We have finally.....

Gettin' Ready

Holy crap....we're leaving Tuesday morning EARLY for our honeymoon and I have to pack tomorrow!! I made my lists today of stuff to get and stuff to pack....still so much to remember! I am so excited. The only problem is....Kenny & I both have said how much we are going to miss the puppy. He's been away from her for a week at a time before, I have not. I think the most I've been away from her is 2 nights. She's going to stay with Kenny's parents who absolutely adore her. So she'll be in good hands and very well fed. I'll still miss her though.

It's 10am right now, and by 10pm I have to:

• finish laundry for both Kenny & I (not much left)
• fold the clothes and make piles to figure out what to pack
• actually pack my bag (Kenny's on his own this time)
• get together all the toiletries for both of us somehow (we are kind of high maintenance in that department)
• buy suntan lotion and find my sunblock
• buy beach towels (the old ones belong to Puppy now)
• find the matching Bride & Groom hats I bought to pack
• drop off 7 bags of clothes at goodwill
• take back about 7 bags of pop/beer cans to the grocery store
• visit the bank
• visit BFF and drop off leftover wedding stuff
• water all plants
• feed & water the hamster
• pay any bills that aren't yet paid (not fun)
• charge our cameras
• decide which purses/shoes to take

I know there's more but this list is enough to give me a headache. You would think I waited till the last minute or something.....I'm off to get some things done!!!

Lots Going On

I am so sore. I worked out HARD yesterday and I'm feeling it today. That tells me that I need to keep working out that hard because when you stop feeling it the next day (even a little bit) it's time to increase time/intensity. Drat. Oh well, on with the never ending quest to shed pounds and be healthy!

I did A TON of yardwork yesterday too. I loved every minute of it because I didn't have to stop and get ready to go somewhere, I just worked and took a break and worked some more. That's the best way to do it! Lori inspired me to take a couple pics of my plants, and I wanted to show Mama B (my BFF's mom) how the plants that she gave me were lookin.' Here are the new hostas she gave me after I divided them into several baby plants and dropped them in the ground.



And then here are the lilies of the valley that she also gave me, and I did the same thing by separating them first (the dog just had to be in the picture!!).



This is the little bush I bought to commemorate my last day of school last week. I can't remember the name of it, but it's dark reddish/purple and I wanted something other than green back there.



Of course, the lilies that came with the house, I just dug them up and divided them this spring so I now have 12 clumps of them growing, now with yellow blossoms!



I took a bunch of cute cute pics of the dog playing today. She is just plain cuteness!! Here are a couple but you can go to flickr to see the rest!

We are getting a new patio done in the next couple of days....I will show before and after pics when it's all done. I can't wait!

Home & Snoop Doggy Dog

Whew!! We got back yesterday. Only being gone for 48 hours sure feels like being gone for a week. And of course I packed way too much for both of us, but it's always better to be overly prepared in my opinion. The business trip was just that, business. I had a headache the first day and slept in the hotelroom while the businessmen played their annual golf tournament, and I haev to brag that my hubby and his partner took first place and got the trophy!! I'm so proud! Then we had an awesome dinner at the resort and escaped so we could do some sightseeing while up north, but due to the constant rain and gloom, our sightseeing landed us at a coffee shop and then the hotel pool.

(this is what the entire trip looked like)

It was perfect though. I don't think either of us have relaxed like that in a long time. For once his business phone wasn't with us (who would take it in the pool??) and it was JUST US. Amazing. Then when all the kids left the pool it really was just us!! We had the pool and hottub to ourselves, only for a second though, because there came the second wave of kids, but it was still awesome to just focus on each other. That NEVER happens. I stayed up way later than I should have reading a book I got for Christmas. It's sad that it took me about 6 months to have time to start it, but it's so good I'm almost done with it already. Here's to vacation! We came home yesterday and I'm just hanging out around the house, working outside and playing with the dog. I did drag my sorry butt to the gym this morning, which gives me immediate energy, something I haven't had much of lately. It feel SO GOOD to be on vacation and it's finally starting to feel like it! I am so happy to just be at home!

