Here are thirteen activities my students were doing in class WITH THEIR HANDS!!

(only because I can't post their cute little faces....sigh....)

1. Sharpening a Pencil

2. Reading

3. Typing

4. Teacher & Student

5. Math

6. Dinosaurs

7. Legos

8. Puzzle

9. Coloring

10. Memory Game

11. Sewing

12. Jacks

13. Doorknob

A-Z of Me

I was tagged by Lindsay!!!

A - Available/Single? Taken and in love!

B - Best Friend? They know who they are!!

C- Cake or Pie? Pie, yummy.

D - Drink Of Choice? Water with lemon and I eat the lemon too.

E - Essential Item You Use Everyday? My car.
F - Favorite Color? It's a tossup between purple and green.
G - Gummy Bears Or Worms? Gummy bears. I miss them at the movies!

H - Hometown? (born in) Onsted, Michigan
I - Indulgence? Hershey ANYTHING.
J - January Or February? February....Valentine's Day and my mom & Grandma's birthday
K - Kids & Their Names? 1 hamster...Sparky, and 21 cute little 6 & 7 year olds at work!
L - Life Is Incomplete Without? Love (duh!)

M - Marriage Date? Soon

N- Number Of Siblings? 1 brother, 2 step-sisters, 1 step-brother

O - Oranges Or Apples? Oranges

P - Phobias/Fears? Climbing up high places

Q - Favorite Quote? "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" -Wayne Gretzky

R - Reason to Smile - Hearing Kenny's keys in the door.
S - Season? Fall

T - Tag Four People? Nah....

U - Unknown Fact(s) About Me? I am the wicked witch from 5-7am. And, my closets are really messy, despite being obsessive with cleaning.

V - Vegetable you don't like? Brussel Sprouts

W - Worst Habit? Being obsessive with cleaning and then messing it up.

X - X-rays You've Had Recently...None!

Y - Your Favorite Food? Mexican, same as Lindsay and Lori
Z - Zodiac Sign? Sagittarius

Kenny, the dancin' machine!

Hands off ladies!!! He's all mine!! (wink wink).

Last night Kenny's long-time friends tied the knot after dating for 8 1/2 years.

Congratulations A & J!!

What a night! I won't go into too much detail, but I will say that there was a small incident with goldfish, cream cheese, a fork, and roast beef. The fish bowl was TAKEN away from our table...actually, it was Kenny's friend's table, not our's, thank god. Some things never change.


Here we are before the craziness happened.

What a Thanksgiving...

I can honestly say I never had a Thanksgiving like I did this year....

For my whole life, holidays have meant traveling. And far places too. At least over an hour as a kid, twice in one day. And now that I live about an hour and a half from either parent, it means more traveling on holidays. Well, this year, on the actual holiday, we traveled exactly 1 mile to Kenny's parents house and that's it. THAT'S IT!! Can you handle it?? And we didn't even have to be there until the afternoon either! Amazing!

It was a nice, quiet, dinner with his small family, and then hours later, Kenny and I snuck away to do a little shopping before the Black Friday mess started. It was the first (and maybe the only) holiday that I didn't have to drive somewhere, other than a mile. Talk about relaxing!

Since my parents are divorced, we usually have Thanksgiving with one side (this year it's dad's) and Christmas with the other side. I still see both of my parents for the holidays, just not always at big family parties. So Kenny and I got up early yesteday and went to my mom's house for an hour or so before going to my dad's for the big blowout. We had a great time with my mom. I forgot my camera when we were there though! She had way too many sweets to eat, but I was good, and had one teeny tiny cookie. That's it!

When we got to my dad and step-mom's house, it was already filled with my step-siblings, a new boyfriend (my step-sister's, and he fared WONDERFULLY during all the chaos), a couple neighbors, and a few of my step-mom's relatives, I guess they are my step-aunts and uncles? That'll work. Anyway, the house quickly filled up. My step-mom's family tradition is to have a chili cookoff the day after Thanksgiving because everyone is sick of turkey. The chili was awesome! And, of course, there were side dishes EVERYWHERE of delicious carbohydrates that I stayed away from, as much as it killed me. And I didn't even touch the desserts. Way to go.

When the rest of my aunts and uncles got there, along with my grandparents and a whole slew of cousins, the party got loud! It was so much fun. My family has not gotten together like this in a few years, and I miss these kinds of gatherings. In my dad's family there are 6 kids, 3 boys, 3 girls, just like the Brady Bunch. And just over a year ago, the youngest one, my Aunt Nano, passed away after battling cancer for 10 years. So last year around the holidays, it was pretty sad. And it felt like no one was really into celebrating much, at least from my perspective. So for everyone (minus a couple people) to be together yesteday, laughing and smiling and enjoying being together, was pretty special to me. I have years years of wonderful family gatherings, including my Aunt Nano, and she was the one who was always "playing" with the cousins. She is SO missed. I know most of us were thinking that we missed her yesterday. How can we not?

