Autumn

I am so happy that it's fall. There are tons of things about this season that I love....

the outside smells

leaves on the ground

the nip in the air

beautiful colors

getting out fleeces and down coats

holidays

thinking about buying presents

lots of birthday celebrations

enjoying the first holiday season in our new home

decorating inside and out

sunny, cool days, the best Michigan has to offer

It's such an inspiring time of year. I have so many projects and ideas that I want to do!! My favorite is when I get ready to leave in the morning and the puppy needs about 5 minutes to play outside. We go out and there's the chill in the air, the one that wakes me up and just feels good. Soon, it will be replaced with COLDNESS, but for now, I cherish those quiet moments in the morning, when the street lights are on, it's still dark and quiet, and I can run around and play with the puppy, while she's still little. Ahhh, I love this time of year.

Star-Spangled Banner

Sometimes, just sometimes, I let Kenny sing. Outloud. And he sounds decent. He will tell you that he sounds amazing, and that he missed his calling as a singer. Then I tell him to make sure he keeps his day job because he's not all that, and then he pouts and I appologize and that's when I have to let him sing for me because I feel bad. And really, he's not that bad. He compares himself with Pavarotti. Listen (please remove your hat):

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5 Year Anniversary!!

Yesterday was our five year annniversary (of dating) and I surprised Kenny with Red Wings tickets!! It wasn't a total surprise because I had to tell him about so he didn't schedule appointments, so the surprise was when I told him:)

Anyway, it was an AWESOME game with some back to back goals! This is only my second Red Wings game ever, so I still get excited about the arena and being there and all that. Kenny grew up going to see the Wings play, so it's not like that for him, but he sure does love to watch hockey!!

Our five year anniversary just happened to be the exact date that marks 6 months to our wedding. How cute is that?

I promised to talk about wedding plans and I will even include pictures too!! Keep in mind that nothing is definite, but these are the things that I REALLY like.

Here is the dress that I really love for the maid of honor and the bridesmaids:

And here is a picture of the bouquets that I'm thinking I will make:

I don't know if I'll carry white flowers or the colored flowers or if the bridesmaids will carry what flowers, so if you have any advice on the bride carrying white flowers versus a colored bouquet, send it my way!! I love both, the white and the colored ones, so I NEED advice! I'm having a hard time deciding. And I have lots of time to decide, so I don't need to know right now.

I haven't even started looking for a wedding dress yet. That will be soon though!

These are all the plans we have so far, plus the church and the hall are booked and we have a couple appointments with photographers lined up.

We were playing around outside today with the puppy and took some cute shots.....

And then my favorite is when she sits in front of my on my feet and looks up....THOSE EYES!!!!

I have a ton of cleaning to catch up on today. So that's where I'll be, with the windex, pledge, and vacuum. Have a great weekend!

The Proposal & What I was reminded of

------This post has 2 parts.....that really have NOTHING to do with each other!------

I know these pics are a little delayed, but when they aren't on your own camera, you know how it is!! Here is a picture of Kenny proposing!!

Click here to see the others. And we now have a confirmed wedding date....

April 26th, 2008!!

-----------------------------------

I had an interesting experience last night. I went to get my hair done at the same place I've been going to for almost 4 years. The girl who always does my hair recently moved, so this was the first time I had my new stylist do my hair. I don't get anything fancy done....highlights, lowlights, trim, whatever it needs. Anyway, most of the women who work there are Romanian or Armenian. They all have very thick accents, but also speak English rather fluently, so I always thought they were 2nd generation Romanian-Americans. Veronica, my new stylist, starts in on my hair, and asks me all the normal things they usually ask the first time they style your hair.....where you work, what you do, married/single.... Then the conversation turns to the news with all the horrible fires in Southern California. I made the comment of how awful it would be to lose everything you have....your cherished items, pictures, and just everyday items that make your life YOUR LIFE. Veronica says that was what her life was like when she and her family fleed Romania when they were told they would be killed because they were Christian. I was shocked!! I asked her how old she was, and she said 11 years old, so she remembers every minute of it. They had to just up and leave, they didn't take anything but a few pictures and clothes from the only home she had lived in at a moment's notice. I was still in shock. I have been going to this place for 4 years and even though Veronica has never done my hair before, I have seen her there every time I've been there. It was just hard to imagine her going through that. It just goes to prove that you never know what other people have been through until you ask. She said that seeing all the people forced to leave their homes in Southern California and then the people that have lost everything brings back the memories of how hard it was to just leave home when she was a kid. And that's why she became a hair stylist, to be able to being joy and happiness to people as they generally feel good when their hair looks good. When she said that, I got goose bumps!! What a story. Just when you think you are getting your hair done, and you get a dose of reality like that....I tell ya, all day today I just was so thankful that I have what I have. Kenny (my fiance!!!!!-I just love saying that!), our families, the house, our pup, jobs, income, heat. All the things I take for granted every day that some people don't have, or did have and not they don't. This is a dose of reality that I need.

