Julia's thoughts, opinions, stories, and more...

2011 wrap-up

2012-01-01T18:51:00.000-06:00

It's obvious that I was not a very good blogger last year. (except for about a month in the summer) For my records (and your entertainment, lol) here are the highlight of 2011...

January
Welcomed a new family member...Ada!
attended a Girl Talk concert with Eli and Ryan
February
-We were off of school February 1st through 4th due to snow and ice! It was such a great week!
-judged my first UIL competition (music memory)
-Stacy's annual Wine Night, we wore old bridesmaid dresses...too fun!
-Saw Robyn and Natalia Kills in concert with Eli and Rye
March
-Went to New Orleans for Spring Break with Zac and my mom. "It's the NOLA baby!"
-Liz and her family came to visit
-Started "Biggest Loser" at work...a weight loss competition.
April
-Went to Katy to see the Bartletts
-Took a trip to Oklahoma with the Enrights
-Lots of fun community trips with my class (we always leave the building on TAKS test days)
May
-Madeline's 5th birthday party in Katy
-I WON Biggest Loser at work! :)
-10 year high school reunion (lost that weight just in time, huh?)
-Welcomed a new nephew Ezra on the 29th...and we got to keep Eliza while they went to the hospital! It was such great luck that he was born the weekend we were in town! :)
-28th birthday (womp, womp)
June
-several friends weddings
-taught summer school for the first time (8th grade English...4 out of my 6 students passed the TAKS at the end of the summer, after failing it the first two times...that is great!)
-went to cheer camp with one of my students at Great Wolf Lodge. It was a blast!
-Hardwick family reunion...my favorite weekend of the year! :)
July
-went to Austin for July 4th
-Rangers game with the Enrights
-7th anniversary (went to Taste of Dallas)
-got to keep Madeline and Owen for a week...SO much fun!
-went to Austin to be with a new friend who had the same surgery I did. We are CFFF's (colon-free friends forever!)
-Zac's cousin Alexa's wedding in Oklahoma
August
-went to Katy for a wedding
-spent a day with Amy and Sam in McKinney
-started back to school
-Ranger game with JT
-Best friend Stacy found true love :)
September
-McMurry vs UTSA game in San Antonio. We stayed on the riverwalk with my parents and JT and had tons of fun!
-lots of family birthday
-just getting into the swing of the new school year
October
-Taylor Swift concert with Eli
-went to a UT football game with my dad and my CFFF
-Oldham's came for a visit
November
-went to Austin for a fun weekend
-went to Chicago over Thanksgiving break
-spent Thanksgiving with the Oldhams in Burnet
-watched McMurry in the football playoffs
December
-Molly turned NINE
-Zac ran a half marathon
-BFF Ramsi was baptized
-Girl's night Christmas party in Dallas
-went to Austin (&Burnet) for Christmas
-celebrated New Years in McKinney with the Enrights and Falcos

And that brings us to today. The first day of 2012! Happy New Year! :)

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

2011-09-28T06:02:00.001-05:00

I feel so blessed to have such an amazing husband. Co-workers and friends will say "he buys you the best gifts" or "he's so thoughtful...always sending you flowers," and I love this about him, I do. But even moreso, I adore the simple things he does. The moments that not just anyone would appreciate, but I cherish. For example, we were on a roadtrip with his best friend recently, and from the back seat, I told him I needed to use the restroom. A few minutes later, I heard JT say "there's a gas station, exit here," to which Zac replied "nah, that one doesn't look very clean. I bet there is a better one for her at the next exit." How sweet is that?
A few weeks ago, I was in the hospital. It was a little bit scary, just because we didn't know what was wrong with me. What made it harder, was that all of my family and doctors, who knew me, my medical history, and how to treat me, were three hours away. Lucky for Zac, he hasn't had a lot of experience with sick people, hospitals, or doctors. I was probably the epitome of high maintenance that night, asking him to text family, hand me chap stick, call the nurses, etc. At one point I started crying. Not because of the pain, or because I was scared, but because I felt guilty that he was having to take care of me, and that I was putting him through this. (When I was sick as a kid and my parents took care of me, it just felt natural, like it was part of their duty. It's different with a spouse.) I sobbed and told him he shouldn't be having to take care of me. That I was sorry that my body doesn't work right. That I felt bad he was three hours past his bedtime, and we weren't leaving anytime soon. I just hated that he was forced to have to play this role that no one ever wants to have to do. I truly just felt so guilty that my health problems, were now his problems too. His response to me (when I finally quit blabbering on and on) has been playing through my head since he said it, perhaps because it was so kind and genuine. He softly said "Jules, I knew what I was getting into when I proposed. I was well aware you had health problems when I chose to marry you. I love you JUST the way you are...issues and all." and I could tell he meant it. That's all I needed to hear, and I calmed down. I didn't cry the rest of the night.
Recently we were eating out, and I made some tacky comments about a man sitting at a nearby table. To give you an idea, he was missing teeth, and had a long greasy mullet, but that's not important. What's important, is that when I made the "funny" comments, Zac just looked at me. He didn't smile, he didn't laugh, he just gently said "That's not you Jules. You're not like that. Why are you making fun of that man you know nothing about?" And suddenly I felt this big. You might be wondering why I would write about this experience as a positive one? I'll tell you. It's because he isn't afraid to challenge me. He put me in my place, and I appreciated it. After being quiet for the next five minutes, I looked at him and thanked him. And I meant it. Because as much as we grow and change with each other, there are aspects of the other person whom we wouldn't want to change, and Zac knows that I don't want to be the person who talks trash about strangers. I wasn't offended by him correcting me. I was embarrassed by my own meanness. But mostly, I was grateful to have a life partner who wouldn't let me act in a way I'd regret.
I really do feel so blessed to have him as MINE. I love him for more than the flowers he sends me...I'm proud of the man he is, the way he treats people, his work ethic, his love for Molly and our nieces and nephews, the way he talks to my grandmothers, the fact he notices when I buy new eye shadow, the subtle acts he never asks praise for (washing my car, cleaning the house, cooking dinner), and a hundred other things. But most of all, I love the way he makes me feel. That I'm special, and that I really am good enough to deserve all the kindness he bestows upon me. I always wanted to be a princess, but he truly makes me feel like one. :) Thank you Zac. Happy birthday.

*Title borrowed from this poem, by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

Texas Country Weekend

2011-08-01T16:20:00.000-05:00

I just found this post in my queue. I wrote it out, then planned on adding pics, so I never posted it. The pics are on FB, and I think everyone who reads my blog is also my friend on facebook, so I thought I'd go ahead and just post it. :) Even though it's a bit old, enjoy the weekend recap...

This weekend we went to visit Zac's best friend JT, whom I also happen to consider a great friend. He comes to see us all the time, and we'd never been out to see him, so it was time to pack up and go! J lives in Graham, but a few hours after we arrived on Friday, we left for Wichita Falls. We went to Target and Academy, so J could get some things (and what do you know...I ended up buying stuff at both stores too! ha!), then we met a college friend for dinner. Guy is married to a Kara, who is so sweet and pretty. I really enjoyed meeting her, and their precious 4-month old son, Easton. After dinner, we wasted some time at a bookstore (infested with teen couples who could not keep their hands off of each other...ew), then went to The Iron Horse Pub, to see JT's little brother and his band Brazos Stone. Zac has seen them perform, but I'd only seen Brady (J's brother, the lead singer) and Bridget, the fiddle player, do an acoustic set for a radio station here in the metroplex. Zac had told me that Brady had a lot of showmanship, and he was so right! I would not normally consider myself a fan of Texas Country, but I absolutely loved the show! They have a big following out west, and up north, but are breaking into the metroplex scene too (they had a show in Fort Worth on Sunday), so hopefully we will get to see Brazos Stone again soon!
Saturday morning we woke up and decided not to go to the lake. JT was cut by the blade on the boat motor the Saturday before. It cut his shin to the bone, and he had to get 8 stitches. Anyways,when we arrived Friday, I could tell it was infected. So Saturday morning we took him to the Graham hospital to get it taken care of. They put him on two different antibiotics, and suggested not swimming in the lake. No biggie. Zac and I hadn't seen J's mom in a long time, so we decided to head to Throckmorton, J's hometown. After visiting with the family for awhile, we went to his aunt's home to swim in her nice pool. Molly especially loved it! That night we drove back to Graham and ate out for dinner. We were pretty tired that evening, so we just stayed home and watched the movie Salt. It's fun to have old friends where you are able to have a quiet night in, and not worry about dressing up and hitting the town. It was a wonderful weekend! Thanks for your hospitality J! We are BOTH lucky to have such a great friend in you! :)

And just for fun, when we got home, I calculated all the driving we did over the weekend, and according to google maps, it was 432 miles, and 8.5 hours.

my summer must-haves, part 2...

2011-07-25T12:20:00.000-05:00

Mary Kay liquid lip color. I don't wear lipstick because I don't like the way it feels on my lips. "lipstains" or permanent lipstick dry my lips out. This MK liquid lip color is light and has a slight taste, like lip gloss, but the color stays on and looks nice. Feels great.

My mom had this Neutrogena lip shimmer, so I had to try it. It feels soooo good, and tastes yummy too. It's "cooling" so it has a bit of mint or something tingly, with just a hint of peach. It looks really pretty and shiny, and this color Glisten is the color she has, that I plan on buying, and it's clear with just a hint of goldish peachy pink.

I have always LOVED these Starbucks Mocha Frappuccinos. I have never had a drink from an actual Starbucks store I like, because they are all too coffee-ish for me. I like a hint of coffee, but not a strong overpowering taste of coffee. These bottled drinks are the perfect taste to me, and now they come in 100 calroies! It's the BEST! Doesn't haveto feel like such a splurge, when it's only 100 calories, and with this summer heat, a super cold frappuccino is so refreshing!

Nothing beats a snow cone in the summer. I have several "go-to" flavors that I love (strawberry&kiwi, grape&peach, chocolate), but lately I've been loving rainbow snowies. Strawberry, pineapple, and blue raspberry...so refreshing, and these three colors make a beautiful rainbow, which is so cheerful. Who can't be happy with a bright, cheerful, tasty rainbow snow cone? What's your favorite flavor?

I am the Luckiest...

2011-07-12T01:13:00.003-05:00

Sunday was our anniversary. It was a good day. Full enough to have no regrets, but relaxing too. The perfect balance. We did something out of our comfort zone, and then ended the day with something delightfully familiar. Again, the perfect balance. Here's a recap of our seventh anniversary:
I woke up to breakfast and a huge beautifully exotic plant. Zac always gets me flowers, but he said this time he wanted to get me something that would last longer than a week. I hope I can keep it alive! Isn't it pretty?

And although we agreed on no gifts, he also got me a fleur-de-lis charm for my charm bracelet, and this dainty and delicate "remembrance ring." I absolutely LOVE it!

I love the way it looks on my finger alone, and I also love that I can get more in the future, with different colored stones, and they'll stack really nicely. Well done, Zac! :)
I told Zac that I'd plan the day for us, since he usually does it. I decided to take us to Taste of Dallas for another "out of our comfort zone" experience. We both had fun, and enjoyed ourselves, were glad we went, but we also had a few realizations throughout the event:
-who in the world plans an OUTDOOR fair, in JULY, in Texas? Seriously? It was so hot, we couldn't even think about eating hot food. Zac said it should be held late October, and I totally agree.
-parking should not cost more than the actual ticket to enter
-this one is probably the funniest, and truest discovery...We have very boring palettes, and aren't big fans of 'fancy' food. "Sushi? No thanks! Lobster? Pass! Thai food? No, that's okay. Afghan food? Nope. Indian cuisine? Thanks anyways." We joked that it is almost a waste for us to attend events revolving around trying new food. I will say we did try a few samples, and we had fun people watching and walking around (the indoor part at least, the outside booths were crazy miserable, due to the 105 degree weather). Like I said, glad we went, but we can cross that one off the list.

It was no 'Hey Cupcake' (and Austin Airstream trailer cupcake company), but Trailercakes offered a "wedding cake" cupcake, which seemed perfect for the occasion. It also came with an ice cold washcloth, which Zac and I were passing back and forth, long after it wasn't cold anymore.
When we left Fair Park, we decided to go visit our friend Bez, at his brand new store. He just opened his second GNC, and this one is in Addison. Since we were already in Dallas, we wanted to drive up and see him and check out the place he owns. Isn't that crazy? And he's opening his third store in July! We are so happy for him, and proud that he's living out his goals...when he talked about owning several stores a year or two ago, I thought it seemed so impossible, but here he is. Anyways, it was great to visit, and luckily for him (although bad for conversation), he was very busy and had customers steadily coming in the whole time we were there. If you need any vitamins, or health stuff, I know your man...

When we got home, we showered and needed a nap. (Welcome back to the comfort zone!) Something about intense sweating, being in the sun, and driving a lot takes it out of you. Not that we need an excuse to nap these days, but it was nice. We woke up and fixed up, then drove to Arlington for our dinner reservations at PF Chang's. YUM! I asked the hostess to take a picture of us for our anniversary (which didn't turn out, since it's sooo dark in that restaurant), and I guess she told the waitress, who comped us a free Great Wall of Chocolate! Oh my...my mouth is watering all over again, just thinking about the rich deliciousness of it! Might be one of my fave desserts! It's definitely top three! :) Chocolate cake, fresh berries, a sweet, but tart raspberry sauce, decadent chocolate frosting, chocolate chips on the end....it's heaven on a plate!

When we walked outside, I asked a random woman to take our picture, and explained it was our anniversary. Zac bought me this dress for my birthday...picked it out completely on his own at my favorite store, it fits perfectly and everything! He's a keeper, I tell you!

When we got home from dinner, we changed into our jammies and the three of us cuddled on the couch for our anniversary tradition. We watched our wedding DVD. We laughed at different moments, shared "remember whens" and reminisced about what an amazing night it was. I want to do it again. Never in your life (besides your wedding and funeral) do you get to ask ALL of your friends and family to come celebrate you, and they actually do it! Well, I mean maybe at your 50th wedding anniversary party, but gah, that's a long time to wait. Birthday parties are fun and special, but no event that I can think of has the MAGIC in the air that a wedding carries. It's love, excitement, future hopes and dreams, celebration, and...well...magic. There's no other word I can think of to describe it better. We had such an amazing wedding and reception, and it wouldn't have been the same without our families and friends there with us. So if you attended that special day, thank you. And thanks to those of you who have supported us, and loved us, as individuals, and as a couple, the last seven years. Zac and I can both admit that it hasn't always been easy. In fact, I think we've already been through a lot, with moves, health problems, job stress, and more, BUT, I think it's only brought us closer, and made us stronger as a team. And the best is yet to come...

I'll end this (sappy, but heartfelt) post with a quote I saw online today..."The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart." - Elisabeth Foley

*The title of this post, is taken from the second song on the playlist, "The Luckiest" by Ben Folds. I think it's a such a sweet and beautiful song, and you can read the lyrics here. :)

Friday

2011-07-08T23:35:00.000-05:00

Last night was a blast. We did end up doing the fun idea I had mentioned previously, and it felt so good to get out of our comfort zone. Zac knew about this band called The O's, and saw they were playing in Dallas. It's just two brothers who play several instruments (banjo, guitar, lowebro, kick drums, harmonicas, and a tambourine) and have fun making some great music. They played at The Common Table, which was a really cute restaurant in Uptown. It was only slightly pretentious and swanky, but we were dressed cute, so we fit right in. :) Haha, I also think that this band is pretty laid back and cool, so that made the crowd fun too. The show didn't start until ten, so Zac and I felt very young and hip and cool for heading to Dallas to go to a late show. (gah, even just admitting that makes me feel ten years older than I am!) We were joking about how we aren't really an old married couple, we just feel like it, then decided on Cotton Patch for dinner. HAHA! Not so hip or romantic, but I love me some wabbit platter (that's the veggie plate), so I really didn't care. We just felt like we were pushing the boundaries for eating at 8 instead of 5:30 or 6! Ha, we really are pathetic. But it was such a fun night. We had drinks and a scrumptious dessert at the show, and had a cute little cozy corner booth. We giggled, talked, cheers'ed, and listened to live music. It was a good night. A fill your cup, kind of night. It's so nice to break your routine every now and then, and makes it even more exciting and special when you do.

1. Do something productive.
Zac cooked lunch for us again today. When I went to put away leftovers, I could not find a matching container and lid. How annoying is that!? It's happened to me a hundred times, but usually it occurs in the evening, when I'm in a rush. Today, I took my frustration and put it to work. Here is the entire cabinet, cleaned out and stacked on the kitchen table. (yes, it was that disorganized and messy inside the cabinet too!)

I matched all the things that had matches, and then recycled what didn't. Somehow, there was about fifteen more tops than there were bottoms. I also recycled some of the older or crummier containers.

Ta-da!!! This is what it looks like back in the cabinet. All nice and neat, and easy to find the perfect sized container for the occasion. :)

Soon after finishing the tupperware project, our doorbell rang. Another A/C company to look at our unit and house and give us a quote on a new one. Two hours later, I made the conclusion that a/c salesmen LOVE to chat. The man today (as well as the last man, who came in June) stayed hours, told stories, and explained the science of air conditioning in detail. We really liked the man today, the way he was so thorough, and the way he bragged about what great care he was going to take of us. He comes out a week after install, and then again four weeks after install, just to check on everything and make sure we are satisfied, and it's running properly. Then he comes out again at the beginning of winter to make sure the heat pump side of the HVAC is functioning efficiently too. As much as we DREADED spending so much money on AIR...we pulled the trigger. We have 12 months with no interest, so at least we can pay it off over time. Man, we hope to move in a year or so, and it really does stink though, having to spend money on something you can't take with you. At least a new dining room table or dresser could go with us. A fancy trip would give us beautiful pictures and everlasting priceless memories. But an A/C? You need it, but it sure isn't a fun way to blow 6 thousand bucks. Which, for the record, is more than we spent on our trips to Spain, New Orleans, and San Francisco combined! Ugh...I hate to think of it that way. But whatever. We needed it, and we'd need it to sell the house eventually anyways.

2. Do something healthy, or for others.

Hmm...oh wow. That's bad. I guess I didn't really do anything healthy or helpful today. Yikes. Oops! I'll have to double up tomorrow! I'm ashamed.

3. Do something selfish.

Maybe I was lacking in category #2 because I was so busy with this category. I took a nap today. We saw a movie, and I ate some popcorn and skittles. We saw Horrible Bosses, and I thought it was very funny. I can't help but mention one of my hugest pet peeves though...I absolutely can't stand, get so upset, hate, when people bring little kids to R rated movies. Especially if they are old enough to understand and remember scenes from the film. This has always bugged me, and it affects me to the point that I don't enjoy the movie as much, because I'm so worried about the six year old down the aisle seeing violence, sex, and hearing language that even shocks me! Sigh...let it go Jules. But seriously people!? Okay, I'm done. I've been getting on a lot of soap boxes lately, huh? I should have a warning for my blog, like SBOTD (soap box of the day), so you'll know I'm about to go off. Oh well. Moving on...Zac and I also watched the documentary Waiting for Superman today. It's fascinating, but super depressing too. Our American education system is a big mess, and it's crazy to me that we are taking even more money away from a system that's already failing as is. Ugh...I can feel another SBOTD coming on. Anyways, after the movie we went to Buffalo Wild Wings (Zac's choice, obviously!) to celebrate/mourn the new "purchase." Welp, time for bed! More exciting plans tomorrow night!

***I'm so pumped to learn that a book I really enjoyed has been made into a movie! I can't wait to see Freakonomics: The Movie! Click on the title to watch the trailer. If you read the book, you can imagine how interesting the movie will be!

Summer Blogging, doubled up

2011-07-07T17:47:00.002-05:00

Wednesday, July 6th
1. Do something productive.
Cleaned out the fridge, threw away some old candles, rearranged an overly-decorated window sill above our master bathtub, took out trash and recycle, laundry, worked on a special project (soon to be revealed on this very blog!),
2. Do something healthy, or for others.
I had a great workout at the gym. Not having to leave in time to get ready for school or summer school, I was able to take my time and really push myself. My back and arms are sore today, but it feels good, because it means I worked them hard.
3. Do something selfish.
I had lunch with a friend from work. She was also a first year teacher this year, and we didn't get to see each other much, but when we did, we always had lots to talk about and laughed tons! It was a great lunch, and when Zac texted me two and a half hours after we met, asking if I was okay, I was shocked that much time had already passed. I hope to continue to get to know her and build our friendship. :) I took a long sweaty nap. We also rented a movie last night, called Conviction, about a woman who becomes a lawyer, just to free her innocent brother from life in prison. It has Hilary Swank and Minnie Driver, and it's based on a true story. The brother in jail was also a prisoner in The Green Mile, and Sandy Cohen from The O.C. plays an attorney in the film, so Zac and I were joking that they only cast people in roles they'd already seen them in. Probably not funny to anyone else, but Zac and I had a hoot with it. Haha. The film was a little slow and long, but worth watching. If you're curious, you can view the trailer here. It was sort of strange to watch a film all about a guilty conviction in the midst of all this Casey Anthony mess.

Thursday, July 7th
1. Do something productive.
Zac cooked lunch and I washed dishes and loaded/ran dishwasher, visited a friend in the hospital (who might have Crohns, which of course is near and dear to my heart, so please pray for him! The colonoscopy is tomorrow), worked on a special video project
2. Do something healthy, or for others.
I went to the doc for a B-12 shot. If you want to know that benefits of B-12, see the bottom of this post. I have been taking the sub-lingual (under the tongue) lozenges for months, but recently read that they still aren't as good as getting an injection, and I totally don't mind shots, so it seemed appropriate. I haven't been feeling too hot lately, so maybe this (and a few other changes I'm making) will help.
We took some magazines to our friends in the hospital, so I guess that would be doing something for others? I always feel like I'm bragging when I list something I did for someone else, and it seems to discount the action, but that's not my intention at all. I hope you know that. I just list it to hold myself accountable.
3. Do something selfish.
After visiting our friend, I forced poor Zac to go shopping with me (although I didn't buy one thing, and we were really only in the store for about 15 minutes). Afterwords we went to Baskin-Robbins, and I got my favorite coffee drink of all time...the Mocha Cappucino Blast. YUM! Z got a double scoop of cookie dough ice cream, and smiled the whole time he ate it. :)
The day isn't over yet, so who knows what else I might (or might not) accomplish today, but I wanted to go ahead and post this, since we might have fun plans tonight. I'll let you know! Also, a new season of Big Brother starts tonight. Woohoo!

