My Week

Here is my new FALL schedule:
I have cheerleading practice every day from 2:30-4, plus...
Monday- Math in Waxahachie 11-12:20, Intro to Ed. (which I already took at McMurry, but A&M Commerce will not transfer this class from other schools because they want you to take it through them. Boo!) is from 4:30-7:20, plus over the semester I will have to do 30 hours worth of observations.
Tuesday-Class from 4:30-10pm
Wednesday- Math in Wax. from 11-12:20
So that is four classes. My other two are online classes, so I will have to squeeze those in sometime.
Thursday-Freshmen football games
Friday- Pep Rallies/Varsity football game/Coaches Social

If I am posting less, I apologize. As you can see...this is going to be a busy go-go-go kind of semester for me. Poor Zac's is not much better with teaching two different subjects, coaching football, and taking his online Masters courses. We joke that we are just strangers who happen to sleep in the same bed. Oh well, hopefully when we get into a routine, everything will settle down and we can find little pieces of time to spend together!

80's Day

Don't you miss those high school days when you would get to dress up on Friday? I DO...bigtime! Im not sure why schools have theme days, or what exactly that does for the football team, but I am certainly all about it. I love school spirit, and if looking like Debbie Gibson helps the home team, sign me up. Today was our first dress up day of the year, and it seemed to be a success. (Especially considering we didn't even have a pep rally today, and the game isn't until tomorrow!) Here are a few of my favorite pics that I took when I got to the school for seventh period cheerleading class.

Coach Russell (Ramsi) & Coach Harris (Tonya)

All of the cheerleaders 7th period, before they dressed out for class...aren't they cute? I'm sad because some of the best ones are in the back, and you can't see them. There were tutus over legging with heels and socks...it was the most beautifully tacky sight ever! :)

Doesn't this make you want to be in High School again? Next week is Hawaiian Day...I will post pics!

Poor Molly...

I am taking 19 hours (you read it right people...NINETEEN hours!) this semester, which is a pretty big load considering I am also a wife, cheer coach, coach's wife, and I'm in the process of looking for another little part time job. Sheesh! Also, one of my classes requires 30 hours worth of observation! These next few months will be very busy for me!
Molly has sensed that we are gone more lately and that we are going back to our busy schedules and has been acting up a bit. Nothing too major, just not really sleeping at night and being clingy and whiny. Well, today when Zac got home, she had really outdone herself! This is what Zac came home to find...




I am so glad he took a picture of it before he cleaned it up! He made Molly sit by it for awhile, as this is the worst punishment we can give her...make her sit by her mistake, whether its trash or a pile of poop. Her PuppyKindergarten teacher taught us that and she responds better to that (or at least hates it worse) than a spanking. I highly reccomend this technique! Luckily Zac had alrady cleaned it up before I got home. :) Poor thing, she knows when we are gone alot. People who think dogs are "just animals" and they are clueless need to come live with Molly for a week. She has every emotion that a human does, and even has facial expressions! (guilt, excitement, fear, worry, and the unmistakable "Please?" face!)

I was going to type all about my first day of class, but I have alot of negative things to say about some of my classmates, and I am not really in the mood to be negative right now, so I think I will restrain. I am sure if I am in this class with them all semester, I will have future stories to share though. (Think of the annoying non-trad who barely lets the teacher talk because she has so many questions, smokes a pack and hour, and hates anyone who isn't a white Christian, and that is the kind of women I have in this one certain class.) Should be fun, right?

Teacher Friends...

How was the first day of school? I have several friends who this is your first year teaching (ahem, Stacy and Amy!)...how was it? I hope yall are all having a wonderful day. Leave me a story about your first day teaching or your kids first day of school or something. I want to hear from all of you!!!!!!!!!!!! Click on Comments, and start writing!!!

I Love these 2 songs...

Y'all know how I love to share great movies, songs, etc. Well, I have a new favorite song. It's a slow one, but very good. It is by a gal from London named Adele, and it's called Chasing Pavements. It would not let me embed it, so you will have to click on the link. Sorry!) Here is the music video.
Okay, my other favorite song I can listen to over and over and over is a little happier and upbeat. It's Kylie Minogue (another European girl!) and it is called Speakerphone. It is not a new song at all, but it's new to me. Thanks Eli! This is the video. Pay more attention to the song than the video. (it's kinda blurry, but the best I could find.)

Isnt it a fun song? I am obsessed with it! :) "Drop your socks, grab your mini boombox. Let the beat drop. Do the pop-lock-body-rock. Let the beat drop."

