"Productiveness"

Is that even a word?! I don't know, but it's what I portrayed this week while ALSO being incredibly lazy and enjoying my vacation!!

So, I had an entire NINE days off work for Thanksgiving. It was much needed and GLORIOUS. I started it off by helping my high school bestie, Sarah, celebrate her 25 years of living on Friday night. We had so much fun just hanging out with friends. On Saturday, I intended on cleaning my house, but instead, I bought new tires for my car and went shopping while they were being put on. I thought it was a great compromise to go shopping after spending a LOT of money for new tires instead of cleaning as planned. Afterwards, H and I went to see The Blind Side with Sarah and Kaitlin. It was AMAZING. I highly recommend that you see the movie - it was fabulous. We went to dinner at the Marietta Diner (yummy!) and then went with Kelsey to a restaurant in Alpharetta for some great dessert. (Yes, I know, you're wondering why I went somewhere else for dessert after being at the Diner, but it happened.) On Sunday, H and I had to work at the Gwinnett Arena for ALLIANCE. It wasn't terrible, but it was nothing to blog about either. Moving onto Monday... nothing too exciting again, but PRODUCTIVE is key here! H and I went to my school to clean my classroom and put some things away. Then, we took Kay shopping for a suit coat and ran errands. I got a Mary Kay facial that night.

Tuesday started the real fun. H had to get her wisdom teeth taken out, so we were at the oral surgeon's office bright and early. She did VERY well and has recovered nicely... "like a champ" in the words of Kay. We lazed in the den and watched movies all day long. It was great and really helped me to truly relax. I did clean the bathrooms and vacuum the house that night (ya know, 3 days later than I had planned, but at least it got done!!!) On Wednesday, I went over to my parents' house for my sister and I to hang the icicle lights at their house. Then, we came to my house and hung my icicle lights. They don't look so hot right now since #1, they're brand new and not hanging the way they should, and #2, a fuse keeps blowing so they won't stay on, but I'm fixing that this week! That afternoon, my grandma, mom, Kay, H, and I went to see The Rockettes at the Fox. I just love them!

I watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday morning and then headed over to my parents' house for family time. I stuffed myself completely full with turkey, jello, green beans, corn pudding, sweet potatoes, broccoli, bread, mashed potatoes, and a yummy version of pumpkin pie. Of course, it was all fantastic!! And the time with family was nice also.

On Friday, H and I watched some more movies between me working in my front yard with help from my parents and Andrew and watching the Auburn/Alabama game. Sad ending but it was still a great game. It is GREAT to be an Auburn tiger and I am proud of those boys for playing hard! WAR EAGLE!!! We continued our work in my yard on Saturday - we completely took out 6-7 bushes and most of the monkey grass and LOTS of weeds. So, it now just has 7 bushes and a small tree. I would like to plant some flowers and move a couple of my hydrangea bushes to the front of my house. We'll see what the spring brings. :) Today was another relaxing day with another movie and running errands to get ready for this week.

While I dread going to work tomorrow, I feel refreshed. And I feel good about how I spent the last nine days. I was productive, but I also had plenty of time to relax. I watched lots of movies, ate lots of food, but got new tires put on my car, cleaned my house, put icicle lights up, put out some other Christmas decorations inside (including the wreath H and I made outselves!), and got my tree put into its stand. (No, there are no lights or ornaments on the tree, but it's still early too!) So, I go into tomorrow and this week with a clear and relaxed mind. I only hope and pray that my kids will come in with this same state of mind, but I'm not getting my hopes up. I love this time of year, and am excited about all of the projects we will be working on over the next several weeks. While it is also a very busy time of year, I do hope that I have lots of opportunities to stop and reflect on the birth of my Savior, Jesus Christ. I hope that my relationship with Him will deepen and grow from these reflections. I pray these same things for you as well - stop and think when you have the chance and take in this crazy thing called life that we are living!