So now I'm going over to my blogging friend Mary's site to give her some much needed love because she lives in Southern California. Click over there and pass on some happy thoughts.....

PS-I have so many wedding details to update on...this weekend...check back this weekend!

Not another one

I have ANOTHER sinus infection. That makes 4 in less than 12 months. I called in sick and went to urgent care this morning instead of waiting until late this afternoon to get into the doctor's office. I couldn't take the facial discomfort. I just can't believe how many of these nasty things I get. The doctor said the only real preventative is washing hands, drinking lots of water (got those both down), and using a saline nasal solution multiple times a day. I am doing that too, just in the morning though. I need to be doing it several times throughout the day. So I bought another couple of bottles so I can have one in the car, my purse, my desk. I am so TIRED of this!! If I get another one before Christmas, I'm going to an ENT doctor. Enough is enough!!!

In other news, I started playing around with colors and flowers for my wedding. I LOVE hydrangeas and roses, so I'm sticking with those right now. I love the way they look together. Here's a pic of an experiment.

I don't like the baby's breath in there, but you get the picture. I plan on making all the bouquets, boutineers, and anything that requires flowers. I'm just crafty like that. I'll post more pics with the next round of experiments. Michael's is just gonna love me with all the returns I'll be making when I decide I don't like something!! I have a question for anyone....if red is the color of the bridesmaid dresses (plain red, not dark red), and this wedding is going to be in the spring, what other colors can I use in these bouquets?? And be specific with colors, like LIGHT and DARK. Thanks!!! I have found examples of the kinds of flowers I want, just not the right colors yet.

I have to go back to bed now. Nurse Kenny is on his way into the computer room and he'll be upset to see his patient vertical and at the computer. Until I feel better....

Hump Day Catch-Up

A while back I wrote about a particular student in my class this year, Little H, who pulled at my heart strings. She does that every day, while at the same time consistently driving me crazy. One minute she's a tiny genius, and then next minute I'm writing her name down on the behavior chart for disrupting/talking/yelling/out of her seat. But this one takes the cake. A couple weeks back in art class, the teacher was discussing circles, and what you could make with circles. So she has all the students trace a circle on their paper and then make something out of it. Most of the kids made scarecrows or something Halloween related given the time of year. Cute, huh? Then there's little H. Now when you look at this picture, keep in mind that I had just showed the kids pictures of my puppy and they were all excited that their teacher had a new pup. So all their journal entries were about my puppy, and apparently Little H wanted to draw her too. So here ya go.....

Did you catch the poop? My puppy is pooping the picture. How funny is that??? Here's a close up in case you missed it the first time.....

When I picked the kids up from art class, the teacher pointed this one out to me. She asked me if I think we should call home about the picture. I told her no, I had a pretty good idea where the idea came from. Little H had asked me (all the kids got to ask me one question about the pup) if she poops like a person does. Obviously, she doesn't have a dog at home. So I answered that yes, dogs poop like people do, just outside. Of course that brought the house down....imagine your first/second grade teacher saying the word poop. Anyway, this child has yet again stolen my heart. Because, whether the picture is inappropriate or not, it's darn cute.

I talked to the lady at the church we are going to be married in. I will know Friday the actual date of our wedding. I'll go into LOTS of detail about her, but later. I don't want to jinx it. Let's just say it's not easy dealing with that church AT ALL. But we WILL be married there, for sure. Other than that, I haven't started planning much yet except the bridesmaid dresses. I think those have been picked out for a while, way before we were engaged. You know how a girl dreams....I guess I should really get moving because we're getting married in about 6 months. Yikes!! Even though it's been over 2 weeks since Kenny proposed, I'm still in shock. I keep looking at my hand and thinking, "Oh my gosh I'm engaged!!!" And every day I come home and say, "Hi Fiance!!" to Kenny. I love this feeling, and I'm actually very excited to plan all the artsy stuff for the wedding. I just LOVE to make stuff, as if you couldn't already tell!!

Back to the puppy for a minute...she is getting bigger EVERY SINGLE DAY!!! She's huge!! We already had to buy a bigger collar for her. I can barely pick her up and carry her without hurting myself. She's a mini-cow now!! But I just love her so much. Here she is lounging in the bed while I get ready for work. She's not really allowed up there, only if I invite her, and she won't jump up there on her own. She knows I'm about to leave for work so she's trying her hardest to look cute so I'll stay home with her. Wish I could!

