They Call the Wind Miriah

Small Things :)

2012-01-21T22:35:00.001-06:00

I am wiped out and don't have the energy to type a long post. However, I did want to share something a student said in my class the other day. He was talking to another student while working on a writing assignment (creating a fun myth).

Boy: "Hey... you know what?"
Boy 2: "What?"
Boy: "We're in English. Sometimes I forget that Mrs. Brown's class is English."
Boy 2: "How can you forget that?"
Boy: "Because I have fun in this class. And English normally isn't fun."

=) That made me happy to hear.

They had some fun, creative myths that they wrote. Maybe soon I'll type one in here so you can read a tad of their creativity.

small changes

2012-01-14T22:13:00.000-06:00

So, we made a few small changes in the house a few days ago. We took down our Christmas tree and Jeff, randomly, decided we needed to change things up. He spontaneously gets in moods where he wants to move things around. It's his way of coping with our house. I really like our house, but he is ready for when we can move. I understand. There are some definite downsides to our place. Luckily, moving things around appeases him =) Plus, he normally has good ideas.

This time around, we moved our small bookcase to the corner window area. We used to have a randomly too-big end table that didn't quite fit in that space. I really think it looks great over there - and since we didn't use the end table, it was the perfect change.

See? It fits nicely, has a lamp, and brightens up that corner.

This bookcase used to be beside our entertainment area. The issue now was that the wall (where this piece went) suddenly looked quite empty and bland.

Jeff stood, staring at the space for a few minutes before I asked what on earth he was thinking. He turned around and had the brilliant idea of moving a certain piece of furniture into that space.....

Ta da! This was in our guest room. It's part of a set, but we thought the seat looked good enough on its own. I was impressed!

Then, to complete the look, I added the Dirty Santa present I won at a part (canvas art). Amazing =) I really like it! We have a place to put on shoes, a place to store shoes, a place for random sweaters/gloves/etc.

I'm quite proud. The hubs did good.

Creative?

2011-12-29T21:48:00.000-06:00

For quite awhile now, Jeff has wanted surround sound. The only problem with getting it is... well... the cost. So, I have been quite fortunate that he left the matter alone.

Last night, however, he mentioned it again. But - it was only a casual sentence. I didn't think much of it because I was sleepy and headed to bed. I woke up a wee bit later to a crash in the living room and, after awhile, called him to the room to see what he was doing. He started talking about his stereo speakers and connecting them to the TV and that we were going to have a lot better sound soon (though not from behind us - but definitely a lot better). This morning, I woke up and walked into the living room to see what he was talking about.

See our new addition? He managed to get those little weird wires and twisted them and connected them into our TV somehow. I'm pretty darn impressed. I don't think he realizes that he just completed an electronic DIY project =) And now I don't have to worry about surround sound for quite awhile. I've tested it out and am very impressed! I don't get how it is connected to the TV/remote volume (and I won't ask). But I'm amazed.

Pretty nifty if I do say so myself.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-27T00:10:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas!

From the Browns

And just for funsies:

Oh Joyous Christmas Party

2011-12-22T22:50:00.001-06:00

My newspaper students had a Christmas party the last week of school. They brought tons of good food and we had a great time. They are awesome students and are so much fun to be around.

Now... I was faced with an interesting dilemma leading up to the party. What on earth should we do? I wasn't sure what a bunch of high school kids would want to do at an after-school party.

Challenge accepted.

When they walked in the door, I attached a nice paper to their backs with a Christmas movie on it. A fun way to do the 20 question game, right? Ask questions and guess what movie you are. Yep. I thought it was brilliant. They even went one at a time and stood at the front of my room and asked all of us questions. What wasn't fun about this? The sad reality that most of my students hadn't seen many of the movies.... Christmas Vacation had only been seen by one student. I had a handful that had never seen It's a Wonderful Life.

They walked out with a list and the assignment to view them over Christmas break.

The next thing I made them do was so much fun. For me. I had them draw out of a hat. Each student drew one of the 12 days of Christmas. Why, you ask? Because I wanted to watch them perform the song. Yep, you read that right. They performed the song for me. =)

I have to admit... I was pretty surprised they went along with it.

Oh the joys of teaching.

On "those" days

2011-12-21T10:12:00.000-06:00

As you guys know, I teach high school kids. While the paperwork and "non teaching" stuff may not be much fun, I truly enjoy the kids. I have the "funny guys," the ditzes, the smart kids, the kids that think they're smart, the high energy kids, the witty and dry humored kids... the list goes on.

Now, sometimes, my kids drive me insane. The complaining about being expected to do work, the confusion about why their terrible paper received a D.....

Since I have the pleasure of being with them on the good and bad days, I admit that I have to find ways to make those less-than-grand days enjoyable. This is one of the great joys of teaching. Let me share a few of these moments with you:

1. My 9th grade students were assigned the task of writing a thesis listing 3 reasons why my class is their favorite. I may have made every student read theirs out loud, instead of the customary 5 students.

2. My Debate kids kept asking for extra credit, which I rarely assign. The assignment I decided to give them? Write a 2 paragraph response, using at least 5 logical fallacies, stating why you should receive extra credit. Prove to me that you deserve it and have earned it. If you haven't earned it, explain to me why I should give it to you anyway.

3. I let my Debate students argue out a certain issue: Green Lantern vs. Superman - who would win? (they actually had some excellent arguments. I thought the answer was obvious.... but they surprised me)

4. I may have also let them debate: whether or not "time" exists, which make better pets - cats or dogs, jurassic park (a.k.a genetic engineering)

5. I have had a "Creepy Fiction" day where students had to bring in weird and creepy stories to read. They also had to bring in goodies that matched their stories. Yes.. it may have taken place on Halloween.

Now, this doesn't cover all random and fun conversations that we have. For instance: why snakes are evil, the fact that Mrs. Brown is 28, furbys, gremlins, Brian Regan, etc.

Now, don't start wondering if I teach or not. I teach them each and every day. I have never assigned a worksheet, I do not show movies, and I almost never sit down. We are going from the minute they walk in the door. But... when you don't get breaks to sit down or show movies on those days you just need a break - you have to do something extra to help out. These are my "something extras." The little things that make me smile and bring me joy on those days where I need a small break.

If arguing Green Lantern vs. Superman can be a tool I can use that allows them to (unknowingly) practice constructing arguments and justifying statements - awesome.

Being an interesting teacher is fun. I enjoy teaching and enjoy having fun with my students. And, no... being interesting or using these "other" methods for teaching certain skills does not make me an easy teacher. I hate the misconception that fun teachers are easy.

A quote from a student of mine:
"Mrs. Brown... I really enjoy your class a lot. I learn in here. But, it's really depressing when I feel that way and then check my grade and see that I have a D."

Tis the Season!

2011-11-27T09:43:00.002-06:00

That's right. The weekend after Thanksgiving and I am prepped and ready with a Christmas post. That and, if I wait until school starts back, this post probably won't happen.

We got our Christmas things out of the attic yesterday and I got to work while Jeff installed our Black Friday Printer (50% off, heck yes).

I learned a few things while decorating this year:

1. Lock up the cat BEFORE opening the box with all of the tinsel-strand-hangy-stuff. There's no going back when that box is open.
2. Even if you are standing on a chair at the kitchen table and are holding the tinsel stuff 5 or so feet above the ground while decorating, the cat will still attack in what I believe was a rocket-kamikaze-launch.
3. If, by # 2, you still haven't locked up the cat.... you deserve to be stalked by her when you walk across the room with more tinsel stuff. If she crouches and hunts you like a lion and then leaps at your hands - you deserve it. And I did.
4. No matter what I do, it will never look as good as my mom's decorating. I can try, try, try... but it isn't happening. The cool, swoopy, doorway decor and everything else will just not cut it. But after a ton of trying to rearrange and make it work - you'll learn to be content with "not quite mom's, but I'm tired and this'll do."

So - in celebration of the Christmas spirit - here is our most-decorated-living-room. Perhaps we'll tackle the outside today. Or the tree. Who knows.

Also, excuse the huge mess. We're not done yet.

Simple - but why not? Plus, I don't know what I was thinking when I bought all that tinsel stuff. I have TONS and not enough places to put it!

Yep - those are stars on our key holder. Just wanted to make sure you noticed them. Some more tinsely stuff on the bookshelf...

Festivity. Red and Silver on the TV - with a nice little tree. Hey, that rhymed.

My cute little snowy village. Complete with candy shop, a church, a fire station, and more.

Some silver tinsel and a pretty bowl of blue ornaments to complete the look!

Yep. A closeup. Why not?

I like to think of it as our cute ceramic couple dancing amongst silver and gold snow. Awww....

Yes, a minor detail. But - again - we have too much stuff!

I would like to point your attention to the red ornaments hanging from the candle votive thingy. Creative, aren't I? =)

My favorite thing is always the fire place. Perhaps because it has the stockings...? Not sure. I just love it.

This is our first year using those stocking hangers. We got them in the "after CMAS" sales last year. Mostly since Jeff almost had a mini heart attack when he saw my hammer two nails into the recently sanded/painted fireplace. Whoops.

Hooray!

Of course, the necessary manger scene. Front and center on the fireplace. I love this manger seen. You can't see it - but each figurine has beautifully ornate handwriting on them and each one has a name of God. It's gorgeous. (Wonderful Counselor, Lord of Lords, etc.)

And, last but not least, my doorway attempt. It just looks measly to me - but oh well. I added some red ornaments and stars to try to fancy it up and it'll just have to do.

Can't wait to get the tree up!

2 things awaited...

2011-11-08T21:44:00.001-06:00

First of all, I would like to announce that:

We won the Homecoming Float Competition!!!

It still hasn't been announced at the school, which is a bummer. One of my newspaper kids is also on SGA (who headed up the Homecoming shenanigans) and she quietly let us know during our last meeting that we had won but they weren't announcing it yet. I'm guessing they still don't want certain people to know..... and apparently we get prizes... or an award. Can't remember what she called it. All I know is that while my students voted for random giftcard rewards, I requested a giant trophy for my room. Even though the students pointed out the fact that they can't use a trophy, I held my ground. So, fingers crossed people! I want a trophy in my room!

Second order of business. Yes. I am revealing photos of our fabulous new TV console. Took long enough, right? The bookshelves still aren't arranged properly. But, if I waited for that to be done, who knows when you'd see pictures!

She is beautiful, isn't she? :) A nice deep, dark brown so that it can work with black or brown. We really like it. The cat can no longer lay on the bottom level of our TV console and get her fur everywhere! Hooray. Though.... she did look at it, confused, for the first few days. I think she was trying out how to lay in it. That makes it all worth it.

Photo Arrival

2011-10-26T20:21:00.000-05:00

I have finally managed to get a hold of some pictures from the Homecoming parade and float. Now... there isn't a DIRECT shot of the float. But bear with me people. Bear with me.

Of course... how could I start off with anything other than an epic shot from a sword fight? Exactly. I can't. So - be amazed.

Here is a shot of two of my Newspaper kids. Can you see/notice Jack Sparrow in the background? :)

Here is a shot of the side... our newspaper is called "The Prowler," which was painted and attached to the side. You can see our netting and barely glimpse the waves painted on the side of the float.

You can't fully see the boat - but you can kinda see parts of it. We painted some totally "rad" (yea... I said it) waves on the side. There are nets hanging off of it... and - well, yea. That's us. All pirated out.

Here is a decent shot. You can see the lower sales. If you look at the top of the sale on the left - you can "kinda" see the bird that is attached to it. You can also see the ropes coming from the sales. Also - there's a snazzy lantern hanging off the edge if you look behind my blue-bandana'd pirate. I mainly think the coloring in this shot and my "Jack" are pretty awesome.

And.. of course...me standing dead center in the boat, sword drawn, ready for any rascally scoundrels trying to mutiny me ship!

The cannons that spewed smoke when we put in the dry ice :) Soooo cool.

This isn't a great shot. We had just put the sails up and still had to fix the taller sale (it scrunched over on the left). So... this was changed a lot, but it gives you an idea.

Random Inspiration

2011-10-10T20:16:00.000-05:00

Jeff and I were incredibly productive this past Sunday. I mean... we rarely do anything on Sundays and we really did get some random and fun projects done. (Yes, I am choosing not to address my long absence.... you'll live)

Jeff has recently decided he hates our living room. I think he is just bored with it - but it seems to be coming up quite frequently. This past Friday night, he decided at 11pm that we should completely redesign and rearrange our living room. Yes, you read that right. 11pm. After some maneuvering and a lot of deep cleaning (ew - the things behind our couches...) we realized that we simply can't rearrange our living room. Nope. It is shaped in just such a way that we are stuck with our current setup. I can't say I'm disappointed. I really like how it is. But, this did not make Jeff happy. Not at all.

Jeff started talking about how much he hates our bookshelves and how ugly and cheap they are. I had to agree. They do look cheap. But, hey, they cost $15 a a garage sale. They have served their purpose well. Jeff also decided that we need a new TV stand. I definitely agree with this. What we currently have is one heck of an ugly piece of poop. It looks like it belongs in a college guy's room. Not classy at all. Plus, it leaves all chords exposed and visible - which doesn't help our living room look nice.

So, why am I telling you this? Well, on Sunday (after our failed room redo attempt) we decided to look at furniture stores for TV stands. We decided it would be a good anniversary gift to ourselves. Not to mention it keeps us from having to come up with good ideas for each other. Double score.

We found the TV stand we want. Good, right? But - this doesn't solve our ugly bookshelf dilemma. Well - this is where you should prepare to be impressed. We were walking around Lowes and were inspired. We walked through an isle that had shelf liner that was adhesive. The voice in the back of my mind told me to stop. I remember seeing something in a past DIY blog about lining shelves. Or was it drawers? Either way, an idea had formed. We picked our favorite liner and made a purchase. Then, to make sure there were not nicer liners elsewhere, we went to Home Depot and Walmart to compare. Not bad, eh? We were a few hours into our Sunday trip and accomplishing more as time passed.

We went home to make sure our adhesive matched and would look good. We were satisfied and pretty excited. Then, Jeff decided we needed to put new backing on our shelves. May as well redo them, right? The backs had some weird 'trifold' effect that looks crappy and was not sturdy. Jeff decided that if we bought some new.... some kind of board (he told me, I forgot what it's called) that we could remove and trash the old back and have a sturdier AND prettier set of shelves. Why not?! New shelves to match our new TV stand? And only for a total of $25? (cost of adhesive and new backing)

How does it look you might ask? Well... I can ALREADY show you. Yep. Not only did we shop a lot and accomplish all of this planning on Sunday, but we came home and FINISHED the project on Sunday evening. The best time I've ever had for a DIY project. Come up with an idea and have it done that night? Yes please.

Ready for some photos?!

First, a bookcase as it was. See how bent and weird the back is? It is completely wobbly and is uglier in person.

Here is the back of that backing. Jeff removed it. It was all taped up to help it stay together. Not tacky at all...

Here is the shelf with the backing removed. It looks a lot better. I actually thought about leaving it this way until I saw how unsteady and wobbly it was.

Here is Jeff measuring our new backing. Solid, sturdy, and not trifold. A definite win.

Here is a picture of the material that will become the backing on our shelves. We have a piece of wallart behind our couch that has green and leaves in it. Also, the mirror above our fireplace has a leaf pattern similar to this, so it was different but still fit in with our decor.

Here is the backing once we added the adhesive liner. It definitely took awhile. You have to cut the liner to fit and then slowly roll it on and smooth out all bubbles/wrinkles. Jeff came up with a great method involving a large level that he used to smooth things down.

Here is our first completed bookcase! A complete difference from the shelf you can see behind it in the background, yes?

A closer image so you can see what it looks like up close.

One more image to see the "effect" of our liner. We were both incredibly happy with how it came out!

And here is an "in the process" photo. I am completely changing up how those shelves are arranged - so this isn't at ALL the final product. I just wanted you to see both shelves. And that is our hideous TV stand. I'll post when our new stand comes in (should be this week!) and I've rearranged our shelves. It'll be the pre-final reveal since we've moved a few other things around. The "final" final reveal may be a ways off when we find the ottoman we want to replace our coffee table.

For a preview of our TV stand.....

The bottom one. This is a picture of the one in the store, which is banged up and not the best. It's also a bad picture - but I only had the one to show, so it'll do.

Can't wait to show you the stand and shelves in a few days!

Spontaneous Speeches

2011-09-12T23:05:00.000-05:00

The other day I had my debate class draw topics out of a hat. They are learning how to speak effectively and meet time limits. They're also learning about their nonverbal communication and how it can impact their speaking.

So, to see what nonverbal issues they need to address and help them with public speaking issues and stage fright, they had this mini "spontaneous speech."

They had 15 minutes to prepare to speak for 2 solid minutes on a random topic. The topics consisted of: Christmas Tree, sweatshirts, Fall, etc. (yea... I am already Christmas-minded).

I happened to have one student that cracked me up. His topic was "music." What'd he do? He decided to give his entire 2 minutes speech in song. Oh yes.... he sang about music the entire time.

Some kids are just hilarious =) These are definitely the moments that lead to me enjoying teaching!

Yes.

2011-09-10T13:26:00.001-05:00

Basic Rules?

2011-09-03T10:35:00.000-05:00

I have yet to post this week because it has been Craaaaazy. I thought things might slow down with it being the second week of school. Ya know? We'd be getting into our material, I'd know students names (which I'm discovering I'm pretty decent with), and the newness will have worn off - making it an easier week.

Oh boy was I wrong. I waited to post because I knew exactly what I was going to post about - and I knew it'd take some time...

My room has a projector attached to the ceiling. I have it hooked up to my computer for powerpoints that we go over in class. Someone a few years ago installed this projector and it is, how shall I say... less than stable? It sat on a shelf that was hanging from the ceiling and they also managed to zip tie a VCR, DVD player, and headphone up there too. Yes... I said zip tie. Sounding dangerous yet? It looked like an accident waiting to fall on some poor student's head. Not to mention most of the things up there didn't work.

The school decided they had to take this monstrosity down because of safety - and so everything would be fully functioning for Open House in a few weeks. To save some money, they asked some men from a local adult high program to come and help remove the lighting surrounding my projector (it caused the projector to not show up well on the screen). These men work at the adult high school in the electrical program where they train electricians. It's like a Tech/Work Ready program.

Well....they show up to remove the lighting during my 3rd period planning class. At my school, we also do career prep in addition to regular classes. So, one Technical teacher decided to send two of his students to help these electrical dudes. These two students are learning electrical skills and were going to help out.

I had about 8 people in my room with tool belts, ladders, cables, etc. And they were mostly big men. So, I figured it was the perfect time to go and make copies! =) I intended to come back to a fixed, cleaned up room.

Well... I was walking down the hall with my copies and there is an incredibly loud POP. I mean.. LOUD. I stopped by another teachers room briefly to ask her a question and then continued on my way to my room. When I arrived - the two students from our school looked totally freaked out and bug eyed. And the other men were gone. What the heck?

I asked the two students where the men went.