Little People

I had an epiphany sitting in my classroom on Friday. I've always viewed kids as sweet and innocent, and please don't think I'm noy saying that now, but my view definitely changed after this situation. I was sitting on the rug while all of my kids are on the edges while I was cutting open our pumpkin. Because of the different beliefs that each of my students have, we do not celebrate Halloween, so we talked about what our pumpkin looked like, what we thought would be inside, and so on. While I am cutting it open, my kids are discussing (and when I say discussing, I mean it was an all-out discussion) Halloween and what it means. One student is saying that it is evil, while another talks about how God hates Halloween, others are saying it is just for fun, others are saying everybody participates, others are talking about the candy and costumes, and of course, there are a few others who are just sitting watching me and/or staring into space. Please keep in mind that I teach five-year-olds!! I was completely amazed when I stopped to listen while giving my arms are rest from cutting open this ridiculous pumpkin. I decided to take it all in and kept listening instead of stopping the discussion. As I sat there I realized that these children are not all innocent and naive like I once thought - they have been exposed to so much in this world. At times, it is sad to see that some parents have not done their job and kids have to grow up too fast, but I do not think this was the case. This discussion was kids expressing their views (or rather the views their parents had imposed on them) and actually discussing them in their own five-year-old way. Eventually, I did stop cutting and we discussed that not everyone celebrates Halloween and why it is a "holiday" in our country. We talked about the fact that all children do not dress up and go trick-or-treating, but some stay at home while others go to other events like fall festivals. We did end up carving a face in our pumpkin to experience a tradition of Halloween (just like we will have a Thanksgiving feast, make a Hannukah menorah, and so on). All of my kids had a good time and I don't think I alienated any of them. In fact, I think Halloween is fun. I still remember dressing up as RainbowBrite as a child and going trick-or-treating with my childhood best friend, Jennifer, and our families. You don't have to focus on the evil of Halloween - all it is to me is a night in which people dress up for fun and walk around getting candy from friends/neighbors. So yes, my children will take part in Halloween one day, and I will teach them what people think about Halloween and will tell them my take on it as well. I want them to be educated about it and be able to discuss it like my students did on Friday. After we finally counted the 259 seeds (yes, we definitely counted all of them!) and I had cleaned everything up, I sat and thought about how grown up five-year-old children are - they are not naive at all - they are just little grown ups, little people! As a matter of fact, they know much more than we think or imagine that they know! I am looking forward to going back into my classroom tomorrow and learning from my kids because my job is so much more than kids sitting on a rug listening to me read a book or my kids sitting at a table and working on their handwriting.

Fun Times

Hello friends! I realize that it has been a while, and lots has happened. At the same time, my life has slowed down somewhat.

First of all, I feel like I am finally making progress with my students! I am up to 20 in my class, and at times, it is mass chaos. But those times are getting fewer and the pure learning times are getting greater. Our schedule is completely changing tomorrow, so I may be singing a different tune in 24 hours, but only time will tell. I am praying that the schedule changes won't affect the kids too much. We just finished our parent/teacher conferences, so I am hoping my discussions with parents and recruiting efforts for their help will not be in vain. Looking back over the last 37 school days, I realized that my kids really have come far. I have one student who came in speaking absolutely no english and had no clue how to hold a pencil. He is now asking for help in his own sweet little way, and writing his name independently! Another student came in tracing the letters in the air when asked the name of the letter, and she can now name more than half of them!! And still another, would not sit still in his chair, on the rug, or anywhere else and was constantly talking or screaming. He will now sit anywhere you ask him too and only needs a few reminders to zip his lips and wait his turn. So, while it may be small and slow progress, it is progress nonetheless!! I am just praying that more time will be good for these precious 5 years old who bless my life.

The high school marching band show is now complete and is still working on coming together. My girls have a tough job at being visually appealing even though they are small in number. While they tend to frustrate me to no end, I really am proud of them. We were barely making it with drop spins and hard hits at band camp, but they are now executing their work to an honorable extent. We still have some work to do, but I am comfortable with where we are at this point. We have our exhibition show a week from tomorrow which is right before what will now be our first competition. So our rehearsals this week will be spent cleaning and making sure everyone is comfortable. I need them to perform and I know they will be rewarded for their efforts!

Most of you know about the great flood of Georgia... no worries, I survived! AND I even enjoyed a wonderful day off. While it was unfortunate for those in other areas of my county, I thankfully had no big damage. I knew I needed a new roof and was hoping to wait a little bit longer, but the day the rain stopped, I started getting wet stains on my ceiling. My dad, being the wonderful man he is, went up in my attic to find the leaking spot, but to no avail. So, I will just have to suck it up and get a new roof sooner than later! The damage to the ceiling is not too bad - it's won't require repair, just a new coat of paint. To be honest, I'm done with painting for a while, so I will just have to have some apots on the ceiling until I'm ready to paint a ceiling!