Rainy Morning

Ahhhh, Monday morning. What a feeling!

I spent a LOT of time driving and on the phone this weekend. Practically the whole time, in fact. I caught up on me-time and talk-time. And puppy-time too. It was nice.

Yesterday after church Kenny and I met with the pastor to "interview" for pre-marriage counseling. That was very interesting, to say the least. I guess we passed the interview, because soon we'll be setting a date with the church. I asked the pastor if he ever failed anyone, and he said yes, so I guess we're fine. He said in January we have to take this 8 hour class on a Saturday (I know I can handle 8 hours, but Kenny? No way!) and 4 of those 8 hours are to take a psychological evaluation. Hello? What? I was shocked. He said that this test came from Harvard back in the 20s, which REALLY makes me want to take it. Hmph. We'll do whatever we need to do to get married in Kenny's family church. It's beautiful, offers a ton of things, and is only a couple miles away. Plus, it's his family church. I just can't get over the psych eval. Shouldn't that be something that you do when you first start dating?? Oh well. I asked him if we fail the eval (I just wanted worst case scenario) will he still marry us. He said, "Of course." And that's all I needed to know. I don't expect us to fail at all, I just wondered what the protocol was for that. So hopefully this week we'll have a date nailed down. And then I can tell my blogging world when I'm

GOING TO GET MARRIED!!!

Other than that, things are very calm here. The puppy is just fine, she spent a lot of time with me in the car visiting people this weekend, which she LOVES. Kenny is busy and cute as usual, and I've booked myself silly already this week doing things after work, which I always do and then bitch about not having any time to relax. Typical!!! And none of it is wedding related! I know that will be changing very quickly! Have a marvelous Monday!!

Thursday Thirteen

Yay!! It's Thursday finally!! That means getting through today and then tomorrow and then the weekend!! I can't wait to sleep in. For some reason, my eyes have burned with sleepiness every single day this week. I look at my students through half-open eyes. Good thing they keep me on my toes. If I had the kind of job that kept me in a chair, I'd never make it without a nap!! I actually fell asleep yesterday in the car-ride home. I was in the backseat because sometimes 3 of us ride together, and I was out before we hit the freeway. It felt SOOOO good. When I woke up, I couldn't figure out why I was in a car or what time it was. Then I remembered I was almost home....RELIEF!!!! You ever have those days where you work all day just to come HOME and stay home?? That's me this week.

Thirteen Things I'd Rather Be Doing Instead of Going to Work

1. Sleeping

2. Working out

3. Hanging out with my fiance (OMG!!)

4. Shopping

5. Meeting Tasha for dinner (during the day!!)

6. Did I mention sleeping?

7. Sewing

8. Scrapbooking

9. Getting pics developed so I CAN scrapbook (I'm so behind!)

10. Doing NOTHING!

11. Visiting my parents and my brother

12. Starting to plan this wedding

13. Watching reruns on TVLand

The BIG 92

The last few days have been a whirlwind!! I'm still on cloud nine from Kenny's proposal. I don't think I've ever been so excited and happy in my life!!

We are just barely starting to make plans. I think our wedding will be in the spring...why wait? It's already been five years! I have lots of phone calls to make on my lunch break every day, that's for sure!

Today was my grandpa's 92nd birthday. We celebrated last night with some of the family....

92 years is definitely worth celebrating!!

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Drum Roll Please.....

This has been one hell of a week.......the news????

WE'RE ENGAGED!!!!

Kenny proposed on Tuesday night and of course I said yes!! This has been a long time coming and I'm so excited!!

Here're pics of the ring......

I had no idea that Kenny had bought the ring and had it all planned. He did so good. Last week he asked my parents for their blessings and they were so happy to say yes! We were at a big benefit dinner on Tuesday evening, and Kenny had told me to invite everyone I knew around here, including my parents and his and a couple aunts and uncles and cousins and friends. So they were all gathered and KNEW WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN, and as it turns out, I was the only one who didn't!! I was helping Kenny display some things and when he had everyone's attention, he asked me to pick up this basket of mums and I was thinking, what in the world is he doing? I was actually getting irritated with him. So I turned, picked up the basket of flowers, and turned back towards him and he was on one knee. Oh my gosh! He says, "Lindsey, will you go to the Tigers game with me?" I got soooooo nervous and instantly had dry mouth, which, by the way, is NOT LIKE ME AT ALL, and I said, "Yes, Kenny, I'll go the the Tigers game with you." And then he says, "Are you nervous about something?" And I am dying at this point, my face was all red and sweaty and I said, "Are you nervous about something?" and then he whips out the ring box and opened it and said, "Will you marry me?" I was soooooooo red at this point. I OF COURSE accepted and made him stand up real fast so I could hide my face because I was shy....I WAS SHY! That never happens!! I guess when you are proposed to in front of 100 or more people, it's bound to happen! Then our families rushed over and started hugging and taking pictures and it was just awesome. He had it all planned out perfectly. I still can't believe it!! So that's the story of our engagement. I don't have any other pictures yet, but they are on their way, and I'll post them as soon as I can. For once, I didn't have the camera!