The top 5 health benefits of vitamin B 12 are:

It is needed to convert carbohydrates into glucose in the body, thus leading to energy production and a decrease in fatigue and lethargy in the body.

It helps in healthy regulation of the nervous system, reducing depression, stress, and brain shrinkage.

It helps maintain a healthy digestive system. Vitamin B12 also protects against heart disease by curbing and improving unhealthy cholesterol levels, protecting against stroke, and high blood pressure.

It is essential for healthy skin, hair, and nails. It helps in cell reproduction and constant renewal of the skin.

Vitamin B 12 helps protect against cancers including breast, colon, lung, and prostrate cancer.

This info is just from one site (different sites list various "top reasons" to take it), but if you are interested, or think it could help you, you should definitely research it. I read on a government website (after already receiving the shot) that people who've had gastrointestinal disorders or surgeries are especially good candidates for the shots, since we aren't able to absorb as much. Cool, huh. Every site also said that vegans should consider taking some form of B12, since it's usually absorbed in meats and milk products. Okay, I'm off my soapbox-of-the-day now, and done being a pusher. :)
And yes, as a matter of fact, that was three posts in one day. Make sure you didn't miss any of them. I'm making up for being out of town over the weekend! You're welcome.

Old dog, new tricks?

2011-07-07T17:01:00.000-05:00

Wow, just...wow! Watch the video, before reading below.

Wasn't that impressive!? Sidenote: I think it's a little unoriginal to name a Boston terrier "Boston," but hey, they make up for it by the cool trick! I wish Molly could do that. But I also wish she could skateboard. (Check out these Parisian BT's getting busy!)

I have a toypedo. (the name of that dive stick)
I have a Boston Terrier who loves water.
All I need is a pool that allows dogs, and a few days to practice!
Who says you can't teach on old dog new tricks!?

my summer must-haves...

2011-07-06T23:06:00.003-05:00

I love a good product recommendation from a friend. It's comforting when trying something new, to know that someone you like and respect approves the product. Anyways, here are a few things that I've been really loving lately, in case you wanted to know...
Maybelline Collossal Volum Express mascara. Nothing compares! I have tried several other types and brands (including pricey department store brands) and I keep going back to this. It feels light, doesn't dry hard or crispy, doesn't smudge or come off throughout the day BUT comes off fairly easily with remover (as opposed to others that I've had to scrub and scrub to get off), the brush is big and soft and spreads it on perfectly, and best of all, and the most unique thing about it...it SMELLS good! I know right...I've never heard of scented mascara, and they don't advertise that it has an aroma, but I swear it has a rose scented fragrance. Lovely.

Bali Mango everything from Bath & Body Works...my favorite smell this summer! I only have the shower gel and lotion, but I'm thinking about buying the lip gloss and body splash. It's so yummy!

Taco Bell Limeade sparklers! I used to love a good Sonic cherry limeade, but that was like, so totally two years ago! Taco Bell has the most refreshing and tasty limeades that I've ever experienced! Try one...you'll thank me! But be sure to mix it with the straw before you take a sip. They intentionally leave it separated (not sure why!?), so you need to give it a good swirl before you drink it.

Nike shorts! Oh my gosh, am I in love! I know I'm late for the bandwagon, because they've been out for awhile now, but I finally just bought my first pair. Then two days later, I bought my second pair. After two weeks of wearing them non-stop, I bought my third pair. They are sooo comfortable! I don't usually wear short shorts, but these are flattering for some reason, and cool, and comfy, and have I mentioned that I love them!? I had black with pink, and black with blue, but I just got wild a bought some purple ones, with pink mesh on the sides, and blue piping. Crazy colorful! Who knew a simple pair of shorts could make a girl so happy!?

Some honorable mentions: Burt's Bees Chapstick, Smart Water, and the entire Francesca's store! :)

Hope you enjoyed my list! And if you buy any of the products, I hope you like them too. Let me know!!! What are your summer must haves? I'd love to hear!

Who run the world? Girls!

2011-07-01T00:05:00.003-05:00

Also known as Summer Blogging, Day 4. It's a long one, with links, pics, video, and more. I will be out of town all weekend, so probably won't be able to blog again until Sunday or Monday. Here I go...
1. Do something productive.
This morning I tried to sleep late to celebrate my first day of summer, but I woke up at 8:15 and couldn't fall back to sleep. That is several hours later than I have been waking up though, so that's good. I went to my campus and turned in my summer school grades, attendance, and time sheet. Tonight after dinner I emptied the dishwasher. This afternoon I cleaned out my car. It needed it. Badly. Every single item in this bucket came out of the front passenger seat floor of my car. I know, pathetic huh?

2. Do something healthy, or for others.
I had Panera Bread for lunch! That's healthy right? They have the best Greek salad in the universe! But my fave part is the Kalamata olives and they left them off today. Boo. Oh, and when I was cleaning out my car, I found a tennis ball, so I played with Molser outside for awhile. I also took her for a walk tonight. Not long enough to be considered exercise for myself, but she was panting, and I know she enjoyed it. Here are some pics from our tennis ball time. They are taken with the Hisptamatic app on my phone (where you can change out different lenses and film types), and then put together with Diptic. This one is new to me, but I love it, and it's so easy. And if you are like me, and you have a hard time deciding between lots of pics, but you don't want to post too many, it's nice to have a single collage, that includes all of your faves. I highly recommend it!

3. Do something selfish.
The best thing I did today was drive to Cedar Hill to buy something I've been looking forward to for quite some time...Beyonce's new album, FOUR. I haven't gone to the store and actually bought a CD in years. Seriously, years. I buy everything on iTunes now, but I wanted the "deluxe edition" with 6 extra songs, and the one and only place it was being sold was Target. (I guess they had some sort of arrangement.) Seeing this special stand was an adrenaline rush.

B is one of my all-time favorite artists. If I could be only one singer, it would definitely be Beyonce. Alter-ego (Sasha Fierce) included!I'm still getting to know the album, but I like it a lot so far. A few ballads, and few dance/pop songs, and some new sounds as well. I will probably dedicate an entire future post solely to music, so I won't get too carried away, but I do want to show you this video I came across today. These cute girls are covering B's new single Run The World, acapella, and it's soo impressive!

For the real song, and amazingly crazy but beautiful video, click here.
I watched quite a bit of the Casey Anthony trial today, but I wasn't quite as hooked (fortunately). It was on most of the day (when I was home) but it was come and go, and I was doing other things while watching, so that's not as bad, right!? Let me just say that I really wanted Casey to testify, but it didn't shock me at all that she chose not to.
Ramsi texted me this afternoon (as we were both laying down for naps...great minds think alike!) and we set up a reunion dinner. I hadn't seen her in a few weeks, and she just got back from a ten day trip to Jersey. It was so great to catch up. Felt like the good ole days again. :) And you can't ever go wrong with Texas Roadhouse! (Oh, and this would go under the 'healthy' category, but I always get a loaded baked potato there, and I got steamed broccoli instead.)

Starting tomorrow, we will be enjoying a weekend at the lake with this girl, who loves to swim, but is insulted when put in a lifejacket, or "Fido Float." She is a great swimmer, but if we take her out in the boat, to the middle of the lake, it's nice to have a little extra peace of mind. Look at that face...can't you tell she's thrilled!? Lol!

I did give her 3 ounces of steak and take her for a walk immediately after making her pose for pics while I laughed at her awkwardness.

PS-Miley Cyrus just seemed appropriate tonight. Maybe it's because it's almost July 4th, which really IS "a party in the USA," or maybe it's because in the video it's summer, and she dances in front of an enormous American flag, so it just makes me think it's a patriotic song, or maybe it's just because I love it. And who needs an excuse or reason to play a song you love?

Summer Blogging, Day 3

2011-06-30T10:28:00.002-05:00

Okay, so we already discussed how today was my last day of summer school. It is exciting, but it's kind of sad too, because it means the summer is about halfway over. With trainings and inservice before school starts, August is pretty much filled with school stuff, so July is really all that is left. I'm going to try not to focus on that though.
Wednesday, June 29th
1. Do something productive.
Hmm...it's not good when you have to rack your brain to come up with something! I guess today the only thing I did productive was give the TAKS test. It wasn't hard, and maybe it's because I only had four kids, but several times I thought to myself "why do so many teachers complain about this!?"
2. Do something healthy, or for others.
Well, I woke up early to go to the gym. I got there at 5:30, and three people were waiting by the door. I thought maybe they'd forgotten their key fobs, but turns out the fob reader pad was not working. One of the guys wanting to get in called the owner to come open it for us. But it took about 15-20 minutes for the guy to get there, and there were at least 10-15 people waiting by that time. It was kind of annoying. I was thinking that I could have slept later, but once I got inside I got to work. I did a little bit of cardio and 3sets of five different leg exercises with weights. My legs are sore from my workout Monday, so I thought I might as well work them again. I didn't do any arms because they were still sore from the rope swing at the family reunion, yoga, and cutting that darn bush-tree thing. In fact, they were shaking a little off and on this morning! Weird.

3. Do something selfish.
Okay, so most of the day was selfish. I got home from summer school around 12:30 and sat on the couch until about 4:30. No lie. I accidentally (and I'm using that word the way a three year old does after they intentionally hit a friend) turned on the stupid Casey Anthony trial and COULD. NOT. ESCAPE it! I got so hooked. I kept telling myself not to watch it and sensationalize the case, but I seriously couldn't pull myself away from it. I would tell myself 'okay, it's 2:30, you must turn it off at 2:45, no matter what is happening.' Then I wouldn't look at the time again until 3, so I'd say 'okay, at 3:30 I need to turn it off and go lie down for a nap' then keep watching anyways. I didn't turn it off until Zac got home around 4:30. But to be perfectly honest, it was because the judge recessed for the day. That made it a little easier to turn off, haha. While watching it though, I found myself in awe and admiration for the attourneys. I hated the defense, because I guess I want her to be found guilty, but I think I also hated him because he was so darn good. Both he and the female prosecutor are just so sharp and quick. I think I would be insecure to shout objection and be able to think on my feet so fast, but they are great. Casey baffles me. Don't ask why I got sucked in. I need to just avoid it altogether, because I could see myself hooked and useless, sitting on the couch all day long tomorrow, following the trial again. I don't need to do that. Anyways, sorry for that long rambling. When Zac left to go workout, I laid down for a nap. Then two of our friends came over at 6:30 and we headed to Arlington for Trivia Night at Pluckers. This is me and Zac's third Wednesday to go in the past five weeks, and we really enjoy it. We went alone the first time, took one couple the second time, and a different couple this time. They loved it, and want to go again. There are 6 rounds of ten questions, with the topics being sports, music, television, technology/mixed subjects, movies, and 90's trivia. It was a fun night! :)

School's (really) Out For Summer!

2011-06-29T13:18:00.002-05:00

Yay! Today I finished teaching my first summer school! I did 8th grade reading, and LOVED the change. The kids I taught had either failed English/Language Arts for the school year, or failed both of the TAKS reading tests. So, you could say I had a challenge on my hands, but I really liked it. The kids took their third (and final) administration of the TAKS today. I hope they did well. Results won't be available until after July 15th.I only had nine students (six of which I had two hours a day, and three whom I taught four hours a day), so I got to REALLY work with them and build a relationship with each of them. The circumstances for summer school are actually teacher's dream...four hours a day, only four days a week, small classes, positive relationships, laid back atmosphere...too bad it isn't like this all year long! :)

I know that school (techinically) got out the first week of June, but since I had summer school, it didn't really feel that different to me. I still had to wake up early, tried to go to bed at a reasonable hour, and couldn't really leave town. Not my typical summer freedom. But today when I left the building (even though I enjoyed teaching this summer) I had the most joyful, weight-has-been-lifted, giddy feeling. I thought the Alice Cooper song "Schools Out For Summer" should have been blasting from the sky. Instead, I just added it to my playlist and listened to it three times in a row when I got home.

Today when the kids finished the TAKS, we had time to talk before they had to leave. They got on the subject of music, and one of the kids said her favorite artist was 'Prince Royce.' When I said "WHO!?" with a puzzled look on my face, one of the other kids said "miss, you don't know him? He's like the latin Justin Bieber! All the girls love him!" So, of course when I got home I had to look up the latin Justin Bieber. And being the considerate person I am, I thought I'd share this new discovery with you, just so you never feel stupid that you don't know who a huge singing sensation is. LOL! Here ya go, my friends...

*To turn off the music already playing, just scroll down to the bottom and find my playlist and hit pause. I'm liking the playlist thing. I've already thought of a few songs I want to use in the coming days. It's fun to let a song define your day. At least, it's fun to me, and it's my blog, so there.

Summer Blogging, Day 2

2011-06-28T22:24:00.000-05:00

1. Do something productive.
Let's see...summer school, cleaned the bathroom, trimmed a half tree-half bush in our front yard (hard work...my arms were shaking afterwords), loaded and ran the dishwasher, and moved clothes from the washer to the dryer.
2. Do something healthy, or for others.
I downloaded the Pocket Yoga app for my iPhone, after doing it with my cousin Robin at our family reunion. I love that you can do it whenever you want, in the comfort of your own home, and $3 is way better than buying a DVD and having to worry about putting it in and all that. Anyways, while Zac was cooking us pesto pizza for dinner, I did some living room yoga, while Frank Sinatra sang to us. It's still pretty warm in the house (if the thermostat is on 78, it's actually 82 or so in the house), and with the yoga and all, it felt very summery.
We also took Molly to our favorite park in Hatchie for a long walk. Zac ran four miles, and Molly and I took a nice walk. Molser sniffed everything in sight, and jumped at the sounds of the insects and frogs in the bushes. Silly city dog. She get it from her Mama. I screamed when a frog (that I thought was a leaf) jumped across my path today. Not because I'm scared of frogs, it just startled me, because I wasn't expecting it.
3. Do something selfish. (or just because it makes me happy)
I took a very long, nice nap today. I got a snow cone this evening. I had lunch with a friend, and made plans for tomorrow night. I'll have to tell you all about that in tomorrows post.

PS-I'm working on a post about our family reunion.
PS#2-Zac SPAZZES (the heck) out when he hears Cruel Summer. Every since I put it up yesterday, he's been singing it and getting so pumped each time he hears it. It's pretty priceless. LOL!

Summer Blogging

2011-06-27T21:51:00.000-05:00

So, the month of June has COME AND GONE! Like, speedy quick.***

I have two more days of summer school, and then I get to start a real summer. No alarm clock (if I don't want) and no obligations. Just me deciding how I want to spend my time. Except...I'm not good at that. If I don't MAKE myself do something, I am completely content sleeping/reading/surfing the day away. So I decided that I have to do three things every single day, and blog each evening (or the next morning, because let's not be too strict, it is summer, after-all) about each of the categories. Here they are:
1. Do something productive.
2. Do something healthy, or for others.
3. Do something selfish.

Today my list would be something like this...
1. Productive: I taught summer school, and did a load of laundry. And returned to my blog after a month hiatus. That can count as productivity, right!?
2. Healthy/Others: I got up early to hit the gym, and had an awesome hour long workout. I also went to give blood. I am O-negative, so they need me a lot. (universal donor, ya know) Turns out I was too anemic (which happened to me last time I went in May...boo!) so I wasn't able to give, but I really wanted to, and I think that can count as trying to do something good for others.
3. Selfish: I took a nap. I also went to Barnes and Noble tonight and spent a gift card that my sweet in-laws got me for my birthday. I bought three magazines, since TAKS testing and a relaxing weekend at the lake are coming this week. I also got a book which I'm really looking forward to reading. I think it could qualify as a selfish entry OR a healthy activity. I think mental health and wellness is just as important as physical health!

***Speedy quick is a 'Junie B. Jones' reference, and I highly recommend Junie books to any and all parents. Kids love them, and there are a lot of social issues (she's quite the mischievous little girl) that create some awesome conversation and teachable moments.

weight issues...

2011-05-10T21:30:00.001-05:00

Note: This is horribly written. I just re-read it, and it sounds rushed and messy, but I don't feel like changing it. You'll get the point. Probably even learn more than you even care about. LOL!

I feel like I always get geared up about losing weight and exercising and then a week later, I'm burned out and back to my old habits. I finally broke the cycle. Woohoo! I know it's a combination of things that finally inspired me to get serious about getting healthy. For one, my ten year high school reunion is at the end of May, and I didn't want to be THAT person, who looks so different than they did ten years ago. I reached an all-time high weight, and it was very depressing. I had a very unhealthy relationship with food, and I was well aware of it. Lastly, and maybe most importantly, I have the chance to win $550, IF I lose the most percentage at my work. Sounds silly, but it's nice incentive! And since we have flight rewards for free flights, we decided that if I won we would go to NYC for a long weekend over the summer. How fun is that!? It's definitely made it a lot easier to be disciplined, thinking about a trip to The Big Apple!
Anyways, I quit drinking sodas (I still sip Zac's occasionally, and I've gotten a small one at the movies a few times, but I used to drink 1-2 a day!), I started drinking lots of water, I started eating LOTS of fruits and veggies, and together, we quit eating out at night, which shameful enough, we were doing almost EVERY...SINGLE...NIGHT! I started working out, and one day I quit "forcing" myself to go, and hating being at the gym. Now I love going. I wake up every morning at 4:45 and I'm in the gym from 5-6. Many nights I go back in the evening to just do cardio and watch tv. I'm so proud of myself, and my self esteem is so much better, which makes self control on eating way better too. I still allow myself to have a cheat day, and occasional treats, but overall, I'm ten times a better eater than I was.
The best part...I'm seeing results! I've lost 7% of my body weight since spring break (about 8 weeks ago), and over ten pounds. People I work with are saying I look smaller and more toned, and I FEEL BETTER! I'm not so sloth like. I know I could take it even further, and get even better results, and probably feel ever better (by giving up high fructose corn syrup, sugar, some starches, etc), but I'm happy with the way things are going for now. I have been careful not to deprive myself, because I don't ever want to resent this new lifestyle. Lifestyle...how cool to say that! Because, I'm not just on some yo-yo diet...I have truly changed my habits, and preferences, and lifestyle! :)
Sorry this post was so much about ME ME ME, and my weight, which is not even a fun issue in the first place, but I wanted to post for myself, as a journal. I used to go to bed at night disgusted with the way I'd eaten that day, and it's so nice to go to bed proud that I was a sensible and healthy eater, plus I worked out. Sigh...it's a new me, and I like it. Now...I just hope I keep it up, and WIN THAT MONEY! The final weigh in is the Thursday before Labor day, and the winner will be announced on that Friday. Wish me luck! :)

Therapy

2011-03-08T22:25:00.001-06:00

Today, towards the end of the day, I was working away in my room, when our physical therapist and occupational therapist came in to work one-on-one with some of my students. The kids were in electives, so I was just writing out documentation forms (for TAKS-alt...my enemy) at my horseshoe table. At one point I looked up, and the physical therapist was playing catch with one of my girls. My student (who is usually in a wheelchair or walker) was on her hands and knees, shaking and sweating, BUSTING HER TAIL to stay up, keep eye contact, catch the ball, throw it back, and oh yeah, trying to remember to breathe the whole time too. I can't explain in words how HARD she was working. Putting in so much effort, trying her very hardest to do what was asked of her. Breathing hard, sweating, the whole bit. I couldn't look away...my eyes were glued to her. I felt a little lump growing in my throat, and told the tears not to come to my eyes, but they did anyways. See, most days, I don't remember my students have "special needs." They are just teenagers, and they need love and to feel accepted, and so on and so forth, but usually that's all I care or think about. But on some occasions, (like today) I hurt for them. My young students have to work SO HARD, just to do things like walk, or swallow. I guarantee that the other 950 healthy kids in my school don't think "wow...I'm so lucky! I can walk!" Because the truth is, we take our health (among other things!) for granted. Even as someone with a history of health issues, who has sworn to never let a good day go by without thanking God, I take health for granted. But that lump in my throat wasn't just about "life's not fair...why does she have to work so hard just to be able to do the simple things the rest of us do without ever thinking twice!?," but also a "wow...my students are rock stars!!" They never cease to AMAZE me..their strength, courage, positive attitudes, and appreciation for life are truly awe-inspiring. Enough to give this grown-up, busy, stressed-out girl a heartache and attitude adjustment. It was needed. I'm grounded again, and a little more appreciative for the things I am able to do.

Funny story-the occupational therapist saw me writing and asked if my hand hurt. "Yeah!" I said..."I've been hand writing all day!" and she added "it doesn't help you hold the pencil completely wrong! You are worse than some of the kids!" She then preceded to come model, and manipulate my fingers in the "correct" position, to which I made a sour face and said "that's not comfortable!" We laughed a lot. It was a nice release. But yeah, turns out I wrap my thumb around my index finger when I hold a pen or pencil, and that's not right. Oh well, I think I'll survive. :)

Free to be me...