In August, I asked you to pray for me and a big decision I had to make. Well, it has been made... I now have a roommate, but it is not your typical roommate situation. H moved in a week ago, and things have been great. She is a wonderful girl and I know she has a wonderful future ahead of her. H is a high school student at Sprayberry that I have gotten to know through Nicole and my work with Sprayberry, as well as through ALLIANCE. I have had fun getting to know her more this week and spending more time with her. She is very outgoing and beautiful. I told her on our way to school/work the other morning that I am already attached - she's stuck with me now! Please continue to pray for me and for H. And thanks to everyone for your prayers, encouragement, and support!!

Ok, I'm out like a fat kid loves cake to hit the sack - this weekend in which I have done nothing has been exhausting! :) Have a wonderful week!

Respond and Rework

I know you're in shock that I've written two posts in a few days, but it's true. Just don't get used to it!!

Ashley tagged me for a Respond and Rework! I don’t normally like things like this, but with an extra day off work, I decided to give it a whirl.
Rules: 1. Respond and rework: Answer the questions on your blog, Replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own invention, and add one more question of your own. 2. Tag other un-tagged people.
What's your favorite article of clothing?
My pajamas!
What is your favorite board game?
So it’s not technically a board game, but I am OBSESSED with CatchPhrase! I will play it anytime, anywhere – including the car in horrible traffic!!!! 
What is your favorite holiday tradition?
We have so many in my family, but I’d have to say Christmas. We go to my grandparents’ house for lunch/dinner. We open presents from youngest to oldest. We usually sing Christmas carols and just spend time together.
What was the last thing you bought?
Groceries
What are you listening to right now?
iTunes: Watermark
What is your favorite weather?
A sunny but cool day
What is your least favorite season?
Probably winter even though I love sweaters and such.
What's in your purse?
Wallet, calendar, notebook, Aquaphor, keys, pens, camera
Say something to the person who tagged you:
Ashley, I am so glad that we have remained friends even though we live in two separate cities. I’m so excited about seeing you soon, and very glad we talked last night!
What is your favorite dessert or cool treat?
I love anything with chocolate!!!
What did you want to become as a child?
A teacher! (funny how that worked out, right?)
What do you want to be now?
A wife and mother
What is your favorite song?
Hmm, tough choice, but I’ll go with I Run to You by Lady Antebellum
If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
Huntsville, Alabama to see my BFF, Brittany
What are your most challenging goals right now?
To share the love of God with those around me – it really shouldn’t be difficult but life is so hurry, hurry, rush, rush!
What is your 5 year plan?
Haha, everybody knows this one: get married and have babies – LOTS of them! One day, my friends, one day...
What is your favorite sport to watch?
Umm, I don’t really know. Baseball is the only one I truly understand but football is exciting.
What show would you want to be a cast member on (reality included)?
Well, I’m not sure. I don’t really want to be in any of the shows I like, but I really like Grey’s Anatomy and Army Wives.
What is your favorite magazine?
People
What is your most prized possession?
Call me crazy, but my house! I worked hard for it!
Name one favorite childhood memory.
Another tough one… I’ll go with our annual family beach trips. We still go to the same place every year with ALL of us – grandparents, aunt, uncle, cousins, plus us. So much fun!
What is your favorite book of the Bible?
I love the story that Genesis tells. But I also like Psalm.
What is your favorite quote?
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10
What is one country you aren’t interested in visiting?
I have a goal of visiting 6 out of the continents before I die, so I’ll go to whatever country I need to check that continent off my list!
What is your favorite kitchen utensil?
My Pampered Chef ice cream scoop – it has something like anti-freeze in it, so it makes scooping ice cream incredibly easy!!
I don't really have anyone to tag because Ashley already did, so I just reinforce her tags!!

A Season of My Life Revisited

Most of you know, or have read, that I marched with the drum corps, ALLIANCE, for the last six and a half months. No, I have not marched since high school, so yes, I realized that some things never change. I had a love/hate relationship with color guard in high school, and that love/hate relationship continues today. Haha. I call it a love/hate relationship because I often dreaded going to rehearsal, hated the heat and the fact that I had no social life, but in the end, loved that I participated in this great activity again! I am so grateful for the opportunity to perform again, and realized that I missed it a lot. However, I have no regrets of taking a six year break during college and thereafter. I learned a lot and had so much fun. I got to know some great people, as well as further build existing friendships. So let me tell you the story...