Locker Room Madness

This entire summer, the other two cheerleading coaches and myself have been working on our cheerleading locker room. We worked so hard painting, getting furniture and accessories and cleaning. This room was disgusting before we got ahold of it! The girls did not know that they were even getting a locker room, much less that we would make it the CUTEST locker room in the history of America. Haha, at least it is in my opinion...see for yourself!

The jerseys on the lockers were also a gift that we surprised them with. We had some unexpected money from a fundraiser and decided to get each girl a jersey with their name and graduation year on it. They LOVED them. The coaches got one too, so I am sure you will see a pic of me wearing mine sometime over the next 10 weeks. :) Here is a video I took of the girls as they were walking in the room for the first time. It was priceless! My heart was pounding and I was actually shaking a little bit. It felt so great, and made all the hard work so worthwhile! Check out the screams and squeels... (Let's hope this is the wildest it ever gets in there! HA!)

Oh, and we also had cupcakes (and balloons, but I am sure you saw those in the above pics. They are the pink circles all over the floor) to celebrate the "opening ceremony" of the locker room. Look how cute they are...they matched. And aren't we clever, we made them spell out MHS!

(not quite) 48 hours in Austin

So before all the madness of football season started, I decided to make one last trip to The State Capitol. I needed a little something to refresh me, and I knew that now that I too am coaching, it will be a long time until I get to leave town again. (at least until the end of football season!) I got to Austin Sunday evening and had dinner with Zac's mom and Tatem and Scott and Ellie. We went to Jason's Deli, which I love and miss terribly. It was so yummy! The best part of the night though was watching Ellie and seeing how much she has grown/developed since I last saw her! Here is a cute video of her reaction when her Grammy walked in the door...so cute!

I gave her a pink tutu, since every little girl needs a tutu, and it was pretty precious, if I may say so myself! She also likes the way the tulle feels on her tongue, hehe! I love the picture of Ellie sticking out her tongue, because I can see her making this exact face at age five (and maybe ten and fifteen?) Too cute! Already so much personality! I had an amzing chat with Tatem at the end of the night. Shout out to her because she just got her certification, and she is officially a counselor/therapist now! :) She finished her masters a long time ago, but there are tons of supervised hours you have to fulfill, and now she is done! Yay, and Congrats Tay! She is such an amazing listener, and I always feel like I can have the deepest conversations with her. Everyone needs someone like that in their life! :) Sunday night when I got home, the good conversations kept on flowing. Mom and Papa and I stayed up late talking about their weekend in Houston with Baw and the Bartletts, my childhood, parenting, and all sorts of random topics. I went to bed (late) in a very happy state. There is nothing quite like being surrounded by family. Even though I have lived here over a year, Austin still feels like "home" to me.

Monday morning Mom and I woke up and of course had to go shopping. (It's what we do best!) We went to The Domain and I got a new case/cover for the iPod Zac bought me for my b-day. I wanted to buy some, but did not like any of the headphones they had at the Apple store (those little "ear bud" things that come with the iPod don't fit me), which was actually fortunate, because when we got back home, I had gotten $35 worth of Best Buy coupons as Reward Points for buying our new laptop there. So in the afternoon we went to Best Buy and I got new headphones and a $15 iTunes giftcard. We are always buying new music, so I figured that would be something we would both get to use. Aren't I thoughtful? Mom and I ate at Camille's Sidewalk Cafe for lunch and it was just as good as I remembered. There are two things on the menu that I love there and since I couldn't decide what to get, we ordered both, and Mom and I shared them. (the Chicken Ceasar Wrap andthe "Zorba the Greek" pesto pizza...I highly reccomend both of them!) We went to JoAnn's craft store and spent way more time than we needed to in there, but who couldn't....there is so much to look at. I get inspired everytime I enter a craft store. I have finally gotten smart enough not to buy stuff I don't need that exact day, because the inspiration usually wares off before I make whatever it is I had dreamed up, then I have all these random craft supplies in my pink room.