It's always so much fun being around my cousins. We always find ways to topple onto each other, whether it's on a couch or somewhere else. It just always happens, and I wouldn't trade it for the world!

I had a great Thanksgiving. I got to see both of my families, and share Thanksgiving day with Kenny's family. I have SO much to be thankful for.

Oh, and one more thing. My step-sister told me that she reads my blog a lot. AND DOESN'T COMMENT!! So when you read this Miss Banana, COMMENT!! I'm putting a "shout out" to you and your new man (of 1 year, where have I been??)! So now you have to comment!

To see the pictures, click here.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer

Have you ever changed a flat tire by yourself?

Yes, and it was a most UNPLEASANT experience.

Soup

Do you have an "innie" or an "outie" belly button?

Let's see here....it's an innie.

Salad

Name a new paint color and describe it.

Jamorange....a mix of the color of jamocha shake and a burnt fall orange...I think it's a mood color.

Main Course

What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Taking pictures....what else?

Dessert

If you were a cookie, what kind of cookie would you be, and why?

Peanut butter for sure....mmmmmm....just because they are sooo yummy and chewy.

I got the idea for this meme from Tee.

If you want to play along too, click here!

Thirteen Reasons Kenny Is

Thankful For Me!!!

1. I rub his back.

2. I clean up after him (sometimes).

3. I give him lots of presents on Christmas and his birthday.

4. I call him first everyday on my way home from work.

5. I do not cook too much (everyone should be thankful for that).

6. I love being outside.

7. I LOVE all of our cute little hamsters (we have 3 now).

8. I quit overreacting to crazy stuff.

9. He found out what real love is (I know, ew).

10. I brighten his day EVERY DAY.

11. I like to walk around Meijer's aimlessly for hours at midnight (we discovered we both liked to do this on about date 3).

12. I put up with his crazy antics (not many people do)!

13. He has my unconditional love...forever.

LOVE YOU HONEY!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!

Word Beads

Word Meme!!

I got this idea from a fellow blogger. Check out the website and give it a try.

The mission is to string the words below with other words of your choosing to fashion a sentence, several sentences, a paragraph, several paragraphs, a poem, or even a short story.

~Slogan~

~Acronym~

~Stochastic~

~Ancient~

~Circumscription~

The stochastic circumscription made with yellow rope around the crumbling, ancient stadium was covered in grafitied slogans and gang acronyms.

Photo Hunt

P L U S H

This teddy bear is SO plush! I got him as a sweet sixteen birthday present...oh, so many years ago. He's a little beat up, but he still sits on the bed. He's been through part of high school, all of college, and is still with me. He's a HE, but doesn't have a name, just BEAR.

Meme Again!!

I was tagged by the great LINDSAY from My Splatter Painted Life. I think I've already done this one, but I'll do it again. I love memes!!

5 Things About Me

1. I love it when Christmas is so close!

2. I am the meanest, nastiest, crankiest person between 5am and 7am.

3. I miss living in the country!!

4. I got a HUGE bonus check today. SWEET! And it's payday too!

5. I drive a tiny silver car...it's so cute!

I am tagging Niki and Bethany! (Tasha, you were already tagged, otherwise, I would tag you too!)

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Reasons To Blog!

1. For therapy

2. To meet some pretty nifty people

3. See others' creative ideas

4. To tell a story

5. Keep in contact with family/friends far away

6. For your job

7. Just because it's fun

8. To keep a journal of your life

9. To feel accepted

10. You are addicted to reading others' blogs

11. You want to share your life with the world

12. For a school assignment (college)

13. To show off your photography skills (not me!!)

Jerk, cheap, literal, in that order!!

I was happily engaged in strength training at the gym tonight after my 30 minute cardio stint on the treadmill, and I had been eyeing one particular machine for about 10 minutes. The same guy had been using it and I was patiently watching to see when he was done so I could go next. So he gets up and takes his towel with him, leaving me to assume he's done, right?

Wrong.

As I lean over to adjust the weight settings, he rudely says, "I'm not done, I'm just taking a break."

Taking a break? TAKING A BREAK??

How can you be taking a break and still have dibs on the machine? That's not how it works! You walked away from it with your towel! Hello! Take your turn buddy and get your #*@ out of the way so I can work my arms!

That's not what I said, but believe me, I wanted to. I've become more outspoken in the last few years (thanks to you-know-who), but not that outspoken. I did, however, shoot him a dirty look and wait till he was "done" so I could get my turn. And my dirty looks are ruthless. So I hope he sees my mean face in his head still.