After graduating college, I was given the opportunity to work with the current guard instructor at Marietta (my alma mater). I really didn't want to do it, because I still had the bitter taste of all things guard from high school. The band director did much convincing, and there I was helping out at Band Camp. I don't think I was much help that fall because I was trying to get the art of teaching under my belt. The next year, the guard instructor left because she got married, so it was just me. Band Camp was a little rough because I was there by myself and trying to write work. A big shout-out to Nicole for all her help with choreography!! I managed to make it through the season and through my second year of teaching. I really did enjoy the girls and the good times we had, so I decided to try for a winter guard. Unfortunately, it just didn't happen. However, Nicole did have a winter guard at Sprayberry, so I went to help her out when I could. I loved it. I remembered why I had agreed to help out at Marietta.

Nicole has marched with ALLIANCE for several years now, and has pestered me about trying it for a couple of years. Well, after much coercion on her part and discussions with my mom, I decided to give it a shot. I told Nicole I would go to one camp and see how it went. I was sure that I wouldn't remember how to do anything and convinced that I would walk out hating it. Oh, how wrong I was!! I fell in love with it all over again and joined ALLIANCE. Ask any of my friends and they will tell you that I hated going to rehearsals every weekend. One reason is because we always seemed to have it on a weekend that my friends planned something fun. By the time our season was nearing its end, I was DONE. I had been through three weeks of Band Camp with Marietta, plus mulitple rehearsals and performances with ALLIANCE, and on top of all that, I started a new school year with a challenging class! I was so over it. I really didn't have motivation for anything. However, I knew I had an obligation to fulfill (and a plane ticket to Rochester) so I flew up for Championships on Labor Day weekend. ALLIANCE was in 11th place (out of 13) going into Prelims. We weren't sure if our performance on Saturday had been enough, but it was! We ended Prelims in 9th place. On Sunday, we went out on the field again for Finals, and just had fun. We knew what we had to do, but we also knew it was the last time this group of people would be performing together again. We finished in 8th place. It was awesome. As I was walking back to the truck with everyone, I turned to my mom and said, "I'm so irritated because this makes it all worth it and makes me love this." Haha. That's terrible, but so true. So, that's my story of "going back in time" and doing something I thought I'd never do again. I don't have an answer if you ask me if I'm going to do it again because I honestly have no idea. I have lots of things to consider and some decisions to make. But I have time, so for now, I am going to enjoy the free time I have and give my body a break!
H, me, and Nicole on Saturday before we headed to warm-up for Prelims.
Kail, Robin, Tammy, (freaky) Tim, Nicole, H, me, Michelle, and Ayaka on Saturday night after we performed and before we went to dinner!

All the guard girls on Sunday before our Finals performance!

So the same as I had a love/hate relationship with color guard in high school, that same love/hate relationship has continued in my adult life. But, when I look back and reflect on the times, they really were wonderful in both experiences. We will have to wait and see what the future holds!

Off to watch Army Wives and hit the sack in preparation for my crazy week ahead - have a good one everybody!!

Called OUT

WOW, too bad it's not Wednesday anymore because I think I could win the WOW Wednesday prize on the local country station with my story about how my BFF totally called me OUT yesterday!!! Ok, not really, but yes, I did reveal to her my disappointment that she had not updated; however, I quickly followed it up with the fact that I have been restraining from saying anything lately because I know that I have not updated in a while either. SO here it goes...

What a ridiculously crazy month July ended up being for me!! I walked in the Marietta 4th of July parade with my guard girls (and Heather). As soon as I was at the end, I got in my car, picked up my brother, and we were off to Sarasota for two weeks - sorta. Talk about a vacation!!! So relaxing. In the middle weekend, I went to Rebecca & Wesley's wedding. I had way too much fun spending time with my Cohort C girls. We definitely rocked it in the minivan and had an awesome time at the reception. In fact, I had an incredibly difficult time walking in the sand the next week because my calves were permanently on fire from dancing so much! I flew home early for practice, and that is when the madness began.
So yes, practice. Not for my guard girls - for ME. I can't say no!! And really, I'm okay with it this time. I became a performing member of Alliance Drum and Bugle Corps back in the spring. It has kicked my butt, but not as much as I thought it would. It's just taken up a LOT of time. I had my first performance a few weeks ago, and wow, I forgot how much I love it. I really do love that feeling while I'm performing and afterwards. I've since had another show in Nashville (which was a trip for the books), and we have another one this weekend in Rockmart. We have Championships in Rochester over Labor Day weekend. Honestly, I don't care how well we do or don't do - I'm just there to perform and have fun. So far, mission accomplished even though I am exhausted ALL the time!!
After that weekend, it was the beginning of Band Camp. I worked at Marietta's, then drove to Sprayberry and helped there. Then, Nicole and I would go to the church gym to choreograph work. And that lasted two weeks. Talk about craziness!!