Apparently, while I was gone making copies... the men were working on my lighting. However... they couldn't find the right circuit breaker to turn off the circuit. So, instead of waiting (which may have been a tad inconvenient).. they decided to work on. Yes. I said they decided to work on an open circuit. And, yes. These two students were helping them. Apparently, a man tried to cut a line and it zapped him. Luckily for him, he fell/hopped off the ladder and broke the connection with the electricity.

Then, for the next minute, sparks rained and showered their way throughout my room. And a big black spot was visible in the ceiling. In frustration, these men decided they had had enough. They weren't being paid - just helping out another school for free. So they leave. Yes... with light bulbs on my desks, ladders in my room, tool belts on desks, and crap strewn everywhere. They leave. And - they leave the two shell-shocked kids alone! Kids who didn't realize the circuit hadn't been turned off! They were freaking out.

This is only the beginning of the tale. The technical teacher came to my room, freaking out, because his students had been in danger. Then, they called these men - who refused to come back and finish or clean up my room. Did I mention this was in the beginning of the school day and I had a class to arrive in about 10 minutes? I had to be shuffled to another classroom while people worked in my room for the next few hours. It was insane.

Not a good day. And for those of you who are wondering what happened to these dudes... I don't know yet. But I do know that one of the two terrified kids was our Vice Principal's son. So, I'm pretty confident something will happen...

Oh kids...

2011-08-25T20:18:00.000-05:00

Oh the things that kids say (or write).

There are pros and cons to being a teacher. You take home lots of tests, you spend your evenings working on things (or you'll be there until 6), you aren't paid well, you can have some "difficult" students to deal with...

But, there are definitely some pros. One of these pros is the funny things that kids say and write. Oh how a kid's sarcastic wit can make me smile. Some teachers may groan. Some take off points. I laugh. I love it. I've even resisted giving extra points for funny (and relevant) comments.

On the first day of my Debate class - I had them answer some questions on a sheet of paper and turn in their answers. This was just a way to get to know them and see what they know about Debate. Some of the comments just begged to be shared. I'm picking random statements from different papers to share. =)

Question 1: What do you want to learn in this class
- I would like to argue without sounding like an idiot
- I always get in debates with my dad and it feel one-sided because we don't know how to debate properly and I don't get a fair chance. I want to learn how so when we debate, I can win
- I want to learn how to force other people to see things my way

Question 2: What are some Debate topics you would like to cover or anything you want me to teach
- The Debt Ceiling    (really.... you're like..16?! I was impressed)
- Just teach me what you want
- Should cannibalism be grounds for leniency in murder cases because it is less wasteful?   (genius.. I really thought about it for a second)

Question 3: What are some of your strengths and weaknesses when it comes to public speaking and debates
- I cannot keep my cool when arguing    (oh no.... this may not end well!)
- I struggle with a lack of preparation and I have difficulty listening to others' opinions    (one heck of a euphemism there in that first statement)
- I uh... say "uh" a lot
- I don't really like public speaking
- I sway like a palm tree        (wait...what?!)
- My weakness is words    (maybe not the best elective choice dude)

=)

And when the bell rings, my year begins...

2011-08-22T21:23:00.001-05:00

Yes, yes... I have been absent for most of the summer. I'm confessing and I'm offering no decent excuse. I don't have one. It just wasn't a big focus (and probably had something to do with my lack of routine too). I'm hoping to be updating regularly again now that school has started.

And, of course, the first update must be about the much anticipated *drumroll please* ..... ROOM CHANGE.

Yep - I remembered! I told you guys last year that I didn't want to post many pictures of my old room because, frankly, I didn't like it. And I knew I wouldn't be there long. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I have arrived! To my new room that is. I know school just officially started today, but I've already been back 3 weeks getting things ready and set up for this year. The room is not perfect, but I am quite fond of it. A huge improvement.

I'm hoping it generates interest and will foster a creative and fun learning environment. My aim is to not only be an excellent teacher - but a fun teacher. I want kids to like learning. Hopefully, this room is my "good start."

Anyways, enough with the details, I know you really only want to see the pictures (you may not even be reading this right now...you may've just skipped it to see the photos. Shame on you!) Hop aboard the tour bus and lets get this show on the road. Please, keep all arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times. Thank you.

First photo: The entrance into my room. I have my little "exit" table with tissues, hand sanitizer and other essentials

This shows a broader view of it. My room isn't a square, this is a little entrance cubby area where all of my "requireds" and important class information can be found.

View of my "info" board. It is split into three important and informative sections. 1) Essential Questions - which includes my key/essential questions for each course I teach. Basically, it shows what they are learning this 9 weeks in the most basic and simple format that I can come up with. At the end of the quarter, they will be able to answer each question in depth. 2) My Quarterly Learning Outcomes for each course. Basically - I list a detailed version of everything that they are learning and what standards I am teaching them this quarter. 3) Primary/Core Standard Focus for each day. What Sunshine State Standard are we learning/focusing on each day (changes daily, of course)

Since Matt likes zoomed in pictures of things I write - this is for you Matt. This is not my daily lesson board, so you won't find the details of their assignments here. That's on my "front of the room" board. =)

Another closer one for you

When you walk in from that cubby/entrance area - this is what you see! I have all of my little pods set up (they do lots of group work). Computer stations line the wall and posters are up!

An angle from my desk showing the other main wall and all of my textbooks.

Yes, Matt... you are seeing it correctly. That IS a Just Friends poster on my wall. Thought I'd go ahead and clarify. And for Dad's proud pleasure, Rambo is next. =) I aim to please. I do.

Had to include a Batman poster and, for fun, Hook. Why not, right?

Here is a straight back shot from the front and center of my room.

Then, my workstation/cubby. I like it being sectioned in the corner with my filing cabinets and everything. It's cozy! Though I never get to sit there during the actual day...

One more angle of the desk area, for your viewing pleasure.

And, last but not least, my office area. It isn't actually used as any sort of "office." Think more along the lines of it being a storage room for random stuff, supplies, and my purse. =)

And that, ladies and gents, is the Tour De Miriah. You may now exit the bus since our tour is over. Please, visit the gift shop for souvenirs and memorabilia to commemorate this event. Thank you.

Inspiration

2011-08-07T12:28:00.004-05:00

“I see women who are doing their absolute best in every way – but they keep track only of their mistakes. They make lists of things they haven’t done instead of the phenomenal amount of things they’ve accomplished. No matter what mountain of achievement they’ve just climbed, they stumble over molehills, saying things like, “But it’s not enough,” or, “I didn’t do it well enough.” The good news of the gospel is that who we are is okay. Our best is good enough. The Savior came for us –just as we are.

~Chieko Okazaki

I can relate to this so well. Sure, I've accomplished quite a bit for my age... but I never seem to focus on that. I always focus on what else I want to accomplish, what I didn't feel satisfied with, what else I could've done. I see this as a common issue with most people. We are always striving for more. Always wanting to do better. So rarely are we content with ourselves and happy about what we've accomplished.

I can do my absolute best in every way and still be wholly unsatisfied. Why? Because my focus is all wrong. I can, I will, I want.... since when is it about me? I think I (and by I, I mean we) focus on our mistakes and get hung up on them because we're looking at the wrong person. When we focus on Christ, we can find happiness and satisfaction.

Never

2011-07-06T11:22:00.000-05:00

You should never ever turn your back when noodles are present. Why, you ask? Because you never know who you can trust...

Just a moment from our July 4th weekend at the lake =)

Yes, Ser

2011-07-04T19:03:00.001-05:00

Sarah Elizabeth is the absolute cutest baby alive. No offense to other parents or grandparents out there - but it needs to be said. We came back from our July 4th vacation at the Lake today and I just finished browsing through my pictures. I didn't realize that 90% of them were of Sarah. But, then again, it is completely understandable. The girl is the definition of cuteness. And I'm not simply biased, I am not afraid to acknowledge an ugly baby (and believe me, there are plenty out there). They are all sweet - but they aren't all this beautiful.

Since I've spent the last 30 minutes slowly going through pictures and smiling at her cute moments, I thought I should share a few shots with you =)

If that isn't the cutest face and the most adorable gaze....

And look at that incredible grin! It just makes you want to smile

No wonder Mommies kiss their babies so much.... Cassie's kisses get such a cute reaction! Sarah loooves mommy's kisses.

From this happy little grin, you'd never anticipate her reaction to the water - she looks ready to swim. I've never seen a hat look cuter

Except maybe now. Sarah - our little model. Even when she isn't posing.

Yep... cutest little girl ever. Can't wait for Graycie so we can have two beautiful babies to gawk over

And, lastly - me and the cutie pie. I already miss hearing that cute little giggle

Room Redo

2011-06-29T00:24:00.001-05:00

As you guys know, I am in the process of redoing our Master Bedroom. It is definitely one heck of a long list of things to do. I wanted to wait until a "final reveal" to show pictures... but I just don't know when that'll be! Every time I get something done, I think of something else I want to do. Add that to lacking funds for my spontaneous wants and we could have quite a timeline before we have a complete room.

That being said, I've decided to go ahead and reveal some pictures. Mainly because I completely redid our bedroom furniture and that was a project in and of itself that deserves recognition separate from the room redo.

Onto details about the furniture. When Jeff and I got hitched, we inherited Jeff's room furniture. Mostly because his parents let us take it. That, and my furniture wasn't an option. Can't really start out married life with a twin bed and a scratched up dresser that I'd colored on when younger! The furniture was originally a pale wood color that, in certain lighting, looked light pink. I wasn't getting married and having light pink furniture in our room. Oh no.

So, with the help of my dear mil, we spray painted the furniture dark brown. Well... that was a good idea I guess. I didn't really do much diy stuff then and I certainly didn't look online to realize there were better methods to paint furniture. It was fine for then and it certainly took less effort to spray paint the furniture. However, it started chipping and scraping after a few months and by now - it just wasn't cutting it. I checked out furniture online and quickly realized that I needed to look into another option =)

In comes the almond toned white paint, some paintbrushes, and a whole lot of sweat. However, I am pretty dang proud. It looks like a brand new set of furniture! It was sanded, painted, given new hardware... pretty spiffy if I do say so myself.

I know - I go on about lots of the details. I'll get on with the pictures. I'm going to show your the "before" pictures of our bedroom and how ugly the room (and furniture) was. Then, I'm going to show you the progress of the room thus far, including some shots of our new furniture!

Here's the first shot. You can note the ugly prior attempt at wall art. Then, there's the trashed look of course... an ugly room doesn't motivate cleanliness I've learned (at least not for us!)

Here's a look at our hideously ugly window unit we never removed, our yellowed blinds, and if you look under the curtain rod... you'll notice we never painted up there (yikes!)

Here's the dresser, covered in junk. Then there's also the kennel - taking up space and just another spot for us to toss clothes on.

And one more view of the room!

Here's an "in progress" shot where I'd painted around the window, replaced the blinds with some shiny, white, new ones - and removed that ugly window unit! An instant way to make our room appear larger and brighter!

And now.... for the "as it is now" shots...!

Ta da! Newly white furniture, nice new accent piece, refreshed window... CLEANLINESS. Now, we aren't keeping that curtain - but it's good enough for now. I'm also changing the lamp. But, again, it'll do for now.

Here's a shot of Jeff's dresser. All clean and equipped with fresh new knobs. Jeff picked out the knobs and I really like them. I almost went with silver, but I think this is better for the overall room.

Here is my dresser! No more mirror-being-used-as-a-nail-board-for-hanging-random-jewelry. And looks at how straightened it is!

Here's a close-up of the "new" furniture. Feel free to scroll up and see how vastly different they are. Really looks like a new set, doesn't it?!

And here's another shot! Again, we are pretty positive we are getting different curtains - some that'l add some much needed color. A new comforter set will go along with the new curtains too. But that'll come later. I also re-located the kennel so we had a lot more space. I intend on painting some great frames that'll go on both sides of my dresser mirror and will add more decor, but that'll come in time too. Also - we are considering putting some art above Jeff's dresser =) And, lastly, on the side of the room where I'm standing when this shot was made - I am putting multiple white shelves to make a photo/gallery wall for pictures and cool odds/ends.

All in all, I'd say this is great progress to have made in a week. I started last Wednesday with the painting and I'm thrilled the main, tedious work is done. I have to give a shout out to my mom though, who helped inspire me to finish the last piece by offering to help and get me started. I'd reached a wall with my motivation and I'm so grateful she pushed me through it so that all of the furniture it done!

Wall Art Reveal

2011-06-23T23:00:00.000-05:00

I am working on some major changes right now. I decided that in the off time I have from work, I want to be productive. So, I've finally decided to revamp our room. I guess I can't really say revamp since it never looked nice... Well then, I'm finally decorating and doing our room. I've wanted to for a very long time and simply haven't dedicated the time and energy to it. That's mainly because I knew it would be a huge undertaking.

A few of the things on my to do list:

1. Create wall art thingy and hang it
2. Sand all of our furniture
3. Paint all of said furniture (after taking awhile to pick a color)
4. Remove nasty air conditioning unit from bedroom window
5. Clean entire window area and paint all of the discovered wall space left white
6. Replace blinds with new/white ones
7. Paint frame of a giant painting that'll be featured in the room
8. Paint the lamp base from our night table
9. Clean and declutter the entire room
10. Change up the hamper thingy so it isn't visible
11. Re-locate the dog kennel so it isn't in our room
12. Spot treat all of our carpet
13. Discover a new jewelry display idea
14. Get shelves to go on one wall

And I've actually gotten half of the things on this list done! =) Hooray! Making a lot of progress. I don't want to make many in-the-middle reveals, so I have a simple photo for today. This just shows the wall art hanging on the wall - and the newly painted headboard. Our furniture was dark brown with a lot of chips of paint scratched off. So... here is a small idea of what our room is shaping up to look like:

White furniture was the winner! I can't wait to show you guys the room when it's done!

finally!

2011-06-20T20:17:00.000-05:00

I have been trying to find something to hang above our headboard since the day we moved into our house. That's over 1 1/2 years and no progress has been made. I can never make up my mind on what I want to put there. That - or whatever I find happens to be to dang expensive and I can never bring myself to spend the amount on what I like. I mean... come on, $200+ for the pretty pictures I like? They aren't that pretty.

So, thanks to my sister and her email with links from this and this site - I finally had a manageable idea that would be big enough to make the impression I wanted, while being cheap enough to afford.

As a matter of fact, it only cost:
$2.50 at Hobby Lobby for a mirror
$4 at Michaels for some framing materials
$7 at Home Depot on Cedar Wood Shims

That's under $14 for the new wall piece that's going to hang above our headboard. Wonderful. Amazing. And long overdue.

Since you've likely peeked at the links above - here is what my version looks like thus far. Keep in mind that it isn't complete.

Here is the first shot I took of it. I'm still quite uncertain about whether I want to leave it in this nice wood shade and spray it with some polyurethane spray that'll make it gloss and shine OR paint it white to match our soon-to-be-revamped bedroom set. Opinions? I'm also wondering if I should get a bigger mirror. =)

Here is a shot including some furniture to help give you an idea of the size of the thing. It's pretty dang big. Definitely going to be a dramatic! I almost feel like I should hang it in our living room over the TV... but I really need something for our bedroom and I'd hate to lose that. Hm. Dilemmas.

And, this is one last shot to show you the pretty coloring of the wood.

I hope you guys like it!

Peculiar

2011-06-15T10:35:00.000-05:00

I've decided there are some very frustrating, fun, and quirky moments involved in owning pets. I have always thought of myself as a pet person. But, I have to admit, I have my moments where I wish I was pet free! I don't know what it is about the little fur balls that can really get under my skin at times. Perhaps it is that our pets have developed some odd habits - I'm not sure.

I've decided to share some of the interesting quirks and habits little Sunny and Sheila have.

1. First of all, there's the issue of names. I love the idea of having fun animal names. However, this doesn't seem to work when you rescue pets. I'm not sure if it's the rescue place's fault or what - but they almost always seem to come with stupid names. When we were looking for a dog, I remember one place that had a Star, Star 1, Star 2, Star 3, Spot, Spot 2, Sunshine.... etc. Come on people. So, while I have always happily imagined having a dog named Spaz and a cat named Screwball - it never happened. Instead... we ended up with an orange cat named Sunny. Creative, huh? I wanted to change it, but she was 1 year old and one of the few cats I'd ever seen that readily responded to her name. Couldn't chance losing that rarity. Then, there's Sheila. I have to admit, I was not thrilled with this name. I wanted to change it, but...again... she knew it. And - that's the tale of the boring names of our pets.

2. Then, there's the interesting fact that we own a cat. Yes, we both are very much dog people. But - our apartment had a no-pet clause and a cat is the only hide-able pet. So, bing bang bam - we got a cat. Sometimes I truly love our cat. She really is a sweety and a good cat. She answers to her name, she comes to you when you call her, she enjoys people and attention.... but sometimes she really annoys me. Like when she meows non-stop at 6am because she has decided it's time we fill her food bowl.

3. Why does her meow annoy me so much? Well, funny you should ask. Sunny doesn't have a regular cat meow. Nope. Not one of those cute little mews or pure meows. Her meow-box is broken. Sure, this is a funny and interesting phenomenon at first. She meows and it sounds broken and pretty messed up. But, might I remind you about the non-stop meowing at 6am? Not the prettiest sound to wake up to and hear over and over.

4. Then there's the licking sound. Oh gosh. It's terrible. Both pets do it and it gives me goosebumps. However, this is where the cat knowing her name comes in handy. When Sunny is going to town and I'm going crazy, I can say her name sternly and she looks at me and stops. Beautiful day.

5. Sheila. Oh Sheila. She has developed an interesting skill. Well, I call it a skill - though I'm not sure what it is. Over the last year, I haven't been very active after work (at least, not until lately). That means that the only time I put on tennis shoes was when I was walking Sheila. So, in Sheila's mind:
tennis shoes = ALWAYS means a walk.
Now that I've started being active again and am training for the TIO - we've had some issues. I will sit down to put on my tennis shoes and Sheila goes berserk. She sprints around happily and races up and down the hallway. I haven't figured out how to keep her from assuming it means she is going for a walk. It's so sad to then have to put her in the kennel and see those big eyes watching me, wondering why I'm going on her walk without her.

6. Shadow. That might've been a good new-name for Sheila. The cutie follows me everywhere. If I have to leave the room to grab something really quick - I have to tell her to stay to keep her from following me. Then, if I'm gone for more than 30 seconds, she hops up and follows me anyways, sure that I'm not returning to where she is. This one is a 50/50. Sometimes it's really cute. Sometimes it's ridiculously annoying. Like when I'm doing laundry and I have to walk back and forth up and down our hallway holding lots of clothes and Sheila is constantly intertwined around my legs and feet.

Well, that all of the pet love I'm sharing today. It's toasty and I need to go and be productive at something.

Try-It-On

2011-06-09T10:36:00.000-05:00

As I sat in my computer chair, wondering what on earth I could possibly write about... I decided to simply let everyone know that I am pretty sweaty right now.

Why am I telling you this?

Well, for a lack of anything interesting to talk about - I am simply going to tell you about my new training schedule. I am training with a fellow teacher to take part in a race. In September, I'm going to participate in a Try-It-On Triathlon. Now, I know it sounds like a prequel to a "real" triathlon, but don't get confused. I doubt I'll ever do one of those. However, I am really excited about finding something to work towards. I've been lagging in the physical activity department and this has really got me working hard! I just got back from a 5 mile bike ride and a 2 mile cool down. Then, later today, I am going to UWF to swim laps in the pool.