That afternoon, we went to Ancient Arts, the clinic my Mom's best friend Katie (who also happens to be the woman who potty-trained yours truly) owns and works in. She gave me an amazing treatment! I felt so relaxed, I felt like I was melting into the table. If you have never tried acupuncture, do it! It is a miracle! I used to get it once a week from Katie's son Matthew (my birthday twin, but five years older) when we lived in Austin and I have never had less problems with my reflux, arthritis, and digestive stuff, as when I was getting acupuncture. Zac got tendonitis in his shoulder one time from lifiting weights too much and he hurt for a long time because he was not thrilled with the idea of needles, but when he finally came around, he was completely better in like 2 sessions!!! (and by the way, you can't feel the needles!!) Man, if a blogging award was given to the person who gets sidetracked the most, and goes off on tangeants, I think I would win it. Sorry for being all over the place. Okay, back on track...anyways, I enjoyed my visit with Katie and her wonderful skills. After we left Katie's office, we went to see her daughter Shauna (Liz's BFF growing up) and her new baby Wesley. He is about six weeks old and I hadn't met him yet. He is SO precious. Here we are together, with my hair falling in my face. Isn't he precious? Hanging out with Ellie and Wesley makes me have baby fever! Sigh...when I graduate college, I plan on joining the Mommy Club SOON after! :)

For dinner that night we went to Santa Rita, one of Zac and I's all time favorites. (If you ask Zac though, it's called Santa Maria, haha!) On Monday nights they have Fajitas For Two for the price of Fajitas For One, so we went there many a Monday evenings for dinner. It is one of those all around good Mexican food restaraunts because they have great queso, enchiladas, and drinks too. :)

Tuesday I had lunch with Eli at Whole Foods. It was great to see him and hear about his recent trip to Philly/NYC, and the chicken salad was pretty amazing too! :)

Okay, I just found this post that I started earlier last week. I guess I was planning on adding more, but since I am short on time and this is already a little late anyways, I am just going to post it as is. Basically, I had an amazing time in Austin!

Goodbye...

Olympics! We will miss you, but we will be getting more sleep now that you are over. I saw on the news today that you were the most watched televised event in the history of television! Congrats. I hope that in 4 years (in London) you are as fun to watch and exciting as you were this year!!! I think that might be impossible though. Oh well. We'll see!

Football and Fast Food

Football season has begun, which means that we are eating more fast food than usual. Zac and I have both had hectic weeks, and have not had a single meal together since Sunday's lunch. In fact, I would say that besides sleeping in the same bed, we have not seen each other more than an hour a day...and that is NOT an exaggeration!

1. Whataburger has the best Dr. Pepper of any convenience store or fast food place. It burns when it goes down your throat, so you know it must be good! (FYI-McDonald's has the best Cokes...extra carbonated!)

2. My favorite thing to get at Whataburger is the number 8, which has two chicken strips, toast, gravy, and french fries and a drink. The bad part is that they put all the food in a cardboard box which makes it impossible to eat the fries on your way home (or to the stadium, or to practice, or wherever you may be going). I am a person who like to eat the fries immediately, before they get cold or soggy. Zac hates this, and still after 6+ years we argue over whether it is okay to eat them beforehand or not. If he had it his way, the bag would stay rolled up. But my argument is that then the steam makes them soggy. Gross.

3. Everything above has no point to it, so I thought I would write about something a little more meaningful now...We had Meet The Panthers tonight and my freshmen girls did Grrreat! They are so cute and are finally working together and bonding, and it is actually FUN to be around them! Interesting story...this morning one of the girls on JV was getting a glass casserole dish down from a cabinet in her kitchen and it dropped on her foot and cut her TO THE BONE! She was in the hospitol all day long having it cleaned and stitched and stapled, but showed up tonight insisting to perform, and she did! If anyone says cheerleaders aren't tough, you tell them that story! Even the football coaches were impressed! The Varsity girls did well too, although one of the stunts didn't stay up as long as it was supposed to. It still looked good though. It was overall a great night. The next couple days are ALL ABOUT cheerleading. We are in charge of the football program, and our deadling for the printer is tomorrow so we are hustling to get that ready. As soon as she finishes, she is going to send it back to us to proof, and hopefully we will send it to the press by Saturday. We are supposed to send it in two weeks before we need it, and our first home game is September 5th, so we are cutting it close, but hopefully it will all work out.

Phew, I am so tired. I am headed off to bed. I start classes on Monday, and school starts for Zac then too. Wish us both luck! :)

Hooray for Phelps!

Congrats Michael Phelps (since he reads my blog)! We are so proud of you and happy for you! I love watching your mom and sister's reactions almost as much as I love watching you swim! I love how you get excited/emotional every single time you won, like it was the first and most exciting thing ever. We are now going to take a moment to honor you...by closely studying these beautiful pictures of you. Shhh...I am in deep appreciation and admiration mode.

Yummy...look at these muscles!