2011-03-07T22:38:00.000-06:00

I went to a district-wide talent show Saturday night. It was amazing! There were three divisions (elem, middle and high school) and I was pleasantly surprised by all the talent in our small town! One of the girls sang this song, and it moved me at that moment, and I haven't stopped thinking about it. (I was NOT expecting that lump in the throat feeling!) It's a pretty song, and BEAUTIFUL message! Lyrics posted below, my faves are in bold. Click HERE to listen, because it won't let me embed. Enjoy! :)

At twenty years of age I'm still looking for a dream
A war's already waged for my destiny
But You've already won the battle
And You've got great plans for me
Though I can’t always see

(Chorus)
Cause I got a couple dents in my fender
Got a couple rips in my jeans
Try to fit the pieces together
But perfection is my enemy
On my own I'm so clumsy
But on Your shoulders I can see
I'm free to be me

When I was just a girl I thought I had it figured out
My life would turn out right, and I'd make it here somehow
But things don't always come that easy
And sometimes I would doubt
(Chorus)

And you’re free to be you
Sometimes I believe that I can do anything
Yet other times I think I've got nothing good to bring
But You look at my heart and You tell me
That I've got all You seek
And it’s easy to believe
Even though
(Chorus)

I love shutterfly! :)

2011-02-28T22:04:00.002-06:00

Picture In Portrait 5x7 folded card

Modern greeting cards and party invitations by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Fourth Annual Wine Night

2011-02-15T20:50:00.001-06:00

Saturday night I had a terrific time with friends, food, and fabulous dresses. Okay, they were bridesmaid dresses, so only some of them were fabulous (mine being one of them, thanks to Liz). The event started out the weekend before Thanksgiving, then last year moved to December (Christmas themed...we collected canned goods) and this year it was Valentine's weekend, and we all wore our old bridesmaid dresses. Who says you can't wear them again!? ;) I think I can speak for all of the ladies when I say it was a fun, intimate evening of wine, cheese, music, laughter, and of course...more wine!

Click HERE to see pics of the first and second annual wine nights, and pics/video/recap of the third.

**And just for fun...YES, as a matter of fact that IS Justin Bieber singing. My students are obsessed with him (they call him Justin Beaver! ha), and I have to say I have caught a little Bieber Fever myself! Not that I would pay for any of his music, but I like a JB song here or there. Judge me if you want. :)

Grammy predictions...

2011-02-13T14:17:00.001-06:00

Y'all know I love to watch award shows, and how much I love music, so imagine how AWESOME the Grammys are to me! I posted my predictions last year too, which can be seen here.

To view the complete list of this years Grammy nominees, click here.

Record of the year...Empire State of Mind by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys
Album of the year...Fame Monster by Lady Gaga
Song of the year...Need You Now by Lady Antebellum OR Love The Way You Lie by Rihanna and Eminem
Best new artist...Drake deserves this, but I wouldn't be disappointed if Mumford & Sons won, and wouldn't be surprised if Justin Bieber (or Beaver, as my students say) won.
Best Female Vocal Pop...this is SO hard for me because I love every woman and song nominated. I guess if I MUST pick one, it would be Bad Romance by Gaga.
Best Male Pop...Haven't Met You Yet by Michael Buble, OR Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars. Although my fave of these songs is Whataya Want From Me by Adam Lambert
Best Pop by Duo/Group...Hey Soul Sister by Train or The Only Exception by Paramore
Best Pop Collabo...California Gurls by Katy Perry and Snoop?

Okay, those are the categories I care about the most. Who are you rooting for? Who do you think will win? Which performances are you looking forward to! Leave comments!!!

Bucket List

2011-02-10T22:24:00.000-06:00

I am sure there are many more, and I do plan on adding to this as I go, but here are a few things I hope to accomplish before I die...
TRAVEL
watch a bullfight in Spain CHECK
ride a cable car in San Francisco CHECK
eat a beignet in New Orleans
stand in front of Mona Lisa
stand on a glacier CHECK
stand at the top of a volcano (Hawaii maybe?)
snorkel the Great Barrier Reef
eat Italian food in Italy
have a picnic in Central Park
pet a kangaroo in Australia
kick a soccer ball in Brazil
visit the Greek islands
take a mission trip to Africa

FAMILY
celebrate my 50th wedding anniversary
watch my grandchildren become happy and fulfilled adults
save money successfully, die in a good position financially
make my kids proud
keep in touch with cousins and close friends

PERSONAL
learn to sew
appreciate cooking
be a hospital volunteer
save a life
write a book
earn a masters degree
stand up for something I believe in, even if it makes me uncomfortable
keep an open mind & always try to understand others
learn all the yoga words, and their positions

Can you think of some more for me, that maybe I've mentioned to you before? Leave me a comment and tell me one or two (or several) things you hope to do before you die...

Hopeless Romantic

2011-02-07T21:58:00.001-06:00

Did you know that Valentine's Day is one of my FAVORITE days of the whole year? I'm sure you could guess that I love it, considering it spreads pink and hearts everywhere! The chocolate and flowers help too! I know some people are like "ugh...it's a made up holiday by Hallmark, and blah blah blah" but I totally love it, and always have. Even when I was in high school and didn't have a boyfriend or any reason to "celebrate" Valentines Day, I still loved it. I love what it symbolizes, I love what it stands for. Yeah, you celebrate someone on their birthday, but that's really more about age and getting older and now that I'm getting older I like birthdays quite as much as I used to. (yes, I have age issues) Anniversaries celebrate the years you've been married, or dating, or whatever. But Valentines? This day just celebrates LOVE. Love for a partner, love for family, love for friends, love for the cutest little black and white dog in the whole wide world...it's all about LOVE! How can anyone NOT like that day? So, bare with me for a week, while I'm sappy and mushy and have that "I just found Mr. Right and want the whole world to know it!" attitude that people young and in love and gushy and gooey feel. It's the best feeling, and this holiday does it for me. I stop to think, treasure, cherish, and appreciate the ones I love! Besides, we need some cheer and hope and something dreamy and wistful after all this ugly-nasty-gross-awful-horrible-yucky-cold weather! ( the way I feel about winter is the opposite of love!)
*I usually add one new song to the top of my playlist when I write a new post, but I kind of got carried away by the fun love songs (they're love songs in my book, at least), so I added several. Have fun listening. Or not. But you totally should! ;) The first song (This Will Be An Everlasting Love) is what was played right after Zac and I tied the knot, while we were walking back up the aisle. So it's kind of special to me. :)

Gorgeous Meg

2011-02-01T20:18:00.001-06:00

Over Thanksgiving break, my sister and I had the honor of taking our cousin Megan's senior pics. She is a beautiful girl, with the BEST personality, so luckily that made our job that much easier. It was a chilly day, but we all had a lot of fun at the shoot. Below are some of my favorites... (click on the picture to see it enlarged)

Meg, I'll mail you the full disk of pics when the weather gets better! :) Love you!!!

I'm gonna give all my secrets away...

2011-01-30T17:42:00.001-06:00

Okay, well they aren't really secrets at all, but here are few randoms comments. (I love the song playing, it's "Secrets" by OneRepublic)

-My favorite tv shows these days: Southland and Blue Bloods. So strange that they are both cop shows, and I've never been a big fan of these types of shows (I hate Law&Order the most!). But Southland and Blue Bloods are both more about the characters than the "cases." If you've never seen either one, it's def worth a watch. But if I could only recommend one of them, it would hands down be Southland.
-Other shows I watch (that I'm not necessarily proud of): Teen Mom 2, Jersey Shore, Tosh.0, Holly's World, Kardashians, (basically the MTV and E! trash shows)
-Went with Stacy to look at new apartments in downtown Dallas. So exciting! They are soo beautiful, and make my little New York loving friend feel like she has the best of both worlds. I can't wait to help her move in. :)
-Zac and I saw Black Swan. Wow...so dark and extremely difficult to watch, but beautiful and complex at the same time. Natalie Portman was amazing. Zac and I are so weird about movies like this though. It's like we are in shock or something. We laughed the WHOLE way home, quoting the movie and talking about different parts. My poor sister thought Monster was going to be a comedy, the way Zac and I joked about it and quoted it (back in 2004), so boy was she in for a surprise when she finally saw it! LOL!
-Girl Talk!!! The show was awesome! We were in the balcony, so we felt a little removed from the big group, but it was still amazing! A big dance party! It's pretty much just the guy on his laptop, but there is still so much to look at, because there was a huge screen that had tight visuals, and then they were constantly dropping balloons or confetti, or beach balls. They also had this toilet paper gun that would just blast toilet paper into the air...sounds weird but it looked awesome! Here are a few pics from the GREAT night! Thanks Eli and Ryan! (and thank you Stacy for my cool "Str8 Against H8!" shirt!)

We are going to see Robyn on February 17th...I can't wait! I have loved her forever! Alot of people know the name, but can't place the songs. She is pretty big in America, but she is HUGE in Europe. (She's Swedish.) Perhaps some of these titles/videos will ring a bell? Show Me Love...my current favorite Handle Me...and my childhood favorite Do You Know What It Takes. Another one I always jam to, and her most popular (reached #1) is With Every Heartbeat. Enjoy her live performance below...

Oh, I love Francesca's

2011-01-18T06:56:00.000-06:00

Dear friends,
I would like to own every outfit (from head to toe, accessories included) on THIS page.
Thanks for your time,
Julia

Room to spare...

2011-01-09T21:00:00.001-06:00

Just when you think your heart has reached it's capacity, and that every cell in your heart is promised to someone impaticular, and you love that person not just a little but a whole lot, and surely you can't love someone new the way you already love so many people in your life...you meet that new person, who crawls inside your heart, nestles into a cozy little spot, and then you know they will be there forever! That, my friends, is how I felt today! I cherish so many relationships in my life, and love dearly my family, my friends, my students, my co-workers, my nieces and nephews, sometimes it feels like I couldn't possibly have more heart to spare. But today I met Ada, and realized I have a whole BIG chunk of my heart for her to own, and really she already does! I imagine it will be this way when I meet future nieces and nephews, and I know it will definitely be this way when we have our own children. So I have two philosophies...either each person doesn't have their "own space," but instead they all overlap and make-up one big complicated-but-beautiful heart of mine, OR my heart just keeps growing and growing and making room for all the AMAZING people in my life. Either way, I don't care, it doesn't matter to me how it works. I'm just so happy that I'm lucky enough to have my heart BURSTING AT THE SEAMS because I have so many relationships (little ones, and adults!) that I treasure and love. Wow...I'm on a little bit of a high right now. I think life is as sweet sometimes as the snow ice cream I shared with Ada and Claire and Nati today!

She is not only stunningly beautiful, but she is so sweet and loving, as well as SMART! I wouldn't call her shy, because she likes interacting with people, she is quite social, but she is a little reserved. It took her a little time to warm up, and she didn't talk a whole lot, but she had 100% of our attention whenever she was around! She is precious! Thank you Ellen and Braegan for bringing yet another amazing child into our lives! Between Madeline, Eliza, Owen, Nati, Claire, Sam and Ada, I feel very very blessed and RICH in the Aunt category!!! :)
PS-You know I love music, and love finding music that matches my mood...how PERFECT is this song? (Colbie Caillet-You Got Me) "You got me. The way you take my hand is just so sweet. And that crooked smile of yours, knocks me off my feet. Oh, I just can't get enough. How much do I need to fill me up? It feels so good, it must be love. It's everything that I've been dreaming of. I give up, I give in, I let go, let's begin, 'cause no matter what I do, oh, MY HEART IS FILLED WITH YOU!"

Picture, picture, on the wall...

2011-01-02T21:05:00.001-06:00

My friend Erin (unknowingly) inspired me to create this post, as she is always posting her inspiration and house projects. Ready?...O-Kay! (cheerleader style)
I love photos, and love picture frames too. I have always liked the look of multiple frames on one wall, and like it even more when the frames don't match. Here are a few looks I like a lot.

Anyways, I have a wall in my living room that I have thought was a bit bare for awhile now. Thanks to Aaron Brothers "One Cent Sale" (where you buy a frame and get the next for a penny!), I just bought a bunch of new frames. I knew I didn't want them to match, but I did want them to coordinate or at least compliment each other. I decided to go with brown and cream, with hints of gold. Picking the frames was a project in itself, but was lots of fun and actually didn't take too too long. Ya know what DID take a Loooong time? Laying out the frames and figuring out how to hang them on the wall. I had never realized how difficult this step was! All the frames are different sizes, which makes it a challenge to put them altogether and still make it visually pleasing without being too symmetrical or too spread apart. Anyways, here is what I decided on, after playing with them on the floor for an hour... (pic taken standing on the couch, with my phone, so excuse the poor quality)

So now that the "hard part" was behind me, all I had to do was hang them! Ha! Ha ha ha! The hard part was JUST beginning. Maybe I'm being dramatic, or maybe I'm not very smart, but the math involved made my head hurt! It was like solving a puzzle trying to figure out the measurements and get these puppies hung. At one point I even thought "maybe I'll just put it back how I had it and give the frames as gifts...this is too much work!" but I pressed on, and when it was finished I stood back and had the biggest smile on my face. I love it. As I type this, sitting on the couch, I keep looking up, and thinking how PLEASED I am with my work. :)
Here is the final product...

Pretty huh? Now...to decide which cherished pics get to go inside these lovely frames! :)

It's not that I'm needy, just need you to see me

2011-01-01T00:40:00.001-06:00

There are a few times a year that make me dig deep. Around my birthday and new years eve, I always seem to reflect on the past months and year, and look to the future, setting goals and plans, and asking questions. Not intentionally, like "okay, it's been 6 months, time to sit down and evaluate my life." It just happens. I just find myself doing it. And it's always a quiet and contemplative process. Not something I can talk through. Because as much as I love to talk about everything to anyone who will listen, this is such a PERSONAL thing. Just me, myself, and I, to hash through these thoughts and emotions. Because no one (including myself a lot of times) can understand what I think and why, or how I feel and where it's coming from. It's a deep complicated thing, and as confusing and complex as it may be, I kind of like that I do it. And as I get older, I see a change in my thoughts, in my plans, and how I look at the past. 2010 has definitely been a year of growth for me. My first "real" job has demanded more of me than I ever thought I would be asked, and I have to say, I think I've delivered. I never thought I would be the type to think about work 24/7, or work an 80 hour work week, but I became that person this fall. Not that I wanted to necessarily, or that I enjoyed it, but the fact is, I did it. I needed to, in order to make my classroom work, and I did it. I rose to the challenge. I have dealt with an overwhelming stress that I've never faced before. I have cried in the bathroom on my lunch break, and I have felt as if I will never be good enough for this job and these kids. But that's because I love them, and I care, and they deserve the best, and HOW IN THE WORLD DO YOU DELIVER THE BEST? Is that what being a mom feels like? My gosh, what a heavy and daunting feeling. Anyways, this year, and mostly this new job, have made me rise to a new level. Professionally. Personally. Emotionally. Mentally. This has been a year of 'building character,' and as HARD as it's been, I appreciate looking back and being able to say I worked my butt off. Long story short: I'm tougher than I thought I was.

I LOVE the song I have playing (if your sound is off, turn it on and refresh the page so you can hear the beautiful song). I intentionally put this song at the top of my playlist for this post, and I've pasted the lyrics below. It's deep, and although it's someone elses words, it describes how I feel right now...

I am timid
And I am oversensitive
I am a lioness
I am tired and defensive
You take me in your arms
And I fold into you
I have insecurities
You show me I am beautiful

Love me or leave me just take it or leave it
It's not that I'm needy just need you to see me
Take me, free me, see through to the core of me
Take me, free me, there will be no more pretending

I am temperamental
And I have imperfections
And I am emotional
I am unpredictable
I am naked
I am vulnerable
I am a woman
I am opening up to you

Love me or leave me, just take it or leave it
It's not that I'm needy, just need you to see me
Take me, free me, see through to the core of me
Take me, free me, there will be no more pretending

Now I stand before you with my heart in my hands
I'm asking you to take me just the way that I am

Please lay down your arms
Do you know me?
Make me feel safe from harm

Oh just take me, free me, see through to the core of me
Take me, free me, there will be no more pretending

I am temperamental
And I have imperfections
And I am emotional
There'll be no more pretending

Molly's big day!

2010-12-21T23:11:00.000-06:00

So if you are my friend on facebook, I'm sure you already know that we had a special day today with Molly. When we were in Spain and even San Fran, we envied how the locals were able to incorporate their dogs into their everyday lives much more so than we are allowed here. You know, Molly is not just a dog to us...she IS our daughter. I know not everyone sees it this way, but that's their problem. :) Anyways, we wanted to give her a fun day out and about while we were in Austin today. We started with lunch at Whole Foods, where we sat on the patio. May I please add here that it was a GORGEOUS 84 degrees! Seems impossible that Christmas is only a few days away, but hey...I'll take warm weather over cold ANY day! After we left lunch we went to a great Austin shop, Whole Earth. (Whole Foods to Whole Earth...we were very "wholey" today, weren't we? ha!) I had to return a pair of TOMS that my grandmother got me that were a little too small. As soon as we got there, I remembered seeing this Boston Terrier stuffed animal there last year, and sure enough, they STILL had one! :) Of course I had to get it. Zac wanders what I'm going to do with a stuffed animal larger than our actual dog, and was shocked at how much it cost. I promised him our 'one day' kids would LOVE it, and I'd never regret buying that thing. I believe that too! ;) After that we headed to Fetch, which is a dog boutique in Westlake. We have bought Molly's last two collars there, and wanted to get her new one there too. They are unique and fancy, but hey-she wears it EVERY single day for years and years, so why not splurge!? She had her last collar for three years, and I was so pleased with it. I think she was too. Her new collar had to be special ordered, and it will be delivered in a month. I can't wait! It is also pink, and has swarovski crystals, but WAY more than her current collar! :) Yay!!! I promise I'll post pics when it comes in. After that, we went to Michaels and she sat in the red basket like a little angel. People would walk by and just rush to pet her. I didn't get one snobby "why do you have your dog in here?" look! She stole their hearts before they could judge us, so there! haha! Anyways, I think she had a lot of fun. She took a big happy nap when we got home, which is coincidentally also the way her dad and I like to unwind after a busy day of errands! :)

Love is all around...

2010-12-15T06:46:00.000-06:00

I have never heard this Dave Matthews Christmas song until today, but it is AMAZING and so meaningful. His voice is so soothing and I could listen to it all day. I like the way he tells the Christmas story too. Beautiful song!! Click HERE to listen.

"Father up above, why in all this hatred, do you fill me up with LOVE?"

Tangled

2010-12-14T21:19:00.000-06:00

We took our kids to lunch and to see a movie today for our "Class Christmas Party" and although it was a really rough day, there were some great moments! I tried to call the movie theater on the way this morning, to let them know 25 people were coming, so they could prepare for us. The only number listed for the cinema is the info line with the long recording of movie times, and NO way to speak to a human. I tried a few times, and pushed random buttons but no success. When I finally hung up, one of my students approached me and said (in a sweet and innocent speech-impeded voice) "Miss, they probably aren't answering because of the surround sound! It is WAY too loud in that place to hear a little phone ring!" haha! My students are so clever and make me smile so much.
If you were thinking of seeing Tangled, DO IT!!! It was amazing, and I'm not even a big "animated film" fan. I saw Megamind a month ago, and was quite underwhelmed, but Tangled was the real deal! I even told a mom that I haven't seen a Disney movie this quality since I was a child. It's up there with Aladin and Little Mermaid and Lion King, if you ask me. Too many "kids" movies these days feel like they need to throw in a little potty humor (ahem, Shrek), but this is just good clean fun, and has a great story too! No damsel-in-distress here...Rapunzel was a frying pan swinging woman! We studied the story before we went, and the kids even knew it was written by the Grimm brothers, and took place in Germany. They never cease to amaze me!

Gratitude is an Attitude

2010-11-09T21:21:00.070-06:00

**Okay, so after I started writing, I got a bit carried away. It might be a little bit "deep" but I hope it doesn't come across as preachy or anything. That wasn't my intention at all. I was just feeling inspired and wanted to share my inspiration with you, in hopes you too will feel inspired! Enjoy...

I am a grateful person. I am. I always have been. I am constantly thanking people and God, and counting my blessings. I guess it could come across as bragging or trying to look like I have a perfect life when I post something on facebook that seems so peachy, when actually I'm having a really bad day, BUT that's not me being fake. Stopping and thinking about all the GOOD things in my life is what helps me balance and deal with the not-so-great things. And it works! Living in a state of gratitude is a great way to be. It really does put things in perspective, and also keeps me positive. I highly recommend it. Anyways, I'm not saying I'm perfect, and I'm always super grateful, but I do enjoy having an attitude of gratitude.

You might be wondering where all of this came from? Well, at yoga tonight (that's three days in a row of yoga, and YES I am sore!) the instructor was discussing thanksgiving and being grateful, and it really inspired me. She shared this quote with the class...

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." -Melody Beattie

I love this quote. It reminds us that gratitude isn't just a feeling we have in response to "getting something," but an attitude we can adopt toward life! It also says we should appreciate all that has happened in our lives. Past mistakes have meaning, because they helped us get where we are today. Rather than "permanent fixtures" we take for granted, our family and friends become precious gifts that bring joy and companionship.

Another thing my instructor said tonight (which really hit home, since I always have a vision for how things "should be" and then get disappointed if they are not exactly that) was that gratitude isn't just about being thankful but also putting our full trust in God that all is happening as it should be. It can mean surrendering and going with the flow, releasing attachment to what things might look like, knowing that there's a master plan. She said the more she surrenders, the more the universe delivers, and the more thankful and trusting she becomes, and then the cycle continues. Pretty awesome to think about.

Anyways, that is just a little food for thought. Try to adopt an attitude of gratitude this week, and then let me know how it goes. I think you will be happy and feel very lucky, even on the hard days.

My Top 10 Travel Destinations

2010-11-04T20:32:00.000-05:00

1. Italy
2. Australia/New Zealand/Fiji
3. Brazil
4. Africa (Ethiopia)
5. Czech Republic
6. Boston
7. New England in the fall
8. New York City (with Zac...I've been there without him, but I want to go with him too!)
9. New Orleans
10. Greece
11. Canada with my parents (again)

Thanks to my friend Ashley for the topic! Send me a topic to blog about, and I'll do it! :)

Feedback, por favor...

2010-11-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

I enjoyed the "10 Days of Blogging," but now it is over. I like having the topic chosen for me. So...what should I write about? I'm taking your suggestions and ideas! :) Also, if you want to do a little writing of your own, leave me a comment on past posts. I've done 11 in the past 2 weeks. Knock yourself out! (and it will make me feel special, hehe)

Day 10-a long one

2010-10-31T20:41:00.000-05:00

day 10: one confession.