On a completely unrelated topic, here is a picture that one of my students colored for me about a month ago. It's mostly funny because of the words he added to the top of the page:

Break Front

My parents furnished the house I grew up in mostly from auctions. I have inherited the love and appreciation of older, handsome, history-clad furniture from them. One of my favorite pieces is the breakfront, which is similar to a china cabinet. Glass on the top to see what treasures on the shelves, and drawers and cabinets underneath for whatever you don't want to be seen. When I was little, the top held my parents' "good" dishes, not china, but a particular leaf patterned set that my mom was collecting at antique stores for years. It also held other mismatched dishes that were gifts to Mark and I or to my parents. Underneath my mom kept candles, table linens, trivets, those kinds of things. And it had that certain smell, mostly because of the candles I think, but I'll never forget that smell. It was a good smell!

My mom decided to give Kenny & I the breakfront as a final wedding gift (the woman has just kept on givin'!!). We got it on Saturday, and I can't even tell you how excited I am that this piece of furniture is now in OUR house. I'm so excited!!

We have already planted our treasures in there. Obviously there is the fiestaware serving dishes, wine glasses and glass pitcher, all wedding gifts, our unity & heritage candles in the upper right corner, and cook books too, and then some other various antique things that Kenny threw in there too. I just love that it has our stuff in it!!

As I was placing things in the shelves the other day, Kenny brings out a whole bunch of odds and ends from "his" bedroom (the spare bedroom is his dumping ground) and asks if we can use one of the drawers as a junk drawer. I told him yes, but isn't a junk drawer something that happens by accident, like it's supposed to be used for something but ends up with a bunch of junk in it? Hence the name junk drawer? However it ends up a junk drawer, that's exactly what it already is. At least it's still neat.

Now I have to finish packing....we are going out of town for 2 nights for a convention....well, Kenny will be convention-ing, I will be shopping, or something relaxing!! See you in 2 day!!

A day late...

Happy Father's Day (a day late because I was busy visiting the dads) to my dad!!!

And to my father in law!!!

(on the right)

Thanks for all you do...we are so blessed to have you both as dads!

Wedding Gift

I don't think I ever blogged about Kenny's wedding gift to me, if I did I'm sorry, but I'm going to today (even if it is again)!!

While in the girls' dressing room at the church the day we got married, it was almost time to walk down the isle. Most of the bridesmaids were gone and our parents were coming in to kiss me and wish me luck. Kenny's dad bounds in with this big professionally wrapped package. He hands it to me (I can barely hold onto it, hello people, I was in a huge gown and veil and DON'T MESS WITH THE DRESS!) I forgive him, he is a male. Anyway, I tell him I am going to wait to open it because it's so big and I'm too jittery and nervous at that point. He insists on me opening it. So I do. I think the only other person in the room at that time was the wedding coordinator, but my memory is cloudy of that time. I open it and it's this gorgous jewerly box, made of REAL wood, not particle board (Kenny's huge on real stuff, not "junk" as he calls particle board items). I have been asking for a jewelry box for about 4 years, I have one, but it was my great grandma's and I didn't want to use it all the time, as it is old and might fall apart. This was the PERFECT gift for me from my new husband. Kenny's dad tells me to take it out of the box and open it, and I'm like, HELLO-I'M ABOUT TO WALK DOWN THE ISLE, I DON'T HAVE TIME!! But he makes me open it, and inside the box there is the Jurassic Park 3 DVD. Not a big deal, right? WRONG! That was the first movie we ever saw together int he movie theater. How sweet is that? He remembered that with zero prompting from me or anyone. It was all on his own. Here I am holding the gifts:

I still think about my wedding every single day and how much fun it was planning and living out the most dreamiest day ever. It was really magical, and every day I remember something else that happened that day that I hadn't thought about yet. This crossed my mind last night and I just had to share it. My new hubby is very attentive to detail, and I don't think I give him enough credit for it. He reminds me sometimes about things and I'm usually shocked that he remembers such small details, but they aren't really small to me. That's one of the many reasons I love him!