Now... what is a Try-It-On? It's a race where you: Swim 300 yards in the Gulf, Bike 10 miles, and then run 2 miles. It starts at 5:30am and is one continual race.

My training plan involves training 5 days out of the week, which includes: running from 15-45 minutes, biking 5-15 miles, and swimming 200-500 yards. Each day is different, I've just stated the ranges that the various days span.

I have to admit that I am pretty excited. I've really been sticking to my training plan, which has been the most physical activity I've done in awhile. And the crazy thing about it is, I'm enjoying it! Yep. I'm actually liking biking distances, running, and swimming. I haven't felt this good physically in quite awhile.

Not only am I doing a race in September, but there is another, longer race in October. It adds distance to the swim, is 18 miles for biking, and a 5K for distance.

I'm not aiming for a winning time.... just to complete and not be last :) at least, that's my first goal. This might actually be something that I build on. We'll see. Either way, it is really feeling good!

Unexpected Weekend

2011-05-28T20:55:00.000-05:00

I've been looking forward to this weekend for awhile. Memorial Day weekend is always spent at the Lake, enjoying good food, the suns rays, family time, papa and grandma Iva, and relaxation. This Monday I wasn't upset when I was heading to work in the early morning hours because I knew that, come Friday, we were packing up and heading out.

Visits to the Lake are treasured times. Even moreso since jobs have made visits less frequent than I'd like. I also treasure them because my papa has been sick and every moment we get with him is a wonderful gift.

On Tuesday, my weekend plans changed. I received a call a little before 8am and was rather surprised since I rarely receive calls from family when I'm at work (teachers can't really answer their phones). I was expecting my mom to ask if I wanted her to order me any advocare. Instead, I was shocked to find out that my papa had passed.

I'm not going to go into the details of that day. It wasn't a good day.

Instead of driving to the Lake on Friday night for our intended vacation, we drove up Thursday night so we could be at the Memorial Service on Friday at 11am. It was strange walking into the house and knowing that my papa wouldn't be there. It was heartbreaking.

Friday came and went and it's Saturday now. Most of the family has gone home. We are still staying for the entire weekend.

I don't want to focus on being sad. I want to focus on the good things as much as possible. My Papa's Memorial Service was wonderful and the Pastor couldn't have been better. I know he is in a better place and I am trying to focus on where he is instead of where he isn't. I'm trying to focus on what I had and not what I've lost.

So, in respect of my Papa - who was one heck of an incredible man - I am going to share a few things I loved about him.

1. Ever since I was little, my Papa teased me about bear hugs and squeezing him to tight. It was something special we shared. Every time I saw him, I could anticipate him asking me for a hug and making noises to make me think I was super strong. Even as I got older, he always did it. I loved it.

2. My Papa was an amazing storyteller. Never again in my life will I meet someone that tells such incredible stories. Not that they were always fantastic in nature, but boy was he great at telling them. I always used to think that, had he been born in ages past, he would've been one of those "Wise Storytellers of the Village" that you read about.

3. Papa never lacked for good advice. I loved hearing my Papa's advice on any and all topics. Careers was one area he loved to talk about. He was always telling me to "be someone" and "do something" with my life. I wish he were here to see me as I start my career as an English Teacher. I remember that when I got the position I was excited to tell him about it and hoped he'd be proud.

4. Back and forth. Boy did me and Papa have some back and forth moments when we bickered and disputed certain things. But, I respected and appreciated the fact that he would indulge a teenage girl and allow me the opportunity to argue and not simply write me off. That made a lasting impression on me and was a big contributor to my self confidence.

5. Graciousness. My Papa was one of the most hospitable, friendly men you'll ever meet. He and Iva opened their home to countless friends and were always happy for people to visit. I can't think of a single friend that had a grandparent like my Papa. Nobody else's grandfather was asking them to show up whenever and bring friends. Not only was his home open, but my friends (and all of the other random assortments of guests) loved him - and that speaks volumes.

I could go on and on and on... he was an incredible, wonderful man.

We placed his ashes in the Lake today. It was a sad form of closure; all of us sitting in the boat, watching.

And as sad as I felt seeing those ashes, I knew he wasn't there in those ashes. Nope. My Papa is in heaven right now and I bet he is having a great time swapping stories with Jesus. I love you Papa and I miss you. I can't wait to see you again someday.

Can you guess?

2011-05-25T12:44:00.002-05:00

Can you guess what the newest development is at work? All of the required clues are in the image below. Best of luck!

my next week

2011-05-11T21:27:00.000-05:00

Ok, ok... per complaints from my big brother, I will type an actual post. I want you to know Matt, that I am setting aside this time to please you.

Since my days are consumed by my classes and so many things school-related, that is the only type of post that I can think to type.

Next week is going to be a very busy week for me. Two major projects are due in my English classes. The first is a scrapbook project that was assigned before I took over. The second is an original short story. I'm pretty excited about the short stories. I know that there are going to be a good amount of bad stories that students waited to write until the last minute. However, I believe that the good stories will definitely make it worth it.

This week, my students have been writing short story proposals. I talked one-on-one with each student about their idea before they typed up a proposal for me to approve. I'm anticipatinng quite a few interesting stories... and *drumroll please* (pay attention Matt) .... I am prepared to share a few of the ideas with you:

1. Two fictional worlds are at war. On one of the planets, a mad scientist is creating biomechanical planet-eating sharks that he can grow with a powerful laser. The sharks will then eat the other planet. However, once the sharks are created and sent on their mission, they turn on their creator.....

-Sure, this sounds silly... but the student is an excellent writer and I am incredibly curious about how the story will turn out. I think this will show me if a great writer can make a silly story a very good story by writing talent alone.

2. A man is hunting down the person who murdered his family. He is in a supply store getting some items he will need and keeps having sweat, shakes, and flashbacks. At one point, in a fit of rage and anger after having a flashback of his dead wife, he passes out. As he becomes conscious, he begins seeing/remembering bits and pieces of what happened the night of the murder. The night he doesn't remember. By the end of the story, he realizes that he killed his family...

3. One student is writing a character into a major Spartan battle. The entire story is going to consist of this man running towards battle and what thoughts he has and how the battle plays out. I have been promised some awesome fights/gore scenes from battle.

4. Someone else is writing a Sherlock Holmes-style murder mystery, whodunnitesque story. I can't remember the details off the top of my head, but it sounded really interesting.

5. A student is writing about a soldier being kidnapped by Al Qaeda during a standard mission in a desert city. The story is then of him enduring various types of horrifying torture and planning his escape. This story is focusing on the mental anguish and phsychological side.

There are several more incredibly promising stories, but I didn't realize how long it would take to type these brief summaries =)

Hopefully this was better than a simple picture post.

snapshots

2011-05-10T22:40:00.000-05:00

I'm feeling some blue words and a different font this week. Why? I'm not really sure. I used to not be a big fan of blue, but I'm really feeling it today. I like this shade in particular. Who knew?

Since I am pretty busy with a fun-filled Reading course that I am having to take online for my Prof. Teaching Certificate, I haven't given posts a lot of thought lately. So...what better filler than some photos?

Snapshots of the week:

This first one is a picture of my school. I know that I should have posted several more by now, but I never find myself getting around to taking pictures while there. This was actually a last second picture. I was driving off campus to leave and remembered that I didn't have a picture of the school. So, I rolled down my window and snapped one with my phone. Boy was it a beautiful day. My room is in the building to the immediate left of this shot (right next to some good parking. Score.)

This second picture is of a beautiful rose that my husband gave me this week. The picture doesn't do it justice (another phone shot I'm afraid). The rose is a beautiful, deep red. And, yes... the picture is of it sitting on the floor. I would like to say that I don't know why I chose to take the picture there; however, the truth is that the tabletop it is currently adorning is incredibly messy at the time being. It was easier to place the vase on the floor and snap the shot than clean off the table. Hey... don't judge. I'm tired at the end of the day!

little love

2011-04-26T10:08:00.000-05:00

a certain little girl has stolen my heart. =) You've probably heard oodles about her on another site around here (theringls). My sweet little niece Sarah. Oh wow, how I didn't realize how fascinated and in love with her I would be. I can't even imagine what it must feel like to be a mother - because I know you love them even more. Since life has been crazy - I'm going to dedicate this post to pictures with my adorable niece. She is currently the cutest baby in the world. (I say currently because, in August, she'll be tied with another little baby holding my heart - little Grayciella)

Special in more ways than we can count. Literally... it's endless.

Absolutely adorable and breathtaking at the same time. And, oh, what a smile.

Remarkable.

Animated! Oh how you wiggle and stretch your way into my heart more each day.

Has my heart in her tiny little hands.

You are such a cuddler.

I absolutely love holding you.

Our eskimo kisses!

=) Oh how you make me smile.

I love you Sarah.

finally!

2011-04-15T18:12:00.000-05:00

I finally remembered to take a picture of my room! Every day this week I would leave work and remember on the drive home. =) Oh well - I got it done eventually.

So - I'm going to attach pictures and then let you know more details about them below:

This is my desk. It actually won't be my long-term desk though. As you can see - it's pretty ugly and looks old. One of the other English teachers let me know that I can swipe other desks :) So, I spotted a veeery nice desk in the teacher's lounge that is serving no purpose outside of being a display spot for random materials. Sometime next week I'm gonna swap it out with mine and then I'll have a nice, brown, wooden, NEW desk in my room. I think'll be a great change that'll do much for the atmosphere (or at least for me)

This is a view of my room. You may immediately notice that it is somewhat like a computer lab. The teacher before me had a business degree - so she was placed in the business building. I don't mind the room - but I can't wait until next year. Next year they are going to move me into another building where most of the English teacher are. What'll the difference be? HUGE! No computer lab! I'll have a nice sized room and desks arranged in pods of 4. This may sound odd... but I've walked into a few rooms of other English teachers and I LOVE them. Their rooms are in pods and completely decorated to the max in English projects. Movie posters, posters from plays, art projects.... I absolutely can't wait to move next year and have my room get decorated. I'm not decorating this year because there really isn't any point since I'm moving (plus- it doesn't lend itself to being very decorated). But next year - watch out. One of the other English teachers let me know that she has tons of extra fun posters that I can hang all over my room and I'm going to install bookshelves and more. Anticipate the amazingness to come.

Here is my board. I've got it segmented for the different class period each day =)

Hopefully my pictures didn't disappoint. I know the room I'm in now isn't much to stare at - but it's still my room, which is nice. I'll try to remember to take another picture when I swap my desk (but I don't promise it)

Forget me not?

2011-04-10T21:20:00.000-05:00

Wow... well... I wish I had a better excuse for my lack of updating as of late. I know that I kind of left you hanging with my job announcement and then *poof* disappearing.

I have been so incredibly busy the last few days that a weird thing happened. I forgot about my blog. Now.. I don't mean that I just forgot to update. Nope. I literally forgot it existed. I was home yesterday and remembered to check Cassies blog (hadn't in about a week) and then it hit me... I have one too!

I can only say that I have just had way to many things on my mind. The last week and a half consisted of me going to work at PACE (finishing up) and coming home to working on lesson plans for my new classes (as well as going up to the school to get my classroom ready). So - I've been pretty crazy busy. Things are finally starting to settle down though.

Last Thursday was my official first day with the district - though I wasn't teaching yet. Just getting some boring paperwork things out of the way. I also got my room set up, which was quite a process. Lets just say the teacher before me wasn't quite as organized. Or it just got incredible messy in the weeks she was gone. Either way - it took some work.

Friday was my first day teaching and it was a nerve-wracking day. It was not the easiest way to start a teaching job. On the first day of school - everyone is meeting a new teacher and it's a new year. Coming in at the end and having an already established class have to accept you... it put me on edge.

My classes went well and I think things got off to a pleasant enough start. The worst is behind me as far as I'm concerned. I've met the students. They know me. I've claimed my room and made it my own... I've planned out lessons through the end of the year. I'm looking forward to getting in a routine.

My new hours are 7:30-3:00, which is nice :) I doubt I'll ever get out at 3, since that's when the bell rings and traffic is insane. But even getting out at 3:45 is pretty dang good.

I will try to remember to take a picture of my room tomorrow so you can see what it looks like.

Also, another fun note: I absolutely love the English department at WFHS. They are wonderful. They already have plans to move me to another classroom next year (right next to some other English teachers, so we're all together). They also greeted my Friday morning (my first day) with a giant muffin, coffee, and a sweet note. They were waiting in my room when I arrived and welcomed me with excitement and open arms. How incredible to have such a great department to be a part of.

More to come!

New News!

2011-03-29T20:14:00.000-05:00

I would like to make a wonderful announcement to everyone. A few weeks ago, I decided to apply for a position that was open. I have to admit.. I was nervous about applying to a job and getting my hopes up (since I seem to never hear back from them). So, I pushed the thought/job into the back of my mind and ignored it.

The job was with the Escambia County School District. If you know anything about the District - it isn't always a very quick process.

Well... a week after applying, I was called in for an interview. I have to admit - I almost jumped out of my chair and ran around in circles. Then... I did that thing that I do. "Your odds aren't good Miriah - don't get caught up in it and get your hopes up." So, I let two people know only. And that was for prayer purposes.

The day of the interview came and I was pretty dang nervous. I would tell you all of the details, but this would become a crazy long post (and I know everyone is already going through a 15 - episode version of a story on cassie's page, so I won't do that to you too). haha... I love you Cassie. Love.

The interview went pretty good. But, then again - how can you really know how it went? Ya don't. Again, I shoved the thoughts out of my mind and went about my day. I stayed busy so I wouldn't go crazy.

Well... at 4pm - I got a phone call (which was earlier than I was said to hear back by).

As of that moment, I changed from Miriah Brown, employee at Pace to:

Miriah Brown

12th Grade English/Debate teacher at W. Florida High

Heck yes. Only the best possible teaching position I could ask for. 12th grade, which is the one I've always wanted to teach. The emphasis of my grade will be writing and literature - which was my emphasis in college. I haven't been able to stop myself from thinking about lesson plans each night. I'm loving it and I haven't even officially started yet!

When will that happen? Next Thursday! I can't really write how excited I am - so feel the vibes of excitement through the screen and pretend you can see the hugely large grin on my face.

Beach!

2011-03-24T18:38:00.001-05:00

I recently decided to start taking sanity days from work. Just to help keep from getting overwhelmed and allow for some rest and relaxation. Two weekends ago, I had a 4 day weekend since I took off Monday and Tuesday. =) It was marvelous. The only thing that could make it more marvelous is if it hadn't had to end. Sadly... it did.

On Tuesday, Jeff and I decided to have a beach day and really enjoy my last day before heading back to work. It was so much fun! It's been so long since we've done something like that - just relax and spend most of the day on one continual activity. I'm hoping we can make it a more regular thing. Maybe not always the beach, but getting out of the house and having a day like today.

The weather was absolutely perfect. You know those days where you could just sit outside forever and never get hot or cold? That's a rare thing in Pensacola... it's normally pretty hot out at the beach. Instead, it was perfectly clear skies, bright sunshine, and a continual cool breeze to prevent any feeling of being too hot. Beach bliss!

After laying out in the sun for awhile and just soaking up the rays and enjoying the weather, Jeff and I started a game of frisbee. I have to admit... I was doing pretty good! I was rather impressed with myself since I normally am not a great frisbee-er. No control leaves my poor partners running all around after the frisbee. Not today! We threw it around for quite awhile before Jeff wanted to swap positions with me. I figured it was only fair for the sun to be in my eyes for awhile... then I realized the truth. I'd been throwing with the wind and he'd been throwing against it. Suddenly.. I couldn't manage a successful frisbee throw. So sad. The wind was taking my frisbee all the way to Jeff, not any newfound skills. Once my position was swapped, it all went downhill.

In addition to a frisbee or football, here are two beach musts. Some sunglasses to help keep the sun at bay, and my lovely nook. Nothing better than relaxing in the sun and reading a book! I could probably do that every week if it wouldn't result in an insane tan and ruined skin in the long run =)

After some hours in the sun, our tummys alerted us to hunger and we decided to hunt out some food. It wasn't long before we ended up at Flounders for some yummy lunch. Jeff loves seafood and rarely gets to eat it (since I really dislike it), so we headed here so he could have a rare treat.

Since he got a rare treat in the stuffed flounder, I got a rare drink treat. Doesn't it look yummy?! It was. =)

Virgin Strawberry Daiquiris are delicious! I've never even had one, but I got it on a whim and truly enjoyed it. It may be something I try more often. The only thing that could've improved it would've been some fresh strawberries on the rim of the glass. yuum.

And then, after lunch - we decided to top the day off with one last wonderful surprise treat. Ice cream! Nothing goes better with a day at the beach than some delicious ice cream... it may become a must every time we visit the beach.

Here is mine! Two scoops: 1 cookies and creme with whole oreos and 1 chocolate and peanut butter swirl scoop. =) The only negative? Sticky hands. Sitting in the sun causes ice cream to melt pretty darn quick and I had a hard time keeping up! Jeff was smart to get his in a cup. I, on the other hand, can never resist a waffle cone and dealt with the consequences.

We ended our day on this note and headed home so Jeff could get ready for work. To complete my wonderful last day off? Some TV and then cuddling up with my nook to read some more...

Back in Time

2011-03-21T09:10:00.000-05:00

A few days ago, Jeff and I went back in time. How did we get a time machine? Was it a delorian that helped us make this venture? Nope. You see, Jeff was helping his mom with their guest room as her birthday present. He spent some time installing a new fan and was also going to hang up a mirror. We didn't have any of those handy photo-hangers, so we decided to make a Lowes run (yes... I know... Jeff works at Home Depot, but we still do shop at Lowes frequently).

Instead of driving our car, Jeff wanted to take his dad's old El Camino. Now.. you may know what an El Camino is. When Jeff and I first met and started dating - I didn't. So, I'll explain in case you are like I was. An El Camino is a car that looks very funny. Why, you ask? Because it has a truck bed and yet still looks like a car. I think this combination makes the El Camino look very silly. However, I've learned not to say this to El Camino fans... like Jeff. He got a bit offended the first time I said this. Then, he went on to defend/argue the fact that an El Camino is not a car, but a truck. Now... I've learned to look past the silliness and never make that comment again - but I have still never been able to truly believe the El Camino is a truck.

I guess I don't think anything that sits low and is just like a car can be called a truck just because it has a long butt/bed. However... I still enjoyed riding in the thing. Why? Because I felt like I had traveled back in time! I was stuck between two feelings: excitement and the need to laugh. I must be spoiled by today's developments and my new car... but wow.

Look at that dash!!! the gear shift (missing the end), the tape deck...

That air conditioning system took me way back...

and here is the reason it is a "truck." That's the bed.

Here is Jeff driving. He didn't smile because he hates when I take random pictures... and he didn't find me laughing at the car while snapping away very funny...