Jerk.

On a lighter note, I took the advice of Tasha about getting some mesh bags to help with the laundry situation. I bought the device and put it together. And then it fell apart. Is it bad that it won't HOLD all of our laundry?? After I picked up the pieces and put them back in the box, and fished the receipt from the trash, I think I figured out the problem. It's probably not a good idea to pick the cheapest laundry organizer on the shelf, especially when the amount of laundry is HUMUNGOUS (sp?)!!! So this weekend I will take the hunk of junk back and get a better quality laundry organizer. I guess my cheap days are over...sigh...

I know I talk about my students too much here, but I can't help it. With no kids of my own yet, they take the place of what would be "my kids."

Somehow, I used the comment "Sorry Charlie" to one of my girls today. Everyone heard me say it, and the girl, H, that I said it to asked, "Miss L, what does that mean?" I laughed because every now and then I'll say something goofy like that and realize that they are too young to know what I'm talking about. Anyway, I explained that it sort of meant to be out of luck. Some of the kids got it, and we went on about our day. Some time later, I overhear the same girl, H, and another girl, M, discussing who gets to take my flashcards home for the night.

H says, "It's my turn to take them home. You had them on Thursday."

M says, "Sorry Chucky (mimmicking my "Sorry Charlie"), Miss L said I could." (which I didn't)

H says, "It's Sorry Charlie, not Chucky, and I'm telling Miss L that you said that."

I swooped into the conversation before any tattling took place and said something about my ears not listening to tattling, and that was that. But isn't that funny how they are so literal, even with mistakes?? Sponges, I tell ya. They are all sponges!

Weekendness

This weekend I indulged in lots of "me" time. Since I didn't have work on Friday, I met a couple teacher-friends and we raided The Scrap Box in Ann Arbor....it's a store that has lots of scraps left over from companies and warehouses and they donate things to be used in bulk. So we stocked up on arts and crafts supplies for holiday art projects...fun! After that I worked out (I'm being sooooo good about it right now) and we rented a couple movies.

Saturday I met a good friend (since we were in nursery school) at a craft show to get some Christmas shopping done. OMG did I just say Christmas shopping???? Ahhhh! I actually got a lot of shopping done! And I got tons of new ideas for my own crafts. Usually I make lots of gifts, but the only things I think I'll be making this year are cards and candles. Everything else takes a back seat to school work. After the craft show, we had lunch/dinner at Ruby Tuesdays. Yummy. When I got home, K was in an exceptionally restless mood, so we did a little more shopping (I LOVE it that my man likes to shop!) and got a few more gifts purchased. We are so on top of things this year. FYI-Bath and Body Works is having a 4/$10 sale on hand soap....great gifts! I stocked up on those for gifts too!

Today we (I) did the usual cleaning and laundry. Which leads me to the ultimate question: How do you keep your dirty laundry area neat????? Keep in mind we are still in an apartment (with our own washer and dryer) but all the dirties are in a closet, on the floor, stacked up to who knows where. It's awful. Good thing no one sees it, 'cause I'd catch hell. I guess I did just dish my own 'dirty' secret on the internet, but seriously, I need help! Any suggestions on what to buy to keep it organized?? I've tried the laundry baskets and hampers, and they just aren't big enough. Am I making it worse by wanted to be organized like that? Should I give up? Suggestions?

Another cool thing I did today....I talked to Tasha on the phone! We had a great conversation and she's just as COOL on the phone as she is on her blog! I think we were both nervous because we have been blogging buddies for a while now, and you really get to know someone's life through their blog, at least from what's posted, so when we chatted in person, it was kinda strange at first but then really fun because there is so much to talk about!

I am already up waaaaaaay too late just putzing around, trying to avoid going to sleep because that means Monday morning will be here! This weekend has been so nice...not only was it 3 days, but I didn't do ONE OUNCE OF COLLEGE OR SCHOOL WORK AT ALL! Now that's what I'm talking about!

Thursday Thirteen

I had a hard time trying to come up with thirteen things about anything today. I know I should probably wait until Thanksgiving to do this T13, but I need an idea pronto!

Thirteen Things I Am Thankful For

1. Mom, Dad, Mark

2. The love of my life...Kenny

3. All of my friends and family (you know who you are!)

4. Crunchy peanut butter

5. My job (I LOVE what I do)

6. Growing up at a time when you could still play outside well past dark with the neighbor kids

7. Being taught to say "please" and "thank-you" as soon as I was talking

8. Campfires with loved ones

9. Riding in Kenny's truck with him anywhere

10. Getting to know my students this year-they are the best!

11. Meeting people through blogs that I consider real friends (you know who you are!)

12. Being welcomed into my man's family so quickly

13. Sparky

Election Day

It's the American thing to do!