I still can't believe it!! I'm engaged! We aren't sure of the date yet, and haven't really started planning things, but seriously, after five years of dating, there isn't much planning to do. I think we've talked about our wedding enough to know what we want by now.

The last two days have been a blur of phone calls and emails....if I haven't told you in person, I'm sorry! I sent emails and honestly, the battery on my phone has been dead more than charged, so if you find out the news here instead of a phone call or email, I'm sorry!!!

Happy Friday!!

Yesterday Kenny and I took the puppy to the pumpkin patch on a farm. It was adventurous, that's for sure! The dog ate dirt and pumpkins....yummy. Anyway, it was really funny watching the puppy in action on the farm. There were a ton of animals for her to sniff out, including goats, which were SCARED OF HER!!! She's still little!! The goats took one look at the puppy and froze. It was great. I wish I had a picture of them! Here are a few more pics from the pumpkin patch....

Then we went back to the lake house to relax. Or so I thought. Kenny thought it would be a great idea to get the puppy in the water for the first time to see how she can swim. I wasn't hip to the idea at first, but then I thought, what the heck, she's a lab, her little web feet can do anything. And she did a great job! Her tail was wagging every time she got out of the water and kept coming back for more. I guess she's a true lab. I'd still love her even if didn't want to swim.

And then tonight my friend Niki came over to hang out for a while, and the puppy got ahold of her purse. Check this out and tell me it's the cutest thing ever!

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Sunny Sunday

Yesterday was one of those days you want to bottle and take with you forever. First of all, it was Saturday. No waking up to that 4am alarm clock. The dog did wake me up around 7am to go out, but I didn't mind. Kenny and I got up and he suggested we go to a craft show. A CRAFT SHOW!! So we went. Fun fun fun. Then we ran a couple of errands while we were puppiless (she was at her grandparents). I didn't care where we went....we were together, in the truck, driving around in the beautiful sunny fall weather, my poison ivy was (is) finally on the mend, and I was just HAPPY. And content, and it just felt good. A coworker/friend had a party last night, so while Kenny stayed back, I went and had some drinks and did what you always do when you hang out with coworkers.....bitch about work. But sometimes, it's just needed. I came home and we were going to watch a couple movies and relax together, but Kenny was already asleep, which is odd for him because he's a night owl, and I'm usually the one who falls asleep! Today we will be outside doing fall stuff all day, and I can't wait. Actually, I am waiting, for him to wake up! The puppy and I are ready to go. I called the puppy training place and am getting my money back. Last week was the first week of the training and it was a LECTURE. And the whole time BB was going crazy, and I was thinking to myself that this would be a perfect opportunity for the trainer to give me (the class) a couple hints on how to calm the pup down....I was pissed when I left the class last week but I just chalked it up to being miserable with poison ivy. Now that I'm not in an itching frame of mind, I see that it was a waste of time. So I quit puppy training!! We are doing really well with her on our own thanks to friends/family that give us tips (thanks Lori) and because I read all I can on the internet and also because she's a good puppy. And in a few months if we feel like she (or we) need training, we'll call one that comes to the house and is one-on-one. It was ridiculus last week. I was really disappointed, so that's that. But the puppy is doing so well! She's more of a junior piggy now. She's growing SOOOO fast. She is barking most of the time to go outside (thank god for that!!) and has the "COME" and "SIT" commands down pat so far. Okay, I think I hear the sleeping bear waking....gotta go!!

Little H

I have to talk about something positive today because the last week or so has been so miserable. So I will introduce you to one of my students, a first grader, we'll call her Little H. First things first, she's adorable. Simply adorable. And teeny, and also, I'm thinking she should have blond hair. The first three weeks in class, she was NEVER on task, constantly out of her seat, and I was really not understanding how she made the cut to be in my class, which is compiled of advanced students who get onto my roster through a tough screening. Anyway, she made it into my room because she is smart as a whip, I just hadn't seen it yet. On Monday morning, she came in, hyper and grinning, as usual, and sat down and read the DO NOW that I always have on the board. She started her work without fussing. I'll say that again....SHE STARTED HER WORK WITHOUT FUSSING. Did you get that? And she finished her work, on time, all day long. Which had never happened. I could NOT get her to write 3 complete sentences in the three previous weeks. I knew she was capable, VERY capable in fact, she just was too into playing and looking around and yak yak yaking all the time. And then out of the blue, Monday was her best day ever. And I told her mom that after school, and Little H presented her mother with a "good note" that I wrote for her. She was beaming from ear to ear when she left. I thought that it was a miracle, but how much could I wish for in one week? Believe it or not, she was the same way Tuesday AND today. And today was her "leader" day which means she gets to do the calendar activities, lead the line wherever we go all day, and read a special story to the class. She was so excited about it being her day today. I was so proud of her.....kind of like she was my own kiddo.

