EASTER!!!

Happy Easter!!

Today has been the most relaxing holiday ever. And we still have the rest of the day!

Coloring Easter eggs.....

Church and dinner with Kenny's brothers (I made the entire dinner and it was awesome!!).....

I did make cake but no pics.....sorry!! It was marble cake with whipped chocolate frosting and sprinkles YUMMY!!

Kenny is happily napping on the couch and I'm totally take advantage of this to get some more wedding stuff done. I worked on the bouquets last night for baout 4 hours and they are done! All but mine that is, which is something I've been waiting to work on for weeks. I don't think I've looked forward to making something as much as I am looking forward to making my own bouquet. Crazy? Probably. But relaxing and fun, and a once-in-a-lifetime-project. I will have pictures when I'm done.

VaCaTiOn BeGiNs

Yay! Vacation!!

Last week was so busy and it's all now just a huge ugly blur. Thank GOD it's over!

Kenny got home late last night and he brought another round of snow with him. Yipee!

My mom was here Thursday evening and we went to get my wedding dress altered (1st time) and her's too, and then we had dinner (I made pot roast, I'm bragging because I don't cook that often), and then we went shopping for some wedding stuff. Saturday I made breakfast (what's going on with me????) and then we went shopping for more things for her to wear on wedding day...nylons, jewelry, shoes....and just had a great time. We even got ready together in the bathroom and she wanted makeup tips for wedding day....I'm not the expert, but it was super fun. My mom lives over an hour away, so to be able to do these things with her is a big deal to me. It was awesome. Then she left yesterday and I waited for Kenny to come home. And waited and waited and waited. He was stuck is rush hour traffic on the freeway PLUS bad weather driving. Ugh. He finally made it though, all in one piece.

We are staying home for Easter tomorrow. I think it's the first time in my life I have stayed home on a holiday. We're going to church (newly members now) and then Kenny's brother is coming over for dinner. I'm making spaghetti and meatballs (there's a first time for everything, right??), veges, salad, rolls (I won't be eating them) and marble cake with hersheys chocolate frosting for dessert. We'll see if I can pull it all off without ruining anything. Keep your fingers crossed!

Happy Easter!!

Just one more day!

Today was better than the last couple of days. We had conferences at school which made the day super long, but it was still okay. Just one more day with kids. They are so exhausting right now. Spring break is really getting them riled up (go read Lori's post....I'm not kidding!). And that makes it sooooo hard to deal! So I'm keeping them super busy. I do let them watch movies while they are working on days like tomorrow....and we are having my favorite treats too.....graham cracker and frosting sandwiches!! That is their reward for earning 15 compliments. It's cheaper than pizza! And I dyed the frosting green for St. Patrick's Day. I know it's a few days late but who cares. They love it. I'm just adding to their hyperness. I know their parents love me when the kids get home.

My mom is coming tomorrow and we're going to my first wedding dress alteration appointment. Yay!! I can't wait!! I'm so excited just to put the thing on with the good bra!! I wish I could post pics but Kenny will peek because he's a sneak.

I MISS Kenny. There's no one here to bitch to when the dog is in my way and there's no one to bring me a glass of water when I'm sleeping and my mouth is dry. He NEEDS to come home now. 2 more days. I will be fine after my mom gets here tomorrow, and she's staying until Kenny gets home late Friday night. That will pass the time having her here. And she will get to spend quality time with her grandpup while I'm still at work tomorrow too! Actually, my mom is not a dog person, and her question on the phone tonight was, "What do I have to do with the dog? Will she jump all over me again?" Yes mom, of course she will. She's only 8 months and still very hyper and exciteable! I told her to put her in the backyard if she's too much. We'll see how it goes when I get home.

Gotta get to sleep so I'm not a totaly zombie in the morning!!

Day From H*&#

-------------------WARNING-------------------

........very long with lots of complaining.......