Don't Forget!

It's Sunday AGAIN!

Feels like I was just here....sitting at my computer, the sun shining, chilly breeze outside, the smells of clean clothes and black cherry Candle-Lite candles, Kenny babbling on while I'm try to get some work done, and me in my post workout state of mind.....MUSH.

And Sunday is back again! The weeks are just flying by this semester, not to mention the weekends.

I really shouldn't be on blogger right now. I should be typing my lengthy, wordy analysis-y answers to questions that I despise. But Kenny left for a minute to run an errand, so while he's not looking, I'm playing. Ha ha. So there.

Today I started the South Beach Diet. So far so good. There's lots of stuff in it that I REFUSE to eat. Mainly the fish and ricotta cheese. Forget it. But the other stuff is doable. We dropped $100+ at Kroger racking up the groceries for this too. Better be worth it! I'm so ready for this!

Treated myself to a manicure yesterday, and I had been looking forward to it for a whole week. My nails are short, but they can still look cute, right? They look horrible now. A crappy paint job and it's already coming off today. Plus, aren't they supposed to remove all the dead skin around the cuticles?? Yeah, I think they forgot. I was in a hurry when I left the salon yesterday, so I didn't look all that closely until a few hours later. I won't be going back there EVER!! I guess that means I will have to go get another manicure this week, somewhere better!

See for yourself.

Back to the analysis bullshit. Happy Sunday!

TGIF

What a day. There was snow AND sunshine. That usually doesn't happen in Michigan. Yesterday was the first snow fall for the year. It wasn't much, and it didn't stick, but it did create a few accidents on the drive home. Seems like when the snow comes for the first time, Michiganders forget how to drive in snow and act all crazy and irratic. The funny thing is, the ground isn't frozen so the snow isn't sticking....the snow is more or less is just wetness on the pavement....kinda like when it rains. And people go nuts!! Even in this state, where weather like this is common. Go figure.

I showed a movie today in class. I usually reward my class with "Fun Friday" where I show a movie and let them eat popcorn. So we watched the Charlie Brown Halloween movie. I know it's a few days late, but I didn't have time to show it on Halloween so this was the next best thing. I love showing movies. It means I actually get to sit at my desk and NOT TALK!! I'm lovin' it!!

I'm looking forward to the weekend, as I'm sure everyone else is. I have a ton of masters work to do, so much in fact that I know I won't get it all done this weekend. Along with that there's the normal cleaning and laundry fiasco to deal with, but nevertheless, it'll be the weekend, and I can do all of these not-so-fun things in my pj's and slippers and robe......oh, does that sound good!

Kenny is working hard (as usual) around the clock also, so we aren't really that fun to be around right now....actually, we're kind of boring. And I know I will be until I'm done with my classes sometime after Christmas. Oh well, at least we're boring together!!!!

Happy Friday! Celebrate any way you can!

Question of the Day

Today's famous question asked by a six-year-old:

"Ms. L, if this is my right hand (he wiggles the fingers on his right hand), how come when I spin around (he turns his back to me) it's now my left hand??

I absolutely love my job.

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Reasons To Call In Sick!

1. To sleep in.

2. Watch TV all day.

3. Catch up on blogging.

4. Homework.

5. Stay in your jammies!!

6. Finish the latest craft project.

7. House hunting with the better half.

8. Shopping with the girls.

9. Taking care of someone you love.

10. No clean dress clothes....which leads me to the next one....

11. Do laundry.

12. Clean like a madwoman.

13. You are **TRULY** sick.

Happy Halloween!!

Whew!! I made it through a whole day with all 21 of students still in tact! It's no small task keeping all those kids in line all day long with costumes and candy looming around so close. Sometimes I think it would be easier to teach without holidays, but I would miss them!! We had a great day at school though. And during their "party" I taught my students how to play musical chairs....and no one was hurt! It was a miracle!

Kenny and I went to his parents' house to carve pumpkins and help them pass out candy. It's scary how much I look forward to this every year. It's like it gets more fun the older I get...shouldn't it be the other way around?? Oh well, I'm not complaining about something that I look forward to. I didn't have much time to get all crazy with my pumpkin carving this year. Maybe next year. But it was fun anyway. See for yourself.

Go here to see the rest of the pictures.

Happy Halloween!

One more day!

