 50 great years....I hope to have this celebration one day in my future!

I also got to go to a few Astros games! I had season tickets last year, but did not even think about buying them for this year (they are expensive and I also had no idea who would want to go to all the games with me.) These are some pictures from the games:

Me and David:

It was very special for David and I to go to a game together. He took me to one of the playoff games in 2005, the night before my birthday. We had AWESOME seats behind home plate (he paid a ton for them) and could even see Barbara and George a few rows in front of us. He even sweet talked the camera guy to getting us on the 'kiss cam', which is displayed on the big screens at Minute Maid Park. It was my 15 minutes of fame! OK, more like 3 seconds, but it was very exciting! The Astros did not win, but it is still my absolute favorite game of all time! Thanks David!

TBH invited me to a game, because her friend got tickets for free from a client. I brought along my 21 year old friend, Max, (No offense to young folks out thereand for the record, Max can sine and play guitar like noone I have ever heard. He is so talented and fun!) and this is what he did with my camera:

The Astros won so we were trying to get a picture with the fireworks in the background so please try to imagine them being there. My sister is the great photographer, not me!

Next post, my tripS to Atlanta and some summer fun in the sun!

Special Students

Just a reminder, I do teach 7th and 8th grade special ed. This is a 3 minute story about what can happen in my room on any given day:

Student walks into class with his hand to his mouth. I asked him what was wrong. He told me he was bleeding. I asked him to show me where he was bleeding from so I could determine if he needed to go to the nurse. He opened his mouth (yes, OPENED) to show me a small palce where a tiny speck of blood was on the roof of his mouth. He told me he cut it on a chip at lunch. I told him to go rinse his mouth with water and it would be fine. I thought everything would be ok with a good mouth rinse....wow, I was totally wrong.
He returns from the water fountain, still holding his mouth saying now he needs a band-aid. I asked him how he was going to put a band-aid INSIDE his mouth. He told me he has done it before. I told him no, and to have a seat. Then, he completely freaked and started crying telling me he had to go to the nurse right away, becuase she would put a band-aid in his mouth. The nurse at my school is very educated and would not give him a band-aid for this non-existent wound inside his mouth.
I took him outside to talk to him and let him calm down. He did, came back into class, and the rest of the day went great.
I get to work the next day, and there is an ee-mail from one of the assistant principals...the students mother called to say i neglected her child when he was hurt, and he would not be able to come to school that day. She said she was taking him to get stitches in his mouth!?!?!?!?!
STITCHES!!!! The next day? Are you kidding me????? Of course, the assistant princiapl had dealt with the mother several times and knew that I would not neglect a hurt student. He returned to school the next day without a doctors note, or stitches. This is why I think teachers need to be paid more!!!!

Why We Should All Have Leather Furniture

Meet TBH (her name will remain annonymous, but she knows who she is), an English teacher from Texas. She was so excited about meeting this great guy and going on a few dates with him. She was a little worried he was not very into her because they had only kissed once. Since I am a female myself, I did understand her concern but also reassured her that he would not be hanging out with her every day possible if he did not like her. So, she comes to work one day with a rather disturbed look on her face. I instantly thought something had gone wrong with the new guy in her life, so I asked her what was up. She didn't say anything, just rolled up her jeans and showed me her knee.

My response, "Ouch! What happened? Did you fall down or get a spider bite? What is that?"

TBH (responding with a huge grin on her face, "I got it while making out with K (the guy she thought didn't like her). We were sitting on the couch making out, for a while, and my knee started burning. Girl, I didn't care because he kisses really good!"

Me, "Well, I am glad it was worth it!"

Today, TBH came to work and informed that K is having leather furniture delivered today...and I am SURE she will be over there as soon as possible.

Lesson Learned: Don't make-out on fabric couches! I will let you guys know tomorrow if she gets any wounds from the leather!