The "Final" final reveal

2011-03-19T14:03:00.000-05:00

Ok, ok.. so the real reveal of our new light fixture is making an appearance. I decided to go ahead and clean the table (which led to cleaning the entire house... which is probably good). 2 or more hours of work just so you can see a photo of our fixture over a clean table. ;)

Here it is, turned on - so you can get an idea of how the light shows with me having added some fabric that didn't come on the thing. Pretty nice, eh? I think it helps diffuse/soften the light a little bit, which is an added perk.

And here is a distant shot so you can see the overall, and much improved, look of our dining room. Or... I guess we'd have to call it a dining space since it isn't exactly its own room. =)

fixed the fixture

2011-03-17T09:01:00.002-05:00

So - this post is very late in coming. Around 2 months ago Jeff and I decided to finally change out the hideous chandelier over our dining room table. I'm not really sure how it managed to be left up and displayed, for over a year...

It was a terribly ugly glass chandelier that was missing some bulb covers and bulbs! Add that to the fact that the center part looked like a glass wannabe-pineapple, and you can see why it was an eyesore.

Here is a quick snapshot of Jeff taking the dinosaur down. See how bad it looked? I have to admit, it was a great day when I saw him take it down- we should've done it sooner. I think I had managed to ignore it and got used to pretending it wasn't there. I didn't know how glad I'd be to have it gone until it wasn't there anymore. While I'm staring at the picture to the right, I would like to post a quick shout out to my incredible husband. I can't put into words how amazing and incredible it is to be married to someone so handy! Anything that we need done around the house, he can do it- which is a big blessing. Not just light fixtures, but anything. Tiling, removing/installing vanities, replacing fans, fixing plumbing... it's a never ending list. =) and I just love saying, "lets fix that" and know that it can be done.

It took awhile to replace it because I wanted a specific type of replacement. I wanted a drum shade to hang up there. Why did that make it take so long? Turns out, drum shades are very popular in higher-end homes... so they are ridiculously expensive! The cheapest one I could find was $150. Ye-ow! No thank you! So, it took quite awhile of hunting to find a decent deal online.

I was so excited when I found one on sale and ordered it. I waited a few days and anxiously checked the mail each day. Then, about a week later, there was a box on the doorstep when I got home from work. DRUMSHADE! I opened up the box, full of excitement, and got ready to attempt to hang it up... then I noticed the dents. Some evil, crazed mailman had allowed the box to get kicked around and be damaged. I have to admit that I fumed for a bit over the damage done to my poor, beautiful, on-sale drumshade. I'm not a fan of long return processes just to get what I already bought - so I had to come up with an easier solution.

Luckily, we had an extra sheer window panel valence handy in our closet that I remembered. Some scissors, some hot glue, and a few burnt fingers later...

Here is our shade, mostly covered so that the dents wouldn't show and be obvious when it was hung up.

And... here is the final reveal. Our wonderful new light fixture for over our dining room table! Isn't it pretty? Hopefully, soon, I'll clean off the table and actually let you see a picture of it hanging up and displayed. However, that day is not today... the table is cluttered and I am not inspired to clean it. So, for now, this will have to do! =) Hope you like it - I do!

Thank Goodness for Neighbors

2011-03-15T19:26:00.003-05:00

So, you remember a few posts ago when I talked about our water leak and how our neighbor was such a Godsend and willing to help us fix it? If not... scan down. =) A brief summary: water leak that was costing looots of money and wasting tons of water. A repair would cost $1,000 or more.

The day after we discovered we had a leak, our neighbor Andrew offered to help find our leak. Luckily, it was found by me and my dad. Then, Saturday, only 2 days after the leak discovery, Andrew showed up early in the morning and was willing to give up his Saturday to help us with the massive project that fixing the leak would be. Well... I say "help"... but help actually means "do it all while Miriah watched"

Hours later, our leak was fixed and I was amazed at the amount of amazing and diverse tools that our neighbor had stored in his trailer. Who knew? The man is a jack of all trades.

Here is a picture of the leak we found. It happened to be right beside our sidewalk in the front yard, so he had to dig up both sides of the sidewalk to see the leak/pool that was forming.

I happen to think this picture looks really awesome. Fog machine memories, anyone? I feel like he should rise up suddenly from that position and start doing the moonwalk or something...

I make jokes, but what he is really doing is cutting out a chunk of our sidewalk. Apparently it's possible with a special "diamond" blade. This may be a naive comment, but I hope there weren't real diamonds in that blade. If so... it's a shame.

Once the sidewalk was cut, he used a sledgehammer to break up and remove the concrete. Then we found just how big of a leak we had. Some new pipe and sticky stuff later and we had a repair! Praise the Lord! I could've laid down in the driveway and cried or danced around the front yard. Such a beautiful relief and blessing.

Some new concrete poured and voila! Repair completo. Isn't it amazing? We would've never been able to do it on our own.. but I can see why they charge so much for this! It was very physically demanding and a long process. Luckily... a process we didn't actually have to pay to have done. Now... how to repay the neighbors? Because goodness knows we owe them for this!

Precious

2011-03-07T17:06:00.000-06:00

This weekend was wonderful =) We happily welcomed a new addition to the family! Sunday, March 6 - little Sarah was born into the world. All 6 lbs and 8 oz. of cuteness. Words cannot properly convey how excited I am and how adorable she is.

Sarah Elizabeth Ringl

Here is Cassie - a new mommy! You can see how happy she is. She is a wonderful mother and is doing amazing.

I had to capture an image of Jeff holding little Sarah. His first ever experience holding an infant. =) She was only 7 or 8 hours old at this point and I have to admit, he looked pretty cute with her cuddled asleep in his arms. A nice little preview of what is to come sometime in our future.

Here we are with our niece! I cannot wait for future babysitting days and fun. Little Sare-Bear is an angel.

Here she is.... isn't her face absolutely breathtaking? those soft little cheeks, her cute little nose, the tiny baby ears... and when she blinks those tiny eyes, it simply steals your heart.

<---- Sarah Elizabeth. My niece. One little coo and she had my heart melted in her tiny, wrinkled, little fingers.

=) =) =) I love holding her. Looking forward to so many more hours holding her and playing with her. Her little fingers have everyone in our family wrapped around them. She has no idea she has so much power in those tiny hands.

What a Day...

2011-02-26T22:54:00.001-06:00

We have had a crazy few days. Not long ago we realized that our water bill was quite off. After questions and phone calls we realized there was a pretty substantial leak someplace on our property. Needless to say, I panicked. Of course, that could be because plumbers were quoting me $750 to $1,500 to fix it (and a $300 "leak location" fee).

Thank goodness, God saw fit to place us in a house with amazing neighbors. Our neighbor Andrew is a handyman and happened to know exactly how to fix our leak and had the tons of crazily intense tools required for the fix. I won't go into too many details about it because I have some cool pictures of the process that I want to share when my mac (and photo-ability) is back.

However, in addition to saving around (or more than) a thousand dollars today- we also spent our entire day outside in the sun. That leads to some interesting moments since our neighbors have 5 fun children. So, since I can't share the images of our huuuge project - I am going to share some fun moments from the day.

1. Little Ari, a 2 year old little blonde, and I had an all-out light saber fight in the front yard. He finds it fun and hilarious to swing the light saber (and by light saber, I mean...bright red spatula...) around like a ninja while making sound effects. Since he doesn't have many teeth, this leads to lots of drool, and a whole lot of laughter.

2. Poor little Emmanuel skinned his little knee... it was so sad to see his frown. So, I picked him up and took him inside to clean his battle wound. When I went to put a band aid on it, he looked at me with huge eyes and said "No thank you!" I tried again and he repeated it over and over. He was being so polite that I decided to let the band aid go.

3. Noah crawled up next to me on the couch (during a short break inside) and, with hugely expressive eyes, persisted to explain all of the details surrounding The Magic Schoolbus episode that was on Tv. He was also incredibly shocked that it played on Tv when I was younger.

4. Drew used his scooter to show me his incredible tricks. I turned to watch him make his best effort to "hop" while on his scooter. He was so excited about doing a "wheelie." =) He also showed me a fun ninja routine and asked if he would make a good karate kid since he can kick so high. I had to say yes because the boy can definitely kick pretty dang high.

5. I had a little tickle war with Emmanuel on the couch since he decided to come and perch on my lap and snuggle up while watching The Magic Schoolbus. Tickling is so much fun. =) and he thought it was exciting to use my hands to point to things. Don't know why, but he was definitely entertained.

There was a lot more fun and running around in the sun - but this is all I'm up to typing right now. Boy am I wiped out from being outside all day! Here are two pictures of 4 of the adorable 5 =)

Here is Drew and Noah. Drew is on the left and is the oldest and then is Noah, the 2nd oldest.

And then here is little Emmanuel and little Ari. Just thought a visual had to accompany these stories.

heads up :)

2011-02-19T19:23:00.000-06:00

my mac isn't working right now - hence the lack of posts! I have some great pictures of a few remodeling projects we've done, but I can't access them since they are on that computer and it won't work! Hopefully we'll get the problem fixed soon and posts will be up and running again. Wish me luck!

Odd?

2011-02-10T11:02:00.000-06:00

We all do weird things when we’re little. I’m not quite sure why, but it just seems to be a common thing that kids do. I’m sure it doesn’t seem odd when we’re doing them – but looking back…

This past week I’ve reminisced about childhood. The good old days. The time of no responsibility. Not having to go to work. Sleeping in on Saturdays. Bliss. However, I’m not going to bore you with all of the wonders of childhood because I’m sure you know them well. Instead, I’ll share some of the odd and silly memories of things that I did as a child that just make me shake my head now.

1. Picnics. Now, not just any picnic… but going through the effort to pack a HUGE picnic and get a blanket (at age 8 or so) – and then only walking a good 20 yards from the house and then sitting down to enjoy. Why not walk further? Why spend 30 minutes packing everything when I could just eat it in the kitchen?

2. The spy days. I’m not sure if every girl goes through a spy phase. Heck, I don’t even know if I would’ve had one if Danae’s mom hadn’t given me a white lab coat to play with. That coat inspired it all. Suddenly I had to find cool gadgets to fill all of the millions of pockets. And since her coat was like a trench coat on me, the spy feeling was born. I remember taking a spiral notebook, tucking it into my belt, and checking the neighborhood. I even looked in people’s windows and wrote down what was going on inside. My gosh. I can’t imagine why I did that! I kept a daily record of the happenings in each house for a few weeks (luckily, it was during the day, so most people were gone at work). I even had a pocket of distractions in case I was seen. One of these distractions: a plastic bird that tweeted loudly. If someone saw me, I’d throw it the other direction thinking they’d watch the random bird and I could get away, unseen…..

3. Bare feet. I would’ve happily gone through life without shoes. I remember running through the woods behind our house, shoeless, without a care or pain in the world. I thought it was so cool that my feet didn’t hurt, so I would go without shoes as much as possible….I thought it was impressive. Oh poor me. I probably should’ve realized that this was the key to my stinky feet problem.

4. Frogs. I had a huge frog time period in my life and I don’t know why. What on earth drew me to liking tree frogs? It was just like I woke up one day and decided to declare it my favorite animal (yes – I know it isn’t an animal, but there was no arguing with me). I don’t even like to pick up frogs now because they are slimy and can pee on me. But back then, I even had a fake pet frog. Really? Fake? I could’ve gone out and found a real one. But, no. I had a fake one and it had a bed, fake food…. Yeaaa.

5. Creating recipes. I would sometimes try to make my own concoctions. I remember when I was about 7 years old, making this weird drink mixture that tasted like a red tootsie roll pop while you’re sucking n it. I’m serious – this was exactly what it tasted like. I poured water, sugar, and some other random (and…likely bad) things into a pitcher and tasting it. I was so proud when it tasted like something specific that I made it every day for awhile and drank it. Then, one day, I went to make it and couldn’t remember how much of what to put in the pitcher. I was so upset. I was never able to recreate the flavor again, despite all of my efforts.

on the way home

2011-02-05T18:42:00.000-06:00

This isn't going to be a long, interesting update. I was driving home from my sister's last baby shower today and the sky was just gorgeous. I decided to take a picture. Yes... I used my cell phone while driving - don't tell on me!

You can't really see the details in the picture or the way that the sky looked like a deep blue and silver velvet - but oh well. It was wonderful =) Pensacola truly is a beautiful place with such amazing scenery. I wouldn't mind living here for the rest of our lives. Sometimes I forget about it and then, while driving along Scenic Highway, alongside the bay and a beautiful view, I will pause and see how pretty it is. Here's to hoping when Jeff graduates he can find a good paying position in Pensacola. I used to want to move away so bad, but my opinion is slowing changing as we get older.

What I have learned...

2011-02-03T17:02:00.000-06:00

I have been surrounded by pregnant women as of late. My wonderful neighbor, Leah, was pregnant (just had her baby!) and my beautiful sister still has a little bun baking in her oven. Through being around pregnant women so often, I have learned a few interesting tidbits.

I don't think I will cope well with the inability to sleep well at night - which is what I have witnessed happening when you're pregnant. Me and sleep are good friends. We spend a lot of time together. We rarely (if ever) miss our scheduled time together. Without sleep... I will not be a fun person to be around. Lets hope for poor Jeff's sake that this isn't an issue for me.
I will not deal with the issue of stretch marks as lovely and wonderfully as my sister has. Just the thought of them freaks me out. I will surely be buttering myself up 3 times a day in paranoia.
I don't know what makes pregnant women waddle, but I hope that I do. I think the concept of waddling is very entertaining and I think I would enjoy it in an odd way. Even just the word "waddle" is fun.
I will need one of those old-fashioned "claw" things for fishtanks... because witnessing Cassie attempt to squat and pick something up was not only highly entertaining, but offered insight. I think I may have one of those grabby things in each room so I don't have to worry.
I am really hoping I crave something healthy like veggies. They say you crave weird things and me wanting veggies would be pretty weird...
I think I will be a Nazi about the nursery design and decor. I'm typically laid back - but I think I will plan it out to the inch and freak out if it isn't perfect. i don't know why, but this is just a premonition that I have.
I don't think I would be able to work while pregnant, so it's a good thing that's part of our plan. I could not "deal" at work with being sick, nauseous, peeing constantly... or any of it. No thanks. I would be 100 times more miserable dealing with that at a workplace and would probably complain my co-workers to death.
I previously thought: Everyone who is blessed with the ability to be in the delivery room will remain at my shoulder level and will not go near the sheet.
Leah informed me there is no sheet. I am seriously reconsidering who is allowed in the delivery room.
Will they honor a request for a sheet?

Perfect. Impeccable. Enjoyable.

2011-01-24T08:10:00.001-06:00

What is Perfect, Impeccable, and Enjoyable?

Pie. That's right. Pie.

If you know me, you know that I live next to an incredible woman named Leah - and that she happens to make the absolute best apple pie I've ever had. And I mean best. When we first moved in, Leah brought me an apple pie and I knew that I had a great neighbor. Well, there are many other reasons why I knew that - but her apple pie sealed the deal. I was hooked.

I have been determined since then, that one day, I would learn how to make her amazing apple pie. That day has happened. People of Pensacola... family and friends from near and far... I can now bake homemade apple pie. Oh yes. And I mean from scratch. Even the dough and crust and the whole shabang. Mhm.

Last night, I went over to Leah's and we spent some quality time together making apple pies. We had a new neighbor move in recently and we wanted to make the family an apple pie. Perfect learning opportunity! So, equipped with a lot of paper for note-taking, and a pen - I put on my cupcake-decorated apron and was ready to be amazed. And I was. By the end of the evening, pies were in the oven and I was pretty excited about tasting mine. My first ever homemade pie. Well... my first ever pie, period.

I even rolled out my dough and put it in the pan and put the top crust on the pie and decorated/shaped it myself. I am happy to announce that I can now become known for Miriah's Famous L Apple Pie.

At family events and gatherings, I am confident that I can become known for this splendid recipe and am so excited to be able to say that I know how to make it! Bless Leah for being willing to share her secrets =)

Here I am in my beautiful (borrowed from Leah) cupcake apron. I ran from her house to ours and had Jeff take a picture of me holding it - so I could record the moment!

Here I am, prepped and ready to place the pie in the oven. See the cool crust effects/decor? Oh yes. I did that.

My beautiful work of art in the oven, about to be cooked to tasty perfection.

The masterpiece. You can't see the details in the picture - but it has the little teardrop shaped design in the middle and the crust is bent in a cute pattern with little lines on the crust (made them with a fork!)

Isn't she a beaut?! The only picture missing is Jeff and I eating a big slice with some vanilla ice cream. Lets just say I was a bit distracted by the delicious pie at that point to even think to take a picture!

showers of fun

2011-01-21T22:42:00.000-06:00

As many of you have already discovered, through reading my sister's blog, that she had her first baby shower this past weekend. It was definitely a success. Talk about relief. I don't know about you - but I am not a fan of throwing showers. Mostly because I get super nervous and tend to be a planner-perfectionist. Which is difficult when you have no idea what people will do, say, like, dislike.... as you can see, showers provide much room for error.

Luckily, people seemed to have a good time, we didn't run out of food, and the mother-to-be ended up with a good deal of loot.

I wanted to share a few fun pictures of the event, since I actually remembered to take out my camera (which rarely happens). Of course, I only got pictures of the decor because once the shower started, I set my camera down - and lets face it, me remembering to use it once in a day is huge, so twice was unlikely. Decor pictures are all you're gonna get!

Here is the small beginning of the loot. This was before most people had arrived, so the pile definitely expanded! =)

Here is the mantle, decorated with pictures that Cassie brought to display. Cassie, me, and Sara (a cool and fun friend of Cassie's) made the banners for the shower the week before. Definitely a good use of paper and yarn!!!

Here is the food table and some more hangy decor. =) We had quite a few sweet and tasty treats. I actually got myself a bit sick eating all of this sugar and no real food. Oops!

Oh, the delicious and wonderful food that was to be had. I really loved the display. Amanda brought the diaper cake, which was super cute. Then, people helped by bringing food. It was a great spread!

Last, but not least, is my favorite picture from the shower. My wonderful and amazing neighbor, Leah, helped me make and decorate cupcakes for the shower (and let me borrow her stand too!). It really helped make everything fun and classy. I could have never pulled off the perfectly-colored homemade icing with her help! That, with the cute little black shoes just looked so cute that I had to snap a picture.

At the end of the shower - it was good to see that everyone had a good time talking, laughing, and just spending time together. The games went over well too and it was, overall, a great time. Can't wait until little Sarah gets here!

...appropriate?

2011-01-17T15:50:00.005-06:00

I don't know how appropriate what I am about to do is... but oh well.

All of you (or so I think) know that Jeff is completing his Engineering Physics degree at UWF. It is a crazy, difficult program that requires TONS of effort and is not popular - which I completely understand. Talk about intense.

When Jeff's semesters start, he tends to get stressed out and agitated easily. I am very accustomed to this reaction. I just expect it and try to reassure him that he will do excellent this semester (as he always does).

However, today I was checking Jeff's school email to see if he had received anything about his scholarship money/distribution and saw an email from his professor that caught my eye. I have known Jeff's classes are difficult and challenging, but my eyes were opened in a new way today.