So tomorrow is Halloween. I am actually excited to pass out candy and see the kids dressed up. I am not excited to be with my own students all day long, however, because they are crazy on days like this, and it's virtually impossible to get anything done in class. So I would be happy if I could just skip ahead through the day with a sub, and then get home in time to pass out candy and see the kiddies (with their own parents in charge of them, just feet away) in their adorable costumes! Kenny loves to try scaring the kids when they come trick or treating. It's fun just watching him! I think we are going to carve pumpkins tonight. Yay! I love getting all creative (surprise surprise) and trying to carve a face I've never made before. Then I get frustrated trying to decide what to do, and end up doing the same thing I always do...a smiling, toothy, with-ears sticking out pumpkin.

It's so hard to believe that in 2 days it will be November already. It seems like the school year just started. That's how time is measured in my book-by the time in the school year. Christmas is just around the corner, and then a new year. Yikes. Anyone start their shopping yet?? I have picked up a few things, but not much. I should get a move on it now! Running out of things to ramble on about. If you are carving pumpkins tonight, happy carving!!

A Couple Funnies....

Last week on my day off, I went to work with Kenny. We were driving around making the necessary stops, when we came across this:

At first glance, we thought it to be a barber shop. But the barber shop sign is just that....a flat sign. So then we were thinking maybe an antique shop. Who knows. Neither of us wanted to stop and risk our lives going in there....who knows what could have been lurking around. Check out all the stuff hanging across the windows. And the obsession with horseshoes and birdhouses?? Wierd. Most definitely wierd.

My school had a harvest festival after school on Friday. There were games, prizes, food, crafts.....you name it, it was there. I even painted faces, something I've NEVER done before. Kids waited in line forever to get their face painted by yours truly, and when they reached my chair, they would ask for some elaborate scene on their face, and I would just say, "Nope, next idea?" And after a few "nopes" I would tell the poor kid that I could only do really easy stuff, like hearts and butterflies. One kid begged for Spongebob. I thought to myself, "How hard can that be? He's a square!" I should have said no. I painted the square body and had no clue what the rest of him looked like. I wish I had my camera there so you could witness the mess I made on the child's face. The good news was I didn't have a mirror, so the parents were the only ones who really knew I didn't have a clue what I was doing. In the long run, it really doesn't matter....it was FREE!

For said harvest festival, each class at my school was given a pumpkin to decorate any way they chose, and the decorated pumpkins were used for display in the gym during the festival. We do this every year, and I've found out it's easier to pick out a theme to decorate with. The finished pumpkin was due Friday morning. I completely forgot until Friday morning....hadn't even discussed it with my kids, didn't have anything to use let alone a theme. I was thinking we were up shit creek. Then the music teacher came to my rescue. She handed me the book The Sorcerer's Apprentice (Walt Disney) and the hat that Mickey Mouse wears in it. SAVED!! While my kids were in their special class, I cut out arms, hands, eyes, ears, and mouth and found some push pins laying around in the closet to stick the body parts on with...I found out last year that glue doesn't work too well on a pumpkin. Another teacher gave me that star garland to represent the magic that Mickey's is holding between his hands. An hour later, the kids were in front of me taking turns at putting our Sorcerer's Apprentice together. And he turned out great!!

I know it's hard to see, but you tell that Mickey is holding those magic stars between his hands. The kids loved it. I loved it. All decorated pumpkins will be judged this week. Maybe we'll win the contest!

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Ways To Say I Love You

In honor of our 4 year anniversary, I thought I would do Thursday Thirteen based on love. There are so many ways to say I love you without actually saying the words. Here goes.....

Thirteen ways to say I love you.

1. Dancing in the rain.
2. Watch the sunset together.
3. Driving over an hour just to spend a few minutes together when you don’t have the time.
4. Don’t let little mistakes turn into big mistakes.
5. Forgive.
6. Send an impromptu card.
7. Defend each other when someone puts them down.
8. Sleep in a tent together.
9. Call on your lunch break and leave a sweet voicemail.
10. Bring home ice cream.
11. Give each other space.
12. Hang a picture of both of you for everyone to see.
13. Accept annoying habits.

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Wordless Wednesday

That's one ticked off girl!

?

Tuesday was better until noon. Then all hell broke loose. And it had nothing to do with the kids or teaching at all. Ugh!! Can a person catch a break around here?? Good news though...I get to sleep in Wednesday morning! At least there's one good thing! More later.

Monday Blues

Okay, so, today sucked. It just seemed like I was racing the clock, from the time I woke up (LATE) till now, and I'm still trying to get everything that I want to do DONE before I hit the hay. Not gonna happen. Not even close. My problem? I can't say no to ANYONE. Not even Kenny. Ever. And the other problem? Schoolwork with a capital S.

So to make myself feel better, we're going to work out tonight. And go swimming too, and then the hottub, and lastly, the sauna room to break up the congestion in my chest. And when we get home, I hope to the heavens above that I'm too tired to do any work. Cause I'm sick of it!!