I'm happy right now. That sounds like a strange confession to make, but let me explain, and bear with me, because for some reason it's hard to say. I am happy right now with our life...just the way things are. I got married at 21, thinking I'd be FINISHED having kids by 25. When I was in college, I thought the month after I graduated we'd start "trying." Now it's almost been a year since graduation, I'm 27 1/2 and Zac is 30, and I am COMPLETELY FINE with the fact we do not have kids. Isn't that weird? If I could have told the 21-year-old me that I wouldn't have kids until I was almost 30, I know I would have flipped out. But I AM HAPPY!!! In fact, I wouldn't mind if we waited a few years to start our family! It's strange to even write. I don't know why I feel guilty about this, but I do. I think I fear that I will let someone down. Maybe my two sisters who already have kids? Maybe my nieces and nephew? Maybe our parents who LOVE being grandparents? Maybe my coworkers? Maybe perfect strangers? I'm not sure why I am so worried about what everyone thinks, but I know we've been married 6 years and "it's time" to have kids, but I'm not ready. See, Zac and I did everything in a funny order. We married before I finished school, we moved a bunch, then I got a job, then finished school, and in a weird way I feel younger and "less settled" now than I did years ago, when we were living in Burnet and I was only 21, but all of my friends were stay at home moms. We finally have two jobs that we are happy with, making a nice amount of money (I didn't say a lot, but compared to what our income has been the past 6 years, it feels like lots!) and we want to be selfish for awhile. We want to travel. We want new furniture. We want to sleep late on Saturday morning. I used to think it was such a cop-out when people said they wanted to "be selfish" before they had kids, because I thought life didn't start UNTIL you have kids. But now that I have a consuming job, and very little time at the house, I realize the importance of having time to yourself, and the importance of Zac and I getting to check some things off of our 'list' before we start our family.
It feels weird to admit. I guess because I've been so obsessed with becoming a mom for so long, it's weird to not have that desire anymore. I mean, I want to be a mom eventually, but not soon. Kinda strange how it seems the older we get, the closer parenthood should feel, but we both agree that it just keeps seeming further away. Hmm...weird.
Anyways, there. It's off my chest now. That's my deep dark secret. Does it surprise you? Do you think less of me? I feel better.

Day 9

2010-10-29T07:00:00.002-05:00

day 9: two words that describe your life right now.

CHALLENGING

FULFILLING

Day 8

2010-10-27T21:18:00.000-05:00

day 8: three turn ons.

1. Thoughtfulness. Be it from Zac or a co-worker, or a perfect stranger. When someone does something thoughtful for me, that puts me on such a high. Everything from Zac giving me flowers, to someone holding the door open for me at a restaurant. I just love when people do nice things for other people.

2. Chocolate. :) I don't think I really need to explain, do I?

3. Compassion. Towards children, animals, and people with special needs, in particular. A little compassion and understanding goes a looong way with me. You might not understand, but you can still be compassionate. :)

Awesome Day

2010-10-26T20:42:00.000-05:00

You guessed it! I had an amazing day at work! I have had days that felt "okay" or where "nothing major happened, so I guess it was alright," but this entire school year I've yet to leave with a bounce in my step, feeling like it was the best day ever. Until today! It was great! I took half of the kids to Wal-Mart to shop for our teacher luncheon (which is Thursday), and then to Chili's to eat out. By this time last year, we'd taken the entire class out to eat lunch several times (how to behave in public is a big part of our curriculum, and therefore going out to eat is a very educational experience). Anyways, this year, due to our difficult situation, we haven't taken them out to eat once. So we decided that letting them go out to eat as a smaller group would be much more sensible, and we were right! The shopping AND eating was not only manageable, but pleasant, and FUN! I got to interact with all the kids, and they each felt so special. There were 7 kids, and 4 adult, which means that back at school was 9 kids and 3 adults. When we got back, I was so pumped to hear that they had an awesome morning too! The aides told me how nice it was and how the kids were very easy going and it felt laid back and quite enjoyable, even though they were still learning. It was such a great day for everyone, all the way around! Now...if only we could take half the class on community trips every day! :)

Day 7

2010-10-24T19:57:00.000-05:00

day 7: four turn offs.

1. Bad grammar and table manners. I know I risk sounding snobby by admitting this, but it's probably my most common "turn off." Perhaps because it was so emphasized to me in my youth, I can't stand double negatives, improper conjugations, etc. Equally as bad in my eyes are bad manners at meal time. Eww...

2. Ignorant and close-minded people. I don't think I really have to explain that. I just can't stand when people are so un-accepting and intolerant. You might not agree with others' lifestyles, but it really doesn't affect yours, so get over it!

3. Hearing people brush their teeth or file their nails. I have some sensory issues obviously and it makes my stomach flip to hear or see either of these.

4. The dentist! I have spent the last 15 years of my life going to the most intimate types of doctors, but nothing bothers me more than going to the dentist! I think this partially relates to the sensory issues, because it's not the pain, it's the SOUNDS and FEELING of the tools. Plus, it feels so vulnerable to me to have someone else's hands in your mouth. I love my dentist, and go every six months, without fail, but I have to go to a "specialty" dentist, who gives me an anxiety pill to take the night before. They have leather recliners instead of the typical dentist chairs, and flat screens and head phones and iPods and blankets to make you as comfortable as possible. Thanks goodness I'm not the only baby when it comes to the dentist! :)

Day 6

2010-10-23T13:26:00.000-05:00

day 6: five people who mean a lot to you.

What? I can only name five? That's not fair...Okay, I'm not even going to explain it, because it's pretty obvious as to why these people would mean the world to me!

1. Mom
2. Zac
3.Papa
4. Liz
5. Molly

PS-I think this is the lamest topic so far. Just sayin'...

Day 5

2010-10-22T06:03:00.000-05:00

day 5: six things you wish you could change or you wish you'd never done.

Eww! This one is hard and potentially pretty personal. Oh well, here goes...
1. I wish I could change the orphan situation. Every child needs a loving home, and there are too many kids without one.
2. I wish I would have graduated from McMurry.
3. I wish I could change the laws and views on same sex marriage. I truly hope one day our kids/grandkids will ask how people were so mean to gay people (the same way we ask how there was ever a time when you had more or less rights based on the color of your skin.), because they won't be able to imagine it being any other way BUT to have equal rights for everyone.
4. I wish I could change the distance I live from my family, and my nieces and nephew in particular.
5. I wish I could change the price of airfare. We would travel WAY more if it wasn't so expensive to fly!
6. I wish my classroom was running like a smooth oiled machine. We are hoping it will be by Christmas. Sigh...

one of those days...

2010-10-20T21:24:00.000-05:00

I know I already posted this song once, and on facebook, but I LOVE IT, and there's a chance you might have missed it. Don't miss it. It's irresistible. Okay, quit reading and click play. Also, I posted the lyrics below, because I love them as much as the melody and instrumentation. You're Welcome!!!

Don't ask me how I'm doing
If you don't wanna know
I stayed out too late
Woke up late
Oh, you know how it goes
Give off the vibe that everything's fine
As long as, as long as
You don't look in my eyes

It's all going just so perfectly wrong

Hey hey hey what can I say?
It's just one of those, one of those days
Hey hey hey what can I say?
It's just one of those, one of those days
Ah ah ahhh

Don't mind this kind of life
Of hurry up and wait
Too many things to do to lose
It gets a little insane
So much crazy in twenty-four hours
Too many bills, too little frills
And none of the flowers

What I wouldn't give for a minute to myself

Hey hey hey what can I say?
It's just one of those, one of those days
Hey hey hey what can I say?
It's just one of those, one of those days
Ah ah ahhh
Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah
Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah

Hey hey hey what can I say?
It's just one of those, one of those days
(repeat 3x)

It's just been one of those days
It's all going just so perfectly wrong

Day 4

2010-10-20T20:20:00.000-05:00

day 4: seven things that cross your mind a lot.

1. My students...always...24/7! I fall asleep thinking about them, wake up thinking about them, and never stop thinking about them.
2. "I need to find a restroom."
3. having my own children...adoption...domestic vs. international
4. "I wonder what Molly is doing?" (when I'm not home) and "Molly's getting old." (when I am with her)
5. "when is it time to eat? what am I going to eat?" (sad, I know)
6. "OMG! I love this song!! This song fits my life perfectly!" haha, Zac was teasing me about this last night in the car!
7. This one is kind of deranged, but lately I have been certain that I will die young. Not sure why I keep thinking that, or how it's going to happen, but I think about it a lot. I know it's really weird and dark. I can't explain it, I just think about it all the time. Zac hates it. I promise I am okay, this isn't a cry for help or anything, haha!

Day 3

2010-10-19T21:42:00.001-05:00

day 3: eight things you couldn't live without

1. Family

2. Music

3. Chocolate/Skittles

4. Friends

5. Pizza/Dr. Pepper

6. Children

7. Molly (please don't tell me one day I will have to live without her, because I simply don't want to)

8. Internet

Honorable Mentions:

Bert's Bees Wax chap stick

sun screen

perfume (I love perfume!)

Animals

*I know I cheated on numbers three and five, and by naming more than 8, but it's my blog and I can cheat if I want to!

Day 2

2010-10-18T22:53:00.001-05:00

day 2: nine things about yourself that most people don't know.

This is hard for me, since I'm an open book, and I've had a blog for awhile, so I feel like I've already shared the stuff no one knows. Hmm...guess I'll have to get recent. And petty. Can't promise it will be entertaining.

1. I have a whole new genre of music I am obsessed with. I can't get enough Sara Bareilles, Ingrid Michaelson, Sia, The Temper Trap, Florence and the Machine, Salem, Lily Allen, A Fine Frenzy and all this fun and soothing and HAPPY music. I listen to it in the mornings getting ready, at work, anytime I can. I love it. Also, I love Pandora! Here is a song that I LOVE and seems to be my themesong lately. Even though it talks about "one of those days" it's still happy and cheerful. Enjoy...

2. I have a new tea that I love. It's Yogi and it's called "Bedtime." It has chamomile, and taste sooo yummy. I didn't think it would actually help me sleep better, but IT DOES! And I wake up feeling refreshed and well rested! I'm telling you, I've used Ambien before and Nyquil lots, but nothing beats this amazing and healthy tea! Try it...you'll thank me!

3. Speaking of new discoveries, I have a confession. I had never had pumpkin bread (or anything pumpkin-it just sounds disgusting to me) until about two weeks ago. I was at Panera Bread (OMG...have I ever told y'all how much I LOVE that place!?) with a few coworkers and one of them insisted I try her pumpkin break. I knew I wouldn't like it, but wanted to be polite so I ate the piece she broke off for me. It was AMAZING! Love at first taste! It kindof reminded me of another thing I love...carrot cake. It had all those scrumptious spices and it was so moist! I tried to go to the counter and buy my own slice, but they had already sold out. I went to Panera last night for the sole purpose of getting some pumpkin break (okay, and a greek salad) and they didn't have any. Boo!

4. You probably already know this, but I LOVE my students. As difficult and stressful as my job is, it's not the kids that make it that way. The kids bring me so much joy. If I was rich, I would have a camera man follow me around so I could record and replay and replay the precious moments I share with these kids!! The smallest things can mean so much, and I treasure it.

5. Zac and I are in a disagreement over where our next big trip will be. Okay, I'll tell you right now that he's going to win, and that's because it's his turn to pick the place (hello...Spain was my choice!), but I'm still giving him heck about it. For fun. We both want to do Paris (get ready Oldhams!) and London (Matt, are you prepared?), but the third place is the great debate. I want Italy. Italy...I can't even list all the reasons, but hello...ITALY! He wants Ireland. Ireland makes more sense...it is closer to the other two cities, and I know it will be beautiful and yada yada yada, but it's no Italy. At least we will speak the language?

6. Teen Mom is my favorite show on TV. There, I said it. No joke. It's the show I love the most. I also like Jersey Shore, Blue Bloods, The Office, Modern Family, and Dancing With The Stars. But those are the only shows I watch. And I don't even watch those regularly. Except for Teen Mom. And the season finale was last week, so what am I supposed to do now?

7. My sweet tooth has never been louder or needier than it is in it's 27th year. I can't get enough cupcakes, chocolate, brownies, candy. My sweet tooth doesn't discriminate. If the treat is loaded with sugar, it's bound to be happy. Sad, but true. I'm trying to whip it into shape, but it is way more fun (and tasty) to listen and give in.

8. I have to use Aloe Vera toilet paper. I know that's random, but I really hate using anything else. Two hotel stays in the last week reminded me how much I love my own aloe t.p.

9. I haven't been keeping up with news or politics. At all. I don't even feel that bad about it. I know it's ignorant, and I should know what's going on, but I don't care. Honestly, my days are crazy and stressful and my brain is on overload at all times. When I'm online or watching tv, I want a happy distraction. I want to escape reality...not find out what else is wrong. Does that make me a bad person?

Day 1

2010-10-17T21:06:00.003-05:00

As part of the "10 Days of Blogging," here is...

day 1: ten things you want to say to ten different people right now. (in no particular order...)

1. Zac- I know I have been super stressed and preoccupied every since school started. Thanks for understanding, and being patient and supportive, and loving, despite me being emotional and irritable. You are a great husband and I'm lucky you're mine!

2. Liz- I am so proud of who you are, and that you're my sister. You are an amazing woman, mom, wife, and sister! Also, I know this was a while back, but we had so much fun in Shreveport, and I'm so glad you and Andy came! We need to do more stuff like that together.

3. Mama- I had a GREAT weekend with you and Pops...I'm so glad y'all decided to come. Zac and I will both be very happy if I'm just like you when I grow up! :)

4. Stacy- I miss you. I hate that we don't get to see each other very often, but I do think about you all the time. Let's get together soon! I always leave our GT dates feeling happy and refreshed and wondering why we don't do them way more often! :)

5. Ellen- I have too much to say to you to put it all into a blog post. I think you are amazing, and I'm so grateful you're not only my cousin, but a close friend! I feel blessed that you've opened my eyes (and Zac's) to adoption. I can't wait to see what the future holds for us, but no matter what it is, I'm grateful that I have your adoption expertise to help guide us.

6. Tatem- I wish we got to see y'all way more often! You are such a wonderful mother, and Eliza is one of the coolest kids I've ever met. (not that I'm biased or anything!)

7. Eli- I hate that we don't get to talk or text as much as we always have, but I love that despite that fact, I still feel super close to you and consider you one of my best friends! Your happy, non-judgmental, loving spirit is an inspiration to me, and everyone who encounters you. Eli, you have a beautiful soul!!

8. Amy F.-It was so great to see you this weekend. Sam is absolutely precious. You have stepped into the role of mom so well and I love how you were so laid back and go-with-the-flow this weekend! I hope I can travel and be as well adjusted as you are when I am a new mom!

9. Granny- Thank you for correcting my grammar, and making me use my best table manners at all times. Thank you for stressing the importance of family, and making a point to get us all together when possible. Thanks for sharing hundreds of great stories, that I'll never forget. Thanks for taking each of us on a trip and fostering a love of traveling deep inside of me. Thank you for making me feel so special and loved! I hope I can be just like you when I'm older!

10. Kelle Hampton- (my favorite blogger, who will never read my blog, but I still want to say...) Your words and writing inspire me. Your pictures are gorgeous. I know it sounds kinda cheesy or stalker-ish, but I wish we were friends, like, in real life. I would tell you that I think you are an amazing woman with such a great outlook on life. I'd also tell you that it must be scary and the unknowns of raising a girl with Down Syndrome could be daunting, but there are probably scary unknowns with every kid. I know you;re raising Nella in a way that she will be such a loved and happy girl. Thanks for posting...my evening is always better when I get to look inside your world. :)

10 days of blogging

2010-10-16T21:01:00.001-05:00

So we all know that I have been a very bad blogger lately. I'm hoping this little "trend" in blogging will help me get back on track...at least for a while. :) Here are the posts that will be coming:

day 1: ten things you want to say to ten different people right now.

day 2: nine things about yourself that most people don't know.

day 3: eight things you couldn't live without.

day 4: seven things that cross your mind a lot.

day 5: six things you wish you could change or you wish you'd never done.

day 6: five people who mean a lot to you.

day 7: four turn offs.

day 8: three turn ons.

day 9: two words that describe your life right now.

day 10: one confession.

Wow...

2010-10-10T21:50:00.000-05:00

The Autism Conference was AMAZING (wish I had time to type out all the cool things I learned!), and the time I spent in Corpus Christi was awesome. Our hotel was right on the waterfront, so we woke up to the sun rising over the ocean. The weather was gorgeous and we walked everywhere. The conference center was just a few blocks down the road from us, and also right on the water. We ate our boxed lunch outside one day, and in the middle of a bite, I noticed dolphins splashing in the water. There were two or three of them jumping up and down for quite a while...it was awesome. The hotel was nice, Vickie (my co-teacher) and I were able to talk and plan alot, I learned a great deal, but the best part was it was VERY RELAXING! We moved at a slower pace and got to hit the refresh button. It was so nice.
I made a cheesy little video on my iphone with some of the pics I took (also using my iphone), which you can watch HERE. Enjoy.

I'm a big kid now!

2010-10-04T21:24:00.000-05:00

A lot of things in my life have made me feel like a grown up. The main one that stands out to me is buying a house, but graduating college, getting married, and taking a trip to Europe made me feel mature too. Well, this week I am doing something that keeps making me think "wow...this feels so GROWN UP!" I am going to a conference! I have been to a technology in education conference, and I have gone to cheer coaching school and whatnot, but this feels so different. Vickie (my co-teacher) and I are FLYING (ya know, on a plane!) to Corpus Christi on Wednesday night and staying in the Omni and everything! The State Autism Conference starts Thursday morning, and goes through Saturday afternoon. We will fly home on Saturday night. Isn't that exciting? It feels so grown up! They are paying for me to fly to another city and stay in a hotel and I got meal money and everything!
I can't wait for the actual conference! I was trying to look through the packet to decide which workshops and speakers to attend, and there are SO MANY that I can't decide! Autism is a fascinating topic on it's own, but being an educator and having several autistic kids in my life, this makes it even more relevant and meaningful to me! I know I will get some GREAT information and useful ideas...I can't to feel INSPIRED!!!

Golden Gate Getaway...

2010-09-28T20:43:00.000-05:00

Yes, I realize it's been way too long since I've posted. This school year has been crazy, and I'm surprised by how much it has consumed me. Anyways, this post is not about that. This is an EXCITING POST!!! We are going to San Francisco!! We leave the Friday we get out for Thanksgiving break, and fly home on Tuesday. Wednesday morning we will drive to Midland (5 hours!) and stay until Sunday, when we'll drive home. It will be a busy week, but we can't wait!!
Zac has been to San Fran before, but it was for a football game, and he was with an entire team, so he didn't get to experience too much of the city. He has been wanting to take me there since he visited in 2002, and this seemed like the perfect time. We are getting pumped. We booked the air travel last night, and I'll be booking the hotel in the next few days. Woohoo!
Here are a few of the things that we want to do while we are there, but what should we add to this list?
-Ride a street car
-Go to the Golden Gate bridge, and park
-Alcatraz
-Chinatown
-maybe visit the aquarium?
-maybe take an excursion to Napa Valley or Yosemite?

What else? If you've been to San Fran, spill it!!!

gasping

2010-08-26T22:03:00.000-05:00

It's been a really hard week. Like, extremely difficult. The kind of week where your world is so rocked, you wonder how the rest of the world is still going about their business like nothing is wrong. I haven't felt this way since my grandfather died, in 2007. I'm trying my hardest, but I feel like I'm not even treading anymore...it feels like I'm all the way under, gasping for air. Surely things will start getting better soon? I came across this quote yesterday, and I'm clinging to it, hopeful it is true..."Everything is okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end."

Spain VIDEO!

2010-07-30T02:01:00.002-05:00

I've been working on this for a while. It's not perfect, and the software wasn't great, but I'm still proud of it. I'm also happy I have a ten minute recap of one of the best weeks of my life! Enjoy! :)

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Hot Fun in the Summer Time...

2010-07-25T10:53:00.000-05:00

Madeline's school goes to two week sessions in the summer (as opposed to one month). This is cool because Liz takes her out of one session each summer and she gets to spend time with my parents (her Grandma and Pappy) and us! I remember being a kid and spending time without our parents at our grandparents and aunt&uncle's houses! Liz and I were talking about this recently and agreed that some of our favorite childhood memories happened in these magical weeks when we were independent from our parents, and got to need and bond with other family members. Zac and I look forward to this week with Madeline to ourselves so much and plan fun activities for her, so she can develop the unforgettable type of memories that I cherish. I think our time with her this year was even better than last. She is such a SMART and FUNNY girl, as well as caring and kind. I'm so proud to be her aunt. Anyways, here's what we did this year:
Sunday we met my parents for dinner in Waco to make the exchange. We ate at Texas Roadhouse and Madeline was instantly very affectionate towards us.
Sunday-met for dinner in Waco, drove home, went to the park, raced home

Monday-made Mosaics, went to Top Golf (a fancy schmancy and much more fun driving range)

Tuesday-had a playdate with a friend and her kids, drove to McKinney to see the Enrights and Falcos

Wednesday-had lunch with my coworkers for lunch, went swimming at a friend's pool, saw Toy Story 3

Thursday-went to the park (twice!), made cupcakes, and drove to Austin
Friday-lunch with Baw and Eli, then bowling with Eliza and Tatem and Scott, then headed out to Breck's lakehouse, where Liz and Andy and Owen were reunited with their favorite girl! :)

Phew...see how fun and action packed it was? Not to mention all the amazing memories we made (and memorable quotes we got) just hanging around the house in between all the activities!

Taking me back to Spain...

2010-07-19T19:57:00.002-05:00

Today I woke up homesick for Spain. I know, I know...it was never my "home." But I woke up wanting to step out into the fresh crisp air, to walk down the narrow streets, to hear Spanish floating into my ears like beautiful music. So I looked through some of our pics, but I still wasn't satisfied. So I started looking up some of the sights/sounds that I knew would bring back Spain...the music we loved while we were there. Anytime we were out shopping, or eating at restaurants, we'd hear fun music we'd never heard before. Zac had the TV on anytime we were in the hotel room, and the channel we watched all week was music videos. Here are a few of our favorite songs/videos from Spain, that take us right back to the outdoor restaurants, city buses, to our hotels, and the cute shops we visited. I feel a little better already! Enjoy...