I am going to post the majority of that email into this blog post so that you can read it. I think it will give you a great deal of insight into Jeff and what "school/classes" means for him. It is nothing - and I mean nothing - like what it meant for me. I went to class and completed assignments and essays, yes. But I never experienced anything like this. Not only has my respect for my husband grown, but I understand why so few people complete his degree program. Few can probably survive.

"Next class onwards, your semester assessment begins. We will continue as we have been doing, with each of you coming to the board and working out things. But from now on, your working out on the board will be graded. Your grade will depend on one single criterion:

How well have you understood the material. The word "understood" is a much misunderstood and misused word. To me, understanding means, can you meaningfully explain the material to someone else? When you are at the board, I can judge that, and I will grade you on that.

If I gave you the impression that I want you to memorize everything, let me assure you that that impression is correct. People who tell you "it is not necessary to memorize, it is enough to understand," don't know what is meant by understanding Physics. Their statement may be correct for History or Poetry. I don't know, and I don't care. In Physics, understanding includes remembering, and understanding does not mean just "getting the gist." There is no such thing in Physics. Every detail is important and must become a part of your daily language.

By detail, I mean for example, the following:

Today we discussed the Hamiltonian operator, and we connected it to the classical total energy. Ask yourself how much you can say about the total energy from your earlier courses.

1. Can you write down the total energy of a harmonic oscillator? and speaking of that, what IS a harmonic oscillator, what is Hooke's law, what is the spring constant, how is the frequency of the oscillator related to the spring constant, when does the oscillator move like a sine function, and when does it move like a cosine function, and why?

Notice how you can start with your current course on Modern Physics II and keep asking yourself backward pointing questions which will take you right back to Chapter 2 of University Physics I.

Physics is not a series of individual tests and questions and courses in which you try and get some grade. It is a single connected whole. with a single thread running through the entire subject starting from University Physics I and Calculus I, and linking them to what the great Nobel Laureattes are thinking of right now.

It is this thread that I want you to look for, find, and cling to. I will look for that kind of understanding, or at least an attempt to get that kind of understanding in this course. Your grade will depend on that."

I love my husband and I hope that I will always keep this type of information in mind when I nag him about playing video games (to de-stress) or want to "go somewhere" when he needs to study.

New Year

2011-01-08T17:22:00.000-06:00

Oh yes, you read that headline correctly. It is now 2011 and we are at the beginning of a New Year! How exciting. A fresh start to make this year whatever we want it to be. Want a new job? Maybe it's the year. New outlook? Yep, this could be the year. New goals? .... I think you get my drift.

Anyways, while my sister covered the Best of 2010, I think I'll conquer the New Year.

This list isn't a list of resolutions, have no fear. Heck, I never end up following through on those things anyways! It's just a list of what I expect, what may be, and what I'm excited about.

1. Numero Uno is quite important, so I will dedicate it to the exciting and wonderful fact that in 2011 I am going to be an AUNT. I am so incredibly excited to be an aunt, you have no idea. I have had to stop myself from buying a backup-baby-wardrobe to have on hand at my house when I'm babysitting. Or getting a little "almost" diaper bag for when I'm kid-carting. No fear, my bank account stopped me - but it was considered. I think this may be the most exciting thing possible that 2011 has in store.

2. No more school! Well, yes... I work at a school and spend the majority of my time there. But there will be no more attending school. I won't be writing papers and doing homework and stressing about it. Nope. I will go home and it will be a time to relax and enjoy, not pray for a second wind. I am hoping this will lead to a more relaxing 2011 than 2010. And, since I stink at updates, I'm going to include some pictures from my graduation since I never did that!

There were a few pictures of me and Jeff that I could have chosen. I would like everyone to know that I chose this one because I find it entertaining that there is a random man running in the background.

Nothing entertaining in the back of this picture, but I had to include one of the in laws since they were gracious enough to suffer through the entire ceremony for me- and trust me, it was pretty long.

And, of course, my parents and me. All the years of suffering while I went through school paid off. Just kidding - they didn't suffer! I was an angel when it came to school. Liked it (most of the time), good grades.... heck, I hope my kids are like that! (yes, I'm tooting my own horn)

3. Jeff will hopefully be graduating at the end of this year. That, of course, is only if his classes are offered when they should be. Otherwise, we are at the whim of UWF's course offerings. But, should they be offered, he will be able to take them all and graduate in December. This would be a wonderful and marvelous thing for 2011 to hold. I know Jeff can't wait to finish! And, I'll be honest, I'll enjoy when I don't see homework everywhere that looks like gibberish and confuses me.

I'm sure that I could go on and on - but it seems that only 3 things have already made my list pretty long. I'd say those are my top 3 things. Maybe I'll post later about some of the random, smaller hopes for this year =)

and, no... Ms. Deby - a little one isn't on that list. I refer you to number 1 on this post.

Oh no!

2011-01-06T17:40:00.000-06:00

I have some good and some bad news. After 4 faithful years, a dear friend of mine is gone. I will honor her with a short tribute:

- She was always there for me when I needed to be somewhere

- She rarely complained at the lack of proper washing and attention she received - no matter how bad

- She saw my happy times, my sad times, my smiles and my tears...

- She never judged me

- She didn't mind that I could be messy and junky

After 4 years, my little Nissan has been bid adieu

Farewell friend. May you bring joy and distance to another soul in need. And may it be at least a few months before that poor soul realizes that:

1. you have an oil leak

2. you need all new tires

3. you have a broken cruise control light (ouch!)

4. you need new brakes

5. your driver's side visor falls out and hits the driver on the head (at random)

6. your gearshift gets sticky in the summer. very sticky.

7. your windows don't defog in certain weather

8. and that the engine light never goes off- no matter how many things are fixed.

Goodbye CiCi,

Welcome Viv!

Meet my beautiful new companion, a pretty little number if I do say so myself:

She is a sassy one, with a nice, fresh, new look. White paint is original... which isn't hard to believe since my new car is a 2009 and NOT old!

She drives like a dream. No more "holy cow!" as I go over speed bumps and almost hit my head on the ceiling. No more wincing when gears grind and noises don't sound too good. No more worrying about spinning out or having brake issues... no siree!

With only 13K miles on her - she is factory warrantied and a beaut! Ladies and Gentlemen... I have finally arrived. My years of cheap cars are over. I have lived thriftily my entire life and bought cheap. (well... I got a stellar deal and didn't get anything too far out there...) but still, something this new and nice is a BIG deal for me!!!

I absolutely love it =) and I am so thankful that Jeff was a great husband and insistent/encouraging that I get it. I would not (really... wouldn't have) done it without that encouragement from him.

Steal

2010-12-30T09:31:00.000-06:00

I stole this from Cassie because I have absolutely nothing creative taking place in my mind right about now.

1. Four TV shows that I watch:

Bones
Everybody love raymond
Family Guy
Dexter

2. Four things that I’m passionate about:

family
food
reading
creativity

3. Four words/phrases I use a lot:

freak
love
well
stupid

4. Four things I’ve learned from the past:

Careers/Jobs will not give you fulfillment
More education will not give you true fulfillment/purpose
I gain weight more easily than I would have thought.
parents really do know what they’re talking about. (had to keep it cass - it's true)

5. Four places I would like to go:

Italy
Sweden
Bethlehem/Jerusalem, etc.
maybe a cruise.

6. Four things I did yesterday:

went to breakfast with a friend
got angry at a car dealership
vented to my parents
had fun hanging out with kelley!

7. Four things I am looking forward to:

=) Meeting my niece and playing with her!
a few more days off
kids - someday in the far future
a newish car sometime hopefully =/

8. Four things I love about winter:

Christmas
the pretty clothes
decorations!
time off!!!

A wee bit early

2010-12-24T10:16:00.000-06:00

We wanted to wish everyone one an early:

Merry Christmas

From The Browns

Yes, you can take this as a hint that I had every intention of sending out a Christmas card and completely forgot. Time simply got away from me around finals time and by the time I remembered, it was too late. Oh well!

tidbits

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

Jeff and I were talking a little while ago and I just had to share little snippets of our conversation with you. I was cracking up and couldn't help but share. We were talking about children's names and what we would name a son. However, the conversation started suddenly...

We were standing there and Jeff turns to me and says - out of the blue -

"When we have a son, let's name him Uziah."

He had a very serious expression on his face, so I just stared and didn't reply. A few seconds later he said, "Yea, his friends could call him Uzi. He'd be the coolest kid in school!"

This started our conversation on boy's names and I'm going to share a few random pieces:

Jeff: "We could call him Cain."

Me: "Yea, lets give our child that legacy to live down......what about Seth- I like Seth."

Jeff: "No. We are not naming our son after the unknown brother."

Me: "What about Esther's uncle... what was his name? Melchizedek?"

Jeff: "No... his name was Mordachi. That's a very Jewish name."

Me: "We could name him that... And teach him as a baby that it's normal to say "Oi" all the time."

Jeff: "... we could call him Mort."

Me: "Or Mordy. Here Mordy Mordy... "

Jeff: "Mort Goldman Brown."

Jeff: "What about Darius?"

Me: "Who is that?"

Me: "We could name him Ezekiel. We could call him Zeke- that's an awesome name!"

Jeff: "....."

(I'm taking that as a positive - because I really like this name!)

Jeff: "What about Josiah?"

Me: "Oh, I like that!"

Jeff: "We could call him Josee"

Jeff/Me (simultaneously): "No, that's a girl's name"

walks in the hood

2010-12-17T15:19:00.000-06:00

Every now and then I take Sheila for a walk when I get home from work. Sadly, it doesn't happen as often as it should. It's dark by the time I get home most days, and I don't like going out alone when it's dark. Awhile back, I took her on a walk on evening and it was just a gorgeous evening and I decided to snap a few photos during our walk.

I just thought it was such a beautiful sky reflecting through those branches that I had to pause. I love that we have a neighborhood where so many people jog, walk their dogs, and so forth. The sidewalks are great and it was nice to peacefully enjoy my surroundings.

Of course, it's hard not to enjoy a walk with this little cutie being so very excited and looking up at me with that innocent and adorable face!

Protein?

2010-12-15T23:56:00.000-06:00

Not long ago, I went to dinner with my friend Allie from work. She is one of our reading teachers and has become a great friend of mine. Rarely do I meet someone that I get along with so easily and quickly. You may remember her from my halloween post (she was Medusa).

Well, we decided to head on over to Panera Bread one night that Jeff was working. We had a great time laughing and talking and I was happily enjoying my salad. I get the same one every time I go, it is so delicious! Then, I glanced down and saw something in my bowl. I fished it out, put it on a napkin, and slid it over to Allison and said "Tell me that this is a dried up lettuce leaf"

She glanced down, paused, and said "Miriah, it's just a dried up lettuce leaf"

I nodded, covered it with a napkin, and continued eating and enjoying my salad. Awhile later, after we had both finished our meals - I pulled the napkin over and glanced again:

There is what I found in my salad. In case this is too blurry for you - it is definitely a large fly wing. And I mean pretty dang large. I'm just hoping I didn't eat the other half of it!

Holiday Pets!

2010-12-14T08:07:00.000-06:00

I thought it would be fun to share some of our holiday pet photos from this Christmas season!

Not long ago I decided to send an update about Sheila to the shelter we adopted her from. I took some fun holiday photos and this was on of them. I thought it was so cute cause her little leg just sticks out =) She did so great posing by the tree!

Here is Sheila on her throne. See the present under the tree? Oh yea! There are tons under there now...

This photo is pre-present. I had to actually put the presents under the tree to get Sunny to stop hiding out under their and nibbling on the needles. Silly cat.

Fire!

2010-12-08T19:16:00.000-06:00

Tonight - we had a fun first. Our first holiday fire in our fireplace! I don't know why I hadn't thought to do it before now... I mean, it's a wonderful, genius idea - and so enjoyable. Jeff was the one that walked in with a log and suggested the idea and my heart leapt with joy over a simple pleasure I had overlooked. Plus.. we're trying to cut back on our electric bill - and a fire could seriously help warm me up in this chilly abode!

Here is a picture of Jeff getting out our lighter and getting the log lit up!

I just love the glow of a fireplace. I intentionally took the flash off so you can actually see it.

Here is a picture of it! Our beautiful first fire- in it's yellow and orange, warming glory. Can't you almost feel the warmth? I sat by it for quite awhile before I was willing to get up and type this post... =) The pets still haven't quite figured out what it is, I doubt they'll go near it.

Here is a quick pic of Sheila on the other side of the room - staring the fire down. I think she thought it was an enemy bent on hurting us. A few pointless growls later and she settled on her couch-throne and decided to look pretty by our tree as revenge on the fire that was receiving too much attention. Sheila is such a cutie.

And, as much as I'd love to keep typing and updating everyone - I am going to sit by the fire again and warm my hands!

O Christmas Tree...

2010-11-27T23:54:00.000-06:00

Well, you had to know that pictures of our Christmas tree were coming soon! =) We have it mostly finished, though not completely. The lights are on, the ornaments are on, and the pretty red bows have been added. However, we may end up adding tinsel and a few other little odds and ends, so an updated picture of our gorgeous tree may appear later.

We also don't have the presents under the tree yet... we have to wait until we've taught the cat not to mess with the tree before I want to add those to the mix (she isn't getting it yet...sheesh)

Here are a few pictures of our tree! I couldn't pick a favorite from these three pics, so I figured I'd just add them all! =)

I can't tell you how excited I am that the decor is on the house and the tree is up! I am going to add a picture of the house because we added a nice, new touch to our outside decor:

See the windows? We have red and green lamps inside the blinds and it casts a very, very pretty glow all over our porch. You can't see it to well in this picture, but they are gorgeous =)

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2010-11-27T18:21:00.000-06:00

Jeff and I decided to use today to get the outside of our house primed and ready for the Christmas season. Well... actually, I decided we were going to use today to get our house primed and ready. Jeff, good husband that he is, went along with it to make me happy =)

I got up this morning in a let's-decorate-the-house-with-lights type of mood! I got up, got dressed, and headed out with some supplies. I wanted to see if the leftover garland we had from a few years back would be enough for our porch railing and posts. Luckily, with some effort and finagling, I managed to wrap it around and make it go far enough. Then, I wrapped up our old multi-colored lights around it. A much cheaper alternative to buying all new green garland with lights already attached. I was pretty proud of myself and made Jeff come and see my handiwork (he was doing homework). Then, after he finished his.. he came outside to get started on his part of our decorating - the roof! (me on a roof wouldn't be a good idea due to spontaneous clumsiness)

Here is a picture of my beautiful porch decorating! =) we have also covered those bushed in the fabulous net lights I mentioned in my last post.

Here is Jeff getting started with the lights. He got some hooky things from Home Depot to attach the lights to our shingles (he wasn't thrilled when I said I thought we were going to use a big staple gun or something).

=) =) =) Here my man is, hard at work. While I, of course, stood by and admired. Sheila also loved the opportunity to play around outside for a good hour or so.

Here, he is getting ready to attach the actual lights to the house now that his prep-work is done.

Once he finished this part of the roof- we took a break. We didn't have a ladder to do the part over the garage, so we had to wait. Luckily, our neighbors are incredible and let us use theirs. So, at 5:00, we were back at it to finish the house (it was cold and already dark... but I really wanted it done tonight!)

Here is the first picture. You can't really appreciate the lights since I had the flash on, but oh well =)

Our beautiful work paid off! Our house is, by far, the best decorated on our street! I absolutely LOVE it- and it looks one million times better in person. You just can't appreciate the pretty multi-colored lights with these photos... the brightness and gorgeousness doesn't translate well...

This one is blurry, but it almost looks better because you can see how bright and happy the lights are! =) You have to come and see them in person to really appreciate them.

Decor Beginnings

2010-11-24T18:19:00.001-06:00

I have big plans for Christmas decor this year. Big, big plans. I can't tell you how excited I am! I absolutely love Christmas and decorating for Christmas. When we were in our apartment, I decorated as much as I could in our tiny space. But, there were definitely limitations. Last year, we had just moved and didn't have the time to decorate amongst remodeling and unpacking.

This year... it's on. Jeff already had to trek up into our attic to get the boxes of decorations down. I have been giddy all day just thinking about it. This will be our first year getting to decorate the outside of a house! Jeff acts as if he isn't into decorating much, but he sure has big plans for our yard. =) I love it. We bought some stuff at Home Depot today and got a little head start. Did you know there are specific outside lights for bushes?! It's not just a strand or the icicle lights - but big "netlike" lights that drape over the entire bush for a great effect. (I didn't know, ok? So give me a break if this is common knowledge). We bought some to go across the bushes in our front yard. We are also going to string lights all across the roof line and the second roof line, so Jeff'll be on the roof sometime in our near future. We are even thinking of getting this red and green floodlights and having them angled across the house/porch for a beautiful Christmassy hue. The first step we've taken are the bush/netting lights. Next is probably going to be the beautiful green garland and lights going up our front porch posts and across the railing. Hopefully soon after that, we'll get the roof lined :) :) :)

I'm going to give you a small preview of the few things I've had time to get out today. It isn't much since I've spent most of the day cleaning and packing for a visit to Lake Martin for Thanksgiving - but it was enough to satisfy my decorating spirit.

First.. our little tree centerpiece. I know it doesn't look like much - but it has sentimental value. =) It was Jeff's tree when he was younger. He set it up and decorated it in his room. The first year we were married, Jeff and I set it up in his room before he left for Iraq. We put the little skirt around it, put on some pretty lights, put on mini-ornaments... it was sweet. I decided that even though it doesn't really fit as a centerpiece - it is going to be displayed in a focal area each year as a reminder of that first year apart and how great it is that we are together.

Here is my little Christmassy village. There's a Candy Shop, Gift Shop, Church, etc. and it even has little people and trees =) Here's to hoping that little snow stuff isn't all over the house in the next few weeks! (this is on a bookcase beside our TV)

Here is our fireplace/mantel so far. I have a feeling I'll be adding more... some colored garland, and some pretty gold/silver stars - not to mention stockings!!! But this is it so far, with a few small things =) There's a manger scene and some pretty green/red garland-type-stuff.

Here's a closeup of the manger, I love the simplicity of the scene... You can also see the garlandy stuff I was talking about.

Here's another picture of it. You can't see it, but each figurine has one of Christ's names on it in a pretty, cursivy, script. The angel says "Lord of Lords", a King says "Prince of Peace"... things like that.

And, last but not least, here is a picture of our front door! I absolutely LOVE the wreath!!! I love the big flowers and gold accents. It is so festive and a very fun and festive way to greet visitors!

oh yes

2010-11-22T17:21:00.001-06:00

Yes. Those are what you think they are.

Christmas Presents!!!

I am so excited about Christmas coming! Jeff and I went Christmas shopping yesterday and I just couldn't help myself- I had the wrap the presents last night. We got some very pretty/shiny wrapping paper and I went to town wrapping everything that we had gotten. I absolutely cannot wait! Christmas is my favorite time of the year: the sights, the sounds, the smells....

Blissful.

Hopefully we will have a tree up soon and decor popping up around the house. Those presents were just the beginning....

less than a month to go

2010-11-12T19:07:00.000-06:00

In less than a month- a much awaited day will finally arrive. Nope, I'm not talking about my birthday (though I'm excited about that too - so feel free to begin thinking about my present!). I'm talking about the day I put on a long, probably uncomfortable robe-like gown and a finicky hat that won't want to fit on my head correctly. Yep. Graduation.