Okay, now all silliness aside, what he did was awe-inspiring and truly captivating! To be the best in the world in one thing is unbelievable, but in 8...that's just crazy! Congratulations!!!

"PINK...is my favorite color"

-song by Aerosmith (also sung by Julia Oldham, on a regular basis)

One of my cheerleaders asked me yesterday "why do you love the color pink so much? How could you be so obsessed with a color?" Well my friends, there are very few people who know the story about how I became obsessed with pink, and as dorky as it is, I thought I would share it with you here, on my blog, for the world to see.
Although I always loved pink as a kid, I would not say I loved it any more than the average girl. I loved pink flamingos and pink candy and pink clothes, but it was just my favorite color. It wasn't an obsession. YET. It is a very simple story actually, how my obsession came to be. I was having a discussion with my youth director, when I was a junior in high school, and somehow we got on the subject of our appearance. I told her that my parents had bought me a pale pink robe for Christmas, and everytime I got out of the shower, and put it on, I had rosie cheeks, and I thought that the pale pink made my eyes look pretty. Isn't it funny that that is when I thought I looked best...when I had wet hair and no make-up on, but there was something about the pink robe (and the red cheeks too) that made my eyes sparkle. She said "ya know, you can buy pink clothes, so that you always feel that way, and not just for the 10 minutes after you get out of the shower!" And thus, my obsession for pink was born. My birthday was a few weeks later, so I asked for every gift to be pink. That was my 17th birthday, so I still had the kind of birthday parties, where lots of friends came and everyone brought a gift. The pink thing was a success! Every single thing I got was pink, whether it was clothes, decorations for my car (I had just gotten a new car!) or whatever...it was all pink! We took a picture of my pile of gifts. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Nothing but pink!
The love of pink started just with clothing (remember, I thought I looked good in pink?), but soon it became a personality thing. I thought pink described me. Girly. Then the movie Legally Blonde came out and (hopefully you're already aware) I identified with Elle, and pink became an attitude. I was all about pink, pink, pink, and as you know...I still am. :) I will probably force my child to love pink, no matter if it is a boy or girl...I dont care about "gender identity!" Boys can wear pink too! Molly already loves it...just look at her photos! She surrounds herself in it, haha! I love pink so much that it can take my breath away. I will never forget the day I walked into the new Victoria's Secret store in The Domain (Austin) and in neon lights, I saw the words "Life is PINK is Life!" It was breathtaking! I want those words and lights in my house! I have a pink room in my house and sometimes I go in there for a nap or some serenity. It is like my happy place! I can't explain it, but I LOVE PINK! I'm obsessed...and I'm not ashamed! It is my number one obsession (followed by a love for Boston Terriers...the best dogs ever! I am sure I will post about the magic of BT's one day too!) Oh, and I also love Cheerleading and Ashlee Simpson, but this is not about that. This is about PINK!
Anyways, that was a pretty pointless blogpost, (Zac says it is the stupidest one I have ever written and I make myself sound dumb) but just thought you might be interested to see how my fascination with pink came about. And by the way, I told my cheerleader: Pink is not JUST a color...it's a way of life!!!!!!!!

Thank You Olympics!

Thanks for bringing our country together! Thanks for giving us something positive to focus on and talk about, as a break from war and gas prices and elections. Thanks for making me proud to be an American, and proud to sing The National Anthem! Thanks for making the past week so pleasant. I can not remember an Olympics being so watched and talked about as this year's! (With the exception, maybe, of when I was a kid and the USA girls won the gold in gymnastics.)

I am so sad to say that I missed the live All Arounds, for women's gymnastics, but I did watch it online, in its entirety, the next day! It was so amazing, and I am so proud of Nastia and Shawn! Click on thier names, if you would like to see their performance on each apparatus. Truly magical! Just when I thought my heart could not swell any bigger with pride, I watched the awards ceremony, and I cried like a baby! happy tears, of course! I thought that Nastia had the most amazing, flawless performances. I thought it was going to be the highlight of the Olympics this year for me....and then I saw THIS race! If you did not see Michael Phelps in the 100m Fly, (with your own eyes, the entire race, not a re-cap) you MUST watch it! (or I am NOT going to be your friend anymore!) It was the most triumphant thing I have ever seen! We saw it happen live and we could not believe it! Zac and I call him the Lance Armstrong of the water. Has anyone ever dominated a sport so much as Michael Phelps? He is untouchable!

