For you, Brittany...

Happy New Year - everyone!!! I have to apologize because I haven't posted in a while. However, I do believe Brittany is the only person that reads this, so specifically to you, Britt, I'm sorry. For everyone else out there, I am in the process of moving into my house, after having painted every room in it. So, things are a little hectic right now. I haven't had much time to post anything, but I will try my best to be better in the next month. Happy New Year!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I know I've been terrible at posting lately, but I did want to wish everyone out there a happy Thanksgiving. I know that I personally have much to be thankful for and I have definitely been blessed. In teaching about Thanksgiving with my Kindergarteners last week, I realized that even 5-year-olds can understand thankfulness and truly think about the things they are thankful for. We were making a thinking map about Thanksgiving and writing the things we knew about it. We talked about turkey - and how everyone (usually) eats it at their big meal, a feast - they know it is when lots of people come together and eats lots of food, Pilgrims and Indians/Native Americans and how they had the first Thanksgiving, how it is a time to get together with family and friends, all the food that is typical at a Thanksgiving meal, and much more. But then, one of my students asked if we could make a thinking map about the things we are thankful for - yes, I was shocked - not only because I was already planning on doing that, but because that meant they were thinking about thankfulness and what it means! It was awesome. Here are some things they said:
-family, specifically Mom, Dad, brothers, sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, (and my favorite, babies)
-dogs and cats
-turkeys (HAHA)
-friends
-school and our teachers, learning
-toys, games
-playground/park
-God
-clothes, shoes
-bed
-house
-love
I was impressed, and even more grateful that I felt like they had actually listened to me when I had previously talked about thankfulness. What a blessing those kids are to me! Some are a struggle, and there are some days that I just don't want to go to work, but I really do love them - they mean so much to me.

In other news, I am a homeowner! I closed on my house on Monday. I started cleaning and taping on Wednesday to prepare for my wonderful girlfriends that are (hopefully) coming to help me paint on Friday. I've got the paint for my bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, den, and laundry room, as well as white for some closets that need a new coat of paint, so there is LOTS of painting to do. I also have colors picked out for the rest of the house, but decided that I didn't want to be overwhelmed with too many paint cans. In working on various things throughout the house, I have decided to purchase a new fridge which means pulling out some cabinets and moving them, so that will be a setback to painting the kitchen, but oh well... life will go on. It feels like everything is coming together, and hopefully, I won't lose too many weekends in December and I'll be able to move in shortly after Christmas. We shall see! No worries, I took pictures before I did anything, so I'll be posting before and after pictures after it is all said and done.

I sincerely hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving - eat lots and remember to tell the people you love that you are thankful they are a part of your life. I pray that God will bless you and your family on this wonderful day.

FACT: Laughter is the best medicine.

If you've ever read my blog before, you know that my college roommate and I had an incredibly unique friendship that continues to this day. Friday night we were catching up after playing several rounds of phone tag, and I was reminded of a story. We were discussing how fast time has been flying this year, and we were naming specific times over the last year that we've been together. For example... New Year's. HAHA. A great time was had by all, which was pretty amazing since I was recovering from dental surgery (gum grafts). The first few days after surgery I simply took my pain medicines and laid on the couch. It was horrible, because I couldn't get up and do anything, but I also didn't have the energy to read or even watch TV. I tried to do all of these things, but usually ended up falling asleep. Needless to say, I was bored after a few days. I was nervous about traveling, but my nurse had assured me that as long as I didn't do anything too crazy, I would be fine. I made it to Huntsville, and it was a low key visit (for the most part). I remember going to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings, and the only thing I could eat was Mac and Cheese off the kids' menu - and they almost wouldn't serve it to me because I was too old! Anyways, we didn't have big plans for New Year's Eve - we were just hanging out, watching football I'm sure, and having fun. I remember Brittany being fairly bored with everything so she was really hyper, and it went downhill from there... Next thing I know we are dying laughing and jumping up and down saying, "Happy two thousand *eight*" When we said eight - we would jump off the ground and make an eight with our bodies by pulling our legs up with our feet together and putting our arms in a circle over our head, which is better explained by the picture below...

This still makes me laugh out loud, which is the case for many memories I have with Brittany from our years of living as roommates. But I realized on that trip that laughter is truly the best medicine. I got back home and while I was feeling significantly better, I wasn't as good as I had been while I had been at B&B's. Even my first day back at work was horrible, and I had a student prepared to get the teacher next door if "Miss H. looks like she's asleep." ;) I can also think back to times that I wasn't feeling too happy, and Britt has always been there to cheer me up by making me laugh. We have LOTS of fun and happy times together that I will forever be grateful for and never forget.

I need to reminisce for a moment...

the time we went to Olive Garden to treat ourselves for going through the art museum for that ridiculous art class...

...I don't even know what we were doing/trying to do in this picture...

...the time we were driving down to Ft. Myers for Spring Break to visit Brent and we got stuck in some major traffic on I-75 - Britt was tired so she took a nap while I watched the road...

...the road got pretty boring because NOTHING was happening/changing, so I decided to play with my M&Ms...

HAHA, great times and happy times! I don't even have pictures for all the fun times we had in the kitchen. There are only stories that we will forever remember, because it was quite the learning process! Obviously, I have some great memories with a great friend, and in this season of thanksgiving, I want to say that I am thankful for Brittany and the friend that she has been to me. I am grateful that the Lord brought us together as friends, and tied our bond so tightly together. Thank you for always knowing exactly what to say and constantly making me laugh. I miss you and I love you!