Finally.

I've been looking forward to this day for a long time. Essentially, after that first semester in my M.S. program began. The novelty had worn off and I was ready for it to just be over. I'm proud that I stuck with it, because goodness knows I wanted to quit quite a few times. I can't remember what I was thinking and how I talked myself into going back to school for my M.S.- but I am so glad the end is in sight!

I will finally have free time. Since high school ended, I haven't really let myself have a break. I started school and went each semester, year-round. Then I added marriage to the mix. I dealt with a deployment, multiple internships at one time, school and working... wow. The current stage in life has consisted of working full-time during the day and then coming home to doing my classwork and papers each evening.

But, on December 11th, the non-stop overloaded life will finally settle down. I'll be turning 23 and entering a new year of my life. Working full time and being married. No more school! No more assignments, research papers, quizzes, tests....

holy cow I want to dance. That evening, when my graduation is over, I will breathe a sigh of relief.

30 days and counting!

Tales of a Silly Husband Part 5

2010-11-10T08:50:00.000-06:00

Need I say more?

Tales of a Silly Husband Part 4

2010-11-04T22:23:00.001-05:00

Not long ago, Jeff decided to try a new cereal. After walking through the isle at Wal*Mart for awhile, he decided to give Cookie Crisps a go. A few days later, he was eating a bowl on the couch when this snippet of conversation took place.

Me: So, how is that Cookie Crisp Cereal?

Jeff: It's ok.... but not as good as the wolf makes it out to be.

=) I have to admit I found it immensely entertaining that while leisurely sitting on the couch munching on cereal- that was his reply.

Mother Nature... or Eve...or even a tree

2010-11-03T11:14:00.000-05:00

This past Friday was the Halloween party where I work. I was pretty excited the week before because I was trying to come up with an awesome idea with a co-worker (Allison). As the day drew near, I got a little less excited since we hadn't thought of anything amazing. That resulted in me making a costumer rather last minute. I mean.. I work at a school so the students either a) wouldn't get my costumer (wanted to be Artemis) or b) the idea was to involved to actually wear to work.

So, of course, my procrastinating self ended up making a costume Thursday night. I decided to be Mother Nature. Mainly because the only thing I saw in our house that could be altered and not needed was a green sheet. That, paired with our fake foliage sparked my idea. At about 8:00 Thursday night, I started cutting away. I made the sheet into a quick/easy drape-dress. Nothing fancy, no measurements... just something that had a hole for a head and two holes for my arms. Then, I grabbed our fake leaves and went to stapling. I intended to cover the entire sheet in leaves, but then I realized how long it was taking and I gave up. So... here I am!

I even have flower bracelets/anklets. :) The girls couldn't quite figure out what I was. I had people saying I was Eve, a tree, "fall." I stopped calling myself Mother Nature and just went with whatever they called me.

And, here is me and Allison. She ended up deciding to be Medusa. I think she did pretty awesome figuring out how to put all of those snakes in her hair! All in all, it went well.

Halloween

2010-11-01T13:30:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was Halloween. I always get excited about Halloween and imagine that I'll actually do something, but I lack the follow through. =)

Pumpkin carving, house decorating, outfit creating.... love it. Even though I failed this year at fully enjoying Halloween - I added a picture of cute little Angel wearing a pumpkin hat. Isn't that absolutely adorable?

Next year, little Sarah will surely be dressed up in a cute little outfit and I will be showing off pictures of her! I already have some ideas: fluffy and adorable pumpkin, marshmallow (saw that this year - how cute!), a carrot... oh the adorable possibilities are endless.

This year, we ended up at my parents house on Halloween, having a late celebration for my mom's bday. Not a traditional Halloween by any means- but it sure was tasty! Yummy Kelley Chili and delicious desserts. =) Here's a picture of me and the birthday lady:

Happy Birthday Mom! We love you!

Tales of a Silly Husband Part 3

2010-10-27T10:44:00.000-05:00

Jeff never ceases to bring a smile to my face. I am always learning new little things about him and am still surprised (and caught off guard) by some of the things that he does. It's amazing that after 3 years, he can still do that - and that I can still learn something new about him.

Last night, Jeff turned to me and - out of nowhere - began to rap. Now... I have never known Jeff to be able to stand rap music. While he mostly listens to rock music, he is about as white and country as he can be at times. My husband, the man that sings International Harvester in a country voice, was rapping to me. (If you don't know what that song is, youtube it for insight into Jeff's country side... and I mean country).

I was actually pretty proud of myself for knowing that he was rapping an Eminem song.
But still, just imagine Jeff... rapping. It instantly brings a smile =)

When he first started, two thoughts came to my mind:

1. what the heck?
2. how cute.

Silly Husband.

(additional entertaining moment)
*We were walking through Wal*Mart one evening....

Me: “Can we look at the comforters?”

Jeff: “Can I get candy?”

Secret Pleasure

2010-10-20T21:30:00.000-05:00

I have recently discovered a new secret pleasure. Now, don't get suspicious or get weird ideas - it isn't a "bad" thing, just something that is recent in my life and that I enjoy indulging in. I don't know if Jeff even knows about it (shhh).

I absolutely enjoy-beyond-all-reason watching a new TV show. Well, it isn't new to TV, it is just new to me. I was home alone last Friday night while Jeff was working and surfed through the available TV shows offered on Netflix. I decided to go ahead and give the show Bones a shot. Why not? So - I settled down in some PJs on the couch and expected to watch an episode or two. I watched 8. Yes... I watched 8 episodes of a one-hour show. I think I was just as surprised as you readers may be. Now, close your mouth and stop shaking your head and labeling me a lazy-butt.

After that night.. I actually started to think about and look forward to the next opportunity I had to watch the show. It is almost kinda sad, because I give it a lot more thought than I want to admit. Unfortunately, Jeff has no interest in the show- so I have to really plan out when I can watch. This necessity to finagle free time to watch my new show leads to a secret pleasure when I can actually sit down and watch an episode- plus, it adds a lot of anticipation into the mix. That just makes it that much more bittersweet when I can hop onto the couch in my PJs, snuggle under a blanket, and enjoy...

Now, I call this my new secret pleasure because nobody knows about it and I really hesitate to announce that a show can cause me to waste so many hours... but, alas, it does. On days where Jeff works at night, I actually sit at work and think "I can relax on the couch and watch Bones for a few hours tonight." Even at work, that thought actually cause me to relax and anticipate my evening. The thought of a few hours of watching Bones and a Four Cheese Lean Cuisine Pizza... oh yes. The perfect way to spend a Jeff-less evening (and yes, the Lean Cuisine pizza is an important part of the mix).

Boy am I a loser. I'm not sure why I chose this show exactly - or why I enjoy it so much (goodness knows I rarely get this involved in a show). I think I just love the way the main character is so... odd. She is a very unemotional woman that just makes me laugh. It is so nice, as a woman stuck with dealing with frustrating and unwanted emotions, to watch and see a woman so analytical and removed from emotion. Even though I know it's fake - it just makes me smile.

Jeff works tomorrow night =) The anticipation has already started to build....

cute find

2010-10-13T22:17:00.000-05:00

I was downloading pictures from my camera and found a really cute one that I hadn't seen! =) Imagine that.. apparently I hadn't taken pictures off my camera since July 4th Weekend! I was happy to see this cute find though- Cassie took a picture of us from the front seat of her car during one of our trips up to the lake =)

The Happy Brown Family

Tales of a Silly Husband Part 2

2010-10-11T17:04:00.000-05:00

Last night, Jeff and I were sitting on the couch watching absolutely nothing on TV. I'm not kidding- it was pretty terrible. I never realized how bad Sunday night television is! I am going to attribute the rest of this post to the fact that we were both pretty dang bored.

I was sitting next to Jeff, going stir crazy because the TV wouldn't hold my attention. My antsy-ness was also stemming from the fact that I headed back to work Monday after 4 days off.

After awhile of me yapping on and on about us doing something on my last night of freedom- Jeff just randomly grabbed my arm and lifted it to his mouth. I kept talking, of course, because this is typical behavior for Jeff. He likes to randomly bite my arm softly- though I don't understand why. So, I just presumed he was gonna bite my arm and set it back down. Nope. Jeff put his mouth in the soft part where my elbow bends and blew! It made the funniest sounding fa-....poot... noise that you could imagine (censorship so my mom doesn't faint while reading this and my dad doesn't close the page before finishing...haha). Anyways, Jeff's eyes got big and he cracked up laughing... and I mean, cracked up. He laughed so loud and his face started to turn red. Then, he lifted my arm back up and did it again! I have to say- it seemed to be extremely funny and entertaining to him.

After about 10 minutes of continual "poot"-noise-making, Jeff was still laughing. I finally grabbed his arm and gave it a try. Apparently, that is not my specialty. I couldn't get a good sound and finally gave up.

Jeff gave me an explanation about how soft the skin is where my arm bends and happily grabbed my arm and started up again. I just stared at him, completely entertained- not by the sounds, but by how much he was enjoying himself and how loud it was making him laugh.

I think it will be a few weeks before I can get the image of him taking a deep breath and shoving his face into my arm out of my mind. Silly Jeff. =)

Tales of a Silly Husband Part 1

2010-10-06T20:32:00.000-05:00

So- there are just some days where Jeff does or says something that really cracks me up. The man is hilarious! Yesterday was definitely one of those days.

*flashback* ...(imagine a thought bubble appearing as soft music plays and my voice starts narrating)

I very rarely take off my wedding ring. My hand feels naked without it and I just don't like not seeing it there. But, two days ago, my fingers were a little puffy- so I took my ring off at night and left it on the vanity. I always leave it on our bathroom vanity because I see it in the morning when I put on my makeup and remember to slide it back on before I leave. Well, the next day came and I didn't realize until I was almost to work that I hadn't put my ring on. Crap. Oh well. I resigned myself to having a naked hand at work and went about my day.

I got home after 6 and got busy getting some things done around the house before meeting Jeff at Home Depot to bring him some dinner. The evening flew by pretty quickly and, before I knew it, it was evening and Jeff and I were getting ready for bed.

Jeff looked at me and said "so, did you notice anything missing today?"

I looked at him blankly before I realized that I still hadn't put on my wedding ring. "Oh, yea! I forgot to put on my wedding ring."

He asked me why I wasn't wearing it and I told him about my fingers being puffy and how I had set it on the vanity the night before.

Jeff looked at me and said "It isn't on the vanity anymore (he warned me about it possibly going down the drain)" and then, get this! he said "I was a little hurt that you had taken it off and gone to work without it... so I took it off the vanity and hid it so, when you got home, you wouldn't be able to find it and would panic."

I just stared at him before I busted out laughing. He looked a little sheepish and offended that I was laughing at him- but it was just so darn cute! He was sad that I didn't have my ring on and wanted me to appreciate it more- so he went off and hid it! Later on I was looking for it and couldn't find it where he said it was. I finally told him that I couldn't find it anywhere and he just smiled and pointed out that it wouldn't be hidden well if I could find it- that defeated the point. hahaha..

Then, I forgot it again today! I blame it on Jeff not allowing me to put it on the vanity. I just didn't see it! Well, I got a text at work today... "missing anything?"

I texted back quickly and told him I'd tie a string around my finger if he promised not to hide my ring again =) Needless to say, the ring is on my finger again!

Sunday

2010-10-04T22:22:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, Jeff and I walked outside to meet his parents for lunch and I was stunned by the weather. Sheer amazingness. It was cool, beautiful, calm... the epitome of early Fall. I loved it. It was the perfect day for a ride =) One of the negatives of having a motorcycle in Pensacola is that there are 4-6 months where it is almost too hot to ride (at least, if you wear a helmet and are safe it's too hot!). Jeff has been riding his bike a lot lately since it has been cooler and I was very excited on Sunday to be able to go for a ride with him.

Look at how beautiful that day was! Not a cloud in that perfect, blue sky. I couldn't help but smile as we drove along Scenic Highway - there were crystal clear blue waters on one side, and beautiful houses on the other. We ended up driving around to a few places on errands: gas station, UWF, Bed Bath & Beyond (that'll be another post).

Not only did we go on a ride- but we rode in style. Jeff polished up his bike before our ride and made it look really nice. Chrome polish, bike cleaner/shine. Look at how shiny and clean it looks! =)

One last picture - Look at that beautiful view. Don't worry, we were going slow when I snapped the picture with my phone. I have to admit, UWF has a very pretty campus and it was a nice scenic route that we took =) All in all, a very beautiful, successful day. We're looking forward to more beautiful weather and more rides in the near future.

P.S. If you look closely at this picture- you can see me holding up my camera in the side mirror ;)

ideas?

2010-09-28T22:27:00.000-05:00

So - today I found out some good news. After a tough few months full of tons of extra work, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Our new Academic Manager starts tomorrow!!! After the next two crazy weeks, full of tons of training, I will shed about 1/2 of my workload (which is still a lot- but just my job duties). Goodbye stress and puffy eyes- not to mention my tired-evening-self. Rainbows and sunshine and the ability to easily stay up past 9:30 is in my future.

I also found out that as a thank you for doing so much extra work - I am going to get two free days off! I am pumped. I have to let her know tomorrow what days I want to take, but she's allowing me to take off two days without using my vacation time. Awesome! I have no idea what I want to do with that time, but I know it'll be wonderful nontheless. I'm about to check Jeff's work schedule now to see what days I want to pick, so maybe we'll get to have some nice time together.

If not, suggestions? I want to make the most of this time off and I am open to fun-filled or interesting ideas!

...waiting....

2010-09-16T14:09:00.001-05:00

sometimes there are days that really draaaag on. today is definitely one of those days. so- I figured I'd attach a picture of what I'm staring at right now while I'm waiting for a few minutes to pass

This is one area of my desk- off to my right. I keep pictures here, some verses, random cards/things from the girls... etc. It is a happy place to stare where I can focus on those memories and hope that a little time drifts by while I reminisce.

man I can't wait for the weekend.

mine

2010-09-12T14:16:00.001-05:00

I was going through my pictures yesterday. Oh yea. I spent 2 hours picking out the ones I was going to get printed for our photo albums (if I printed them all - it'd be thousands). So, I picked some of the better ones from each occasion and got them printed. A few hundred photos later- I got out my empty albums and put the pictures in and labeled the events/years, etc. We now have photo albums current until July 4th weekend, 2010. Wow. I consider that a big accomplishment since I stopped updating the albums in December 2008. Nice to know that I have those updated, in case we ever go through them or show anybody (doubt we will, but I would like everything in albums for children and looking-back-moments in the distant future).

Anyways- while glancing through everything- I came across a photo that I had somehow missed. I don't know how it happened, but there was a photo of Jeff at Jason & Kelley's wedding that I never saw!

Oh wow. I have to admit that I paused and stared at this picture for a good.... 5 to 10 minutes. I know that I married a handsome man, but sometimes I just don't think about it or forget how he looks dressed up. I don't know- maybe I've just been distracted and busy lately. But this definitely reminded me: I married one heck of a good looking guy! I mean, wow!

Not to be shallow (hey - I'm human, I have my moments) - but when I glance around sometimes and see the guys that people are with or the guys some girls married - I am extremely glad that I have a man this attractive married to me. I don't know how it happened... . But I thank God (literally.. thank you!) that this man asked me out all those years ago and married me. Eat your heart out ladies =) He's mine.

yada yada

2010-09-11T10:59:00.000-05:00

I have yet to update for the same reason I have yet to do my weekly homework/essays. Procrastination. Boy it is easy to just push things off and fill my time with whatever else I would prefer. Sometimes it isn't even something good. For example, this weekend I've been filling my time with Netflix instant watch and a bunch of stupid tv shows on television that should have never made it past the script-writing stage.

However, in the ridiculously boring last 20 or so hours- I have managed to have at least two entertaining moments.

The first moment was when I heard this odd, whistling noise. I paused and then it got louder and started to sound gutteral. I finally turned and stared at Sunny- who happens to sleep in the cutest and most entertaining positions... and... yep, I was right. Sunny snores. And, apparently, it starts off as a soft whistle and then actually begins to resemble a human snore.

The next thing I discovered? While Sheila also sleeps in cute positions (typically a tiny little ball) - she isn't always as peaceful as she appears. Now, I am familiar with Sheila twitching and making noises in her sleep - it's adorable and happens a lot. However... when I took this picture, I got a surprise. I thought "aww... " and snapped the picture. Then, mere moments later- she flat out kicked me. Cute bundle of fur she is not. Instead, Sheila's dreams can turn her into a sleep-kicking ninja. Ouch.

nearly 3 years

2010-08-30T23:45:00.000-05:00

For the first 3ish years of our marriage (we are just over a month from our 3 year anniversary) there was a specific household item that Jeff and I never owned. It is a common household item that I can guarantee almost every single married couple has. I don't have a clue how Jeff and I managed to squeak through all of our wedding showers without receiving at least one of these. But we did.

And for the first 3ish years of our marriage- we made do. There are so many bills to pay and things we would rather do than take the time to go and spend money on an item that we had managed to make it so long without. At one time, I actually thought we may never own one. I mean... we made it this long, right? Why stop now?

Well, we stopped. The other night in Walmart- Jeff and I made a special and very important purchase. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, Jeff and I are the proud owners of our first:

TOASTER

Isn't she a beaut? She only cost us $15 buckaroos and she matches all of our appliances. Back when we first got married and didn't receive a toaster- we did actually go to buy one. Then, I realized they only had black or white ones for under $30. I wanted one that matched our appliances.. and I was not willing to pay over $30 for a toaster when others were selling for $10-$15.

So- when we spotted this cutie in Walmart and saw her pricetag- we decided to splurge and add her to our kitchen. I think she fits right in and it was a wise purchase. No more heating up toast on a rack in the oven! (that alone merits a victory dance).

taffy!

2010-08-21T23:24:00.001-05:00

So- awhile back Jeff and I decided that it would be a good hobby if we cooked together every so often. We hoped to do it once a week- but you know how things go when you get busy. You just don't always do those things you said you were gonna do. Well, today was one dreary day as far as weather is concerned and there weren't many options for what to do. Jeff suggested we watch a Good Eats episode- so we decided to watch a Sweets one. The plan was to watch and see if we found something good and then cook it- using Alton Brown's recipe and the help of actually seeing him cook the thing.

We ended up watching the chocolate taffy episode, which was interesting (and a bit intimidating). I turned to Jeff and said "so, you want to go get the supplies?" I think he was surprised I was actually willing to do it! It was a bit exciting though. Neither of us has ever cooked anything involving dissolving/cooking sugar (definitely much room for error- and there's no fixing it once it's messed up!). Essentially, we had never worked with treats or candies. So, while the task was daunting- we were prepared to try. After one eventful trip to Walmart later (all of the checkout lines around us stopped accepting debit cards at the same time... poor walmart workers) we were home with supplies.

I thought this was a good picture to start with. Our inspiration and our pan and main supply (sugar). With this, we were prepped and ready to go on a cooking adventure.

