Jumping on the Wagon again...

Girls, girls, girls- I'm about to jump on this stinkin' diet wagon again. I know. How many times have I blogged about a new method of weight loss I'm trying or a new fad diet I've heard about? Well, all I can say is I've tried. I can't remember a day in my life that I've not been on a diet or been thinking about how much I need to be. I promise, my metabolism is in the negative range evidently. I really think I could eat dirt and not lose much. It's just so incredibly hard for me. Nonetheless, I'm trying again. I'm sure many of you read Haley's blog. If you don't, you should! We are partnering up to help each other lose ten pounds by September 25. TEN POUNDS! That's certainly maintainable, right? I hope so. Because if we reach our goal, we're rewarding ourselves (BIG TIME). Once we reach our first goal, we can set another...and of course, reward ourselves once more. Obviously, she has much, much less to lose than I do. She will reach maintenance long before I will. I can only hope that I'll stick with it for as long as it takes. I can't think about it that way though. One day at a time. For now, ten pounds is my goal. I think I can do it. I am going to report, IN PUBLIC, on this blog. Haley is doing the same. I'm going to weigh in on Mondays, and I will report how much I've lost that day. Look for my update next Monday. In all honesty, I'd appreciate prayers of encouragment, determination, and motivation. It's really difficult, especially when your skinny friends sit beside you with a Dr. Pepper and candy bar while you eat Sugarfree Jello Pudding. Not fun. But, for now, I'm willing to try again. Wish me luck!

Lately

Yes, it's been a while. I have just honestly been struggling to keep my head above water lately. With school starting back and my attempting to get adjusted to the "going to bed early/getting up early" mentality, I've rarely had time to even read blogs, much less write one. Nothing earth-shattering happening, but I thought I'd update on what's been going on recently.

* I GOT A BLACKBERRY! I was so tired of my EnV2. I was on number three. I had it for a year and it kept breaking for one reason or the other. I wasn't due for an upgrade for another YEAR, but decided to just call and ask if I could possibly get an early one. To my surprise, not only did she say I could, but that I could get the exact phone I wanted (Curve) for $149.99, with a $100 rebate. How could I beat that? I'm still learning how to use it, but I'm absolutely in love. I never knew that having facebook and email in the palm of my hand...literally...was so awesome. I will never, ever go back!

* My class is amazing! It's rare that you, as a teacher, get a class that is overall really, really good. I feel like this year I have one. They behave really well and are so respectful. They're adorable (for the most part..ha) and I can totally see myself getting attached to these little munchkinds.

* I never posted about what I ended up doing about my car. It was definitely totaled. I decided to use this to my advantage and get something less expensive and finance for a less amount of time and save money. I got a 2005 silver Jeep Grand Cherokee. I like it okay, but am really missing my other car. I was attached to it for some reason. It was the car I had wanted for years before I ever had one. But, the Jeep gets me from point A to point B, and most importantly the downsizing if you will, is helping me get out of debt. That's the main goal.

* I'm painting canvases again. I surprised my sister with a canvas to hang on her door in her new office. I thought it was pretty cute, but didn't expect to get four orders within two days of her hanging it up! Here's a picture. Anyone can do it. It's really simple. Check Paige and Brooke's blog soon. They will have step by step instructions.


* Football season is almost here! I'm so excited. I could care less about NFL football, but college...in particular AUBURN FOOTBALL??? I don't like to miss a game. I'll always be proud of my alma mater...even if we might not have a winning season. If you see me out during the season I'll for sure be sporting some orange and blue. War Eagle!

Just humor me...

I'm very well aware that this is semi-ridiculous, but I'm pretty smitten with this guy...

I follow him on Twitter and noticed today he posted his real facebook account. Of course, I go straight there and send him a friend request. He accepted really quickly, and I've been sitting here for the last few minutes looking at pictures of he and his wife, Sophia, before she died. Their wedding pictures were on here, and lots of other ones from years ago. There's just something about him that intriques me. I love that he loves God and was a worship leader. He's adorable! And he's so vocal about how much he loves his wife.

Go ahead and think I'm crazy, but you know you've had a celebrity crush before, too. Plus, what else is there to do on a Friday night when you're at home alone??

My home away from home beginning...WEDNESDAY!

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT??? It's that time folks...time for school to begin! My first official day was today, filled with teacher meetings and more time to work in my classroom. I've actually been there for days now trying to get my classroom just the way I want it. Let's face it: teachers spend more time in their classrooms during a typical day than they do at home or anywhere else. It has been my priority this year to get extremely organized and clean. If this place is going to be my home away from home, it definitely has to meet certain criteria. It needs to be colorful, bright, organized, clean, and that refrigerator better be stocked with some Diet Mountain Dew to get me through the really tough days! :)

I try to always stay organized, but this year there were a few things I had to change. All of my supplies were stuffed into this extremely unstable wire stack shelf. Things had already fallen off the top of it, on top of ME. If you touched it just the right way, it would wabble. Plus, it took up lots of space. So, I threw it out and replaced it with a small bookshelf that's hidden in a corner. Now, I have much more space and it's hidden, which is the best part. I also had tons of pieces of construction paper stored on top of a cabinet, which I attempted to keep straight but it just didn't happen. I went to Wal-mart and bought lots of rubbermaid clear tubs and stored all my paper and other supplies in those. Now I have nice and neat bins on top of my cabinets instead of random things spread out in not such an orderly fashion.

Here's a pic. I think I put one on here last year but this is the new and improved classroom number 4!