V A C A T I O N

Now I can say the school year is officially over! Woo-hoo!!

I can relax now. Last year I came home and slept for about 12 hours, got up and dinked around, then went back to sleep for many more hours. I was out of it. This year, today, I am tired, but not completely out of it like last year. I do feel funny though, sad, glad, happy, unsettled, just crazy. Don't get me wrong though, I'm still excited to have it over with. It was not a good year in my school. Administration had some changes right before school started and things were not good. People got shifted around and some new were hired into positions that didn't suit them (I'm being very gentle on how I word things here, can you tell?). So outside of the classroom, it was a nightmare. A couple months ago the people in charge got their acts together and made some more changes, but WELCOMED ones this time. I have been through a lot at this school in 6 years. And most of the time the changes were positive ones, working up from the bottom so to speak, and then this year, I feel like the good changes were reversed and the place went back down to where it was when I started teaching there. Now, with new administration in place, and especially before the school year ended, I feel like the school is back on the right track and that is an important detail in ending a crappy school year. Aside from all this, my class was wonderful and so were my students' parents and families. I seem to always have the best communication with parents and that makes a HUGE difference in how the school year goes for my students. I am looking forward to the new school year and the positive changes. But I'm also THRILLED that it's vacation right now. Ahhhh.

But I think I'm still going to be as busy as ever. Tomorrow I have a drs appointment, then I'm dropping off leftover wedding items for Niki to use in her wedding next year, then I'll be working on landscaping all day. The weekend will be filled with Father's Day events and then Monday-Wednesday we will be out of town for a convention that Kenny has to attend. Friday I'm having a little party at my house and then on the 24th we're leaving for our honeymoon. So I'm already booked up for the next few weeks!! Life just wouldn't be normal for me if I wasn't busy all the time, but I always find time to relax.

Summer vacation, here I come!!!


Here's a meme that is going around this week...

The rules are as follows:
1. Post the rules!
2. Answer the questions about yourself
3. At the end of the post, list 5-6 people you would like to tag and leave a comment on their blog letting them know.
4. Let the person who tagged you know that you posted your answers.


1. What were you doing 10 years ago?
I was in college living in the dorms, no major yet, having a good time EVERY DAY!

2. What are 5 things on your to-do list today? Sort through wedding stuff to give away, weed, plant new plants, fast (ugh, for the drs appointment tomorrow...yuck), and watch senseless TV

3. What are some snacks you enjoy? tostitos & cheese, moonpies, yogurt, strawberries, pb & j

4. What would you do if you were a billionaire? Secure retirement, pay off debts & mom, pay off the house, save most of it, and go on some fabulous vacations

5. What are three of your bad habits? Getting nervous over stupid stuff, thinking I know everything, and leaving the TV on when I leave for work in the morning

6. What are 5 places you have lived? My dinky hometown for 18 years, college for 5 years, my grandparents for 2 months, another apartment for 4 years, and my current house!!

7. What are 5 jobs you have had? Dishrat, babysitter/nanny, hostess, house cleaner, teacher

8. What is currently playing on your IPOD? Don't have one, no need or desire to have one either!!

9. What are the last 5-6 books you have read? All of them were kids books in class, pathetic, I know. The last time I read a book for me was last summer, and I can't even remember what it was....so sad:(

10. Who do you want to tag? Anyone who hasn't already done it!

24-48 Hours Left!!

One more day! With kiddos that is. Tomorrow is field day and then Thursday I have to be at work for a short time and then I'M DONE!!! The kids are excited, and a little sad I think. I've had 7 of them for 2 years, so they are saying that they will miss me. But they are only moving next door, so I will be able to check up on them daily. That makes moving on easier for both of us.

I took pictures of them today and printed them and tomorrow their gifts from me will be those fun foam door hangers, and they can glue their pictures on them and decorate it with glitter glue, my personal favorite! One last art project.....sigh....

All kidding aside, I will miss them, but I'm sooo ready for vacation to begin. This will be my first summer vacation as a wife!! A year ago I wasn't even engaged and here I am married!