Just for fun...I dare you to watch this without getting one of the following:
A). Choked up, lump in the throat
B). Heart swelling, smiling, sense of pride
C). Reminiscant of the "good ole days"
I got all three. Comment and tell me which one you felt. :)


If you liked that, then you will love this. :) Haha, I just can't stop!

Brag Avenue

Not to boast or anything (actually that's exactly what I'm doing) but I just got my most recent report card (summer II) and it had two more A's!! Which means that in the 9 classes (27 hours) I have taken since January, I've received 8 A's and only 1 B. Yippee!!

After I got a certificate in the mail, Zac (who has a "unique" sense of humor) sent me this image via email, that I thought was too funny to not share:

For the record, I have no tattoos, although this one was tempting, haha! The website where he made it, has all sorts of fun things to create. Check it out: http://www.imagechef.com/

Okay, I will now try to return to a humble person. :)

Excitement in the air...

As much as I hate that the summer is over, and Zac and I are headed back to our crazy lives and schedules again, I can not deny that there is excitement in the air! I have been up at the high school every day this week with cheerleading two-a-days, and I can't explain the way I feel. I remember having this feeling as a teenager, when I was in high school. It is when the band is outside practicing, the drumline is working on their cadences (which always pump me up!), the school parking lot is full of cars, football players are practicing, cheerleaders are practicing, volleyball girls are practicing...and there is just this buzz of excitement and anticipation in the air. What will the new year bring? Will this be the best year ever? etc... I thought I was too old to feel this way (actually, I just had not thought about the feeling or if I would feel it, until it came on) but I guess since I am married to a football coach, and coaching cheerleaders, I feel it just as strong (if not stronger) than I did as a teenager! It might sound corny, but it's so true! It seems that everyone (students and teacher, and administrators alike) return from summer break with a new perspective and a sense of being refreshed. I can't wait to see what this year brings. I am hoping for the best, and scared of the worst. I will be coaching the cheerleaders AND taking 18 hours of coursework, so I know it will be a fall I never forget. Thank goodness I get happy/nervous like a kid, and this excitement carries me through the bad days! Nonetheless...wish me luck this year. I will need it with the cheerleaders! ha!

Olympic Mysteries...Solved

I found this article on another blog and found it to be super interesting...but then again, I am kind of a nerd about some science-y stuff. But here ya go, I think you will be intrigued (or else I wouldn't have posted it, now would I?)...

WHY ARE OLYMPIC SWIMMERS BREAKING SO MANY RECORDS THIS YEAR?
Here are 6 possible answers, courtesy of Mental Floss magazine.
1. Technology "Doping
"The new Speedo LZR RACER suit, which was developed by scientists from NASA, “feels like a rocket coming off the wall,” said Phelps in a team interview. “The water just runs off the suit.” The suit has “ultrasonically welded” seams that mimics a shark skin, holds in the swimmer’s abdomen in the best position, allowing him to take in 5% more oxygen, and takes an athlete 30 minutes to get into!
2. The Pool Depth Matters
The pool in Beijing, known as the “Water Cube,” is 3 meters deep, instead of the previous depth of 2 meters. This allows swimmers to dive deeper and continue their push off “dolphin kicks” for a longer period of time. Olympic medalist and commentator Rowdy Gaines says, “It’s just deep enough to where the waves dissipate (and) the turbulence dissipates down to the bottom.”
3. Empty Pool Lanes
There are ten lanes in the Water Cube, instead of the usual eight, leaving the outside lanes open. This reduces turbulence and enables swimmers to go faster. “It’s by far the fastest pool in the world,” Gaines says.
4. More Time to Practice
Sponsorship for swimming has increased massively, which allows athletes to practice more. Mark Spitz, the Olympic swimmer with the most gold medals before Phelps, retired at 22 due to his inability to make a living as an amateur athlete. Back then, the Olympics only allowed amateur athletes to compete. Phelps, on the other hand, is now 23 and has estimated annual earnings of $5 million, and will be awarded an extra $1 million dollar bonus from Speedo if he reaches or beats Spitz’s record.
5. Old-fashioned Doping
Gary Hall Jr., previous Olympian 50-m freestyle champion, seems to think so. “Can suit technology distract from another issue?… I’m telling you this, I train with an international group of swimmers and all of them have stories and a few of them have had offers.” Hall likens today’s “blame it on the suit” situation to that of the ‘76 East German women’s Olympic swimming team. Though, he seems to be the only one speaking out about this so perhaps he’s just bitter he didn’t qualify for Beijing.
6. The Secret Benefits of Math
Professor Timothy Wei, of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., helped develop top-secret, state-of-the-art equipment and mathematical techniques that USA Swimming coaches have been using to help to make swimmers go faster. He uses water flow diagnostic technologies to see how each swimmers’ motion affects the flow of water. The whole thing is explained here in this video.