I hope everyone else had a better Monday than I have. All I can say is that I'm glad it's almost over. Bring on Tuesday! I knew I would find something good in today....

World Series Game 1

I'm not happy that our boys lost last night, but they'll come back and stomp on 'em tonight I'm sure. Of course I'd love it if Detroit wins the World Series, but honestly, look at where they have come from...I'm just happy they made it to the World Series! I don't care, win or lose, I've always been a fan, and I always will be!

We drove around downtown yesterday to see what we could without tickets. I'm still mad about not having them, so we couldn't stay long down there because I was bitchin' about being jealous that we couldn't go to the game. It's not that we didn't have the money (and it was pricey!) to get them, it's that the tickets were gone in a heart beat! Anyway, here are some of the pictures of the pregame festivities. To see the rest of them, click here.

Surprise Surprise

Friday was a LONG, BUSY, day. It started with a bijillion questions about our field trip to the apple orchard, then the actual field trip, which was tons of fun but always tons of work for teachers, then an hour to kill once we got back to school (kids are SO HYPER after getting back from trips), and then a quick doctors appointment, and then 3 hours of group work for my college class at one of my group member's houses. ENOUGH! I got into my car at 9:30pm to drive home for the last time of the day, and Kenny calls and needs me to stop and get him something. So I do. And I remember that Saturday is Sweetest Day, and I get him a card. We have always given each other cards for this silly holiday, and I even thought that maybe this year he wouldn't remember because I hadn't up until the point where I saw the card section at the store. Oh well, if he doesn't remember, I don't mind. I can still give him a card. So I get home, and he's standing at the door, like a little kid, and I get a big hug and kiss and I know something is up. He moves to the side and there are 2 dozen white roses, a huge thing of chocolates, and some coffee cake for breakfast in the morning. And a card, and his cards are always THE BEST.

OMG!! I was speechless. Here I am, with my measly card and no gift, and here he is, with everything! How cute is that? He is the best, he really is. Happy Sweetest Day Honey!

Another Meme Thing

1. Where were you 1 hour ago? Still at work, trying to leave.

2. When is the last time you filled up your gas tank? This morning!!

3. What is the most amount of money you've spent in one store? $250....guess I’m afraid to spend big amounts alone.

4. Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you? Yup, a crayola marker (the one I grade papers with at home).

5. When is the last time you went to the mall? Sunday with Kenny.

6. Are you wearing socks right now? Trouser socks...do they count?

7. Do you have a car worth over $50,000? Hmph. No.

8. When was the last time you drove out of town? Last week to see my grandparents.

9. Have you been to the movies in the last 5 days? No.

10. Are you popular? Only with my students.

11. What was the last thing you had to drink? Grape Fanta....I was desperate.

12. What was the last thing you mailed in the mail? Birthday cards.

13. Do you wash your car? Sometimes, I really perfer to do it myself instead of driving through one, but there aren’t any around here like that.

14. Last fast food you ate? Grilled chicken salad.

15. Where were you last week at this time? Same place I am now!

16. Have you bought any clothing items in the last week? Yes, a couple of new sweaters.

17. What bank do you use? Credit Union

18. Do you own any land? Not yet

19. What do you want to be when you "grow up"? Successful

20. Your dream vacation? Carribean

21. Last boat ride you went on? Pontoon boat at the lake house.

22. How old are your parents?50’s

23. Are you in love? Yup.

24. Do you have any single friends? Yes.

25. Last play you saw? The Wizard of Oz last spring.

26. Have you been to New York? YES! I’ve been there twice and it was FAB-U-LOUS!!

27. What are your plans for tonight? Relax, swimming, school work.

28. Last concert you went to? Aerosmith last week.

29. Next trip you are going to take? Haven’t figured that one out yet!

30. Ever go to camp? Yes.

31. Were you an honor roll student in school? Yes.

32. What is your current GPA? 4.0 Baby!

33. Are you wearing any perfume or cologne? Yes, JLo’s stuff.

34. Are you hungry? Yes, it’s dinner time!

35. Where is your best friend located? THEY are all here in the same state as I am, finally!

36. Do you own a cowboy hat? NO.

37. Do you have a tan? Lost it about a month ago.

38. How old do you want to be when you have kids? I was hoping to be done by 30, but it’s not looking like that will happen. Maybe 32.

39. Do you collect anything? Kenny’s crap, and when he’s not looking, I throw it away. Really, I collect frogs (not real ones) and Charlie Brown stuff.

40. Is this quiz annoying? No, it keeps my mind going.

41. Last time you got pulled over? Over 2 ½ years ago, AND the tickets were just removed and

my insurance dropped SO MUCH!