As a teacher, there are many kids who teach me things. I learn the true meaning of patience, empathy, understanding, committment, longevity, the list is endless. But it isn't often that a child touches my heart like Little H has done, in only four weeks of school. I can't wait to see her little face greet me in the morning. Literally, over the weekend, this child transformed into a sweet, giving, wanting-to-please student, and this really made me think about being judging others, especially kids. My first reaction to this student was OH MY GOSH SHE IS GOING TO GIVE ME GRAY HAIR. It's amazing how much a child that is not my own flesh and blood can leave these kinds of footprints on my heart. Even if she was still squirmy and chatting and acting out like she was in the beginning, I would still love her just as much as I do now, because one look at her dimples and braids and you are hooked. I constantly have to remind myself that my students want to be loved and accepted before anything else, and if I don't give them that, then I'm not giving 110% to them, which is what they deserve.

Update on the poison ivy....thanks to all of you who are sympathyzing......I found a soapy scrub that has these microscrubbers in it that actually scratch my poor skin as I wash the ivy on my body....do you know how good that feels? OMG it's like I'm in heaven for about 15 seconds. My friend Julie recommended this stuff to me, and it is really helping the itching urges. I'm just hoping to be "normal" again soon. I still have lots of drying up to do, but at least I am finding some more relief on the way. I just keep thinking how much this puppy is KENNY'S puppy and how unfair it is that I am the one suffering here!!! It just figures, doesn't it??

I will leave you with a picture of the puppy, because I have to remember how cute she is so I won't go crazy over the ivy situation....

Just when I thought....

...things were getting better....

My poison ivy gets worse. Or should I say, it is spreading more now. And I'm sure it's because I'm not taking the oral steroids, but I simply refuse because of the way it makes me feel (I'm still using the topical steroids and calymine lotion). So the dog clawed open one fluid filled pocket of poison ivy on Saturday, and because I was outside, essentially on a farm, I couldn't be as clean and anti-infectious as I would have liked. So it spread a little. IT KEEPS GOING. I am in hell right now. It's 90 f-ing degrees outside, and humid, and in my classroom, not air conditioned mind you and NO WINDOWS OPEN because of location, my poison ivy itched today like a mofo. Excuse the language. I'm so MAD! It makes me feel better.

Tonight after dinner, Kenny takes the dog out to play and have a good old time, and I'm talking on the phone in the house. I see Kenny and the pup socializing with the neighbor out back. No biggie, right?? Wrong. Not two seconds later Kenny comes in the house with the dog, and tells me he didn't get all the poison ivy out of the back yard...there's still more, and the dog just rolled in it. AND NOW THE DOG IS LAYING ON MY FEET!!! Do you know what this is doing to me???? Any idea??? I start screaming because of the agony of not being able to itch the most itchy thing in the world (that I know of) and now there's possibly more infestation to come! I simply cannot take it anymore. I demanded that he throw the pup in the tub and scrub the hell out of her NOW. And that's what he's doing. And then he's going to bleach the hell out of the tub. Because, apparently, if I even look in the direction of poison ivy, it attaches to me.

Now you will have to excuse me, as I need to get my medical papers in order so I can be committed to the local loony ward. I just can't take the itching and burning any more.

Whiny

Our puppy had an interesting day yesterday. We were at a fleamarket all day, outside. We kept thinking it would be awesome to take the pup and spend a whole day with her and ourselves outside, right? Sure did. It really was fun, and warm, but it was so crazy to have a dog the whole time with us. I kept seeing moms and dads with their kids IN STROLLERS and I was thinking, can I get one of those....and a diaper too?? I was CONSTANTLY worrying about her peeing or pooping on someone, or worse yet, something I would have to end up buying because my dog couldn't hold her bladder. Ugh. But, I guess I should have had faith in her because she was extremely well behaved and didn't pee or poop anywhere she wasn't supposed to. I did let her poop in the field next to the flea market and I didn't use a baggie....come on! It was a field in the country. I'm sure there's much worse things in that field than puppy doo-doo. Here's how her day went.....