Monday was h#@* after 4pm. Work/school was great. I came home and went to pick up the puppy from our good friend who is puppy sitting during the day since Kenny is out of town for the week (the puppy is usually with him all day working). That was great. I went home and dropped her off after playing outside for about 30 minutes. I had a dentist appointment at 6pm so I changed and crated the puppy and was on my way. Always having had good teeth, only one cavity as a kid, 4 1/2 years of braces, I never ever stress about the dentist. This was a new dentist because the one I had been going to for the last 2 years was unorganized, always screwed up my insurance coverage, the story is a long one but I'll spare you the stupid details and just say that I was never happy going there. So I got to the new dentist office, filled out the paper work, got impressions for the bleaching that I get for free as a new patient (perfect timing for the wedding!!!!). Then the hygenist starts in with the cleaning. She notices one problem area, nothing too major...right? Wrong. The dentist comes in, and I ended up with FOUR LARGE CAVITIES. Did you read that??? I was DEVASTATED. I repeat, DEVASTATED. And in tears (but really, the tears are pretty constant around here lately). So this just confirms that I made the right choice by switching dentists because I had my teeth cleaned 8 months ago by the old dentist...how in the heck is it possible to have ZERO problems in my mouth 8 months ago and now I have 4 large cavities???? I asked the new dentist this, and she very kindly (without ripping on my old dentist) said that some dentists wait until the cavity is of a larger size to fill. WHY????? I am so thankful that I switched dentists. But that's not the end of the story. My four front top teeth were built up after my braces came off 14 years ago because they were small. So my real teeth are there, but made larger. Well those veneers only last about 10 years and then need to be replaced because of decay (not a cavity decay, but just tooth decay in general). It's time to replace them NOW. And because that is cosmetic, it will cost. My new dentist is going to get the insurance company to pay for half of the veneers, so at least it won't be too much, but it will still be enough. Plus the copay for the cavities, which isn't too much either, but times four it sure adds up. Can you see why I'm stressed?? I have never EVER had issues with my teeth like this, and now it's all at once. I am so embarrassed about having 4 cavities. I'm so good about not eating candy much because I'm always trying to lose weight, and I brush my teeth twice a day. When you look at my teeth, they are pretty. I've always been so proud of my teeth. Hmph. So I leave the dentist's office in shock and in tears. I'm getting the cavities filled (I can't even believe I am saying that) on Monday, the first day of my spring break, and because there are 4 big ones, I'll be knocked out. What a nice way to spend the first day of vacation. Why couldn't it happen when I could take a day or two from school??? Hmph. Anyway, the rest of the veneer stuff will be in a couple weeks. The dentist wants to do it before my wedding, which is nice, but really, you can't see any of the issues from the front of my teeth, so it's not going to make any difference. The bottom line is the cavities need to be filled and the veneers need to be replaced, and it just is something that I have to suck it up and pay for. Ugh.

So I leave the dentist's office. Pulling into the driveway I am thinking THANK GOD I am home and I am going to relax now. It's 830pm and I'm exhausted. I walk into the house and smell poop. The smell is so overwhelming that I gag in my mouth. I go into the spare bedroom where Puppy is in her crate and there is diarrhea everywhere. It's in the crate, on the puppy, on the walls behind the crate, on the closet doors, on my beautiful hardwoods, even on some clothes and pictures around the room. And the smell is HORRIBLE as you would guess. And the puppy is all excited to see me and making more of a mess. I threw up before I could even think of what to do. So after I threw up, I get the dog into the backyard and then get some rags and try to figure out how to clean the room and the crate without making more of a mess. Then I threw up a second time from the smell. I guess I'm going to be a lousy parent because I can't handle the smells. After 2 hours, I had it cleaned up. I won't go into details about that, but let's just say it was the worst thing I could have dealt with (aside from death) at the end of the day. I cried most of the way through the cleaning because of my teeth, the smell, the fact that I never wanted a puppy (I love her so much but she was ALL Kenny's idea), the fact that Kenny wasn't home and I hadn't talked to him all day, and just because I was plain tired.

I need a day off. I don't mean from work to stay home, I mean from LIFE. I want to just sit in a bookstore and read all day long, alone, with no one and nothing (including the dog) NEEDING anything from me. Teaching is so wearing because all day long I am needed. I give give give all day and then come home and give to the puppy and to Kenny (but I love that part) and give give give to the laundry and the house and EVERYTHING. Ugh. I can't even imagine if I had kiddos of my own, but I suppose that comes with the territory and I'll learn how to manage that. You moms out there have my total respect because I don't know how you go to work and then come home to the needs of others like that. I hope that I can find time on spring break to do this for myself, because I will go CRAZY if I don't. I also hope when I get home my house doesn't still smell like poop.