This video is so fun and quirky. Zac said at the end of the week he wished we'd taken a video of each other "running" at every place we visited, so we could make a compilation. That would have been cool! We'll just have to settle for watching this music video instead. It's called "Espiritu Santo" which also means holy spirit, so there are a million songs with that title. In fact, we've been searching for it since we got home so that we could buy it, and could not find it until today! :)

This song is not in Spanish, but it was sooo popular and played everywhere. Zac became obsessed with it, and called it the "accordion song." It's quite catchy. I do think the video might have been filmed in Spain though. Looks a lot like it!

Spain's popular music includes hits by Spaniards, but also a lot from America and England. THIS song also reminds me of our week in Spain.

I can't believe it...

2010-07-10T20:55:00.005-05:00

I'm not a morning person
I'm cranky when I'm hungry.
I'm fickle, and sometimes a little needy.
My car always has about five outfits and five hundred cd's in it.
I'm messy.
I like to stay up too late, and I love to sleep late.
I have more health concerns than my 91-year-old Granny.
My musical taste resembles that of a 13 year old.
I'm picky.
I'm not even close to perfect....

Yet somehow he loves me unconditionally, and accepts me just the way I am. I love that about him.

Happy Anniversary Zac! I love you more today than I did the day we married. Thanks for being such an amazing man and considerate spouse. I am so proud of the person you are. I'm blessed you are mine.

Spain, day four-The Road to Sevilla

2010-07-08T10:16:00.014-05:00

We woke up very early on Saturday to catch a bus to Seville. (by the way, it's actually Sevilla- pronounced "Say-vee-yah"-but I know most people just say "Suh-ville" so I'll spell it that way.)

This was our longest bus trip, because it made several stops, including one thirty minute layover in Cordoba (a town we wish we'd visited). It took five hours to get from Nerja to Seville, but we slept much of the way, since we'd woken up at 5:30. What we did see of the drive was beautiful. There were hot pink flowers all over the land, so of course I loved that! :)

When we arrived in Seville, we just left the bus station on foot to walk to our hotel. The only problem was we didn't know exactly where it was, so we (in good moods) walked all over Santa Cruz (the Jewish quarter, where we stayed- the most charming part of the city) with luggage. The wobbly suit case wheels on the cobblestone streets was quite a sight, I'm sure. :)

We finally found our hotel, Puerta de Sevilla (the door of Seville) and checked in to the friendliest desk clerk. I forgot that I'd written online when I booked the room that we were on our honeymoon (please don't think I'm a horrible person for lying, I just wanted to make sure we got the room, and I'd also read that sometimes they treat you better when it's a special occasion). About ten minutes after we got in our room, a lady came up with a bottle of champagne and two glasses for us. It was so sweet. :) So we toasted and had champagne before lunch before we headed out to explore the magical city. Guess which person loved the champers, and which person hated it... hehe
We walked toward the cathedral and did lots of people watching. Since this was a Saturday, there were all types of people out celebrating different things. It was fun to see how traditions differ. This first pic is a bachelorette party. The bride to be was in a jailer costume, and all her friends wore police outfits.
I had to go up and ask one of the men what this was about, because we were so curious. This was a group of doctors from the University of Sevilla, who have an annual tradition of playing music in the streets to raise money. Some of them had just graduated, and some were professors. It was really cool and we stood around and watched them drink and play and socialize for a bit.
Of all the different festivities, this Spanish tradish was our fave. For a bachelor party, the man has to dress like a woman...dress, wig and all! All of the friends wear matching t-shirts with a picture of the groom's face on it. We saw several different bachelor parties taking place, and all of them looked so fun, and did basically the same things American bachelor parties do. (besides the cross dressing, that is). In the pic below, the one in black and red is the future groom.
There were several weddings taking place as well. This little boy stole my heart, and I literally wanted to steal him. Like kidnap him and bring him home with me. But only if he wore that sweet little raw-silk one piece jumper every single day! :) I wanted to take a pic with him, but Zac wouldn't let me. Buggers!
Of all the cool people watching, nothing could compare to the magnificence of the cathedral. It is huge! The third largest cathedral in the world! We took a tour of it a few days later, so I'll share all the fun cathedral facts with you then. Meanwhile, look how big it is compared to me. I'm that little black speck in the bottom right side. This was just one of its many fabulous entrances.
Anyways, we did lots of sightseeing that first day there, and all of those pics can be seen on our Picasa page. That night we wanted to watch USA play England in their first game of the World Cup. Throughout the day we scouted out places, and finally decided on an Irish pub called Flaherty's. It was nice to eat "American food" and it turned out to be an awesome place to watch the big game. It was PACKED with people rooting for both teams and we actually ended up sitting with a group of Americans who'd just graduated from college in New York. It was funny to listen in on their conversations. Look how much beer they drank!
This was the least crowded part of the bar. I couldn't even squeeze in on the other side, where the big screen was!
After the game, we decided to go for a stroll before heading to bed. We walked to the Guadalquivir river, and crossed to the other side. By this point it was probably close to 11pm, but people were just sitting down to eat. Spaniards definitely live life to the fullest, and seem so happy! It was not unusual to see babies and toddlers out this late (and still happy and playful).
As we'd just started heading back to the hotel, we heard a loud band. (I think Zac's exact quote was "Is the Grambling band visiting Spain too?" haha) We decided to check out what it was and see where it was coming from. We wandered through neighborhoods and city blocks until we came upon lots of commotion and this scene:
The streets were SOO full, so of course we were super curious. I asked a local, and she explained to me what was going on. It was very loud, she spoke very fast, and of course it was all in Spanish, but from what I gathered, she was saying it was the 500th anniversary of the Virgin Mary. (something like that?) Another person told me that it was the Anniversary of Conception? I tried looking it up online to see exactly what amazing event we got to witness, but I haven't been able to find it. If any of you do, please send me the link. I'd love to know more! :)
Anyways, the streets were packed...for blocks and blocks. It is soo much to explain, so click on my Picasa link to see all of the pics AND read the captions which describe everything, but here are two videos from the night...

It was such an awesome and amazing and cultural experience, and the best part was we just happened to stumble upon it. If we hadn't gone for a walk to Triana (the part of town we were in), we wouldn't have even known about it. And if we'd turned to go home five minutes earlier, we probably wouldn't have heard the band and wandered towards it. It was cool to just happen upon such a magnificent and grand production. We aren't sure exactly what was going on, or what we witnessed, but we know it meant a great deal to the people who were there, so that made it special to us too! When it was over (almost 2am!!!) we headed home and laid down knowing we'd had an exciting and adventurous first day in Sevilla!
***Exciting update! I just found a link about this parade! I found it here and it basically says that "Extraordinary Procession of Maria Santísima of the Star by the streets of Triana, on the occasion of the 450 Original Anniversary of the Brotherhood"
TO SEE THE PICS from THIS day, start HERE and click next until you're done...

Spain, day three...Nerja

2010-06-30T00:27:00.008-05:00

Friday morning we took a crowded city bus (we got a few looks for having big luggage with us on such a packed bus, at which point we decided that for the rest of the trip anytime we had our luggage with us, we'd use a taxi) to the bus station for our ride to Nerja. The drive was so beautiful, as we got to see lots of countryside from mountains, to a long stretch a long the coast!

I love the random towns that just look white hills. So pretty!
We arrived in Nerja and took a taxi to our hotel, the Perla Marina. Since we would only be in Nerja for one night, and we were very "economical" about our Granada and Sevilla hotels, we decided to splurge in Nerja. Hotel Perla Marina brags about being a gorgeous 4-star hotel with a great location, so we couldn't wait. We were pretty disappointed. We paid extra for a room with a view of the ocean and a balcony, and we were on the first floor, with the patio covering for the outdoor dining blocking our view. Oh well. We didn't spend much time in the room anyhow.
The beach outside of our hotel

Um, this was not an uncommon sight. Be lucky I took a pic of him...all the ladies were 60 and topless!

We went to the Balcony of Europe
Cute little naked German brother and sister.
I thought this was cool pic with the palm trees behind him.

We liked this part of the trip okay, but it wasn't our favorite. I know it doesn't look like it, since it's sunny, but it was very cold. Also, we didn't feel like we were in Spain anymore, because everyone was there (it seemed like even the workers) were British or German. This is a big "holiday" hot spot, and lots of Europeans go here during the summer for a month or so. We heard very little Spanish spoken and it wasn't very "cultural" but it was a nice relaxing stop in the middle of the busy week.

Spain, Day Two... "Paradise on Earth"

2010-06-29T15:26:00.000-05:00

This was easily my favorite day of our entire trip! (Which is why it took me so long to write this post. Sorry!)
We woke up super early (left the hotel by 7am!) to head to the Alhambra and Generalife. I went with no expectations (thinking I might be bored, what an idiot!) and I ended up being mesmerized. I could have spent the entire day there! I think the pictures will be "pretty" but you just can't imagine how it feels to stand there, in that place where people were standing over a thousand years ago. The architecture and detailing is amazing, and the history is fascinating. It's almost overwhelming to be there. The beauty is exquisite just to visit, and then to think that this is where people lived, and this was their "norm" is pretty crazy. It's magnificent. Splendid. Enchanting. This is the kind of thing that makes America feel so young and immature. This the the what I was hoping to see on my first trip to Europe...not just a different culture, but history that goes back further than my mind can even imagine.

I could tell you so much about the Alhambra, but I will just share a few facts:
-Alhambra in Arabic means "red castle." It was built by the Moors (Muslims)
-This building dates back to the 9th century!!
-It was a military fortress with a view over the whole city (you'll see this in my pics)
-In the 13th century, the first king of the Nasrid dynasty moved in, making it a royal residence
-Kings lived in it, and it was a small township, until the mid 1500's, when it became abandoned
-It was "discovered" by scholars in the 19th century and is now Spain's most significant and well known Islamic Architecture
-Nothing was done just to be cool, each archway has a meaning and everything has a purpose. So cool!
-Water is everywhere! "Water — so rare and precious in most of the Islamic world — was the purest symbol of life to the Moors. The Alhambra is decorated with water: standing still, cascading, masking secret conversations, and drip-dropping playfully." -Rick Steves
-The gardens (Generalife) surrounding the buildings (Alhmabra) are equally impressive.

On the bus to the Alhambra, we met the NICEST man! His name was John and he's from Australia! He had been in Sevilla (which he cutely pronounced "seh-VILL-uh" when most pronounce it "say-VEE-yuh") for five weeks doing photography stuff, and was in Granada just for a day and night, to see Alhambra. *Random trivia: He told us he was staying at the 'World's Narrowest Hotel' and Zac said "oh, it's that small?" and he said "no, it's great. But it really is the Guinness World Record holder for being the narrowest hotel." He was so kind and we talked quite a bit, but then got separated once inside the grounds.
You will have to click on the link to the album to see all the pics, but here are a few of my favorites.
Here is that view of the city...and isn't it cool? I love all the white buildings.
The ceiling in one part of the Palace.
Gorgeous! I took that pic!
Some gorgeous roses in the Generalife. You can not imagine how amazing that place smelled!
Amazing! They take so much pride in the gardens.

This is where they held important meetings and night time entertainment.
The buildings are amazing on their own, but then when you think about how they were constructed hundreds of years ago, it makes them even more wonderful!
"Up the Darro River, the royal aqueduct diverted a life-giving stream of water into the Alhambra. It was channeled through a decorative fountain to irrigate the bigger garden outside, then along an aqueduct into the Alhambra for its 2,000 thirsty residents." Water runs through the entire place, so the sound of it is so soothing and serene. If you look closely, you will see it in many of the pics that show the ground.

We spent several hours at the Alhambra/Generalife, then afterwords we went to the gift shop and I bought this nifty book. It has amazing pics and describes it in an interesting way that's easy to read. :)
After leaving the Alhambra grounds, we went back to town for lunch. We ate at a pizzeria (surprise, surprise!) and felt adventurous for trying a free tapa that was served to us. For those of you who might not know, Tapas are very popular in Spain, and they are kind of like appetizers, as they are usually just a plate full of finger food. Spaniards eat lots of jamon (ham), seafood (which still in completely in tact, head, eyes and all...eww!) and cheese. They do not like fruits and veggies, because before they were a nation with money, they ate only fruits and veggies, so now they don't like to eat it. We craved it, but that's another story. Anyways, we ended up eating lots of pizza, since that was safe. (neither Zac nor myself like ham or seafood) The tapa we were served at this meal looked potato salad. I was right that it was potatoes, but when I tried I bite I realized it also had prawns and some type of sour-curdled-tasting tartar sauce mayonaisse dressing. Ew. At least we tried it, right? Zac ordered a coke, and after doing so, we realized that a beer was only 2 Euros, but a Coke was 4. Haha, who would think you could get a beer cheaper than a coke? We also got a Caprese salad. Yum!
We walked around some more after lunch and happened to come across a protest rally. They were the happiest and kindest protesters I've ever seen. It was for the postal carriers. I'm not sure exactly what changes they wanted made, but don't they look like they are having fun, just partying in the streets?

It started out very chilly, but it was such a beautiful day! Look at that sky!After awhile, we headed back to the hotel for a short nap. When we woke up, we decided to go to the Albaicin, the cities Moorish quarter. We were told it's better not to be there after dark, but we never once felt threatened, and honestly it seemed perfectly safe to us. While on the bus, it was stopped, and I was looking out the window and saw our friend John!! He's the one walking across the street in the hat and backpack. We thought about jumping off the bus to catch up with him, but he got into a Taxi. I guess it wasn't meant to be. I wish we had at least gotten his last name so we could keep in touch online. Oh well...we'll just be stalkers. :)We climbed up to the Mirador St. Nicolas to get a view of the city and Alhambra. It was something I will never forget. The view was amazing...
This 14 year old boy was the most unbelievable classical guitarist I've ever seen! They were filming a documentary about him, so we watched for a bit while he played and as they interviewed him. He is completely self taught, and didn't start until he was 9. (I can't believe you can get that good in just five years!) I have a short video of him (but he was getting tired because they were making him play non-stop for sooo long) here.
The Alhambra!!!
We went to this cool "hillside restaurant" (that's my term for it, not theirs) and had drinks. It was very swanky and the view was gorgeous...I felt very rich in that moment, as we sipped our Sangria and Beer. This next picture was taken by some friends that we made, Keith and Sue. They sat near us, and we we heard them speaking and could tell they were American, we started chatting with them. This led to spending the afternoon together, then they invited us to dinner. I hope we will continue a friendship with them, because they are truly amazing and inspiring people. They live in Seattle and had great advice on life, parenting, and traveling, plus lots of neat stories to share as well. Spending the afternoon/evening with them was the main reason that this was my favorite day! :)

When we all left St. Nicolas, we walked around the Albaicin and wandered into the old Mosque. We wanted to go in, but you have to get permission thirty days in advance to be permitted. We took a picture in the courtyard/garden area.
We shopped in some narrow streets. The shops were so cool. Keith bought a knife from Morocco, that reminded me of the kind seen in the movie Aladdin. It looked very legit. Rusty and all! :)
After lots of walking, some ice cream, shopping, and more walking, they took us to eat. They had been to Sultan's Restaurant earlier in their trip and loved it, so we joined them for some Moroccan food. Hummus to start, and I had chicken and rice cooked in a tajine, and Zac had meatballs in a tajine. (Don't worry, I didn't know what a tajine was either, until that night!) For dessert, they ordered crepes, and the waiter-recommended "Sultan's dessert" which was yogurt with honey and almonds, and some other spices. It was "incredible!" as Keith exclaimed! :)
After dinner with our new friends, we hugged and parted ways. Zac and I stopped at an internet store and then headed home. Just writing this post makes me want to go back and relive that day again. It was our first full day in Spain, but it was my favorite. What neat experiences, sights, and conversations. So unforgettable!

Spain, day one...arrival in Granada

2010-06-20T22:36:00.006-05:00

And so the story begins! Sigh...deep breath. So much to share and remember, let's hope I get it all in, without boring you. :)

Our flight left at 6pm on Tuesday, and we arrived in Granada at 1pm (their time, which is 7 hours ahead of Texas time) on Wednesday. I had planned on sleeping a full night's sleep on the plane, but it just didn't happen. It was a ten hour flight from Dallas to Madrid, and then one hour from Madrid to Granada. In this time, I probably slept for a combined total of 2 hours. Needless to say, the first day I was grumpy, exhausted, irritable, and just plain unpleasant. I didn't want to be, I just was. I couldn't shake it, until I took a nap, then I woke up happy and ready to explore. Luckily, Zac (who'd taken Dramamine and slept 8 hours) was very understanding.
We got off the plane in Granada, and we got to climb down the stairs on the runway and then walk in to the airport. I told Zac I felt like Michelle and Obama, and there should have been paparazzi waiting for us at the bottom of the stairs. Haha, might be weird, but that's just me. :) I've certainly never got to leave the plane on stairs, and the only people who I ever really see do that are presidents.
Anyways, we took a bus to downtown, and luckily it let us out right across from our hotel, so we just had a short walk with our luggage. We checked in and the staff was so friendly and helpful. We set our stuff down and instantly set out to explore the city. We walked a bit and this is when I was at the peak of my exhaustion. We walked for about two hours, then decided to go back to the hotel for a nap. This was such a wise decision, because when I woke up I was refreshed and felt like a new person. I tried to put my contacts on though, and my eyeballs rejected them with lots of pain and twitching and watering, so I just wore my glasses. This wouldn't have normally been that bad, but about an hour after we left the hotel, it started POURING rain! Rain on glasses is so annoying, but luckily we were laughing and in a good mood as we sat under a tree, hoping to worst of it would pass. We had stopped at a little shop and bought a Coca-Cola and some strawberry belts (ya know, those long flat gummy strawberry things with that sour sugar stuff sprinkled on them? These were a bit hit with me all week and I would keep some in my purse and eat them every day, and when I ran out, we'd find another place that sold them.) so we snacked on those while we watched the rain. It didn't, and we were ready to get back to the hotel, so we booked it as much as we could and then took a taxi the rest of the way.
To see the pics from day one, please click HERE. Be sure to read the captions (although on this day they aren't super descriptive, but still) and click to the right to see the whole album.

Black Beauty

2010-06-08T00:25:00.004-05:00

It's crazy how much I can love a dog. Just crazy. Some of you will understand, some won't, and that's okay. We met my parents in Waco today (halfway between our city and theirs) for dinner, and to give them Molly. We will be away from her for 10 days. Just typing that hurts my feelings. Gulp...it will be a very long time to be away from her. Longer than we ever have been, but I know it will be worth it too. (keep reminding yourself that, Jules!) It was so hard watching them drive away with her tonight, and even harder because she was sorta hanging out of the window, looking at us like she was so confused and felt betrayed. If you think dogs don't have human emotions and expressions, you haven't met Molly. I choked up, Zac took my hand, and we walked silently to the car, with that yucky feeling that you're missing something. I should be in bed now, but I know it will be so weird having to sleep without her. She normally cuddles with me all night, and stays right by my side. I love the way she breathes, snores, smells, feels...I'll miss that. But I know my senses will be entertained by new smells and sounds and tastes and sights. Not to sound melodramatic (yeah right...like this whole post hasn't been a bit dramatic!?), but I know we will come back changed. Changed in a good way. :) And I know we'll come back with a little gift for Molly, to bribe our way back into her good graces!
PS-Just added 2 more posts to my journal on my travel website. Check it out!

Tres mas dias

2010-06-05T23:58:00.003-05:00

In three days we will be in Spain. It's pretty much consuming all of my thoughts right now. Have you looked at our travel website lately? I've blogged a few times (under Journal section) and added some stuff to the calendar. To check it out, click HERE! C'mon...there's even a survey! Take it!

Check Yes or No...

2010-05-24T22:52:00.003-05:00

I've probably mentioned it, but this spring has been so full of unanswered questions...will Zac get his first assistant principal job? Will I get a teaching job? What will I be doing? Will he live here or get to move back to Austin? Will we be able to sell our house? When will we find out what we will be doing next year?
Today answered most of those questions, because I GOT A JOB. One I am very happy about! I will be getting to work at the same school, and in the same room I am in now, except I will be a teacher instead of aide. This means I will have a lot more planning, meetings, and paperwork to do, but I will also get paid four times what I get now. An exchange I don't mind making! :)
That being said...we will be living in Midlo for another year. We are okay with this. The pros are that we will not have to sell our house yet, we will have another year of equity in it by the time we do sell it, we have lots of friends here, and I get to work in an environment I already know I LOVE! Zac is still looking for AP jobs, but is also considering simply teaching (and no longer coaching). He has a few things in the works, but of course we are anxious to get his job pinned down too. It would be extra nice if it happened before we left for Spain, but either way, I'm confident he will be somewhere he likes next year! The thought of doubling our salary and having more free time together (without him coaching) is so exciting to both of us. We want to travel more...and we will be able to! Woohoo! In fact, on the way home from Austin, we started talking about the speech that key-note speaker Marcia Gay Harden delivered at Eli's UT graduation (post to come in near future!!). Something she said really resonated with me, and when I started telling Zac, he said that it had stuck with him too, and he kept hearing it over in his head like I was. She referenced The Rolling Stones, saying "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you find, you get what you need." As much as we both want to be in Austin to be near our families, we both feel like this is where we are SUPPOSED to be. God works in mysterious ways, but I know that months ago the thought of NOT moving to Austin was devastating and unacceptable, and now I am completely at peace with it. This feels right.