SIDENOTE: Can I please mention that The University of Texas has a total of 27 coaches/athletes participating in this year's Olympics!! I thought that was pretty impressive! Here is the article : http://www.utexas.edu/features/2008/08/11/olympics-2/

ALSO-I (ahem, some friends of mine) found the answer to a question I asked in an earlier post...Divers shower in between each dive to keep their muscles warm after getting out of the pool. The temperature of the pool water and the air are usually different (the pool is usually around 80 degrees, with the air temperature between 68 and 72 degrees). This difference can cause muscle tightness. To combat this, divers warm up in either the showers or a hot tub.

PS-If you hate or are not following the Olympics, SORRY! My blog will return to normal when they are over. Until then, I am an Olympic-Loving-Fool!

Family, Olympics, Naps

As mentioned in my last post, Liz, Andy and Madeline came to visit this weekend. We had a great time! Zac and I were antsy all day Friday waiting for them to arrive. We turned on the Olympics opening ceremony and that helped pass the time. I don't think we turned the Olympics off all weekend! They finally got here around 10pm and we chatted for awhile, put Madeline to bed, and then played Loaded Questions. If you have never played this board game, I suggest you check it out. It is quite a hoot and can be twisted into a very silly crazy game, which provides several memorable quotes to help you remember the game all weekend long! ;) Saturday we had a leisurely morning and then got in the car to show the Bartlett's our town. That only took about five minutes, so after that we went to a nearby lake to let Madeline feed the fish. (The same place we took Nati.) After that we drove up to Dallas to meet Amy, Gian, Ellen, Breagan, Nati and Claire for lunch. We went to a yummy place called The Dream Cafe, and I think every one of us loved our food. Thanks for the recommendation Robin...we wish you could have come! We had lots of fun and good conversation at lunch and then afterwords let the kids play outside for a bit. Have I ever mentioned that I HATE hot weather and really hate sweating? Ugh...I do, and boy was it hot! Anyways, after lunch we came home and had a relaxing afternoon watching Olympics and drifting in and out of naps. In fact, I think Madeline was the only one who did NOT fall asleep, haha! After finally waking up, Zac and I had to stop by a coaching social at his head coach's house, so we took Madeline with us, to show her off. I am so glad we drug her with us...she had so much fun. They had a little bouncy house in the backyard that Madeline would hardly get out of. Here is a pic of her jumping, with the boys patiently waiting for their turn, and watching her every move. It was so funny! Andy you better start working on your intimidation techniques...You are gonna be in trouble when she's older, hehe! (You can click on any picture I post in my blog to view it larger! I also added a few videos of her to my YouTube channel.) When we got home, the guys grilled some fajita meat while Liz and I got everything else ready inside. Liz was in charge of the guacamole, so of course I took care of my specialty...queso. I like to think that I am a queso pro, but apparently I am losing my skills. Everything was fine, I stirred it, put it back in for 30 more seconds, then left to go play with Madeline. When Liz opened the microwave after it beeped, this is what she found...isn't that pathetic? She was so nice to clean it before i even got back from playing! But she did take a picture, which I will never live down, haha. We had a wonderful fajita dinner and then it was time for Madeline's bath! She wanted to bathe in our big master bath, but don't you dare think about turning on the jets. Liz told me she hates them, but every kid loves bubbles, right? So I turned them on for a second and she screamed and climbed up my body. Poor thing. I felt bad. After that little mishap, it was nothing but fun. So fun, I decided to change clothes and get in with her. She loved pouring water on my legs and laughing when she got some on my clothes. It was one of those moments that feels priceless, and you step back for a moment in your mind and think "this is amazing. I will never have this exact moment ever again." Sounds cheesy, but hopefully y'all know what I mean. :) My absolute, number one, favorite time to see/hug/hold a kid is when they get out of the tub. Their hair is all wet and usually their little bellies are poking out from dinner...so cute! (I remember I used to always love being at the Donaldson's and the kids would get out of the bath and be soaking wet and then put on their skin tight jammies...ah memories!) Soon after Madeline's bath, we went back to watching (guess what...?) the Olympics and Madeline passed out on the floor in the living room. She was a tired puppy from playing so hard all day. The rest of us played Farkle (amazing dice game...tell me if you have never heard of it. I think all of my family probably has though!) and had lots of fun again. Sunday morning Liz and Andy left around 10:15 and we were sad to see them go. I was so tired from staying up late and waking up extra early (we were on Madeline time, after all) so I immediately layed down for a nap. I woke up in time for lunch, watched some olympics, and then fell back asleep for an afternoon nap. I love napping on Sundays, and I love Olympics (have I ever mentioned that? ha!), so it was a splendid afternoon. Zac and I rented a movie that my friend Michelle suggested called The Mozart and The Whale. It is an indie film about two people with Asperger's Syndrome who meet and fall in love. Since I am fascinated by Autism and Asperger's, I especially enjoyed the movie. It also helped that Josh Hartnett in it, and he's not too hard on the eyes. Am I right, ladies? haha! Anyways, I feel like I am going on and on, so I will just say that we had an AWESOME, AMAZING, SUPERB weekend, full of family, olympics, and naps!! I already can't wait for the Bartlett's to come back and visit again! :)