42. Ever been arrested? No.

43. Been to Mexico for Spring Break? No.

44. Do you like hot sauce? No. I HATE hot things.

45. Last time you sang Karaoke? A couple years back, and I was TERRIBLE!!

I TAG: Anyone who wants to do it!

In My Head

I have been craving VanMorrison for about a week now. I was really into him in college, had a couple CDs, lost them some where throughout my 14 moves (and a couple of roommates' sticky fingers.....), came up empty handed, and then had this intense longing for his music last week. Out of nowhere!! So yesterday I couldn't get this song out of my head, and we went to Best Buy (AKA Worst Try) and I bought one of the CDs I used to have. The song is still in my head, but it's also in my CD player too, where I've missed it for so long! There must be something about the fall and being in love and this song...

I can hear her heart beat for a thousand miles
And the heavens open every time she smiles
And when I come to her thats where I belong
Yet I'm running to her like a rivers song

She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love
She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love

She's got a fine sense of humor when I'm feeling low down
And when I come to her when the sun goes down
Take away my trouble, take away my grief
Take away my heartache, in the night like a thief

She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love
She give me love, love, love, love, crazy love

Yes I need her in the daytime
Yes I need her in the night
Yes I want to throw my arms around her
Kiss her hug her kiss her hug her tight
And when I'm returning from so far away
She gives me some sweet lovin brighten up my day
Yes it makes me righteous, yes it makes me feel whole
Yes it makes me mellow down in to my soul

World Series, here we come!!

OMG we made it!! This is amazing. Last year, the Tigers were one of the worst teams EVER. Now look at them, going to the World Series!! Holy crap! Bless You Boys!

Feeling the need to update...

I feel like I need to just write. I love memes, but I really do have so much to say!

Things have been C R A Z Y. Hence, the title of my blog. I know everyone is busy these days. And that includes us. Being in masters classes...what was I thinking? As a teacher, I am required to take 18 credit hours within the first 5 years that my teaching certificate is issued. So this is my fifth year, and I've reached the 18 hour mark back in August, so my certification is all good. The program I'm in is a 5 semester deal, and I'm in the 4th currently, and at the end of it (just after Thanksgiving), I'm done for a while. I know, why not just get it all over with? There are several reasons, most of which being that I need a break. Teaching a new thing this year, multi-age, is challenging and time-consuming, way more than I anticipated, and having all this work to keep up with ON TOP OF lengthy lesson plans and meetings and projects and parents and the list goes on....way too much on the plate if you know what I mean. So come Thanksgiving, I'm out for a while. Yay!

Besides the excessive amounts of work, I love multi-age. It is the best thing I have ever done as a teacher! The kids are wonderful to work with, as are the parents. Here's something I heard from two of my kids today. I've been teaching a unit in social studies on positive character traits versus negative ones. As we are standing outside waiting to be picked up, one of them says, "Look at that big kid (middle-schooler) over there. He's being mean to that other big kid." And the other one of my students next to her says, "Yeah, that's a negative character trait." I am not joking....they really used those terms, EXACTLY as I have been preaching it to them for the last 2 weeks. It was a classic moment. Another cute moment (there are hundreds) happened during their spelling test today. I was giving them time to write the word after I said it, and the room was completely silent, and one of the younger boys says completely out of nowhere, "It smells like burnt tuna fish." Everyone looked at me like I was going to tell him to be quiet, afterall, it was a test, but I just busted out laughing and then they all copied me. I think he was smelling the heat being turned on for the first time this year, and the vents were dusty or something. Anyway, it was pretty funny.

Aside from school, K and I are great. He's excited about fall because it means hunting, I'm excited because it means apple orchards and cider, and those beautiful leaves and the smells of fall that I miss from my childhood. I can go home to my parents' houses anytime I want and I'll get my fill of the above mentioned, I just have to drive there! I haven't been home to their houses since April. I've seen my parents multiple times, I just haven't gone home. Guess I'll make that a priority soon.

For our upcoming anniversary (4 years) he got us tickets to Aerosmith, both of our favorites! The concert was on Wednesday, and it was soooooooooooooo good! And soooo expensive too! But it made the hectic-ness of the week go away for about 3 hours, and that in itself was worth it!. You can see the pictures here. I'm working on uploading a video clip that I took myself, but apparently it's not as easy as it seems.