Stealing someone's popcorn-you can tell by the way her back in hunched she is being naughty!

Being a ham while laying in the shade.....

Waking up from one of her many naps in the shade.....like I said, we were there ALL day!

And finally passed out in the backseat of the truck on the way home. I know it looks like she's sitting up looking in her bowl, but I promise, she was passed out. And when we got home, she slept all night, no waking up to be playful at inappropriate times or whining! We really wore her out!

Today I took her to the first of eight puppy training sessions. I was going into this thinking that my pup was so smart and well behaved. Who's dog spent the whole time barking and trying to get away? Mine. And then she promptly fell asleep. Ugh. And while this was going on, Kenny was blowing up my cell phone, which I had left in the car, trying to figure out where the training was because I told him one place and it was the wrong location. So he didn't even make the training today. Nice to start off on the right foot, eh? Oh well. I appologized over and over again about my puppy being wild. I swear the other dog owners were giving me dirty looks. I have 3 homework assignments to teach the pup before next Sunday. THREE. I hope we can get one down!! Especially when I was teaching Kenny how to do them and he was laughing like it was silly. I have doubts about these classes already!! Ah!

I am just so frustrated. Not just with the puppy, but also the weekend. It's already Sunday, I haven't done ANYTHING yet, no laundry, groceries, cleaning. NOTHING. I am so NOT motivated. I don't know what my problem is. Kenny is sleeping on the couch, the dog is sleeping, perfect time to get some things done. Just no motivation. What do I really want to do? Something crafty. But that means cleaning to get to my craft table.

See ya later.

Friday from Hell

Yesterday was bad. Very bad!!

On Wednesday I went to the urgent care for the poison ivy. I couldn't take it any longer, the itching was too much. They gave me a topical steroid and oral steroid. I used the cream, not the pills because in the past, when I've used oral steroids, it makes me hot, sweaty, mean, all of which is normal for taking that medication, I just didn't want to deal with it. So the cream was going to be all I needed. Yeah right! So Thursday I didn't go to work because even thought my poison ivy wasn't open or oozy, I didn't want to deal with the kids seeing it and all that drama, so I called in. And at home, it bother me a little, the itching and hotness, but I kept thinking that the steroids would take effect soon and I would be fine. I woke up Friday morning and got ready for work (we had professional development, so no kids) and realized the shit had spread. It was now not only on my wrist, but my other arm in a couple spots, my ankle, behind my ear (I wear headbands often and somehow I think that didn't help) and the spots on my neck had grown. Oh yeah, on my stomach, right above the underwear line, where I had scratched a mosquito bite. Lovely, eh? So I was VERY concerned and uncomfortable. So I lathered up in the steroids cream again and went to work. As soon as I got there and get into some meetings, I was in hell. The itching was so incredibly bad that I couldn't concentrate and of course I wasn't scratching it, but what could I do? I called my doctor friend and started crying because I couldn't take it anymore...the itching was making me crazy and batty and I couldn't think straight. She said to go the ER and get the shot, whatever that it, and it would be better VERY soon. The shot is like the oral steroids, only it works almost immediatly. I called my own doc, couldn't get in, called the urgent care, they didn't give those shots (that's bullshit by the way) and I was trying to think of any way to avoid going and waiting in an ER. There were no other options. I somehow made it though the day and when N and I left work, she drove me straight the ER. 3hours later I had the shot and was woozy on benedryl. HAPPILY woozy, content to not be in itchy hell anymore. I won't bore you with the ER details except to tell you that I normally have low BP, and when I got there it was 145/90.....which isn't good compared to what mine usually is. I was so jittery and shaky and bouncy from the itchiness that I couldn't sit still and that's why my BP was bad. They took it again before I left to make sure it had come down, which it had. Thank goodness! I got home and was out like a light. And this morning (of course it's Saturday morning and I was up at430am because that's when I'm usually up anyway and now the puppy is programmed to get up at that time) I feel a little woozy from the benedryl, however, the poison ivy is noticeably better (a lot!!!) and I'm not itchy at all. I do have oral steroids I have to take for about 5 days, but at this point, I'll deal with the side effects, anything to not feel that awful itchiness again. ANYTHING is better than that!! Just for the record....I never scratched it-talk about will power! And Kenny got rid of all the poison ivy in the backyard for now, I think we'll have to treat the area with chemicals or something later on, but for now, me or the puppy can't get into it again. Fun stuff, eh?? Hopefully by the time Monday rolls around I'll still be nice and calm and relaxed and the poison ivy will be almost gone!!