And, with all of that still going on (as it is now), I started back to my REAL job - teaching Kindergarten! Amazingly, I got my classroom into order and actually had plans for the first few days of school ready ahead of time. I have since met my 18 new students for the year and realized that I have my work cut out for me. Since my life is so crazy right now, I'm not really up for the challenge; however, it IS my job so I am trying to mentally prepare myself. I just keep finding the positive traits of each student and reminding myself of those every second. It is a little crazy in my room these days and I am not the nicest teacher, but I am hoping that it will pay off on down the road. Crossing my fingers!

In the meantime, there is something else going on in my life that has been a big decision for me and will greatly affect my life in the near future. All I ask is that you pray for me that God's will be done in this situation. I am excited about the prospect and know that everything will work out. It's uncertain right now and there are lots of questions, but after I know things are settled, I will share a few more details. It has happened quickly, but I know that I have made the right choice and am doing what God wants, but it is up to Him to work it out!

SO, there's my life since my last post in a nutshell (a big nutshell, that is!). Hope you all enjoyed it!

One more thing... B&B find out on Monday if Poppyseed will be a boy or a girl - this aunt just doesn't even have words to express the excitement!!!!!!!!!!!

I Heart Plumbers

Haha, so yes, it's true. Plumbers have definitely been a large part of my life for the last five months (yes, today is my 6-month anniversary of living in my house!!) As some of you may remember, my plumbing issues began about a month after I moved in. Go here to refresh your memory, or read up on the past to help you gain a better understanding. So, fast forward another month after the previously mentioned episode and hear it all starting again in the plumbing in my house the night before my open house!!! Yikes! I definitely called my plumber, Pete (yes, we were on a first-name basis by now), who instructed me to call the city because my problem wouldn't be happening this soon after the last incident. So, I called the city, and out they came to perform their own clean-out of the system. Problem solved.
... or so I thought. Fast forward three more months. And picture this: I am painting furniture in my living room late at night while doing some laundry. The toilets begin to make this strange noise (imagine blowing bubbles in your drink with a straw), and then, it happens - everything stops and you hear that terrible sound of water (among other things) come UP into your bathtub. Oh yes, lovely. It is now 11:30 at night. I can't call Pete at 11:30 at night!?!? Nope, I sure can't, so I call my mom and I go spend the night at their house! Haha. I wait and call Pete the next day and he comes out to work his magic. This time, I know the problem is not solved, so I decide to try to be smart and use my home warranty. Unfortunately, it didn't work out quite the way I had planned, but I DO now have properly functioning plumbing and a completely torn up front yard. As I mentioned in my last post, they were quite intriguing as they dug a hole that they could jump in and they disappeared! Ridiculous. Remember how I said I really wanted pictures, but I didn't want them to think I belonged in the loony bin? Well, as my luck would have it, they had to go to Home Depot for a part, so what did I do? I definitely grabbed my camera and went out to the hole for pictures!!! Get ready...
Here is the tractor they used to dig the gargantuan hole...

In the very center of the picture, you can see the infamous hole.

And here it is!!! The brownish pipe that is sticking out in the top of the hole is the city tap. The pipe that is strewn in the middle of the hole is my old pipe... more on that to come below...

Here is where you can see where my old pipe belonged and ran from my clean-out to the city tap.

So onto that old pipe... apparently, when a previous owner of my house had the sewer pipes replaced, their plumber failed to finish the job. They replaced the pipe from the house to the clean-out, but the house owner is responsible for everything up to the city tap. So, there was a 4 foot section that had old pipe that "never should have been put in the ground" according to my second plumber (whose name I never got). The pipe that you see strewn in the hole was basically rotten and had no bottom. Basically, nothing could make it through the pipe because it wasn't 'smooth' on the inside. My plumber could stick his shovel THROUGH the pipe - that's how rotten it was!! So yes, they replaced it, and hopefully, I will have no more problems for a very long time. I've already put it to the test... I did two loads of laundry in one day. And four people took a shower within an hour or so time span, and NO backing up! So, thank you plumbers, for fixing my problem and for always being there. I've never known how important you are to the human race, but if anyone is ever putting you or your profession down, know that you will always have a supporter in me. I will always be grateful for properly functioning plumbing system. And, I'm fairly certain my bank account will be grateful that you finally fixed the problem once and for all! And one more grateful comment... my little brother/lawn service is grateful for the large amount of dirt you left in the yard covered with hay that now prevents him from being able to mow the lawn in this ridiculously hot weather. Clearly, I am grateful for plumbers tonight... who knew?!