Here Jeff is, heating everything up on the stove until it came to a boil. He is so handsome! =)

Here is our heating chocolate taffy! It looks really creepy, doesn't it? It takes quite awhile for the taffy to boil and heat to the right temperature while keeping it from burning, hence the silver thermometer sticking in the pan.

After a good, looong cooking time- we finally got to pour our chocolate. It looked almost black it was so dark.

And while the pose looks like Jeff is preparing to invade a person, he is preparing to kneed the taffy- which is incredibly sticky.

I thought Jeff was pressing air out of the taffy, but he corrected me and let me know he was actually putting air into the taffy. Something about helping with cooling and the density?

Then, the fun part! Pulling the taffy! I think Jeff really enjoyed this. He always has loved pizza commercials when people are making dough and tossing pizzas in the air. I think he has always had the desire to do this ever since watching the cooking channel when he was younger. I'm glad he got to fulfill that lifelong dream. No kidding, there really was a look of joy and happiness in his eyes. He even laughed as he did it (which was good, because it took a long time and was strenuous- so I am thrilled he wanted to do it the entire time).

Here is the taffy after about 10 minutes of pulling. It starts to lighten in color and that's when you know you're on the right track. Jeff, of course, pointed out that it looked like he was holding poo. Oh Jeff.

The next part of the process is rolling out strands of the taffy and making "snakes" (flashback to kindergarten and play-doe anyone?). Then you cut the snakes into tiny 1-inch pieces.

Yes, I finally made it into a picture. I was avoiding being in the pictures intentionally- I actually was an active participant in this long process.

We wrapped each piece in a section of wax paper for them to finish cooling and keep from sticking to other things (they stick to everything- trust me, I found out quickly not to put them anywhere but on wax paper!)

And, to finish this incredibly long taffy saga- here is me holding the big bowl with all of the individually wrapped chocolate taffy pieces. They are pretty much like tootsie rolls. They taste pretty good if I do say so myself. Not the same as tootsie rolls, they have a bit of a more noticeably cocoa flavor- but good. Definitely *cheesy theme song* Good Eats!

a lack

2010-08-17T22:38:00.000-05:00

I apologize for the absolute lack of posts on here lately. I have had a busy few weeks. Jeff and I just got back last night from St. Augustine where we visited my brother Matt and my lovely sister-in-law, Helena. There was much fun to be had by all, but I'll be honest in saying I don't feel like typing a true update on here. It's late and I have to go to work tomorrow for another long day... I'll update you guys more later- I just felt guilty not typing anything when the last post was sooo long ago.

Here is a tidbit of knowledge for you: I made As in BOTH of my courses over the summer. I'm incredibly excited and I only have 2 more courses this semester and I graduate in December. I can't wait - I'm so ready to be through. I am seriously considering walking since I didn't when I got my A.A. or my Bachelors. I figure I should bite the bullet and do it this time around. I guess it all just depends on how much the gown costs and if I feel like forking over that amount of cash.... we shall see!

last friday

2010-08-07T08:45:00.000-05:00

Yes, last Friday was over a week ago- but I am still going to post about it today =) Some of you may know that I now get off at 2:30ish on Fridays, which is wonderful! I work longer days during the week than my co-workers and my boss finally realized it and said I could leave early on Fridays. No complaint here!

Last Friday I got home around 2:45 and it was amazing... I felt like it was still the beginning of the day and there was so much time to do whatever we wanted that day. Jeff turned to me and suggested going to Foley to walk around the outlets and enjoy ourselves. At first I didn't believe him, so I shrugged him off. Drive all the way to Foley to walk around the outlets? (Jeff doesn't really enjoy walking around... he refuses to go on walks frequently). He asked again though so I took him up on it. About 20 minutes later- we were off!

I don't really understand how Foley is 30 miles away yet it takes almost an hour to get there... I don't know how so many slow-driving-grannies are always placed randomly on all of the roads you have to take, but they are.

We ended up getting there before 5 and picked our spot and started with the first store and set off to walk through them all. It was a lot of fun walking around, window shopping, and holding hands. We tried to look for some clothes we may want- but neither of us had any luck with that.

The best store probably would have to be the giant toy store that Jeff made me go in. I wasn't that excited to look around that one, but he had so much fun it was contagious. He grabbed this funny looking bouncy ball that, when you bounce it with almost NO force, it bounces insanely high! I could just carelessly drop it and it would still bounce a good 10 feet.

We also saw this weird little maze that was a hamster maze and there was a fake hamster that would run through the tubes. It was really a little weird.

and my favorite of the day was this little bird. Petey or ..repeatey the petey. Something like that. Jeff saw it and grabbed it in a flash. Apparently he had one when he was little, though I'd never heard of it. You could lean close and say something, and he'd start repeating it over and over in a funny parrot voice. It cracked me up! It's pretty funny to see a brightly colored children's toy say inappropriate things in a lighthearted parrot voice. ;) I'm not gonna tell you WHAT it started saying to us, but it was entertaining... I wish we would've thought to say something neutral to the bird before we walked away... who knows if he was still repeating that when a little kiddie picked him up! Don't worry, it wasn't involving cussing.

And, last but not least.. we ran into what I'm sure would be my mil's favorite store:

After a fun, though sweaty, time walking around, we ate some CiCi's pizza and headed for the homefront. We got home just as it was getting dark. A pretty good way to spend a Friday evening in my book.

here I come

2010-08-03T13:05:00.000-05:00

Anyone that knows me knows that I am an avid reader. My life has been full of reading and books since as far back as I can remember. In middle school, I would read (on average) 3-5 books per week. Yes, yes.. I had no life. But I love it. I love reading and everything about books. The way they transport you to another world, another life . . . that is what created my desire to be an acquisitions editor (which probably won't happen.. but I'm going to keep dreaming!).

Since I love books so much - I have not been a fan of ebooks and ereaders. Who would want to hold an electronic device while reading? I love the feel of a book in my hands and seeing them on my bookshelf. However, last week Jeff started looking into the Nook and talking about it to me. One day, he asked me to go to Barnes and Noble so that we could see one and know what it was like. I gave in because... well, who knows. Our bookshelf is HUGE and it is already full (we are stacking books vertically in front of the other rows and, frankly, it looks bad). I decided to be open-minded.

Luckily, Barnes and Noble will let you go into their store and try the nook whenever you want to so you can see if you like it. Well, here's the shock. I did! It is about the same size of the average book- and it weighs almost the same also. When holding it, I was suprised how the screen really did look just like a book and wouldn't hurt my eyes (no backlighting or anything like computers). I decided to think about it.

After some research and consideration- I decided that I was at least interested in getting a Nook. I thought about the pros:

No more reading while holding my book with one hand and having a hard time turning the page
No more losing my place in books if the bookmark is gone
No more lack of storage for my books
The Best: if I want a new book, and know one I want.. I can think "I want a new book" and then be reading it within 2 minutes! Holy cow! I don't have to pay shipping or wait...

Don't worry, I'm not going to give you all the pros/cons and that jazz. If you want to, you can simply look it up for yourself.

However.. I am proud to announce that at the end of my long work days, this is what I'm now going home to:

That's right. I ended up getting a Nook. My wonderful husband told me that if I wanted one, I should get one. =) He is the best! I was nervous about the cost and that there was no real occassion for me to spend that kind of money to get something, but he encouraged me a lot about it and I happily purcashed my Nook last Wednesday. It has been wonderful ever since. I have already bought a book and am reading it all the time in the evenings. I was nervous it may not be the same- but I get just as absorbed as I always have with books and I forget that I'm not holding the actual book!

However, to help with the "feel" of reading a book - and to help protect the cover, you can get a case shaped like a book. That way you're holding a "book" (it is the size of an actual book too, which helps). It's pretty exciting, if I do say so myself. Want to see a picture of my case? I don't have it yet, but it's coming in the mail! Yet again, my wonderful husband encouraged me to get a case and find one that I like - as opposed to the cheapest thing I can find, which I am inclined to do at all times. I am so excited. The case I am getting is a little pricey, but it is GORGEOUS and amazing. It's genuine leather, handcrafted after I placed my order.

The color is "wine" and it is a tree carving/design in the leather. It folds back easily for ease-of-use and is utterly amazing.

All in all, I am pretty stoked about my recent purcahses. I'll take a picture of my nook and case when the case comes in the mail. I have to end this post with a thank you to my husband. He knows that I'm cheap and that I don't like to spend money. But, he still spent time looking into something that he knew I would like, showed it to me, and encouraged me to get it, despite the costs. He also encouraged me to get whatever cover I loved the most. He is incredible and I am so blessed to have him.

simply put: wow

2010-07-27T10:53:00.000-05:00

Life has been bliss since Jeff got home on Saturday =) Never better. And I mean that quite literally. The past few days have been amazing and I am falling more in love with my wonderful husband every single day that we are together. I think there is a time in all marriages where something changes. The infatuation mixed with the I-just-got-married-high eventually fades over time. This is a reality that most couples accept and cope with.

Luckily, I am married to a man that continues to amaze me and continues to do things that cause me to fall in love with him all over again. I know not everyone knows the Jeff that I know because he sometimes comes across as shy or quiet. But I just want to share a small tidbit of why Jeff Brown is the most incredible and wonderful husband and why I fell in love with him all over again this morning:

This morning I woke up and got ready for work. Then, I walked out and sat in my car- only to feel my eyes tear up and my heart feel full. I took a picture (don't worry, I was at a red light!) That happens to be a sticky note on my stearing wheel. In case you can't see it properly:

This is what I saw right before heading to work. Jeff gets up to go to work at 5:30am. Sometime during that rush to get to work by 6am- he took the time out of his morning to leave this note for me on my steering wheel. I don't know if he knew how much this note would mean to me or that it would cause my eyes to water. But this morning, just like every day since Jeff has been home- he has done something that has stolen my heart and filled me up with so much love for him that it is hard to express with words.

I am so grateful that I am married to someone as wonderful and incredible as Jeff. Someone who is making an effort to continue to woo me even though we're nearing our 3 year anniversary. Someone who makes me so happy and makes me feel so incredibly loved. He is filling up my love bank to overflowing and I just wanted to share a small reason why Jeff is an amazing husband and why can't get enough of him =)

today!

2010-07-24T13:31:00.000-05:00

Jeff comes home today!!! It would be pretty hard to use words to describe how utterly excited I am. Needless to say, the day is dragging by at a snails pace. I have showered, cleaned, straightened the house, puttered around, watched TV, tried to nap some time away.. and it's only just after 1! With any luck, I will manage to make the next two hours fly by (or at least crawl a little faster).

Evening plans? Well...

Pick up Jeff
Be super happy
Go to dinner somewhere
Be super happy
Go to a movie
Be super happy
Maybe dessert? Even if Jeff says no- I'll still be happy!

Sounds good to me!

what if?

2010-07-21T07:59:00.001-05:00

This past weekend I ended up spending some quality time with my mother in law. I wanted her opinion when I went clothes shopping (since she has so much experience). That, of course, turned into me spending the entire day at her house post-shopping-trip. Thank God (literally, I'm not just saying the expression) that I have a great mil and we get along well. I enjoy having her as a second mom =)

However... this past weekend we decided to see how things may have turned out had I been her birth daughter and not just her favorite daughter in law:

What do you think? She's giggling in the background.

Now there are two good reasons why it's good that I'm not her birth daughter.:

The whole "I'm in love with Jeff" bit (in case you're slow... we'd be brother and sister...).
I look really stupid with short, red hair.

walks and talks

2010-07-15T22:00:00.001-05:00

Today was an exceptionally stressful day at work... as in, a bit over the top. I also had to stay late to get things done that needed to be done by tomorrow - so I wasn't that thrilled when I got home. I mean, I was glad to be home, but I was frustrated from the day.

One thing I had been looking forward to was going on a walk with my neighbor Leah. Leah and her husband, Andrew, are our wonderful neighbors and I am so grateful for them. They are an amazing christian couple and hopefully will continue to become even better friends. I stopped by their house briefly yesterday and me and Leah decided to go on a walk tonight at about 7:30- which I had been looking forward to all day long. Of course... once 7:00 came around, it began to pour. My heart sank. I got very grumpy and may have flung a few mean words at Sunny and gotten uncharacteristically mad when she meow-ed for her evening meal. Needless to say, I was not happy.

Somehow, the rain stopped right at 7:30. I looked outside and it had cleared up and there was a pretty, pink sky. I was so glad and we got to go on our walk! We were actually on our walk for about 1 hour. It was so nice to walk (sheila came too!) and chat with another woman. Sometimes I really miss having one-on-one time with friends, which doesn't happen as often when you work full time. We had such a good time walking and talking. We even chatted at my place for a little while before she headed home. It was so nice to chat about life, people, God... wow. We agreed to try to go on walks more often together. I think she enjoyed getting away from the kids and having some time with an adult.

All in all, it was a great day =) And how did it end? On our way back to the houses, we randomly saw a firework show! Big, beautiful fireworks... don't know why. But we stopped and enjoyed the view.

trellis

2010-07-13T15:28:00.000-05:00

I have been searching the internet for how-tos and pictures for Trellis. I am (hopefully) going to put some trellis on the sides of our garage this weekend. I actually have a pretty long list of things I want to get done.. but with the heat we've been having, who knows what I'll get to before I melt into the house from heat exhaustion.

Anyways, as I searched the internet for pictures of trellis, I found this:

Does it not look like this house has a droopy mustache framing big, blocky, white teeth? It made me smile, so I thought I would share it with you. If you don't see, give yourself a minute and look from further away.

This is a little closer to what I was going for. =) I am going to try to buy some trellis, paint it white, and set it up on the sides of our garange. Then, (if I am successful), I want to weave some Jasmine throughout the trellis so that it'll grab hold and grow beautifully. I have high hopes, so here's to hoping it works out in the end...

airports

2010-07-09T07:58:00.002-05:00

I hate airports. They represent sadness to me. So many people go in there and are sad, crying, and separating from each other. I know there are also people coming together again, but that doesn't make it any better to me.

I had to get up at 4:40 this morning to take Jeff to the airport so he can go to his 16 day training in Nebraska. I really thought I would be fine. We walked in, checked in, went to security. When he gave me a hug, I was still feeling ok. I told him I would miss him and that I loved him. Then, when he walked away- things changed. I think seeing him go triggered my memories. I know he is only going to Nebraska and it's only going to be a little over two weeks- but it hit me really hard. I realized I was going home to an empty house and was going to sleep in an empty bed.

as I walked out to the car, memories (and the reality of him being gone) hit me really hard. I realized that the last time I saw him walk through security at an airport was when he was flying to Iraq. I cried the entire drive home and for a good 15 or more minutes into my pillow. I wasn't going to blog about this, but I guess sometimes it is ok to blog about sadness and emotions. Not every day is filled with rainbows and happy stories.

Needless to say, I cannot wait for these 16 days to fly by. I'll leave you with an image that shows the memory that made my cry myself to sleep. Place: Pensacola Airport. Year: 2008

(Update: I am doing ok. I know my post was sad, but since then I have been doing a lot better. I got past my pity party and am determined to try to stay super busy these next 16 days)

good eats

2010-07-08T15:24:00.000-05:00

No, I'm actually not referring to the cooking show Good Eats. I was referring to where Jeff and I went to dinner last night. Some people have favorite restaurants - but Jeff and I have never been those types of people. We enjoy eating pretty much anywhere since we are easily satisfied and love all types of food. However, we do have a place we discovered in the last 6 months that we truly do enjoy. It's a Sports Bar and Grill type joint that has been around for forever, yet never seems to be crowded (don't know how that happens). We are typically one of 3 - maybe 4 on a crowded day- tables.

The place that I am talking about is Kooter Browns. Yea, it definitely isn't a good name. But, the food is great! Every opportunity Jeff gets, he asks if we can go there. It's a nice perk that it's about 2 miles up the road from our house. After getting back from Lake Martin on Monday night, we decided to head over there to grab some dinner.

Jeff absolutely LOVES their chicken wings. I have to give it to them... it takes a lot to impress Jeff. He loves wings and eats them everywhere, yet this is his favorite place for wings- that's saying something.

I, on the other hand, am not a huge wing fan. Don't get me wrong- I love wings every now and then. I just don't get in the mood for them very often. Couple that with my inability to handle hot foods and it just doesn't come up on my "i want that" list. What I do love is a good burger. I absolutely LOVE burgers. They are the sole reason I know I could never give up meat. Burgers are just so dang good! And, it just so happens that Kooter Brown's has one of the best burgers I have ever had. Not only are they good, but they are consistently good (which is important to me). I hate going somewhere and loving something and then it never tastes that good again. Luckily, Kooter Brown's burger is amazing every time I eat it.

This picture doesn't nearly do it justice... but it was all I took the time to snap before I dug in. =) YUM! They have the perfect blend of sauces on the burger and it is just.... =)

Look at the beauty. Do you see the nice sauces and that crisp lettuce... pictures aren't doing it justice - but, suffice it to say, we love this place. If you live in - or ever visit - Pensacola, you should definitely go there. Just make sure to invite Jeff and I along. We could use another excuse to go back soon.

Oh Bliss

2010-07-06T22:58:00.000-05:00

There is nothing better than a nice, long, relaxing weekend. Luckily, that is exactly what I just had. Jeff and I spent our July 4th up at my grandparents house on Lake Martin. My parents and sister and bro in law headed up that way as well- which definitely made it a great weekend. We truly relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. I, finally, took some pictures at a family event (I tend to sit back and let everyone else capture the memories) - so I have some lovely photos to share!

The first picture is in memory of how I enjoyed my weekend. I rarely seem to have time to enjoy my favorite pastime: reading. Between work and school, there just isn't enough time in the day. So, awhile back, I decided to make SURE I read tons over this nice three day weekend. And, since I can't take a picture of myself reading, here is a picture of Cass reading to represent how I enjoyed a large portion of the weekend. That porch swing is one of the most relaxing places on earth and we spent plenty of time there this weekend.

Here is a gorgeous picture of what the weather was like the entire time we were there. Blue skies, white, fluffy clouds... it was amazing. The water was warm and we spent chunks of the day enjoying the water.

Here is a quick snapshot of some fun in the water. Cute little Angel is swimming on past us. =)

A nice game of Dominoes took place as well. Cass and Stephen taught Jeff and I a new Dominoe game to play (big 6 or something like that).

And, of course, what would a 4th of July weekend photo post be without a picture of some glorious fireworks!? Have no fear. =) It's a good thing my grandparent's neighbors are willing to spend some big bucks on beautiful firework displays. We get a great show and it was free =) Doesn't get much better than that!

To end this post- here is a cute picture that I snapped in the car on the way back. Sheila is just so darn adorable that I couldn't help myself. That, and she was laying on a pretty dang handsome man too. Perfect for a photo.

I hope your weekend was at least half as enjoyable and relaxing as mine. The only problem? Going back to work. Yikes.

aw

2010-07-01T08:02:00.002-05:00

I have decided to have a post that is based solely upon adorable pictures of Jeff and Sheila. I was going through my photos on the computer today and found some pictures that I had completely forgotten about!

As I've said in previous posts, Sheila is a cuddler. I haven't told you before that so is Jeff. Which makes him and Sheila the perfect pair when it comes to lounging and napping. This, of course, has led to several adorable Sheila and Jeff shots over the months and I think it is just a shame not to share them =)

This is them cuddling on the couch. I believe that this picture was taken not too long after we got Sheila- probably within the first month.