This past week marked the one year point after my aunt passed away following a 10 year battle with cancer. Every part of the fall, even the things I love that I mentioned above, remind me of the time it took her to actually die last fall. It's heart-breaking. It was about a 6-week process, I think the longest 6 weeks of my family's life. I think about her every day, EVERY SINGLE DAY, and I miss her more as time goes on. Before she died, she took time to say goodbye to each of us privately, way before she was bedridden. I just sat there with her, hugging, crying, wishing I could be anywhere else doing anything else but that, and at the same time, I knew that one day I would be completely grateful for those moments, when it was just her and I. I'm so tired of being sad that she is gone, and tired of hearing about the tragedies of breast cancer, where it metastisizes to, and how long people have to life. It just isn't fair, and it doesn't do me any good to say or think that, but it just isn't. My aunt was only 41. Way too young. A week ago there was a dedication ceremony at a local environmental park where she spent years working to improve the conditions of the environment. You can see those pictures here.

I am so geeked about the Tigers right now. We watched the game tonight OF COURSE. I rushed home from work to get to the TV to see it because they moved the time from 8pm to 4:30, I think because of the weather. The Oakland A's are most assured not used to these temps. What an advantage that gives us. One more game, and we're in the playoffs baby!! This is SO what Detroit needs right now. There's so much shit going on with The Big 3 cutting back on jobs, people losing their homes, bankruptcy... The Tigers doing this well is really bringing things to a more positive level, at least that's how I feel about it! It's exactly what this city needs!

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I will be watching the Tigers today and if you do too, please root for my boys!! Bless You Boys!

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Reasons Why

AEROSMITH

Rocked Last Night!

1. Steven Tyler's 2nd change of clothes included a Tigers jersey.

2. His voice is better now that it ever has been (he had a vocal cord repaired).

3. As always, they were 110% entertaining.

4. We danced the whole time!

5. ALMOST front row seats.

6. We were outside....cool, but not freezing like today.

7. The guys behind us kept us updated on the score of the Tigers game.

8. Tyler's scarf fetish.

9. The sound was phenomenal.

10. No one booted us from our almost front row seats.

11. We could see!

12. Watching Joey Kramer slam the percussion set-up.

13. When you love Aerosmith as I do, they just rock.

Wordless Wednesday

This idea came from Double Duty. What a cool idea. I'm a player this week!

Look at those cheeks. Priceless.

Five for Five

LindsAY from My Splatter Painted Life tagged me. It's been a while, but here goes.

1) Five Minutes to yourself. How would you spend them ideally?

Sit in a quiet place and look out the window at the fall leaves.

Check my email.

Call a family member.

Read a few pages in my current bedside book.

Take a nap.

2) Five Dollars to spend right now. How or where would you spend it?

Big pack of gum.

Slurpee.

Getting pics developed at Costco from my digital camera.

1/5 tank of gas.

Couple of greeting cards.

3) Five Items in your house you could part with right now?

Old magazines, taking up space.

College posters (rolled up in the closet).

Old blanket (I NEVER use it anymore).

Kenny's candy.

The palm tree (it's real, and it's a pain in the ass).

4) Five Items in your house you absolutely, positively could never part with?

The Hamster.

Our Computer.

Picture Albums.

My Aunt's Pearl Earrings.

My Promise Ring.

5) Five Words you love?

Baby.

Iloveyou.

Weekend.

Vacation.

Sleep.

5 people I will tag...

Redneck Mommy

Double Duty

As The World Turns

Giving Mommy

Starting Over Again

The Tigers ROCK!

The game tonight was amazing....and we beat the Yankees!!! They got smoked big time! Jeremy Bonderman pitched all the way to the 9th inning, and walked off the field after the first out with a big smile on his face. He was the bomb. They ALL were! I'm so proud to be a Tigers fan!!

So sad

Here I am, sitting at my computer, emersed in masters work, seeing no light at the end of the tunnel of websites and books and so called "scholarly journals." I feel guilty even clicking on blogs, and twice as guilty typing on my own. But I just had too. Ya see, I love to blog and hang out with my blog buddies through our blogs, and with this much work, I haven't been able to do that for over a week now. I work all day and come home and start my own class work. Ugh. It never ends. Well, not 'till after Thanksgiving. And then I'm taking a break from it, 'cause let's face it, it's NO FUN. So here's my secret indugence tonight.....my blog, and your's. Happy Thursday. Happy Almost Friday. And maybe, just maybe, I can do a real post this weekend. Oooooh, I hope so!

Where Have I Been??

Wow, it's been a whole week since I posted!!! Bad bad Lindsey!! Things have been so fast-paced and busy lately. I can't believe another week has gone by again. I have been working with Kenny for the last couple of Saturdays, so my weekends have been reduced to 1 day, and today we spent with my family (I'll post about it later this week), and on the way home stopped for groceries, but now it's 7am and here I am with cleaning and laundry still piled up. Can I get a maid please?? I really want to be able to watch Desperate Housewives at 9pm!!

I hope everyone has had a good weekend, with relaxation the whole time!! I will try to post more this week.