Zac's Masters of Education diploma came in the mail today and I hid it in my purse and busted it out at our "Jules got a job" celebration dinner. I was way more excited about it than he was (haha, go figure, right?) but he was still happy to have it in his possession.
Okay, before I go to bed (which I should have done an hour ago, but GAH...I'm still giddy and hyper and happy and my-mind-is-racing-a-million-miles-an-hour excited) please let me tell you the short version of how I was hired.
I interviewed Friday and was told I would be called early afternoon with a decision. At 6:30 Friday night, my principal called my cell and told me he would not be able to tell me anything until Monday, because another person wanted to interview, and they felt they owed it to her. Okay...fine with me. I saw him this morning and he smiled and said he hoped to talk to me soon. I was so busy with my day, I kinda forgot about it all, until I was on my lunch break in the classroom. A student office aide brought in an envelope. I grabbed it, assuming it was for Vickie, but as I was handing it to her, I noticed it had my name on it. My heart sank. Zac has been applying for so many jobs, and we keep getting these letters in the mail saying "thanks for your interest, but the position's been filled." I just knew this is what that was. I handed it to Vickie and asked her to open it for me. She swore they'd never deliver bad news in such an impersonal way, but I still did a nervous little dance by her desk, begging her to open it. She finally said "just open it Julia!" I opened it, and as I read it, our classroom door opened (not uncommon, since we sell Tea to teachers, they are always coming in around lunch and buying a cup). I was so jittery and nervous, I had to read it twice to see what it was saying, and I was still confused. It read:

Mrs. Oldham,
Will you please be the new CBI teacher at our school next year" Check one:
YES[] No []
Sign Here_______________

I looked up from the paper, so someone could explain to me what was going on, and our principal was standing in the doorway smiling, and he said "well are you gonna check one, or what?" If you just knew my principal, you'd know this is SOO unlike him. (He reminds me soo much of Zac...very reserved, professional, even tempered, etc) Before I could even say anything, I felt my heart start pounding and my eyes fill up with tears and I just gave him the biggest hug. (Also weird, if you think about this guy being like Zac and not really the hugging type.) But he smiled and told me he'd been wanting me in this position for a very long time, and he felt so relieved that it was official and he was so happy to have me. It was awesome! Vickie stood up and hugged me and we might have teared up a little bit together. I know we will have really hard times next year, but we are in it together, for better for worse. And what better person to go through a crazy year with, than a great friend and amazing teacher!? I feel like the luckiest girl in the world!
And just in case you want to hear it: You Can't Always Get What You Want! (Glee style!)

What a weekend!

2010-05-16T20:30:00.006-05:00

I went to Austin this weekend for the State Track meet. Since Zac is applying for assistant principal jobs, this could realistically be his last event as a coach. He had two kids make it to state, both pole vaulters. Neither did their true best, but the boy did win second. (The part that stinks is that earlier this season he vaulted 15'9" and the kid who won first at state won with a vault of 15 feet!) Anyways, no gold medals, but it was still an awesome experience for MHS track. Zac was very sad not to have his awesome distance runner there though. Last year she won the mile and two mile, but an injury kept her from competing this year. Zac kept saying "it feels so weird to be here without Carly!"

One of the other coaches drove the kids back to Midlo, so Zac got to stay in Austin with me and spend time with our families, which I have to say was my favorite part! :) We stayed with my folks and had some quality time with them, and then Sunday we met Baw and Aunt Nancy and my cousin Amy for lunch at Jason's Deli. (YUM!) Saturday afternoon we went to Eli and Ryan's new condo downtown. It is so amazing and has great views of the city. One of the coolest things is that the gym where Eli works is in the same building, so that is super convenient for him! That night we met Zac's family for dinner at Mesa Rosa to celebrate mother's day. After dinner we went to a park and just watched Ellie play (okay, we played a lot too!) until the sun went down. Fun times!
Woah...who even knew that merry-go-rounds could go that fast? It was borderline painful...yet so fun too, haha!
brothers :)
Eliza's fan club! All the Oldham's (plus Andy, Tatem's high school BFF) watching Ellie play...
the cutie pie...
I love that little girl! She had a fever and was still such a champ all through dinner and the park!
Eli and Rye's new condo. Their stuff isn't really moved in yet, but it is sooo nice!
When we went to Jason's Deli to eat lunch, we saw Matt and Tara and three week old baby Magnolia walking in to Sprouts! It was such an awesome run in! Maggie Mae is so tiny and perfect! It was great to see them, even if just for ten minutes! :)

PS-I blogged two separate posts back to back on the same day, so make sure you look at both of them...if you want. Just scroll down to hear about our weekend in Katy and Cinco de Mustache:)

MAY I tell you about this month? :)

2010-05-16T19:06:00.001-05:00

Wow, it's been too long since I blogged about something fun in my life. This month has already been action-packed! We got to go to Katy to see Madeline's very first dance recital, which was about the most cuteness I can possibly stand without exploding. I even teared up a bit...that's how precious it was! :) I taught her some fun poses on the way...
the pout
the kiss
this is her blowing the kiss.
Madeline and one of her friends after the show. Hadley bought Madeline flowers. Precious!
After pics and hugs and lots more pics, we went to BR31 (some call it Baskin-Robins) to celebrate. Madeline chose a neon blue and pink ice cream, which was "cotton candy."
Owen is still as perfect as ever, and growing much bigger. He smiles often and gets lots of attention. Molly thinks his face tastes delish! :)
On the way home from Katy, we met Ramsi and Bez in Bryan to look at puppies! Ramsi's been wanting a Sheltie since I met her and Zac found this litter listed online. We got to help them pick her out. Ladies and gentlemen...meet... Worley! :)
Friday, May 7th I had to take my state Special Ed test (which I found out later I PASSED!) and then was the second annual Cinco de Mustache party. There weren't as many mustaches this year, but the fun was multiplied. I played flip cup for the first time and turns out I'm not very good at it, but it was lots of fun. There was also a pinata, silly girlfriends, and yummy food catered by Nicole's dad, who is a chef in Dallas! Obviously it was an AWESOME night!Unlike a lot of our PO5(ish) events, the boys were invited this time. In fact, Zac and I rode to the fiesta with Ramsi and Bez and Cody and Rheanna.
So yeah, I was awful at the pinata, but I still got some candy...off the kitchen counter!
For some reason we spent a lot of time in the bathroom. Nicole has a gorgeous shower, and it only seemed appropriate to take a weird picture in it...

See? I told you the bathroom was like the cool place to go! Rhe-T and I even took this pic with a sign that SAYS bathroom, just to prove it!Molly and Worley are quickly becoming besties, just like Me and Ram. Aww...two generations of BFF's...how sweet! :)

In a few weeks I turn 26! OMG!! :)

Enjoying the Small Things

2010-05-09T00:13:00.003-05:00

I have a new favorite blog, and you could say I'm slightly obsessed with it. I could go on an on about it, but instead I'll keep it short and just tell you some of my favorite things:
1.She has amazing pictures! She is a professional photographer, so her photos are breath taking.
2. She is an amazing writer, and I find myself wishing I had written some of her entries, because her language is so beautiful, and because I agree with her so much!
3. She is a mom and loves being a mom. She is laid back and has the best attitude. She keeps it real.
4. Perhaps my favorite thing about her...she has a daughter with Down syndrome. If you don't know me well, you might think that is a strange thing to like about somebody. But those who do know me, I mean really know me, know that I have an unexplainable strong bond to Down syndrome. I love this blogger's outlook on life. Read her daughter's birth story HERE.

Enough of me describing the blog, you should just check it out instead. I'm telling you, every single post she writes is amazing. I sit and take it all in after I'm done, and then usually look at all the gorgeous pics again.
Oh, and here is something she wrote that really struck me, and I've gone back to it and re-read it, because I think it is so true..."I find it refreshing in this day and age that women are talking about their short-comings, their fears, their insecurities and maybe, just by doing so, we are empowering each other a little more. Accepting that we all do these things, feel these things, say these things and moving on together to overcome them. We are not perfect. We are messy and complicated and creative and good and we try our best at so many different endeavors. And it's this brew of wonderfulness that is indeed what makes us perfect."

Cool Science

2010-04-29T19:19:00.001-05:00

La Musica de Zumba

2010-04-22T22:08:00.003-05:00

I think I've mentioned that I'm doing Zumba. I love it. I'm lifting weights twice a week and doing Zumba (cardio and muscle toning) three times a week. I've been doing it consistently over a month now and I love it. I look forward to it, and love the way I feel afterwords. One of my favorite parts of Zumba is the fun music. We all know I love Spanish and all types of music, so it's so fun to be exposed to new songs and also to dance to songs I already know. Here are a few of my faves...
This is our cool down song. If you are only going to listen to one song, click on this one. It's so pretty. Since it's the last song I hear it gets stuck in my head and I drive home singing it and then sing it some more in the shower.

This is a really fun poppy song with a club sound to it.

This is more of a rap sound, and is also my fave song choreographically speaking! :)
OMG...when I just searched on YouTube, I found someone doing the actual dance we do. This is the exact way my class does it too. Doesn't it look FUN!? Can you see how an hour of non-stop dancing like this could be a hard-core workout?

his pitch and my week...

2010-04-12T22:35:00.005-05:00

Zac was chosen as teacher of the week by the senior softball players, and therefore got to throw out the first pitch at their game on Friday night. It was fun, but the best part was the sweet words one of the girls said about him. :)

His students love him so much. I wish I had social studies teachers like him...I might be a little smarter in that category! ha! I wish I still had a picture of his Swine Flu stance. One of his coworkers caught it with his iPhone and sent it to me, but I can't find the email. He used to brag about how he could do this stance (looked like a very awkward lunge) and it would prevent him from ever getting the swine flu. The thought and idea were funny, but I have to admit...it wasn't successful, because he did catch it. Oh well.
Zac's little slogan in his classroom (and sometimes he uses it with me) is "Don't Be Tacky!" If people are trying to talk about someone or bragging or basically doing anything that he wants them to stop, he says "Don't be tacky!" Apparently the kids think this is way more amusing than I do when he says it to me (hehe) because he even had a kid draw this for him last year...

Big week...
Tuesday night-dinner with Uncle Mel, Ellen and her family, and Amy and Gian in Fort Worth at Cooper's BBQ!
Wednesday-MY FIRST JOB INTERVIEW!!!!!!!!!! It's for a sixth grade English teacher position, which is why on...
Thursday-I have a half day of school because I'm taking the 4-8 English Language Arts certification test at 1, then driving to Corsicana for day two of the district track meet. (I'll miss day one because I have a full day of school and then the interview at 4 on wed.)

When I Look at You

2010-04-05T22:16:00.005-05:00

I had an amazing weekend. I have pics to come, but haven't loaded them onto the computer yet. (Very unlike me, I know!) I went to Austin for a track meet, but got to hang out with the family too. Mom and I got to have some girl time (a little shopping and a chick flick) but spent most of our time together at Texas Relays. It was so fun to have her there with me! Saturday evening we went to Burnet for Easter. We had a nice picnic that night and did the chuch/egg hunt/big Easter meal on Sunday. It was awesome. I love family time...it's so revitalizing! I promise I'll post pics soon.
Work update...TAKS-Alt is so consuming right now, but luckily we should be done at the end of the week. Hallelujah! If you don't know what taks-alt is, I'll explain another time...when I can do so without cursing. haha. On a fun note, we have our first track meet this Thursday! Our kids have been working hard and I can't wait to see them compete! If you ever want an instant warm-and-fuzzy feeling, just go to a Special Olympics event! They are THE BEST, and always remind me how lucky I am and how much I adore these kids.
Eight more weeks of school...but I'm not counting down or anything, haha! We will be in Spain two months from Thursday...THAT is a cool thought! :) I've already started thinking about what I want to pack!
Job fair this Friday. I am taking the 4-8 English certification test next Thursday, the 15th. I am very open to what we do next year (move or stay, although I would prefer to move and be in Austin), but I'm starting to get a little impatient, and I JUST WANT TO KNOW where I'll be living and working next year. I've been real laid back about it all (what does worrying do?) but I'm starting to wish I just knew...either way, I just want everything to be done, so I can prepare myself for whatever it is in our future. Sigh...patience patience Julia!

Okay, last but not least..."The Last Song" was amazing. I don't care if you think Miley is annoying, this movie was great. Liam Hainsworth might be my new crush...he's adorable! It's a Nicholas Sparks story, so of course it was quite powerful. This song has been in my head since the movie and I think it's awesome...

a coach's wife...

2010-04-01T18:11:00.003-05:00

This might seem random, but as I head to Austin to watch Zac's kids in the Texas Relays, I'm thinking a lot about being a coach's wife. I have so much I could share on this, but here is just a short post about a few thoughts.
As my wise sister pointed out, there aren't many other jobs (besides coaching), where a wife is expected to physically go somewhere and WATCH their husband work, and support him. Coaching is definitely not "just a job" it is most certainly a lifestyle. Even when you are not at work, living in a small town, you constantly have eyes on you, and must be professional at ALL times, not just 40 hours a week. My hubby does a great job of this.
The wife part...It is challenging at times (when the pressure is on him, or when his hours get long), but overall it is so rewarding. To hear teenage boys and their parents tell me positive stories about MY husband is the best. Just hearing the way a kid calls him "Coach" with the utmost respect in their voice gets me sometimes. I've said it before, I've blogged it before, but I am so proud of Zac and not the gold medals, but the way he conducts himself and carries himself, day in and day out. He truly is an amazing role model for these kids, and even some of the parents. I am one lucky girl!

Lesson learned...

2010-03-26T17:02:00.003-05:00

Never sit down on the job! No, really...I'm not joking! Our kids have a Special Olympics track meet coming up, so we were working with them outside today (which was a lovely day, might I add?). The kids were doing long jump, and practicing landing with two feet. (It's much harder than it sounds.) Anyways, I was off to the side with one of my kids in a wheelchair who was not participating. I rolled him over to the pole vault mat and tried to sit on the edge of the mat. Except apparently it's been raining a lot, when no one was watching, because as I started to sink into the mat, it INSTANTLY formed a big puddle around my 'seat.' I had a long sleeve shirt on, and the wrists of both sleeves were so soaked they were dripping. My jeans and undies were saturated too. It all happened so quickly. The water was freezing, and I was so shocked, but my students were laughing so hard, it was ALMOST worth it. Luckily I had some workout clothes with me at school, so I was able to change after we went inside. It was one of those "laugh-so-you-don't-cry" moments. :)

You are the thunder, and I am the lightning...

2010-03-24T21:57:00.004-05:00

There is a huge storm going on outside at this moment. I can see lightening and hear thunder, which reminded me of a song I am in LOVE with. If I had a tween, I would definitely encourage her to be a fan of this sweet wholesome girl Selena Gomez (who happens to be from Grand Prairie, home of my bestie Ramsi). Well, I am a big fan of hers. I mean, look how adorable she is:

How you choose to express yourself
It's all your own, and I can tell
It comes naturally. It comes naturally

You follow what you feel inside
It's intuitive, you don't have to try
It comes naturally, mmmm it comes naturally

And it takes my breath away

You are the thunder and I am the lightning
And I love the way you know who you are
And to me it's exciting
When you know it's meant to be
Everything comes naturally, it comes naturally
When you're with me, baby

Everything comes naturally, it comes naturally
Bay bay baby

You have a way of moving me
A force of nature, your energy
It comes naturally (You know it does)
It comes naturally (mmm yeah)

And it takes my breath away (Everytime)
What you do, so naturally

You are the thunder and I am the lightning
And I love the way you know who you are
And to me it's exciting
When you know it's meant to be
Everything comes naturally, it comes naturally
When you're with me, baby

Everything comes naturally, it comes naturally
Bay-bay-bay-baby

When we collide, sparks fly
When you look in my eyes,
it takes my breath away

You are the thunder and I am the lightning
And I love the way you know who you are
And to me it's exciting
When you know it's meant to be
Everything comes naturally, it comes naturally
When you're with me, baby

Everything comes naturally, it comes naturally
Bay bay baby

PS-Selena Gomez also has a movie coming out this summer and it's based on the Ramona Quimby books written by my favorite childhood author, Beverly Cleary! Check out the trailer for Ramona and Beezus!!!

New Journal...

2010-03-23T23:04:00.003-05:00

It might not be interesting to anyone besides myself, but if you want to read about my new workout plan, head over to my new website. I just updated it. It's actually a Shutterfly share site that has some cool features. I am using it to share our thoughts and planning for our trip to Espana. When we get back, I will post all the pics on that site also. Enjoy.

Julia Ebert (or should I be Julia Siskel?)

2010-03-17T10:53:00.002-05:00

Since I started out the week off sick, we rented several movies to pass the time at the house. Here are my thoughts on them-
The Hurt Locker-Very suspenseful. It was a war movie, but it was different than other war movies I've seen. I would definitely recommend it. We both enjoyed it alot. (Funny side note-one of the main characters was played by the same actor who played Papa Doc in 8 Mile, and Tupac Shakur in Notorious, so I kept waiting for him to start rapping, haha!!)
Law Abiding Citizen-I remembered twenty minutes into the movie why I didn't see it in the theater...I didn't want to! This movie was a bit disturbing and unsettling.

Love Happens-I am not the biggest Jennifer Aniston fan on the block, but I really really liked this movie. I do like Aaron Eckhart a lot, and from the side, he kindof reminds me of my cousin Matt! Zac loved that it took place in Seattle, and pointed out every time they showed something we'd seen or visited last spring break. I wouldn't even call this a romantic comedy, because the funny parts were very subtle and rare. I'd probably call it a drama, but it was neat. Touching. And awesome soundtrack. I loved every song that played throughout the film!
Precious-I didn't know if I could make it through the movie. This felt very "close to home" because of my own students' experiences, but I am glad I watched it. Like The Blind Side, this movie shows how ONE person can make a huge impact and difference in the outcome of a person's life. Very powerful movie. And Monique deserved that Oscar...wow!
We went to the theater last night to see:
Brooklyn's Finest-Ugh...where do I begin? This movie was long and a little slow at the beginning (Zac threatened to go into "Jules at Shutter Island" mode, haha) but when it picked up, MAN I WAS HOOKED! Actually I was always hooked, it's the people I was with who thought it was long and slow. I guess I have to say that it was an amazing movie since it provoked SO...MUCH...EMOTION from me. Whether that be happy emotion or upset emotion, I won't say. I don't want to give anything away, but put it this way...I felt VERY strongly when I left the movie, and I've not been able to quit thinking about the film since. I might or might not have agreed with the ending, but either way it was a powerful movie, and cleverly made. Ramsi said it was "like The Departed, but in Brooklyn, in the projects, without Jack Nicholson." **If any of you have seen this movie, or go to see it, please let me know so I can talk openly with you about it. Uhhh...so much to say!!!!!!!

Slow Motion

2010-03-09T20:32:00.005-06:00

Work has been pretty exhausting lately due to the fact that lots of my students have horrid home lives, which eats me up. I think about them 24/7 and haven't even been sleeping well lately because I feel so burdened with all this. It's just not fair, and the worst part is that the system is faulty, so even when the correct people are notified, nothing changes. It's tragic. We just love on them as much as we can while they are with us, and then pray for them when they get on that bus in the afternoon. It's heart breaking. Needless to say, I am so pumped for Spring Break and I'm ready for the fun and stress-free activities. We aren't doing anything near as cool as we did last year, but we do have some good local stuff planned...
Saturday-going out to eat and downtown (Ft. Worth) with a big group of friends. FUN!!!
Sunday-headed to Ray Roberts Lake State Park to meet my cousins and Uncle for a day of nature and relaxing.
Zac has track practice each morning Monday-Wednesday, but I plan on sleeping late! ;)
Tuesday night we are taking the distance runners (the athletes Zac coaches) out to eat and to bowl. It will be lots of fun and the kids have already been asking about it.
Thursday night Liz, Andy, Madeline and Owen will arrive to stay for the weekend. We are going to hang out and have fun around here Friday, and then Saturday the McKinney cousins and their families are coming down for the day. Yay!
Anyways, doesn't sound like much, but I know the week will FLY by!!

Three months from today...

2010-03-09T19:05:00.001-06:00

our plane will be landing in Spain. Wow! I can't wait!! In the meantime, to hold me over AND get me ready, I just ordered these two books:

When Stacy and I went to New York, she sent me the Eyewitness Travel guide to NYC and I loved loved loved the way it was broken up...very easy to manuever and read. Some travel guides skip around and some are just organized kinda weird, but I personally love the way the eyewitness books flow. (Does that sound weird?) Anyways, I can't wait to start reading all about where we are going, and get some new ideas on places to visit and things to see and food to try. Yippee!
The best part? I had a $30 Barnes and Noble gift card left over from graduation, so I didn't even have to pay for them! I ordered them about an hour ago, and already received an email that they are ready to be shipped, and will arrive on 3/11, which is Thursday. Wow right? I'm impressed that free shipping could be so speedy! :)
I desperately need to brush up on my Spanish. I used to be fluent (I'm not joking...it was my minor, I took Spanish Lit. classes and used to read, think and even do math in Spanish in my head) but I have not used it in years, and I have lost soo much. I didn't even know you could lose a language by not using it for years. (it's probably been about 5-6 years since I used it regularly) It is so frustrating, but I'm hoping that since I have a past with it and a good foundation it will come back easily. Gosh, I hope so! Today I started speaking to a few of our custodians in Spanish about our upcoming trip and found myself a little flustered and insecure about my speech, and I never used to be that way. I was so annoyed with myself. Oh well...be positive Jules. I'm going to start listening to Univision in the mornings as I get ready for work (instead of music) so that I can get used to hearing, keeping up with, and understanding the language again. I mean really...I don't mean to sound whiny, but it is so aggravating to be fluent in a language at one point, and then find yourself struggling to converse in it just a few years later. Ugh!! I'll let you know how it goes. Zac has requested a copy of Rosetta Stone to learn Espanol, but I'm not sure when he'll get it, or if he'll actually listen. I hope he's not relying on me too much, because at this point I feel like I know less than I did in middle school. Hopefully practice will get me back. Okay, I can tell I'm getting redundant and mopey, so I'm going to close.
Wish me luck! And if you want to say it in Spanish, say ¡buena suerte!