I Believe in Auburn and LOVE it!!

I had the pleasure of going to Auburn this weekend, and I realized how much I truly miss it. I had a lot of fun as I got to go to my first game this season, and I got to spend time with my teacher friends that I haven't seen in 3 months, and I got to spend time with friends I haven't spent time with since I was a student at Auburn!! It was great. All of this happened after I went to the final Marietta HS football game of the season - praise the Lord that is over. It was fun while it lasted and I know the color guard had a great season, but that just gets old after a while. So, now begins the fun of Winter Guard - I'm praying and crossing my fingers that it actually works out this year.
As far as the house goes... I'm still in the "under contract" stage I guess. I've had the home inspection and an appraisal completed, but we've still got some logistics to work out with my loan and insurance, and everything else. But we're moving right along! I will be a homeowner by Thanksgiving!
I started off the game yesterday in the student section with Kristen, Andrew, and Kylie (K's rommie), but after running fever all day on Friday, I wasn't up to standing the whole game. So, after the first quarter, I made my way over to sit with my parents, Jason, Lee, and Kate.


It was so great to sit and talk with Lee since I haven't been able to do that since he returned from South Asia. He kept trying to ask me if I changed, and I told (and showed) that I'm still the same girl he knew two years ago - just a little crazier! But what a blessing these friends are to me. I enjoyed the game with ya'll and lunch on Sunday.
After the game, I met up with Ashley and Rebecca...

Oh, how I miss them! I only got to catch up with Ashley for a short while, but Rebecca and I hung out for a while and shared crazy-kid stories!! I was also able to hang out with Jessica quite a bit Saturday night and Sunday. I am looking forward to getting together with ALL of them - including Brittany - in December... we WILL make it happen girls!

I did pose for other pictures this weekend, but they were not taken with my camera, so this is all I've got for ya. But maybe next time, I'll be better about pulling mine out.

I have so much more to talk about, but no more time. I'm exhausted after fighting off germs and having too much fun... peace out.

Weekends

I LOVE the weekend. It is so nice to have a break from the everyday norm that comes with weekdays. This weekend was especially nice because I even had a break from the Friday night football game. Thankfully, the rain messed up the band's plans to travel to the game at North Cobb. Since we haven't had a break all season, this was especially nice. I didn't even do anything that exciting! Since Kristen came home, the fam went to eat at LaParilla - with the rest of Marietta it seemed, and then we came home and I fell asleep on the couch around 9pm. It was great! Saturday, the girls went shopping and ran some errands. That night, I went with my parents, aunt and uncle, and my grandmother to The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's concert. It was surprisingly good and had a hilarious guest conductor. This morning, I slept in and went to church, and have had a quiet afternoon at home catching up on things around the house and with work.
With the end of football season comes the end of marching band season, which brings the end of Color Guard season. While it is kind of sad, I'm grateful for the change of pace. In fact, I love it because when Color Guard is over, Winter Guard season begins, which is why I committed to this job in the first place! Winter Guard is my passion, because it is so much more intimate and fun to me. Not everyone feels this way, but that's ok. I am really hoping that the Winter Guard program at Marietta will make it this year. There is a great deal of interest, and surprisingly, there is a great deal of talent! Haha. Looking back over this fall, it really has been fun. I have laughed at almost every practice with my guard girls, and they have truly come a long way. It was a great first season for me as an instructor. I am grateful for their acceptance and willingness to put up with me. I know I'm not perfect (and I don't even try to be), but I do try to make color guard fun for them while also getting things accomplished. Hopefully, with this season of experience under my belt, I can continue to move the guard program to new heights so that it can be truly successful.
So my house-hunting really picked up a few weeks ago, and I have found a house for myself!!! I am hoping to be able to make an offer on Tuesday, and then things will really start rolling. I have been looking at houses off and on through the internet since I sprained my foot in February. Then, I have been able to visit houses - thanks to my fabulous agent, Katie - and I found the perfect first home. It is a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom ranch house in Marietta. I'll keep you updated as things move along!!
Okay, since this has gone on long enough, I need to go get some more work done. We're busy cleaning our house since I'm hosting Bible study this week, and then Onni, Grace, and Murphy are coming to visit on Wednesday!!! Have a great week!

Bad Blogger

Just wanted to come and give a small update... life is crazy right now!! I have begun my true house hunting and am beginning to narrow things down. My special student is getting serious help. Color Guard season is almost over, and it has been a great one. Winter Guard season is about to begin, which excites me to no end. My sister is coming home this weekend, which is incredible. My brother, sister-in-law, and nephew are coming home next week, which will rock my world. So yeah, life is great right now. More updates to come... I promise it won't be so long before I post again... at least, I'll try.

Pride

I just have to gloat on my guard girls for a minute... they won first place in their class and division at our band competition yesterday. I am SO proud of them and how far they have come. They have really worked hard this year, and I hope that they feel proud of themselves. We've had some hard times, and we've had some fun times, but mostly, I think we've had building and learning times. Everything that has happened this season has happened for a reason - whether it was for me to learn and grow or for them to learn and grow (or somebody else for that matter), and we are better people because of it. These girls I have worked with this season are really incredible girls. Each of them are unique, and have a lot to offer to the world. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with and teach them, spending time with them and getting to know them. They have truly been a blessing to me this year, and I am looking forward to the rest of the season. I am still debating the whole winter guard thing, but I am starting to lean towards having one this year. I think it could really be a good thing for the guard program. Anyways, congratulations girls and way to go!!!