I have no idea when this picture was taken- but how adorable is that? Sheila gets in all sorts of weird/funny positions and will just stay like that for a long time. This is probably one of the funnier positions - especially since she was looking right at me. Guess she enjoys the chair too!

And.. last, but not least, is the cutest picture of them all. One day when I came home from work, I was met with all of the lights off. At first, I wondered where Jeff was because I had seen his car in the driveway. Then, I saw some forms on the couch and walked over. I quickly went and got my camera to capture the moment. How much more adorable can it get?

They were sleeping together, all snuggled up =) I have such a cute family.

If I didn't have a job

2010-06-29T13:14:00.001-05:00

I have realized since graduating and working full time, that my desires and aspirations in life are changing. The main thing? I no longer desire to be a career woman. Now, pick your jaw up off the floor if you know me- it's a shock, I know. I have always aspired to do big things since I was a kid:

I strived to always make straight A's.
I graduated in the top 17 kids in a class of hundreds.
I had a 4.55 GPA in high school.
I graduated college in 2 1/2 years.
I'm about to finish my Masters.
I did two internships while in school to prepare me to work.

And, what happens after all of that effort? I start working full-time and realize "hm, this really isn't what it's cracked up to be." Now, not to insult anyone, but I grew up thinking I would never, and I emphasize that never as much as possible, be a stay-at-home mom or a homemaker. My mom is incredible and I love her, but I just didn't want to do it. In all honesty, I thought it was a waste of talent and brains (yea, I was an opinionated kid...). I wanted to do something and mean something in the world. Yes, I understand what terrible things that statement implies about stay-at-home moms. However, I say all of that to get across to all of you how utterly shocked I was to realize that I don't want to be a career woman anymore. I don't. I don't want to work full-time and "go places." I no longer feel the need to prove myself or my importance with a job title, degrees, or status. Heck, I don't even care about money anymore. I really, truly want to be a stay-at-home mom.

And, I am finally comfortable coming out and saying that I really don't want to work for a living. Now.. you all recover from your state of shock, because I am going to show you what fabulous things I would love to do with my time if/when I get to quit working.

First and foremost, I would paint. And by paint- I mean consistently paint things and actually finish projects. It'd be great to actually have the spare time to do that again.

I would also try to write a book. I definitely never have the time to consider trying that. It may not go anywhere, but it's be nice to give it a shot at least. =)

This picture actually doesn't represent painting a house, but the number of pictures that show up when you type "person decorating a house" are pretty slim. So, this just is to show that I would actually finish decorating/arranging our house and all of our rooms in the way I really want them to be.

Last, but definitely not least, I would read books ALL the time. I would read in the morning in a comfy chair, in the tub, on the couch, outside while Sheila played. It'd be great. I could read for the rest of my lifetime and be happy.

kids

2010-06-25T08:43:00.000-05:00

This past Wednesday I got to go on a field trip with two of our students. There were supposed to be more, but only two girls brought back permission slips, and, hey, I wasn't going to complain! We went to the Naval Aviation Museum- which really isn't all that entertaining if you've been within the last year. But I guess that doesn't matter when you get to be gone from the school for 3 hours =)

The two girls with me were pretty funny and entertaining girls, so it was a good way to pass some time. One thing happened that cracked me up though. We were walking past a bunch of statue heads (reminded me of the movie The Haunted Mansion and the singing heads...)

Suddenly, one of the girls said "Obama?"

I looked back and actually did a double-take. Then, of course, I had to take a picture to share with all of you. I don't know who this man is, but if he'd lived in our day instead of the past, he would've been able to make some major money as an impersonator/look-alike.

jealous

2010-06-19T19:01:00.001-05:00

There is a cute and sweet personality characteristic about Sheila that I love. Well, sometimes it annoys me, but generally I love it. Sheila loves being paid attention to. She will cuddle up to you, sleep with you, lean against you, lay beside you. Anything. She soaks it up and thrives on it.

She also has this thing about "touching" us. This characteristic sometimes makes me think she used to be a human (not really.. it's a phrase). If Sheila hasn't gotten any attention in a little while (or if she is feeling exceptionally lovey), she will come up and touch you to remind you she is here. She doesn't just walk up and stare, she touches. If I'm on the computer in the office, she'll walk up and place her paw on my foot- as if she's nudging me. If I don't pay attention to her still, she'll put her paw on my thigh. Typically, when I look at her and start to pay attention to her and talk to her- she keeps putting her paw up to touch or shake. She likes for us to acknowledge that she is doing it and will keep doing it until we touch her paw in reply. It's adorable. Sometimes, when she is curled up on the couch she will randomly look over at me, crawl up to me, and put her paw on my leg (or arm, or stomach sometimes too) and make this little growl/talking noise.

I wish you could all see it, but she doesn't always do it. Typically we are alone and I'm busy doing something- so the odds you'll see it are slim.

However, I caught a moment on my camera phone today. I have been working on a 10 page midterm/paper all day and Sheila hasn't gotten much attention (poor puppy). She was laying on the bottom of the couch and looked up at me randomly. I ignored her and kept typing and she crawled slowly over to me on the couch. When I still didn't look into her soft puppy eyes, she put one paw on my leg. Still, I ignored her (hey, I was on a brief roll). Then, she put both paws on my legs and actually tapped me with her paws. I finally looked down at her and her tail started wagging. I snapped a picture really quick. Look at her little, pleading, "pay me attention" face. awwwww.. she's practically hugging my knee =)

Not long after that, she sat up and put her paw on my shoulder and licked me before deciding to plop down right in my lap! I just love her. =) I guess my lap was her guaranteed way to get attention and stop me from typing!

space

2010-06-16T22:50:00.002-05:00

What is one thing that ladies are known to love (or in most cases, want) when it comes to their own home? No, not the kitchen, though I guess that may be the first thing that comes to mind. The answer is: closets. Women, and I am no exception, love closets. Well, let me make a correction- we love nice, big, expansive closets that are full of space, shelves, shoe racks, and so forth. I am not even a girly girl with tons of things and I still am in love with nice closets.

Sadly, Jeff and I had to make some compromises when searching for a home to buy, as we all have to do. One thing that I decided to let go was a nice, big, walk-in closet. The closet that came with our home is definitely not a girl's dream. Jeff and I have separate closets (his is in the guest room) since we don't even have enough room for just my things in the master closet.

When we moved in, I shoved and squished things to fit. The shelves were set up very odd, so about 1/3 of the space wasn't even usable because of the odd angles of the shelves and how they overlapped. I had one shelf that went around my closet (it is almost a walk-in? It has a 3 ft. depth and is a rectangle, so you can go in, just not too far), but that was it. I had to try to hang everything up on that rack and all of my jeans, dress pants, and sweatshirts were thrown - literally, thrown- on top of the shelf. It was a disaster zone and was rather depressing to look at.

Of course, I'd dream of wonderful, beautiful closets when I took the time to notice how lacking mine was.

Something like this would be wonderful to me. A different unit/box for each type of clothing: spaghetti straps, tanks, dressy shirts, t-shirts, special occasion, etc. Of course, I'd want this to be made into a nice walk-in and everything. But, just to give you an idea.

Now, I wish wish wish WISH I had a before picture for what transformation is about to take place, but I don't (I was so excited, I forgot to take some until it was to late) Jeff talked tonight about re-doing our closets and I about fell out of my chair. I asked him instantly if we could go tonight to buy the stuff for it- so off to Home Depot we went! (with me, happy as a clam, trying not to hyperventilate in my excitement).

It took awhile of browsing and Jeff doing some math skills in his head (while I sat on the floor and waited patiently) and him perusing the many options- but we finally strolled to the checkout with our items. I, very hopefully, asked Jeff if he would mind doing the closet tonight (didn't really think he would), but he agreed on the condition that I take everything out and organize and put it all back tonight. Of course, I practically ran into the house and ripped everything out of my closet and threw it on the bed.

You see? I wasn't exaggerating. It's just tossed onto the bed in reckless abandon. I also have the floor covered and Sheila's kennel as well, but why bombard you with pictures of a huge mess? I think this one will suffice =)

Here is a snapshot of what the floor looked like. Sorry about the sexy legs in this shot, Jeff was taking down the old shelves and I just snapped this when he wasn't paying attention. Important note: that is only about half of my shoes- I'd already taken half out. So, imagine that crazy messiness times TWO.

Here is the closet once Jeff has removed the previous shelving that was in there. Didn't realize until we took it out that it was king of grimy and an ugly off-white-yellow color. Ew.

Now you can see the beautiful new shelving as it is being put in place. Biggest thing to notice? TWO SHELVES. Oh yes. I now have two shelves, ladies and gentlemen. That alone is enough to make a woman happy. I just doubled my amount of closet space in one night.

Here is Jeff, standing in front of the completed project. I would like to brag and mention that these shelves are 100% leveled, very sturdy, so much nicer/roomier- and it took him less than an hour including taking down the old and installing the new. I married the right guy when it comes to home repairs/renovations!

And now... drumroll.... MY CLOSET! I know it may not look like much to you, but compared to what I had- this closet looks like a million bucks. You can't really tell from this picture, but it is a "minor" walk-in, and now that I don't have weird space-taking shelves on the right and left side (just two really long shelves on the back) I can actually walk in my closet! (you can tell if you notice that my shoes can line across the side walls too- shows the depth some) Anyways, it is wonderful! We still want to make some minor additions (shoe rack, anyone?) but I am so incredibly happy with how this turned out. I finally have all of my shirts in there AND all of my jeans and dress pants are hung up! I found jeans and dress pants that I didn't remember I had. I will admit, I wore the same jeans and same dress pants each day because I didn't want to dig through the pile of crazy on top of my old shelf. Now, I feel like I have so many new options again. My wardrobe just improved substantially. Plus, now that I don't have to throw excess clothes on the top shelf, I can put shoes up there to give myself room on the floor (goodbye for now my friendly winter boots, you will come down again, promise).

In these pictures you can't see it, but those shelves are each 5 feet across. That's some pretty substantial space!

Just look at that gorgeousness....I can't get over the two shelves/racks. I am grinning from ear to eat and could do a dance across the house right now.

Overdue

2010-06-13T11:11:00.000-05:00

I am finally getting to the point where I want to put all of our stuff up on our walls. I guess I didn't really realize this, but our home isn't all that personal once you step out of the living room space. I did make sure to hang things up in our living room and dining room area, but it really stops once you walk beyond that. There isn't a single thing hung up on the walls in any of the bedrooms (minus one thing in the master, which is going to get replaced). It made me think back to Cassie's post awhile back about hanging things up to make your house personal.

How have I not done this yet? I guess sometimes I get caught up in the idea of "painting" and fixing... and forgot that the biggest part of decorating is hanging things up! So, this led me to do something that was loooong overdo. You see, at Jeff and my reception, we received the most beautiful (and I mean BEAUTIFUL) painting that you could imagine from Jason Erar (feel free to mosey on over to his and his wife's blog when you are done reading my post. when you're done.) When Jason was in France for a semester- he brought home a street painting for me. It is possibly the best present I have ever received. Unfortunately, that led to me wanting to find the perfect, customized, frame to do it justice. Well... I glanced in Hobby Lobby and came up dry, then I tried the specialty store in the mall, nada. As months passed and I casually looked for the perfect frame- I slowly lost hope and decided to wait until the next season of frames came out (do styles rotate with seasons when it comes to frames? Not sure... I didn't really think this through- I just did it).

Anyways, time passed and I got a bit caught up in the idea of finding the perfect frame. I hadn't bought one yet, so why stop the search and compromise after 6 months. I'd already waited to hang it for that long, I could wait a little longer. I know, my thought process had flaws. Then, when we moved into our house, it had to wait until we changed/updated/decorated the entire thing. We spent months fixing things up and couldn't even focus on wall art yet- so it was postponed for even longer. We recently painted our guest bedroom and master, which finishes the process of painting the rooms in our house. Painting = complete. That alone deserves a dance of victory. It also led the the start of sorting through our MASSIVE pile of wall art and picture and deciding what will go where. I will admit, staring at the big pile disheartened me (how would I ever get through all of it?). Then, I saw the painting. I realized that it would be the first thing to be hung up out of this pile.

So, off to Hobby Lobby I went. I decided to forget the perfect, custom frame and just find something classy. Thankfully, Hobby Lobby had 50% off and I got a great frame that I normally wouldn't have dished out the money for ($40 for a frame? no thanks!)

The frame is a beautiful, classy, black frame with a Gallery style (not flat square edges, but it has a shape to them). I also had the lady cut out a piece of matting to fit it since the painting is not a typical measurement. The matting is a classic white and I really think that spending the money to get a custom matting that looks professional was a good idea.

Here is the beautiful painting, waiting to be rolled out and framed to grace our walls. Can't you just feel the anticipation of wondering what it is going to look like?! Feel it.

Here is the frame with the matting place in it, just waiting for me to trim the picture and place it in. It took a few tries to get everything even. I had to keep lifting the picture and checking the picture to see if it was straight and adjusting it "just so." Nothing was going to keep this picture from being PERFECT.

aaand.... the final reveal (unless you scrolled down already and cheated. If so.. shame on you)

Isn't it GORGEOUS!??! One of the best things about it was when I rolled out that painting and took the protective cover off- I could still smell the paint. It was incredible. Just owning a piece of art that is an original, that came from the artist and is this beautiful... it really fills me with this appreciation and awe. Sure, he is a street painter and may have painted several pieces similar... but no matter how many similar pieces there are- this painting is a one of a kind. It is THE original, with his signature in the bottom. This is the first ever piece of art that I have owned that isn't a framed picture, or a mass-produced copy.

My only dilemma? I can't figure out where to hang it. Can you give me your advice? The problem is that the black and white frame and matting looks perfect against the beautiful grey walls in the guest bedroom. The negative about this? In the guest bedroom- who will see it? This picture deserves to be seen by all that enter our house. It should be focal art- but it really doesn't look as good against other walls in the house. Should I put it in the guest room (where it matches so great, but won't be seen) or should I put it in the hallway where the frame/matting may not match as much- but it will be appreciated and displayed? My first thought was the hallway- but the picture isn't big enough to take up the space, so I'd have to come up with some other way to add things to the wall to help fill the space....

ahhhh.... I'm stuck!

The Best

2010-06-11T14:08:00.001-05:00

Nothing can compete with the fact that today is Friday. To someone that works full-time, Friday is like water to a person trapped in an endless desert, food to someone that is starving, a cardboard sign and black marker for the stranded hobo, and warmth and sunshine during a week of cold. Are you getting an idea of how much I love Fridays? And that they are something I long for? Good. Point well made then. I think the hobo bit really got my point across.

I also realized that I haven't introduced anyone to my space at work. Since I spend the majority of my time here- I guess I should share it so you know what my office looks like =)

Here is the main space. I had to roll my desk back so that I could take a snapshot of my entire desk. Yes, the clutter of papers is just how it looks everyday- I didn't clean it up for this shot. Also, you can see that I'm trying to decorate it with pictures and other random items.

Here is an up close shot of the left half of my desk, so you can actually see things. As you can see, I decorated it with some leftover fabric that I had- so the back of my "board" that I tack things too is black and white poka dots. I rather like it, even though I didn't ever see myself as a poka dot person. I also have my phone, my calendar up there, a few cards.. there's my giant water bottle that I use to keep my hydrated (though it leads to many bathroom trips). I also have some pictures up: me and Jeff and a picture that a student gave to me =) The little tidbits of paper that you see under my hutch (little rectangles) are verses that I have taped up there to read when I want to throw things or go insane. Verses about patience, learning, not being quick-tempered... it helps.

Here is the other half of my desk. There is some more poka dots (ran out of the black and white) and some more pictures and random items like cards hanging up. =) It isn't really pretty... but it's my space, so I like it.

Anyways, I really hope you like having a preview into my life at work and where I spend most of my time. I really intend on prettying it up some and making it a little more "me"... but that'll come in time I guess (if at all.... I can be lazy)

I hope everyone is having a good day! It's Friday and I'm ready to GO!

if you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it

2010-06-08T15:38:00.000-05:00

Today was one heck of an incredibly busy, crazy, and insane day with a little ray of happiness and sunshine in the middle. You may be wondering what caused my ray of happiness and sunshine. How sweet of you to ask. =)

Every now and again there is an activity at work that I get to participate in. I am making an honest effort to participate in a lot more than I have in the past. Today, I happened to have the joy of taking 5 of our students to the movies. Oh yes, you read that right. During the workweek, while people are puttering away in offices and my co-workers were going crazy due to being short staffed- I was relaxing in a dark theater and enjoying watching a movie. It was incredible. Not only did I actually forget (during the movie) that I was technically "at work," but I also got to look at the clock on the way back and realize it was almost lunchtime already.

I can't tell you in words how great it was, which is why I have decided to simply call it my ray of happiness and sunshine. What movie did we see? Alvin and the Chipmunks 2: The Squeakuel.

It was actually pretty good and entertaining. I have to admit that I left the theater humming "If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it..." (with visions of dancing chipmunks in my head, of course). Definitely a lot of fun. I would have to score the outing as a 10 out of 10. Of course, it can't get much better than going to the movies in the middle of the workday.

Behind a bit

2010-06-07T21:32:00.000-05:00

2 Weekends ago, Jeff and I spent some quality time at Lake Martin with my family. We visited my Papa and enjoyed the pure wonder and beauty of taking naps, relaxing, swimming, eating good food... the list goes on.

I thought I'd go ahead and share some of those memories with you- since today was Monday and all I could think about was going back in time and re-enjoying the weekend at the lake. Mondays always seem to do that to me.

This was just the cutest sight. Seeing little Sheila floating around on that float with Jeff- as relaxed as can be =) How absolutely adorable. Sheila loved it there... running, playing, other dogs, swimming... it was so much fun to watch!

Here is everybody fishing! There wasn't much catching going on, unfortunately. The Ringl family seemed to have a monopoly on it and Stephen and Cassie were the only ones that really caught much- which made the rest of us just that more determined (too bad it didn't pay off). I finally caught a teeny tiny brim- and Cass announced him the cutest fish caught that weekend. I'll take it.

This just cracked me up. Matt, my mom, and Jeff had jumping/diving contest at the same time. I love how each one is lower than the one next to them. They had so much fun, though I think my mom loved it the most. She had a big grin and got all giddy when she suggested the idea ;) This was their cannonball jump.

Here is the "everybody dive" jump. Jeff and Matt are doing backwards dives, which they actually pulled off very well. I didn't think they would- but they did!

Here is the beautiful view from the dock. Man... that's what I was daydreaming about today at work. Why must we have Mondays? ... I guess I can survive- we are going back July 4th weekend, and I can't WAIT. Fishies... here I come.

Last, but not least, is a picture of Sheila in the car on the ride home. I had to take a picture because it just made me laugh. She sits, upright, in the seat for almost the ENTIRE 3 and some odd hour drive home. How silly! She leaned forward when I called her name for the picture- but most of the time she is sitting up like this, leaning her back against the seat like a person. It was so cute and I almost felt like I should put her in a seatbelt with her sitting like that.