Kenny is asking me to come and sit with him and watch the news.....I will do that as long as he doesn't mess with me. Aka-tickle me. I hate that, and that's probably what he has in store for me. Good thing I'm quicker than he is in getting up from the couch.

One more real day of work! YAY!!!

Ahhhhh it's Saturday. Thank goodness. Yesterday was SO HOT AND HUMID and I'm sure I've mentioned that we don't have air conditioning at work and it's miserable. Especially because the kids always complain to me that they are too hot to do anything, and I am too. Ugh. So anyone who works in AC when it's humid outside, I'm very jealous. Think of me melting in a nasty sweating room with 17 sweating kids. Paints a pretty picture doesn't it?? Thank GOD it's only a couple weeks out of the year that it's like this, but still, we get NOTHING accomplished during those days. Nothing. The kids can't concentrate and neither can I. And we're all irritable. So I'm SO thankful for the AC in my car when I get to it at the end of the day and when I get home too. Being in those conditions all day takes all your energy. I slept for 2 hours when I got home yesterday. What a treat that was.

We saw the new Indiana Jones movie last night!! My brother and I grew up watching the other 3 Indy movies and loved them, I bet we watched them all at least a hundred times a piece. The new one was good, but VERY Hollywooded out. Harrison Ford is still as handsom and fun to watch as ever. He sure looks damn good for his age!!

Monday we are going to the zoo with the kids, Tuesday we'll be cleaning the classroom and packing up the kids' stuff to take home, and Wednesday is our last day and we'll be outside all day for field day. I do have to go in Thursday, but only for a couple quick meetings (boring) and then I'm done!! This year has been crazy. It started out crazy, and has ended the same way. We have new administrators again for this new year coming up, but the difference between last fall and this fall is that the new people are already in there working WITH us, not against us (teachers) and they are already dealing with school issues, parents, behaviors, field trips, whatever, they are there. So I am feeling good about the ending of this year, and about the new year in the fall. Even though that's so far away, it'll come quickly, and YES, I think ahead about things like that!! I'm just glad this year will be over with in a couple days. Whew!

I have the house to myself today. If it doesn't rain later, I'll work in the backyard, but I think it will rain, so I'll be inside cleaning and doing normal weekend stuff. I love doing it all in my PJs!!!

Happy Saturday!

SUNNNNNDAY

Oh how I love Sunday evenings. Kenny grilled hamburgers, minimum clean up involved, even the puppy enjoy a burger, and now we're going to the park to let the dog play out in the open, ourside of our fenced in yard. The weather is perfect! It doesn't have to get any hotter than this, but I know it will, and the humidity will follow soon too.

I spent the majority of the day at Tasha's house helping her make some things for the baby's room. It was fun and relaxing. Her family is awesome...the girls are funny and even though she doesn't always think so, they are EXTREMELY well behaved kiddos. Her hubby is funny too! I hadn't even met him until today, and he is exactly the way she portrays him in her blog. They are the cutest family!!

I have 8 days left with my students. 5 this week and 3 the following week. It's ending so quickly!! Usually the last couple of weeks just drag by because the end is in sight and it feels like forever until we get there. But I think it's actually going to go VERY fast this time. Tomorrow I am spoiling my class with 2 movies and some treats, with an extended recess in there too. They were SO GOOD both days I wasn't in the classroom last week, and since I didn't want to be gone the 2nd time, and they whined and some even cried a little, I felt extra bad. So they are getting triple rewarded tomorrow. They will still be working all day, they will just have review work while the movies are on. At this point, it's pretty much all review anyway!

I have one other important piece of info to share....

SEX & THE CITY, THE MOVIE....

I'm a huge fan, always have been, and Niki and I went to see it yesterday and it was FANTASTIC!!!!!!!! I was so SAD when it was over because I'm feeling homesick for the characters and their lives. When I say it was so good, I really mean it was. The writing, the emotion, the girls, the city, everything was perfect. I already want to see it again!! It wasn't like a movie at all, it was like 4 or 5 episodes in a row. Go see it!!!