Wedding Shower II

My stepmom gave me a second wedding shower yesterday...it was fun! I got to see some friends that I hadn't seen in a long time, since college, and then a couple that I see on a regular basis too. The shower was at my dad and stepmom's house, which is way out in the country, and there was beautiful sunny weather which made the drive nice and relaxing. My dad along with some uncles and my grandpa, and even a great uncle, dropped their wives off and went to dinner, then came back and "crashed" the end of the shower, which was cute!

My grandpa had a stroke a couple years back (he was 90 at the time) and it was a miracle that the only lasting effects on his body was with his speech. He slurs his words, but most of the time, you can understand him. He's still all with it mentally. Anyway, yesteday, at the end of the shower, when it was just family left, I was sitting next to him and I hugged him and he patted my arm and said, "so happy." I asked him if he was happy that I was getting married and he said, "oh yes, so happy." Talk about tears. I kept them in until I was driving home, then cried. How sweet. I am the oldest of a slew of grandchildren, and I was the only granddaughter for 10 years, so I know I have a special place in my grandpa's heart. He loves formal ceremonies, like graduations and weddings, so I know he is really excited about my wedding. And for him to tell me that was pretty cool. It's something I'll ALWAYS treasure. Here's a picture of us just before he said it.

TGI Saturday

Oh the puppy playfulness that goes on!!!

(before you read this post, jump over to My Splatter Painted Life and read about Sasha....Lindsay and her family lost their ever-so-loved doggie and they could use the kind words)

We took BB to the park the other day and she had a blast. Kenny has taken her there many times, but it's during the day when I'm not home, so this time, I got to go and have fun too. I can't believe how big she is AND how stinkin' fast she runs. Just when you think she's running full speed, she kicks it into overdrive.

Running, running, running.....

Fetching the ball.....

Me swinging.....

My shoes.....

Blurry but cute.....

Today I am going to my second wedding shower at my dad and step-mom's house. I will post pictures tomorrow!! Happy Saturday!

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things I've Already Done This Morning!!

(it's not even 7am yet!!)

1. Showered

2. Dressed (I am going to work, you know)

3. Started a load of laundry

4. Folded and PUT AWAY a load of laundry

5. Payed 2 bills

6. Played with puppy

7. Gave Kenny a back rub

8. Packed my lunch

9. Downloaded pictures

10. Fed puppy

11. Looked at some wedding stuff online

12. THOUGHT about making coffee to take to work

13. Decided to stop at Tim Horton's instead!

Weekend Trip South

I'm back!!

My trip to Tennessee was waaaaay fun and waaaay short! We left Friday morning early and got back last night. A whirlwind trip! But worth it. One of my best friends (since we were born) got married and we just had to be there! Our trip there couldn't have come at a worst time for weather. On the way there, we encountered rain, snow, ice, sleet, fog, more rain, and more snow. And mostly everyone that we talked to at our stops along the way complained about the roads. The roads weren't that bad, but then again, we're from Michigan and we're used to junk on the roads. I traveled with another one of my best friends, also my coworker and copilot, Niki. Here's a picture of all 5 of us waaaaay back in the day. Actually, it was only 10 years ago. Who am I kidding? I'm just trying to make myself feel better. And yes, we were all band nerds, but all of us were in sports too.

left to right.....K, Niki, B(the one who just got married), me, and D, and yes, I was laughing!!

Anyway, here's the weather as we drove....

And then we stopped in Nashville to eat at Shoney's...and when we got back in the car, there was sleet going on. And I think we were feeling like we were NEVER GOING TO GET THERE!! But driving through the mountains, even though it was dark and icky, was still beautiful!

We woke up early Saturday morning and went to the hall (all we had to do was walk out of our door, and up some stairs) to help decorate. I tool the flowers I arranged and then helped arrange greenery and candles and all the pretty stuff. Then the wedding party disappeared to get ready and we went to have a good southern breakfast because that's all I hear about..."you HAVE to have biscuits and gravy while you are in the South." So we did. And I ate every last carb filled yummy morsel. Holy crap was it good! Even the coffee was better!

Here's the view from our room...imagine if it had been sunny!!

The wedding was beautiful, even though it was supposed to be outside. Everything went perfectly even though it wasn't was the bride and groom had been planning.

We left to drive home Sunday morning. Instead of going straight home, we stopped in Knoxville to pick up my aunt who rode home with us. Sunday was very sunny and pretty, so we got lots of gorgeous views of the mountains. I love it the ice on the mountains!