Shut-My EyeLand

2010-02-28T20:22:00.004-06:00

Get it? Like "Shutter Island?" Haha, I even crack myself up sometimes! :) You can guess from the title of this post if I liked the movie or not. Are you done guessing? Well, the correct answer is "I was not a fan." I thought it was going to be scary and exciting and amazing. In my opinion (it's my blog, so I get to state my opinion, but if you want to add yours, I highly encourage that, in the comment section!) the movie was long and boring. There, I said it. I didn't like it. I was so disappointed because it's Leo (Zac's #1 man crush!), and Scorcese, and did I mention Leonardo DiCaprio? Anyways, it really felt short if you ask me. Apparently I nodded off for a short bit (hence the title of the post) and even snored a little. Hellooo...I never do that in movies...that should say something! So, if you are thinking about going, just know it will be long, you have to think hard (kinda) and it's not very exciting. That's all.
Also, we rented "My Life in Ruins" which was just asking for brutality, but it was every bit as lame as I thought it would be. Zac fell asleep for that one. I don't blame him...he'd been up all day in the sun at this year's first track meet. His boys did okay but not great, but it was a rally hard meet, so he was fine with their performance.
Okay, and just to be fair, because it's bugging him, Zac liked Shutter Island. So did my friend Audree, who even posted this very long review of it, which also has lots of spoilers. Her review is fun to read though, and me kinda feel like I should have liked it. Oh well.

Childhood Favorite Movies

2010-02-27T21:55:00.007-06:00

My sister texted me awhile ago. She told me she was watching the Olympics and bobsledding was on, which reminded her of one of our favorite childhood memories, Cool Runnings. That made me start thinking about some of our other favorites. I guess I just had fun looking at old trailers and whatnot, so thought I'd share some of our faves with you. Did you watch some of these? What did I leave off? What did YOU love to watch? Enjoy...
(the title of the movie has a link to a youtube video)

Cool Runnings "Feel the rhythm, feel the rhyme. Get on up, it's bobsled time!"

The Princess Bride "As you wish..."

Kindergarten Cop "Maybe it's a tumor!"

Troop Beverly Hills "We don't need no stinkin' patches!"

Rocketeer

Curly Sue

The Sandlot

Ladybugs

Wild Hearts Can't be Broken

The Witches

Hocus Pocus

Forever Young

Polly This is the African-American version of the classic Pollyanna. Mom must've recorded it off of TV, we loved watching it! It has some major stars in it too! :)

¡Vamos a España!

2010-02-25T17:31:00.002-06:00

It's official! We're going to Spain! After lots of discussion, a few disagreements, online research, mind-changing, some stress, and lots of excitement, we have booked our airline tickets to Spain!! I will spare you all the boring details, but it was quite a hassle, and I was starting to think we weren't meant to take this trip. But I just got off the phone with Iberian Airlines and we are GOOD TO GO! I already received the confirmation email and all of our reservation info!!
We are leaving Tuesday, June 8th and return Wednesday, June 16th. We are flying roundtrip to and from Granada, although we make stops in Madrid coming and going. I'm not sure we will have time to leave the airport, but at least we'll get to see the city from the plane! :)
I wish we could go all over Spain, but after lots of talk (and more and more talk) we decided we just don't have the money and flexibility to do that, so we are focusing on Southern Spain. Andalucia, Seville, Cordoba, Malaga, etc. Zac and I are a great team because I am the dreamer who wants to be gone all summer and would spend every penny we have and then some, and Zac is the realist who is good about budgeting and being smart about things. We balance each other out. This is the first major trip we've planned together, and I will say it is somewhat stressful and includes alot of sacrifice. For example, I've always wanted to go to a bullfight, and although Zac has no personal desire to, he will because I want to. On the flipside, I'm not much of a beach person, but Zac wants to spend a day on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and I'm fine with that. This is an experience for both of us, so we want to make sure we each get out of it what we want, and get to do it with our best friend the whole time. :) Cheesy, I know, but it's true!
It is going to be such a fun trip, I'm so excited I could squeal. My fingers are doing little dances right now, as my brain is trying to tell them to type! Yay...it's really and finally happening!!! :)

Back on the 'roids

2010-02-25T04:43:00.005-06:00

In case you were ever wondering if injecting one little dose of prednisone (a steroid) has the same affect as taking large doses orally (in pill form), IT DOES! When I was sick in high school I had to take prednisone all the time, and the shot I got for my sinus infection is making me feel a little too much like I did in high school:
-hungry
-emotional
-can't sleep at night
-kinda like my heart will beat through my chest
-did I mention emotional!!
-did I mention hungry?
-puffy cheeks! (I can't believe one shot can do that, because they never got puffy until I was on high doses for a period of time when I was in high school, but they are a little rounder than usual!)
I know the symptoms could be way worse, because I've been there too, but this is still not fun. At least I'm feeling better, so it kinda feels worth it. I guess.
So that's a boring post, but what else am I supposed to do at 4:30am? At least I'm not eating, because believe me, the thought crossed my mind. haha
PS-In GOOD NEWS...It has been 8 days since I've had any Dr. Pepper or any soda at all, for that matter! No carbonation whatsoever. I do miss it, but I'm past the point of "needing" it, and I'm not getting headaches anymore like I was the first few days. Isn't that scary to think that there is something that if I don't have it will make me feel bad? Addiction much? Every year at Lent I say I'm going to give them up altogether, since I've already gone through the 6 week withdrawal period, but then I have one on Easter, and that leads to another random one later in the week, and I think "well I'll drink occasionally, just as a treat" and then the next thing I know I'm back on one a day. Ugh, so no promises this year....we will see what happens. :) In the meantime, Go me! :)

Sinuses Schminuses

2010-02-23T21:33:00.004-06:00

Most of you follow me on facebook, so you already know that I'm sick. This is my second sinus infection (the first being less than a month ago) and the doc gave me two shots and sent me home with a handful of medicine samples and two prescriptions. I think it's safe to say she's drug happy, but I will try whatever works.
Nothing too exciting to write about today, but if I was an author for the SAT, I would definitely include the analogy CVS is to Walgreens, as Wal-Mart is to Target. (inferior, that is) I went to CVS because I had two coupons for Rite Aid (which CVS accepts) that if you turn in a prescription you get a $25 gift card. So I went there to get the $50 in gift cards, but it was almost not even worth it. The two times I have been there, it took over an hour to fill two simple prescriptions. Very frustrating. And the main thing is, no one wants to hang out at a drug store with a bunch of other sickies anytime, but when you already feel bad and want to go home, an hour feels like five hours. Anyways, I bought some mascara, a birthday card for my friend, and a Starbucks Mocha drink (ya know, the glass bottles that taste so good, and nothing like coffee, which is the only reason I like them) and I still have $40 left in gift money there. Nice!
We have a field trip tomorrow. We are going to a Special Olympics event, and those are always SO awesome and warm and fuzzy. It is a basketball "individual skills" workshop, and the kids are looking forward to it. I hope I'm feeling better...these kids keep me SO busy on fieldtrip days! Dang...that reminds me that I have to bring a sack lunch and I have nothing to pack. I always cook easy mac or a frozen dinner or (sometimes) buy the plate lunch at school, so I don't have any sandwich type stuff. Hmm...I'll get creative.
Zac's first track meet is Saturday...I hope the weather is somewhat pleasant! I won't be staying long if it's not, and I really want to stay the whole time, so SUN PLEASE COME OUT!!!! Kthxbye!
PS-This commercial completely caught me on a good day and I laughed out loud. Then I rewound it, and laughed again. Haha, not sure why, but see if you like it too. :)

kind of a deep post

2010-02-21T21:23:00.008-06:00

This morning we headed to McKinney (an hour away) to go to church with my cousins, and have lunch with them. I had been to their church a few times, but Zac never had. We have had a hard time finding a church that we like because we both prefer a traditional service (choir, organ, hymnals) as compared to a praise style, but we want an open-minded congregation and pastor. We were both raised Methodist, but all the Methodist churches we've tried close to home are either a praise style service or the congregation is filled with all old people and we didn't quite fit in. Anyways, I've loved Ellen and Amy's church the times I've gone, so I wanted Zac to go. It was a great service today. I enjoyed what he preached about while I was there, but the more it marinates within me, the more I like it. He was talking about Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness and being constantly tempted by Satan. (This was also a pep talk for me about resisting temptation, since I gave up Dr. Pepper for Lent and have been miserable and having headaches and wanting to give in, but I haven't.) Anyways, at one point in the scripture the devil quotes the bible. The preacher said "there are many 'bible quoting devils' today, who take scripture and twist it how they want to, and pray on the most vulnerable groups." I think that is so true and it was so cool to hear a minister say so. Living in an extremely conservative town, it is hard to hear people say "I'm a republican because I'm a Christian." What are you trying to say about me...that I'm not a good Christian because I don't consider myself a Republican? It's frustrating to me. You can be a Christian and still have different political opinions. The main thing that bothers me I think, is that people use being a Christian as an excuse for being close-minded. I think the whole point of Christianity is to LOVE your neighbor, even if the neighbor is not exactly like you, and even if they make different choices, and even if they choose a different lifestyle or religion. It is not our job to judge and it's not our job to try to use the bible to condemn a certain group, just because we don't agree with them. This is getting kind of heavy, and I meant to just talk about how much I loved their church. We really wish it was not an hour away, or we would join for sure! We are still going to try to visit as often as possible though. Anyhow, after lunch we all went to eat at Jason's Deli...yum! It was so good to see my family and chat about work and life and the kids and sports and everything else we always blab about. :) When we got home from McKinney we took a long nap and then took Molly to a local park since it was such a gorgeous day. We'd never been to this one, and ended up walking around for abut an hour and a half. Molser loved it.

Another page for the book...

2010-02-18T19:39:00.002-06:00

(the book that I'm going to write about being a special ed teacher)
Last semester, since I was not only an aide, but a "student teacher" as well, I took over the science curriculum and have taught that since the beginning of the year. We've done some cool units, such as fossils, plate tectonics, and recycling, and we are about to start life cycles. We ordered some stuff to help bring the lesson to life for the kids. Literally! We got a box delivered today that said "open immediately" and I was so excited that it was our science materials. The box had two vials of large red ants (with neon orange "Caution:Ants Bite!" stickers everywhere), and two cups with ten butterfly larvae. The butterflies will become caterpillars, then chrysalis, and then butterflies. (but you probably already knew that). The ants are for an ant farm, and we will discuss living in a community, etc. Okay, I am really drawing this out, so I'll just get to the good part...I carefully opened the first vial of ants and successfully dumped them all into the first ant farm. It was a little stressful. but not too bad. When it was time to put the second vial into that "farm" I dropped the vial and 40 huge ants started crawling all over the place. Luckily most of the kids were in reading, and only three were in the room at the time. I was doing it on a countertop, and two other teachers came to help, so we saved about half of them back (by scooping them up into the vials and then dumping them in their new farm home). Unfortunately lots of them walked right off the counter onto the floor and had to be stepped on. We were worried about them getting away before we could scoop them up, and as much as we sit on the floor in our class, we certainly did not want ants infesting our room. My blood pressure was through the roof and I was squeamishly trying to get everything under control. It was a mess but we laughed soo soo much. One of my coworkers get bitten on the pinky and it hurt really badly. She said it hurt much worse than a normal ant bite. I felt so bad!
Anyways, I always say it, but I love my job. Every single day is a new adventure and it never gets old. I can't think of a better way to spend 8 hours a day than caring for and teaching these kiddos. :)

Completely Unrelated

2010-02-16T21:01:00.004-06:00

Probably boring, and most certainly random, but here we go...
1. I'm enjoying American Idol, and I think it's cool that there have been SO many people from Texas on. My favorite show these days though, is Modern Family. If you don't watch it, I recommend you start. Just go to Hulu and start from the beginning...it's so entertaining, you'll be caught up before you know it! :)
2. I love my job. I love the kids. I don't love how much emotional baggage I bring home every day. My students have rough home lives and it's so unfair. I cried tonight, just thinking about what one girl is going through. I would love to say more but legally I can't. Just trust me...it's unfortunate. I have been trying to quit thinking about it since 4:00 this afternoon and have not been able to distract myself for more than ten minutes at a time without thinking about it again.
3. We had a LOT of snow last week. Stacy spent the night. We met Ramsi and Bez for lunch the next day. It was the most fun I've had in a long time. I love laughing with friends! Here are a few pics...

4. Mock TAKS testing this week at our school means fieldtrips for us. Today we toured HEB (sounds weird, but it was really neat...we learned all about produce, seafood, the bakery ladies showed them how they make roses and other icing creations, visited the pharmacy, etc) and then went out to eat at Chili's. Tomorrow we are going to the Rainforest Cafe in Grapevine. The staff give our students a tour and talk about all the different animals and rainforest, then we eat. Should be fun!
5. I am really picky about shampoo and conditioner. I used "Dumb Blonde" by BedHead for the longest. I loved it at first but then it really dried my hair out. My stylist said that it actually puts too much protein in the hair, which helps to a point, then damages. I didn't know that and had been using it exclusively for like two years. Whoops! Anyways, after that I wanted to silken up my hair so I switched to my childhood fave Pantene Pro-V. The regular kind weighed my hair down too much, so I got the Volume one, but it made my hair frizzy and fly all over the place. Next bottle was Garnier Fructis, but it made my hair kinda oily. Anyways, I tell you all this because I FINALLY FOUND THE BEST STUFF and you will never believe what it is. Herbal Essence. I use the Body Envy type (which is for volume) and it is the perfect concoction for me. The other exciting thing about this, it is cheap...really cheap. One of my coworkers asked what I'd been doing different to my hair and I told I her I switched shampoo and she said I was the third person she'd talked to that was obsessed with this brand/type. She switched too and she loves it just as much as I do! :) More than you ever wanted to know, right? hah
6. Zac and I feel weighed down with some pretty hefty decisions. Say a little prayer for us to get through this semi-stressful time, and that we make the best decision. Please also be thinking of Zac as he is dealing with some work-related stress, and also awaits for the scores from his state principal exam. Thanks!

Love in a list

2010-02-12T23:46:00.005-06:00

I am the type of person who loves Valentine's Day. I loved the idea of it and what it symbolizes even when I was single, and of course I love it as a married woman. I am a hopeless romantic, and I like all the traditional (and not so traditional) gestures of romance. One year I told Zac that I didn't want to eat out at one of our normal restaurants, so he got super creative and took me to an Indian restaurant called Ararat. Zac and I are very boring eaters, so we did not enjoy the lamb or hummus or whatever else it was they served us, but we will never forget the magic show, the man swallowing swords, or the slew of belly dancers. Although we had to drive through Whataburger on the way home, the fact he researched and was so proud of picking this "anti-Zac" place made the night so special...and memorable! :) The night could have been so awful (since the place was quite strange, and we thought the food was gross) but we love to laugh about the time we tried to be adventurous.

In honor of Valentine's day, a day to celebrate love, here are the
Top Ten Reasons I Love and Adore My husband Zac

10. He cares about others more than himself, and constantly puts others first.
9. He loves kids and can't wait to be a Dad. I'm not sure which of us has baby fever more.
8. He has goals and is ambitious. He doesn't want to just be a principal, he wants to be a hard working principal that teachers and students both respect. He wants to actually make a school a better place.
7. He continues to surprise me. Remember that secret birthday party he planned for me this year?
6. He has an amazing family, who treats me as if I have been one of them all along. I am so grateful that the man I chose has a family I am also proud to have married into.
5. He's funny. He makes me (and others) laugh on a daily basis. He has the best sense of humor.
4. He is humble and never takes credit when he deserves it, but instead lets other's get the glory.
3. His students and athletes adore him. He touches lives. He makes a positive impact on hundreds of kids a year. He is a role model that teenagers look up to and admire.
2. He is thoughtful and spoils me more than I deserve. He makes me feel protected, cared for, and safe. He is my care taker.
1. Zac makes me feel special, loved, beautiful, and smart. On the days that my self-esteem is running low, he fills my tank back up again. He completes me. I am a very grateful woman.

Selena singing Selena!?

2010-02-08T22:33:00.002-06:00

Disney starlet Selena Gomez performed at the San Antonio Rodeo this weekend and (how appropriate!) performed a song by the original Selena (Quintanilla), Bidi Bidi Bom Bom. One of my fave Selena songs!!! Enjoy...

Sister Time

2010-02-02T22:16:00.002-06:00

Last weekend I went to Katy to spend a few days with my sis and her family, and to host a shower for her. It was a quick trip, and I would have loved to spend much more time with them, but it was a blast and a much needed visit. Liz is an amazing mom and impresses me with all she can juggle. Owen is still as perfect as I remembered him, and Madeline is so smart and fun. I'm such a lucky Aunt!! The shower was beautiful and the food was delish. We had bellinis, which was a treat, and I got to pop my first bottle of champagne! :) Here are a few pics from the weekend...

Liz and her shower hostesses (her sis-in-law Anne, and Breck)
Madeline and two of her cute cousins. I can't wait until she has a cousin on MY side! :)
I rode from Dallas to Houston with Liz's college roomie Jen. It was a lot of fun, and gave both of us some company in the car. Here she is with Liz at the shower.
Mom and cutie Owen in the outfit we gave him for Christmas ;)

Madeline and I went shopping at Katy Mills on Saturday morning. She was such a trooper. We got kind of lost and ended up walking A LOT. I carried her as much as I could, but I had a purse and bags and it was so hard, so she volunteered to walk even though her legs were very tired. hehe, what a sweetie! :) Last but not least, check out this cute video of Madeline on the phone with Zac, singing to him that there are seven continents. (He has high school kids who can't name them, but this three year old can!) Have I ever mentioned that she is a genius? I'm not even saying that because I'm her aunt. She really is gifted!

Grammy Picks

2010-01-31T17:26:00.003-06:00

Y'all! It's the Grammy tonight! HOLLA!!!!!!!!! I love music and award shows, so hip hip hooray for my evening! I am getting so excited that I feel like I need to go put on a party dress! I can't wait to watch the performances, and I love getting all giddy and my chest gets shaky when people go up to accept awards. If they cry (and I like them) it's a safe bet I'll cry. My entire childhood I wanted to be a pop star, and on nights like this, I get to live my life through them. Haha, so cheesy, but I used to always wonder what I'd wear and say if ever I was to go to the Grammys! Silly, I know, but that's me.
For the complete list of Grammy Nominees, click here. My picks are listed below, but I'm not really sure if this is who I WANT to win, or who I think WILL win. Oh well, here they are, but only the categories I care about, hehe...

Record of The Year
Pokerface by Lady Gaga

Album of The Year
The Fame by Lady Gaga
or Fearless by Taylor Swift

Song of The Year
You Belong With Me by Taylor Swift

Best Female Pop Vocal
Halo by Beyonce

Best Male Pop Vocal
This Time by John Legend

Best Pop Vocal by Group/Duo
I Gotta Feeling by The Black Eyed Peas
(although I'd rather The Fray win!)

Best Pop Callabo
Taylor Swift and Colbie Calliat "Breathe"
OMG, I love this song so much!!

Best Pop Vocal Album
I want Funhouse by Pink, but I bet it's The E.N.D. by Black Eyed Peas

Best Dance Recording
Pokerface DUH!!!

Best Electronic/Dance Album
Lady Gaga

Best Female R&B Vocal
Single Ladies by Beyonce

Best Group/Duo R&B Performance
Jamie Foxx and T-Pain "Blame It"

Best Contemporary Record
I Am...Sasha Fierce by Beyonce

Best Rap Solo
D.O.A. (Death of Autotune) by Jay-Z, but I love Drake too.

Best Rap by Dup/Group
Amazing by Kanye and Jeezy

Best Rap/Sung Callabo
Run This Town or Knock You Down, I love them both too much!

Best Rap Song
Run This Town by Jay-Z, Rihanna, and Kanye West

I don't do much country, but I want Taylor Swift to win every time she's nominated, and if she doesn't win, then I hope it's Carrie Underwood. Basically I like the pretty blondes. :)

Jai Ho already won for best song composed for a movie/tv, and I am happy with that. I love that song.

My afternoon on the football field...

2010-01-28T17:51:00.000-06:00

Tuesday at 2:45 pm, two students were absent, six were in resource reading, and four were in the room with me. Two of them were working on touch math, one was in his wheelchair at the computer getting his tube feeding, and one of them was in the shower in the bathroom (with two teachers helping). Suddenly a familiar voice came over the speakers and announced that we were having a fire drill. Jeeze, great timing. My coworker/friend Lisa and I looked at each other like "you have GOT to be kidding...right?" and then started getting the kids to the door. Since I was in charge of "N" at this time, I had to wheel him in his big cumbersome wheelchair AND his IV pole to the door and out in to the hall to leave the building. We thought we were just going out the door and standing there, but a fireman was waiting for us there and sent us to the back of the school. We all had to evacuate to the football field, which meant a long walk all the way around the perimeter of the school with a wheelchair and an IV pole. It's kind of hard to push both at the same time, especially when I'm trying to keep another kid close to me as well.
Long story short, there was a gas leak down the road and we had to evacuate so they could check the gas levels in the school. While we were out there, one of my girls said "if you don't let me in the school, the principal's gonna FIRE YOU!" It was disrespectful, and I definitely explained to her that she can't talk to me that way, but it was a little funny too. Haha, can you just picture her 'pulling some strings' and getting me fired because I wouldn't let her go to her locker? ;) We were outside for half an hour when they discovered that the levels were low enough to let the kids get their books and backpacks to go home. So not only did we evacuate 1000 students, we also let them back into the school (quickly!!) and then back out to the football field again. It could have been SOO messy, but luckily it was very organized and even though no principals or anyone could have ever predicted or planned this, it went very smoothly. News helicopters even flew over to get footage, which was very exciting to most students, but increased anxiety and fear for our kids. The Nurse had to run in and get supplies to flush my student's tube feed line. His bag had emptied, so we had to finish the tube feed and get him ready to go home. That part was kind of stressful. Anyways, after the kids were back on the field with their backpacks, we were just waiting for the city officials and fire department to open the roads near our school again so the busses and parents could come pick the kids up. Our school gets out at 3:40 on a normal day, and the last kids left around 4:30, so that's not too bad if you ask me. I helped direct traffic, since parents had to pick kids up in back of school (rather than in front). Most parents were pretty pleasant considering they'd been waiting for roads to open and stuck in lines, and having to reroute and whatnot, but not one mom...I got SCREAMED at. I'm not sure why she chose me, but she blocked traffic coming and going and got out of her car to start yelling at how she didn't appreciate her kids having to stand outside. (Um, for the record it was a BEAUTIFUL sunny day, the weather was gorgeous and they weren't outside more than an hour!) Luckily my principal saw it happening and jogged over. He had to literally scream at her to get in her car and she still wouldn't. What an idiot. She finally got in her car, but promised we'd be hearing from her. My principal told me later that he called her that night and explained that if everyone acted the way that she had, there would have been complete chaos. It's true, but of course she didn't back down. Luckily most parents just appreciated the measures we took to ensure the safety of their children. It ended up being okay and we were all laughing when it was over that it was a day we'd NEVER forget, but at the time it was pretty crazy.
We had a fieldtrip on Wednesday. We purposely planned it on that day, because we had been notified that there would be a lockdown that day, and in our class, that's a big deal. It's easier to just plan to be gone. Anyways, we found out Tuesday that the lockdown would be postponed to next week. Go figure, right? :) We still went to the Science Center at Fair Park and had lunch at Cotton Patch, and it was a blast, but I can puh-romise you that I will have another interesting story next after our lockdown drill. It's supposed to happen during lunch, and the people at admin want to video tape it, to find weaknesses and whatnot, so it's gonna be crazy. We are in the gym during 4th period, so we will have to hideout in a locker room. I took one of our kids in there today just to get him familiar with it. He was very cute, and whispered and seemed to know that if we were in there it was serious. Hopefully next week when it really does go down, he will be that calm and easy going. Boy oh boy, I love my job...there is ALWAYS a new adventure! :) I think I'm going to write a book one day about being a special ed teacher!