Speaking of being organized, check out my round table right at the door when parents come in tonight. There's a bouquet of fresh flowers in the center, with all folders, car stickers, forms, etc, that they need. I was pretty impressed with myself!

Wish me luck, friends! I want to be a more patient teacher, one that smiles a lot and provides an environment that feels comfortable and that encourages students to do their best and be their best. I want to see them as God sees them, and not get frustrated when they aren't perfect. I want to love them as He does and be an earthly example of God's love, especially for the ones that may not see that at home. I have some big goals for myself and only God will help me be this kind of teacher, because it's going to be a challenge for sure. I'd definitely appreciate your prayers!

Gulf Shores 2009

It's been a fun vacation. I always look so forward to spending time with my family, especially when it's at the beach! All 16 of us (We missed Ben, Anna, and the triplets this year!), left Friday night to head south. We got off to a rocky start, as my aunt and uncle's car broke down and then someone rear-ended my car on the interstate. We found out a couple days ago it was totaled, so I'll be going home to look for something else. Thankfully, no one was hurt and that's the only thing that matters.

Once we got here, we've had a great time. We've been to the beach, the pool, Waterville (in which they got me on a roller coaster...that I DO NOT typically ride), riding go-carts, bumper boats, skee ball, and eaten lots of "throwed" rolls. It's been so nice to get up when we want to, go to bed when we want to, swim as long as we want to, and not have to worry about a schedule. However, all good things must come to an end. We check out in the morning and head home. Back to reality for me, as I have a classroom to get ready for 20 little 4th graders that will be headed to me in a few short days.

Praise God for summer, for family, and even for the job I have to go back to. Life is good. Enjoy the pics!

Another Idea...

Hi friends-

I need your help! I have another idea for a craft (aka- a desperate way to make some extra cash). I'm still thinking on it and pondering exactly how I want to do it, but wanted to solicit your advice.

Once I have time, I will make a sample to post for you to see. My question to you is this...If it looks decent, what is the best way for me to advertise and possibly sell it? I know ebay is a possibility, but I just don't think it's the best avenue for which to sell this sort of item I have in mind. I have considered etsy, but am not familiar with how it works at all. Are there any other ideas? I've seen a friend put her work on facebook to sell. That is a good way for lots of people to see it, but is that tacky? I like to think it's not, but I just don't know. What are your thoughts my fellow bloggers???

It's me! It's me!

Yep- it's summertime. I always look so forward to being out of school and having time to relax, but it just hasn't come yet. Don't get me wrong, I have loved every minute of my break...it's just been crazy busy!

After my stay at the dog hotel (haha), we had VBS at church. I was in charge of crafts and it actually went very smoothly. Gena did a great job organizing things and I thought this year's "Say It! Yell It! Tell It" went wonderfully.

The day after VBS was over, we flew out for NEW YORK CITY! We left at four in the morning and our flight arrived at LaQuardia around 10:30 Thursday morning. We had such a fantastic time! Thursday afternoon we walked around Time Square. I was so amazed that the city is exactly as it is portrayed on television. Cabs galore, horns honking, people everywhere. I loved every minute of it! Friday we got up really early to go to the Today Show and see the Black-Eyed Peas. There were tons of people there, but we managed to catch a glimpse of Fergie! :) We also were actually on the show and didn't even know it until someone from home watched and told us! It was tons of fun! We also went to the Museum of Modern Art, SoHo, and on a harbor lights cruise at sunset. We saw the Empire State Building, sailed under the Brooklyn Bridge, saw the Statue of Liberty and took no less than hundreds of pictures. Saturday we went to Ground Zero. I didn't expect to be as emotional as I was there. It was so surreal to stand at the very spot that I saw on TV years before. We went in St. Paul's church, which became a shelter for all the volunteers. It has now become a museum and is full of letters, posters, etc. We went from there to the NBC studio tour. We saw the sets of SNL and Jimmy Fallon. It was really cool. Our page (tour guide) was from Birmingham and his mom actually used to work with my sister. So neat! We went from there to see Rock of Ages on Broadway. It was AMAZING! I LOVED it! I so had a crush on Constantine and was thrilled to get to meet him after the show. He's a cutie! Sunday we took a tour of Central Park and headed home around 3:30. It was a wonderful trip and definitely one I will never forget. Here are a few pictures from our trip.




I came home on Sunday and went straight to be with the Willinghams' after sweet Jon's death. I was extremely emotional and could not stop thinking about them. I felt terrible not being able to be back in time for the funeral, but my awesome friends sat with me in NYC and prayed for the family and for me to feel at peace until I could get back to them. I knew that was all I could do. It was great to finally be able to be with them and tell stories of Jon and our memories of him. They have shown SO much faith and I have absolutely no doubt that the story of Jon's life will impact people for years and years to come. We will surely miss him.

I got home from New York Sunday, spent time with the Willinghams, and left for Impact Wednesday. The theme this year was "Hidden" and we talked about how we hide our sins and allow Satan to talk us into carrying them all alone. So many people broke free from the chains that Satan had us bound to that week, and decided to live a life of freedom. I saw God in so many places, including friendships I made and also nurtured while I was there. There are no words to describe what an awesome experience being there is. I genuinely love my Impact family and plan to be a part of that staff as long as God allows.



This brings me to now. I got home from Impact this past Saturday and am going to attempt to have a few days to rest. I need time to do absolutely nothing in order to feel like I've had a summer. My plans are to be spontaneous and do as I please (haha) until I leave for the beach the 18th.

God is good and my summer has been fantastic to this point! I look forward to the rest of it!