It was so hard for me to narrow it down to just these pictures for this blog post!!!To see ALL the pics from this weekend, look at the slideshow in the sidebar, titled Hot Hot August. You can click on it to see the pictures larger, if you want.

I'm Amazed

I have never watched synchronized diving before, but I am now entranced! I can't quit watching...it is mesmerizing! I turned on the Olympics to see Phelps compete, but this partner diving was on, leading me to my new obsession. If you have never seen it, check it out, before the Olympics end!! Oh, and in case you are curious ('cause I know you are, right?)...my three favorite Olympians are:

1. Michael Phelps

2. Shawn Johnson

3. Jonathan Horton

PS-Does anyone know why they shower off after every single dive? That's odd. Just curious?!

PS#2-Why does that sand volleyball girl Walsh wear that thing on her shoulder? What is that thing?

As I type...

my sister, borther-in-law, and niece are driving in the car on their way to come see me!! :) I am so excited! Liz, Andy, and Madeline should be here around 10 tonight, and are staying with us all weekend. We don't have any major plans, mostly just hanging out, but tomorrow we are going to Dallas to meet my cousin Ellen and her family for lunch. I will write all about it! Yippee...I am so pumped!

Here is a cute picture of Nati and Claire. They just had portraits made, and I think they are amazing!

Who's House? Run's House!

Run's House is a reality show that is on MTV, which would be two reasons you might assume its another trashy show. It's NOT! Not since The Cosby Show have I seen such a fun show, not afraid of promoting the value of family and discipline. It is a rare thing, especially in this day and age. The kids in this show, and their dad Rev Run make me laugh SOO much. If you don't know, Rev Run was one of the first rappers and was in the group Run DMC. He now has clothing lines and continues to dabble in the music industry. His older kids are pursuing their own things, and seem somewhat successful. I just love this family and the show and highly reccomend it to anyone and everyone. It is amazing! :) Here is the trailer for this season:

This video is from when Rev Run and his wife were on a morning show discussing their new book "Take Back Your Family." They are neat, neat people!

If you watch this show, you already know how amazing it is. If you have never seen it, I can't really describe how great it is. I suggest you check it out for yourself.

Mean Girls

Myself, and the two ladies that I coach cheerleading with. Don't we look hardcore? haha! Just wanted to show yall who I spend most of my time with these days, (and let you make fun of me for this semi-cheesy photo).

PS-Did anyone watch the "Fab Five:The Texas Cheerleader Scandal" on Lifetime this week?? We did, and I have lots of thought about it. Lots. Better not share them in this venue, haha.

So true. So sad.

From someone who gets paid to hang out with teenage girls, I have one word for this article: Ditto!

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26037851?GT1=43001

Just a little Political Humor...

So you have probably seen (or at least heard about) this recent ad put out by McCain:


I could not help but laugh and applaud Paris Hilton for being able to make fun of herself, by responding with this...

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Got kids?

Even though I don't really want to teach elementary school, the early childhood classes I take are usually pretty interesting. Alot of it will be stuff I want to know more as a parent than a teacher, since I want to teach middle or high school. Today in one of my classes (Literacy Acquisition), we each had to find and share a neat website that promotes family literacy. Two websites stood out to me, enough to actually make me really excited about them. If you have kids (of any age) I highly recommend you check out these sites and then let your kids...
StarFall.com- This website has cute audio and great visuals. This site is great for all ages, as it has activities for all different levels from learning the alphabet to knowing how to read. (The levels are in order from 1-4, 1 being the easiest, so just see which your kid needs.) One person in my class said that her TWO year old loves the "ABC" part of this site.
RIF.org (Reading is Fundamental) This website also has activites and tips for all different ages. Literally, there are pages for kids 0-2, 3-5, on up. And they are NEAT sites!
I can't say enough good things about these sites, you will just have to go ch-ch-check them out yourself.
Honorable Mentions:
http://helpmeread.org/
http://www.funbrain.com/

45 pointless questions...