Wednesday Ramblings

What a week so far. And thank goodness it's half over!! The heat is back in Michigan. Last week was such a nice, relaxing, cooler weather week, and the weekend was beautiful, and the last couple of days have been warmer. Today, it was hot. And I wasn't dressed for the hotness in my classroom. In fact, I was dressed too warmly, and I couldn't remove the top layer because I needed the sleeves to cover the POISON IVY on my arm. Can you guess where I got that from?? My backyard. And why was I in the bushes back there? It has to do with the cutest puppy ever and I think you know who that is!! She is so loveable and cute, but training her is no fun task. But we sure are enjoying the benefits. She's doing so much better now than last week. She LOVES her crate, it's her safe place she enjoys being, and she whines to go out to do her business almost all the time. I love playing with her in the evenings when she thinks she is going to sleep....I keep her up as late as I can so that she will sleep later in the morning. I swear, every morning, she wakes up 15 minutes before my alarm goes off. Like she just knows I need that extra amount of sleep but just can't let me have it!!

The morning time is our special time together. She hangs out with me while I get ready for work, I feed her, take her out, and then we wait outside for my coworker/best friend to get here to ride to work together. N gets her dose of doggy love every morning and she loves it, and so does the pup.

Here she is in all her glory, chasing her favorite toy. Mind you she has all the chew toys and tennis balls a puppy could want, but this is what she LOVES and hoards in her house. ENJOY!!

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Kenny and I are quickly learning how to be dog people. We even signed up for puppy training. I know lots of people will be making fun of us for that, but seriously, we need it. Maybe even more than BB does. We need to know all the basics and more, so I am looking forward to it!! Plus it's an excuse for Kenny and I to do something together other than stuff that's work related. I think we'll enjoy it. I hope they let me take pictures!

Photo Hunt

This Week's Theme:

PLASTIC

Here's my new vacuum. We needed a new one so badly, and I've been shopping them around, and then a couple weeks ago, Kenny just appeared in the doorway with this new Hoover!! I love it! It's a hunk of awesome plastic! And the best part is, he even vacuums now! I think the first week we had it, he vacuumed every day. I was in heaven!

(As you can see in the pictures, we still haven't finished our kitchen floor-I'm so lovin' the 1960s gold style look, that I can't decide on what kind of floor to buy......kidding.....but in all honesty, we really can't make up our minds on what to put down there, so until we do, it's all 1960s psycholdelic, every day, and I think it's even making the dog go crazy!)

TGIF

I am soooooooooo glad it's Friday! It's been an interesting week. This was the second week of school, so I'm still adjusting and so are my students, and adding a new puppy to the mix? Well, let's just say that I've got more sleep other weeks. We're crate training BB so if we are both gone, she will be content in there. Talk about frustrating! The first time was absolutley awful. I felt so bad leaving her when she was crying and barking (it's a wimpy bark because she's so little still). I actually had a little anxiety episode on Monday when I left for work because I could hear her crying and I HAD to leave. I worried all day long about her, even though Kenny was in and out all day taking care of her. I felt like I was a new mommy leaving her baby at a daycare....but she is surviving and so are we!! Here are some oh-so-cute pictures of her! Look at that tail!

And because I'm feeling guilty that the hamster is being neglected, I included pics of his cute face too. He is a little less than thrilled about BB.

6 Year Anniversary

We Will Never Forget

BB

Kenny got his wish....we got a puppy!! Here she is in all her puppy glory.....

Her name is BB and she's a sweety. Here she is on her make-shift bed until we get the real one....

We played with her outside the night we brought her home...

And this is BB pouting because I was on the computer, NOT giving her attention.

She's already high maintenance. I keep telling Kenny that she's HIS dog....something tells me it will not be that way already. The good thing is that she can work with Kenny because he's always on the go and outside on the job. I'm hoping that works out! We also have a nice, fenced in backyard for her to play and run in and there are dogs behind us that she's already made buddies with.

Couldn't you just eat that face up?? She's so cute! I hope I still think that after she spends her first night NOT in my bed tonight. My fingers are crossed!

Almost TGIF

I can't believe how fast this week has gone! It's already day 4 tomorrow. And the best news....it's dress down day already. That just makes everything better! Our new principal doesn't care what we wear to work, let alone dress down days every other Friday. I repeat, SHE DOESN'T CARE ABOUT OUR DRESS CODE! This is my 6th year teaching (all at the same school), and every year prior to this one, the dress code has been business dressy. Now, we get away with dress pants and dressy shirts, sweaters, what have you, most of us only wear suits and super dressy stuff for conferences. But in general, it has been business dressy. Ugh. Working with children should require nothing more than casual....khakis please!! Jeans please!! This year, it looks like we are not as formal...thank God! So you can just imagine my excitement when I heard that we can wear jeans tomorrow!! No ironing required...woohooooooo!