Inside Scoop...

2010-01-27T22:15:00.006-06:00

A friend of mine named Crystal from McMurry, lives in Haiti. I've been following her blog and keeping up with her via the internet, but ever since the earthquake, I have just been thinking about her nonstop and everyday. She chose to stay behind, to help others, when she could have left, because she's an awesome person. She has not been able to be online, but speaks to her mom, and her mom has been posting updates on facebook for all of us. They are devastating, but I enjoy reading them because it's real. It's what is really going on there. Not sugarcoated or dramatized for the news, just a friend's words and experiences. Here are some of the things she has shared...

Bless these people for sharing with my family when they have so little and need so much. Crystal said the meal she made tonight was well received from the big crowd who shares her table these days. Some sort of sausage potato bake. With a lovely juice to wash it down!

Well let me offer up one little bright spot: She to have a good cry when she came home from work today. After about a 13 hour day she found that her maid had been in, cleaned her whole house and (from somewhere?) brought in REAL VEGETABLES and put them in her fridge! Her maid, who lives on the streets with about 14 family members was worried about our girl!

I hope this is not too depressing for everyone, but everyone wants to know how she is and how it's going and I still have only one answer: She is so tired and her work right now is very demoralizing because there is a bit of "Too many Chiefs and not enough Indians" and with all the "bosses" almost zero organization.

The need is great and the help is slow. I told her to hang on baby,"The cavalry is coming!". I read her all the notes from facebook, etc. of all who has sent so far and she wiped more tears. It means everything to her that while her precious offerings may not amount to more than a drop in the ocean (in her eyes) th...at if we help her she might actually make a splash (she feels the need is so great).

They have stripped every blanket they could our of their house (except for the ones their new house mates are using), given away food, clothes, shoe, medical supplies. A store finally opened.... and as you can guess they went shopping through the poorly stocked shelves...for others! All the stuff they bought, they ...took to work the next day and it was gone before noon.

She said that many of the Haitians have expressed to her that they wish they also would have died because life is so hard for them. The tremors continue and even the people whose houses stood are afraid to go back because of instability", I just listened and cried too, and comforted the best I could.

She had a good long cry and poured out her little heart. "There is just so much sadness Mom", she repeated this several times. "So many people have lost everything, and I don't just mean stuff, but many or all of their friends, many or all of their family, and every inch of their security and peace of mind.

I spent a good long time on the phone with my girl this evening. In case any of you were wondering why there are no pictures here it is. Her heart is just too broken and tender and she just can't bring herself to take pictures of this.

Crystal did hear that about 12 children from Rosa Mina have been sent to America, but that still leaves as many behind because their numbers are growing as there are so many more orphans now.

This made me cry, but both she and Dom went through their closet (again!!!) and each pulled out two garbage bags full of clothes and took them to the lady who is a kind of manager of some of the workers. Crystal and Dom said they knew they were just one size each but maybe their contribution could help a little. She said the woman laid everything out in a cubicle and has been quietly pulling some workers aside one by one sending them out with a little bag of items.

Got to talk to Dom and Crystal last night. They are thankful to be on similar schedules again. Poor Dom was working double shifts from Afternoon till morning and Crystal was working from early morning till late evening so they were not getting to see each other at all! Dom is now working 12 hour days and that’s about what Crystal was working already so they were much happier last night.

Crystal went to Syracuse to get her masters in photography. The last time I saw her was when Stacy and I went to New York City in 2006.

On the same page...

2010-01-25T21:08:00.003-06:00

Zac and I have different taste in music for the most part. We overlap in several areas (Lil Wayne, John Mayer, Jack Johnson, Jay-Z, etc), but my obsession with pop and dance music is where he draws the line. Anyways, lately there has been SO MANY songs that we both love love love, and it's so fun! Here are a few songs/videos that Zac and I are obsessed with right now...

I wish Zac had hair exactly like Adam in this video. There are several different styles, and I love every one of them. Zac even admitted that this guy has amazing hair, but he said he "wouldn't be taken seriously as a teacher or principal with hair like that." haha

Carolina Liar-Show Me What I'm Looking For (Boo...it wouldn't let me embed it, but it's an AWESOME song, you should totally click on it and check it out!!)

Birdman, Drake and Lil Wayne- Money to Blow
There is a funny story about this song, and I will never hear the song without thinking of this moment I'm about to share with you. Last Friday morning, Zac and I got paid. Usually payday is not a big deal, but with Christmas, having to get new tires, and Zac paying $500 for a mandatory training he had to attend, we were very excited about payday this month. Anyways, when I woke up on Friday, I checked our account online and was relieved to see we'd been paid. Zac and I were both getting ready in the bathroom (which usually puts me in a bad mood when we both have to get ready at the same time in the same space...we have very different ways we like to act/ be treated in the morning, I'll admit, with me being the jerk) and he put this song on the laptop. The next thing I know we were both singing the words, and I was dancing. It was a light/fun/carefree moment, and the song was just the icing on top. Haha, we're not really "on a 24 hour champagne diet" like the song says, but it was still fun to sing along.

I also personally love and highly recommend you check out:
Train "Hey Soul Sister"
Lady Gaga "Speechless"
Rihanna "Hard"

Food, Fat, and Groceries Galore...

2010-01-24T21:03:00.005-06:00

Warning...this is a super boring post. I was even bored typing it, so I'm confident you will be bored reading it. Sorry. Check back soon for a fun post about my awesome weekend in McKinney with Ellen and Amy and their families! :)
My work is having a competition called Biggest Loser. We weighed in when we got back from Christmas break, and we will weigh in every Thursday until Spring Break, when the winner will be announced. If you participate, you get to wear jeans on Thursday (in addition to Friday!) so I decided that even if I don't do well, it's worth joining, just to get two jean days per week! :)Everyone who wanted to participate put $10 in the pot. 55 people joined in, so the winner will receive $550...pretty good incentive, huh? Anyways, the school nurse sends an email out on Fridays to the people in the "Biggest Loser" group and let's us know how we're doing. The competition is who can lose the most body weight by percentage, which I think is very fair. If Janie weighs 100 pounds and loses ten, and Sally weighs 200 pounds and loses 15, Janie wins...even though she lost fewer pounds, she lost more of her body weight in percentage...make sense? Anyways, we are starting week three tomorrow. The first week I lost 2.04% and last week I lost 2.18% (total, not in addition to week one). Anyways, my goal is to lose ten pounds, so I don't really know what percentage that is. I am trying some, but it's been pretty half-hearted so far. All my co-wokers are borderline obnoxious about watching what they eat and talking about it all the time, but all that does is make me want food more, so I've been trying to just be sensible and cut back a little here and there. This entire past week was hard because I've been on antibiotics and that's been messing up my tummy, so hopefully future weeks will be easier.

Last week Zac and I rented Food, Inc. and that was an eye opener too. If you haven't seen it, I would reccommend it, disturbing as it was. At least there is hope...I like how they compared tacking these huge food companies to "big tobacco."

Zac and I went grocery shopping together tonight. We hadn't been to the grocery store in a very long time, and our pantry and fridge were so bare. We only have a Brookshire's and a Wal-Mart in town. The Wal-Mart is new, and because there isn't really competition, it's very expensive. I hate going to both of the stores in town. Since we knew that this was going to be a big trip (spending alot and wanting to buy alot) we drove to Waxahachie, about ten minutes away, to go to HEB. I forgot how much I love shopping at HEB. Not only was it super cheap, but they have more selection, and I love their brands like Hill Country Fair and stuff. Sounds dumb to get excited about, but it's been years since I actually LIKED grocery shopping, and tonight I did. Also, we got lots of healthy choices, so I was excited about that. We got ground turkey instead of beef, anytime we had the choice for whole wheat we did that instead. I really do not like wheat macaroni or spaghetti as much, but I thought if I could train myself to only eat it, maybe I'll start liking it more. I mean, I don't hate it, I just prefer the unhealthy kind, haha. Oh well...at least we got the healthier items. We also got fruit and veggies and hope to eat more fresh produce.
Okay, there isn't really a point to this post, except that I'm trying to be healthier, and maybe that will also in turn help me become my school's "Biggest Loser." Tomorrow I am officially going to start trying "whole heartedy" and maybe I'll get better results. I'll let you know how it goes...

Don't stop, make it pop, DJ blow my speakers up...

2010-01-19T17:48:00.004-06:00

I love this song. Tons. As in, it might be my favorite song since Party In The USA!! And that is saying alot, because I still loooove that song! :)

PS-I couldn't figure out how to get the video to fit on the screen, so the right side of the video is cut off on my blog. Sorry. If it bothers you enough (I doubt anyone even watches it, haha!) then just click on the video to see it full screen on it's own page.)

Also, I know I've said it before, but it only gets truer (is that a word?) as time goes on...I LOVE Lady Gaga. Seriously! Love her. I can't even explain it. I know there are tons of people who think she is weird or offensive or just don't get her, but I get her and love her and want to be best friends with her. Really.

Here are a few other new songs I like a lot...
Alicia Keys featuring Beyonce, Put It In A Love Song
Timbaland featuring Katy Perry, If We Ever Meet Again LOVE this...it kinda reminds me of Kelly Clarkson for some reason??
Birdman featuring Drake and Lil Wayne, Money To Blow

I'm gonna be an Uncle...again!

2010-01-18T21:57:00.003-06:00

My cousin Amy is pregnant! This is so exciting! We're a big family, but we're so close, so my cousins are my extended sisters, which means that her baby will be my nephew! Yippee skippee! The more kids in my life, the better. This is also great news because it means that the younger siblings are starting to have kids (My older sis already has two, and Amy's big sister Ellen has two, and is waiting for her third!!) which means that it must be my turn soon! :) Yay!!! I can't tell y'all how happy I am for Amy and Gian (pronounced John, for those of you who weren't sure). Look at this cute pic of them camping that I stole off of her shutterfly page...
I got to see her last weekend at Claire's birthday party, and I get to see her again this upcoming weekend! Zac is going camping with my dad and brother-in-law, so I am heading to McKinney for the weekend. Yay for family time! I love you Ames!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sick Students=Sick Teachers

2010-01-15T19:19:00.004-06:00

Yep, you guessed it! I am sick. One of our sweeties came to school Monday morning coughing and asking to go home. We called his mom and she let us know that he has a doctor appointment scheduled...Thursday! Okay, it's one thing if it's a sprained wrist or something, but in my (smart) opinion, you don't wait three days to go to the doctor when it's a cold. Anyways, he was in school all week coughing all over us (yeah, he never covers his mouth, but instead leans towards you when he needs to cough). Thankfully he is somewhat secluded from the other kids for various reasons, so he was mostly around teachers and not others kids. Anyways, he comes this morning, looking AWFUL and saying his head's on fire. One of my coworkers (who was also not feeling great, like myself this morning) walked him to the office and sure enough he had a 102 fever. We called the mom and she said "yeah, we went to the doctor yesterday and they said that he has a sinus infection AND bronchitis...I was hoping he'd be better today." Really? She sent him to school the very day after he was diagnosed with both of those things? Needless to say, we had her come pick him up. We really like this mom a lot, and I know that some people have a hard time missing work, but I feel so bad that her poor child was miserable and sick all week and still having to go to school, AND exposing all of us to whatever he had too!!
Any who...this afternoon I couldn't bear it anymore, so I went ahead and scheduled an appointment for myself. It turns out that I have a sinus infection (what a coincidence!!!) and an upper respitory infection. I have NEVER once had a sinus infection, but it's not much fun. My whole head hurts (nose, throat, the usual) but my ears hurt a lot, and my doctor said there's lots of fluid in them. Okay, I have a question for those with sinus experience...is it normal for the doctor to turn off the lights and hold a light up to your cheekbone? I've never experienced this, but it is what she did right before she said "you definitely have a sinus infection." I guess she could see the fluid through my skin or something? Hmm...weird. Anyways, I guess I was more sick than I thought I was...she gave me a cortisone shot and an antibiotic shot. Anyone ever had a shot of rocephin? It is probably the most painful shot ever! I had it once when I was a freshmen in college for tonsilitis, and I could hardly walk up the stairs to my dorm for a week because my hip hurt so badly. Luckily my doctor today mixed the rocephin with lidocaine, which made it not feel like she was injecting fireants directly into my blood stream, like it did last time I had roephin. Okay, so two shots is enough, right? Nope...she also gave me an inhaler to help with the upper respitory infection (my chest burns to breathe), a weeks worth of antibiotic pills (which I start tomorrow) and tussionex, which is cough syrup with codene in it. I took some of that earlier because of my achiness, which may be one reason why I am so long winded and wordy in this blog. I'm gonna blame it on the tus-tus-tus-tus-tus tussonex. (get it? like the song?) Anyways (I feel like I've said that a lot today, have I? Oh well, anyways) I am sure that you just learned more than you ever wanted to know about my current health status, and I am quite confident I came across as a little whiny. Sorry. Guess I'll be watching lots of movies this weekend...hopefully I'll be feeling better by Monday. Blah..............
To end on a good note...Molly is feeling MUCH better. She is completely back to her old self! :)

Rollercoaster Weekend

2010-01-10T21:11:00.010-06:00

The good part of this weekend was really good, and the bad part of this weekend was really bad. A roller coaster of emotions, if you will. Let's start with the good. Saturday we left around noon to head up to McKinney for Claire's third birthday party. I always love spending time with my cousins and their families, but this was an especially great day. We started out at the Allen Natatorium (for an indoor pool party), then went to Ellen and Breagan's house for cake and presents. Claire was so excited to have everyone there and told "Zaccy" and me several times "thanks for coming to my party!" Very cute. After everyone started leaving their house, we stuck around (as well as Amy and Gian), to visit and laugh. We decided to have dinner together before we headed back to Midlo, so we went to Scotty P's for some yummy burgers. We ended up staying there for almost two hours, just visiting (and the guys watching the Cowboys game). It was finally time to go and we hugged a million times...it was so nice to spend the day together. Here are a few precious pics (although Ellen's were MUCH better than mine)...
Above, my lovely cousins. Below, please notice Nati's sweatshirt!! :)

What a little poser! Haha, too cute! ;)
Ellen made Claire's cake, and it tasted as good as it looked...AMAZING!The happy birthday girl and her proud Mama at the restaurant.
Ready for the bad part? We got home from McKinney (about 10pm) and Molly met us at the door...looking nothing like Molly. She was having some type of allergic reaction, and who knows how long she'd been suffering. This is what she looked like:
Just looking at these pics again makes me hurt.

Her appearance alone made me kind of panic and cry, but the guilt of leaving her all day was unbearable. We never found what it could have been (it looked like she just slept the whole time we were gone, there was no food or trash or anything different than when we left). We gave her a benadryl and a bath (in case it was topical) and tried to calm down a bit. I was very worried that it would start affecting her breathing, so I planned on waking up every 30 minutes to check on her. I didn't have to worry about waking up to check on her though, because all three of us didn't sleep all night. Mols was very restless and uncomfortable and we were worried, so we watched her every move. We finally settled in around 5am, and then she woke up vomiting about 7. It had been eight hours, so we gave her another benadryl and went back to sleep. She woke up throwing up again around 10 so we all got up for good. We thought things were getting better, but around 1 the swelling and itching came back. Hives everywhere. This time it bothered me even more because she'd had two rounds of benadryl, so why in the world was this still happening? It also has been driving me mad that we don't know what caused it. Anyways, she wasn't allowed to have another benadryl until 3:30, and it obviously wasn't working much anyways, so we took her to the doctor. Of course, being a Sunday we had to take her to an Animal Hospital, which automatically means super expensive, but it's our baby, the money wasn't even a thought. The vet gave her an IV with steroids and we sat and waited. He would normally give her a benadryl shot (fast acting) but since she'd had two doses in the past 14 hours, he didn't want to overdose her. We watched and the bumps slowly started going down a bit. It was pretty pathetic...bless her heart. This is what she looked like when she was "better" and we took her home.

It was a long and horrible night and day. I am doing better now that I think she is started to get better, but for awhile, I thought my heart was going to break in half. I HATE seeing her in pain, and she's a dog...I pray my kid never looks so pathetic, because I don't know how I will handle it. That probably sounds dramatic, but I really felt weak today, the sadness was taking over me. :( I love that girl so much. I know people who don't have a pet like that probably don't understand, but she is a part of our family, and when she is miserable, Zac and I are miserable too. Haha, we were probably more upset today than she was.
Thank goodness we had such a wonderful day Saturday to make up for our rocky night and Sunday. Okay, enjoy this cute video. Ellen, Braegan, Amy, and Gian love The Office, so they borrowed this little practice from the show, and it has now become a family tradition for them. I love it! :)

It's been too long!

2010-01-07T16:51:00.008-06:00

Sorry that it has been SO long since I last blogged. Don't worry, I have been okay, in fact, I have been GREAT! Let's see...I graduated college, had a party, spent the night at a 5-star resort with my favorite coworkers, had an important doctor appointment, was blessed with my first nephew Owen (and was there when he was born), had not-one-but-TWO great Christmases, had a blast with PO5 (we went bowling!!!) and I had a nice New Years Eve with Ramsi and Bez. I have been busy, but happy!

I got to stay home because school was closed today, due to extremely cold weather and icy roads. I'm not a fan of cold weather at all. However...I am a fan of kids singing, and especially when it's one of my nieces!! :) Enjoy!

Third Annual Wine Night

2009-12-12T22:36:00.011-06:00

My best friend Stacy has a tradition that once a year she hosts a wine and cheese party, known as "Wine Night!" It has evolved, and gotten bigger and better each year. Here is how it works, and why it is so amazing:
1. Each guest brings a bottle of wine, which gets covered in gift wrap by the hosts. This encourages people to try new types and brands of wine. It is also necessary because we vote at the end of the night for our favorite white, and favorite red, and this makes the voting more about the taste and not who brought it or what the bottle looks like.
2. The hosts serve an amazing plethora of cheese, fruit, and crackers. The cheese MIGHT be my favorite part. In fact, as far as I am concerned, it could be called "Cheese Night" and just have a little wine there to wash it down. :) I love trying new kinds of cheese that I have never had, or don't usually buy or eat. It's a little treat for my tastebuds!
3. We got to excersize while we ate and drank! Courtney (Stacy's roomie) has a Wii and owns "Just Dance" a choreography game where you dance along for points. It's like Guitar Hero, but dancing, aka, SO SUPER FUN!!
4. There are PRIZES! Best White and Best Red each win a gift, and, there are party favors for everyone...what amazing hosts indeed!
5. Everyone looks very pretty, and this year, we were especially beautiful on the inside too, because we all brought canned goods to be donated to a local food bank! Good call on that idea Stacy, Courtney and Nicole!
Please see the video below to experience the fun and silliness we created this year! (at the end of our music videos, there are still pictures)

Here are a few pics from Wine Night 2007...

And Wine Night 2008...

I don't care how far away I live from Stacy, every year she hosts a Wine Night, I will be there! Even if I have to drive in JUST for the weekend! :)

Brothers

2009-12-12T22:03:00.003-06:00

We saw Brothers today, and I am still not sure how I feel about it. This is just a quick review, and I will not give ANYTHING away. I enjoyed the whole movie while I was there, and it definitely had the potential to be amazing, but for some reason I thought it fell short. I don't know...I just left disappointed. I did love the actors (including the child actors) and thought they did an amazing job. It's just a heavy subject, especially knowing that we are currently at war, and situations like this are probably more common than we realize. Anyways, I am glad I saw it, but I am sad that it wasn't quite what I thought it would be. Oh well.
Have any of y'all seen it? Thoughts? Any other movie recommendations?

Movies

2009-12-10T23:04:00.004-06:00

I just realized that there are tons of movies out (or coming out) that I want to see. Here is a list:

Invictus
Everybody's Fine
Brothers
Precious
Remember Me
Nine
Sherlock Holmes
It's Complicated
Up In The Air

As you see, I have a lot of viewing to do! I will now be taking dates/reservations/requests. Who wants to go with me, and which show? Which movies do y'all wanna see?

On Monday I am going with my class to see The Princess and The Frog! Since we are a middle school, we are not allowed to have a Christmas Party, so our teacher started a tradition a few years ago, that we take the kids to Studio Movie Grill and they get lunch, popcorn, and a movie. It should be lots of fun!!