These are usually sent as an email (thanks Heather D!) or posted as a bulletin on MySpace, but being the kindof person who likes to "bend the rules" I am going to post my answers on my blog. Sheesh, it took me a long time, I might as well let alot of people see my hard work, right?

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
My mom had an aunt named Julia. I think the Kate is because my mom loves Katherine Hepburn, but I am not sure if there is more to it than that?? Haha, guess I should know that!
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
This weekend when I was sick. My back hurt so bad from coughing and falling off the bed (another story!) and I was being a baby.
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
most of the time
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
turkey. duh!
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
Lots! Just kidding. No biological kids, but tons of kids I care very deeply about!
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Yes, I would be the most fun friend I have! haha, just joking.
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
All the time...I didn't used to, but I married Mr. Sarcastic himself! haha
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
nope. I got them out when I was 19 after an entire year of tonsilitis!
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
I think so! I would probably gear up and then someone would have to push me.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
I am not a big cereal fan, but I guess Frosted Flakes (with 30% less sugar!)
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
yep! And my tennis shoes last me YEARS!!!
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
Yeah, until I have been sick for a long time and then I start feeling sorry for myself.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla. Nothing can touch it!
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?the way they smell. haha, just kidding, but I do notice that. I think probably their eyes or smile.
15. RED OR PINK?DUH!!!!!!! pink!
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?umm...that's akward to answer.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?my Grandfathers
18. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
blue cotton sweatshorts and black flip flops
19. WHERE IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE TO READ?
the couch
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
texas toast
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
chatter of people at school...annoying
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Fuschia
23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
Zac's cologne, chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven, and my favorite is the way Molly smells when she wakes up from a nap. (especially her ears!)
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
either Zac or my sister. I can't remember
25. WHAT IS YOUR DREAM DESTINATION?
Espana! (Spain!)
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Cheerleading...because it IS a sport! Just ask my cousin Matt! (I also like gymnastics, and baseball)
27. HAIR COLOR?
naturally, brown but it appears blonde, hah
28. EYE COLOR?
blue
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
yeppers...I'm practically blind!30. FAVORITE FOOD?pizza, chocolate, cheese enchiladas
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
always happy endings. i hate scary movies!
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Let's say The Dark Knight, because I am embarressed at what I saw more recently.
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
white, what are you wearing?
34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
always summer. i hate the winter. hate it!
35. HUGS OR KISSES?
hugs. only kisses from a few certain people (mom, dad, zac, molly, madeline, ellie, etc)
36. FAVORITE DESSERT?
hot chocolate chip cookies :) Yum...I might have to go home and make some!
37. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
literally "now"? a boring text book. In general...Take Back Your Family by Rev Run
38. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T. V. LAST NIGHT?
this will get me made fun of...the Teen Choice Awards
39. FAVORITE SOUND?
music I like, Molly snoring, kids laughing
40. LEAST FAVORITE SOUND?
oh, I can not be in the same room as someone brushing their teeth or filing their nails...makes my tummy flip! (just thinking about it right now is giving my back goosebumps!)
41. BRITNEY OR CHRISTINA?
doy...Britney.
42. SURVIVOR OR BIG BROTHER?
Big Brother. I swore I would never watch it, but I am on my second season of being addicted and we love it!43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Beatles!
44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
I guess when I was in the Candian Rockies. That will change next summer though! :)
45.. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
If I told, it wouldn'e be a secret, now would it? Just kidding. That is my lame way of covering up the fact that I don't really have one. (I can pop my hip out of socket, does that count?)

blah...

I have brochitis. I think being sick in the summer is the absolute worst! When you have a fever AND its a billion degrees outside...that is the worst! This week I have finals and some big projects due, so the timing is not great. The good news: after this week I have a few weeks off before I start the fall semester! Yay! It is a MUCH needed break! That is about all I have for today. I just wanna curl up in a ball and fall asleep and not wake up until I feel better and this week is over! Wah-wah-wah, right? Haha!

Update-2 projects down, 2 finals to go. woohoo!