On another note, there were some interesting activities going on here in my house last night. When we bought this house, we were well aware that we were going to be purchasing a hot water heater soon, as the one here wouldn't last much longer. Seeing as though Kenny and I are both COMPLETELY CLUELESS as to how to fix ANYTHING in a house, we see that as a major problem, where as others may think, no biggie. I wish that were the case with us. We bought the new tank last weekend and his father (a retired pipe fitter) said he would install it for us. Great right? Uh uh. I came home yesterday to Kenny and his dad both in the basement, inches from a blowout. Thank goodness it didn't come to that, but the problem that was left in our hands was that we couldn't get the new tank lit. His dad scurried off without turning it ON. We read and reread and reread the directions on the side of the tank, but it just wasn't making sense. Kenny got so irritated with it that he had to walk away from it for an hour. In that hour I thought about cleaning up the mess (water was EVERYWHERE, not because it leaked because it never did until it was uninstalled) but then realized it would (the old one) probably leak again when we drag it up the stairs to get rid of it. So why bother cleaning now when I'll have to do it again when we get rid of it? You tell me. So I can't really get to my washer and dryer right now until things are shifted. What a pain. Anyway, Kenny came back downstairs and the thing was lit, and for the first time since we moved in, my shower was HOT HOT HOT until I turned the water off. Yipee! Kenny then (he must have been feeling pretty confident) thought about taking the garbage disposal out and putting in the new one, which I IMMEDIATLY poo-pooed (in a tasteful way) because one small fiasco was enough for one day in this house. I need a week to recover from the hot water tank incident and then cleanup that it will require and then we'll think about the garbage disposal.

Kenny did surprise me today...I came home and the lawn was all mowed and the garbage was already on the curb. In this house, I do most of that, if you didn't already guess that. So I was absolutely delighted when I came home to that. Oh yeah, one more thing....we have been shopping for a new vacuum because the one we have is garbage, and Kenny came home on Sunday with a brand new one....and he vacuumed....EVERY SINGLE DAY since Sunday. I can't even handle it. We only have one room with carpet in our house, everything else is hard wood, but still, I gotta give credit where it's due! My carpet is super clean, and I didn't even have to vacuum it! A girl could get used to this.

I'm off to do something mindless. It'll probably involve the TV and the couch. I still can't believe how the summer is over and I'm just about through my first week of school. Oh well. TGIF!

Day One In Videos

I made it through the first day, and then some! It was a success! The day was wonderful, and the kids are adorable. I took short videos throughout the day so you can see hear how things went. Here's the first one, just shortly before school started...I hadn't even turned on all the lights in the room yet because I was in denial that the first day was really here:


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And here's what I had to say at lunchtime:


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And then me after school....very hot after 8 hours with no air conditioning and humidity to make you cry:


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So that's my day in short video clips. I'll post pictures tomorrow. I'm so pooped out, but VERY happy to be be in my cool, relaxing, QUIET house. One day down, 179 to go. Just kidding...I know this year will be great! And to my teacher friends, Amy and Melissa, who read but NEVER comment, just comment already! I want to know how your first days went!!

Last Day of Vacation

Well, today is the last day of my summer vacation! Happy Labor Day! The summer was good, it went fast, and I'm still looking forward to many more weekends at the lake house and doing outdoorsy things, especially when the weather starts to get cooler. That is truly my favorite time of year. I have spent the majority of the day in the basement with laundry. I had to find, clean, iron, and hang as many dress clothes as possible. I have more than I thought! What a nice surprise. Yesterday I went to Target and got a couple new shirts that are fall colored but short sleeve and cool enough to wear now. There's just nothing like starting the first day with some new clothes.

Last night Kenny and I went on a date. A much needed, just us, alone time, date. It was fantastic. We had dinner at my favorite Bahama style restaraunt. And then we went to the movies, and even though the movie was terrible (The Invasion), we still had an awesome time! Ever since last winter, we just haven't had much time to ourselves, for fun.

Except for a quick run to the grocery store (and it will be very quick because I HATE grocery shopping) and a few odds and ends to print on the computer, I just may be ready for the first day of school! Good news....my friend and coworker N is coming back to work at our school after all. There was much drama and crap involved, but she is coming back to teach!! Which means I have my co-pilot back!! Yay!! After riding together a whole year, it's not the same without her. And I found that out last week during all our back-to-school meetings, before she was officially coming back to work. So imagine my excitement that she's coming back now!!

I am going to try to take some pics and videos tomorrow of the first day....it can be hectic, so no promises, but I will do my best!!

Enjoy the holiday!