Thirteen Things My Students Ask To Do On A Daily Basis

(and they know better too)

1. Can I get on the computer? (they have scheduled days)

2. Can I go to the bathroom? (they are supposed to ONLY raise their hand)

3. Can I call my momma? (let me just say "NO!")

4. Can I sharpen my pencil? (only during specific times)

5. Can I move my seat? (get along with peers please!!!)

6. Can I watch the kids on the computer? ("NOOOOOO!")

7. Can I help ______ with their work? (smile)

8. Can I get a book? (smile)

9. Can I help you Ms. L? (BIG smile)

10. Can I have some of your snack? (rrrr...no begging!!)

11. Can I go to sleep? (please so)

12. Can I get extra work? (yes, you need it!)

13. Can I go home? (I wish I could say yes sometimes)

Do you see why my coined phrase of every day is, "NO MORE CAN I QUESTIONS!!" I have to admit though, even after all that, I still love 'em!

Snow Day #3

SNOW DAY!!

Yes, it's true, we have another snow day today. I think this makes 3 this school year! No complaints here! I woke up at 330am on the couch with Kenny and he basically pushed me off, so I arranged the pillows on the floor next to the couch and fell back asleep. I wasn't even thinking about not having school, it never dawned on me that I might not be making the treck to work today. At 430 my alarm went off, and I accidentally turned it off. Oooops. So at 530 when one of my copilots called me to see if I had heard any news about school being canceled, I was shocked at the time and irritated with myself for turning my alarm off (it happens way too often). I hadn't heard any news yet, but every single district around us and all the way to the city was closed, EXCEPT ours. Ugh. So I hung up with her and made a couple calls and within 20 minutes we figured out we didn't have school. I was relieved both because who doesn't like a day off and I would have been very late to work. So that's my morning!

The puppy is playing in the new snow. She LOVES it. She sticks her nose down in it and then brings something up.....sticks, a wrapper, whatever. She's so cute! And of course there's already a million new paw prints in our backyard from her and the squirrels. Once again I'm taking this opportunity of no work today to do wedding stuff. Believe it or not, there's not that much to do now. I'm still waiting on another small order of roses to make my own bouquet, but just about everything else is made and done! I know I'll have last minute things, and the favors are not done yet, but it's close.

I told my students yesterday that if they wear their pajamas backwards, we won't have school. I wasn't even thinking about a snow day for today, we were just talking about silly stuff. But it worked!!

Here are a couple funny things some of my kiddos said yesterday:

"The pigs at the zoo stink. They smell like a whole bunch of people farted in one room at the same time."

(I taught my students the saying "There are bigger fish to fry." I had to give them something to use/say/think during those situations that were not life and death important.)
"I'm going to fry another fish."
"I'm eatin' fried fish..." as she quickly walked away from the student who was irritating her.

You can see that they LOVE using the lines I give them to use, but they aren't quite sure how to use it!! Cute!

Ramblings

I don't really mean for there to be so many days in between postings. If only I had a less demanding job! I blinked and the weekend was over!!

Things are work are so busy. March is READING MONTH so we have activities planned constantly until spring break, which is the last week in March. The activities are fun for the kids, and even gives staff a chance to dress down once a week, which I love, but all these things are so time consuming.

Kenny left the puppy in the backyard today for 4 hours while he was working away from the house. He thought she would just play and be a dog, like she normally does when she's out there and we are home. He told me this on the phone around noon today. All I could think was BIG MISTAKE. And I was right!!

When I got home there were remains of two lounge chair pads (they WERE in the trash, now they ARE trash) scattered all over the backyard. I mean the stuffing was everywhere...it looked like Santa's beard was everywhere, with clumps of snow mixed in. Therewas a shovel handle and some other handle gnawed and scattered, and there was just plain crap everywhere. I guess this will teach Kenny, eh? Me telling him it wasn't such a great idea wasn't enough. Maybe this was. And no longer can we keep the recycling bin by the back door. Puppy can't handle it. She just can't leave it alone. What a mess.

On another note, when I came home from the gym tonight, I opened the closet to set my shoes in there (because I DO put my stuff away) and IT WAS CLEAN. AND NOT BY ME. I do all the cleaning around here all the time. I like it clean and my way, all the time. So imagine my surprise when I open the closet door and it was cleaned NOT by my hands. Awesome! Kenny, when you read this, THANK YOU HONEY!!!

I'm leaving for Tennessee on Friday morning for my friend's wedding, so this week will be a short one, which is good. However, having a sub is more work than just being there myself. So I have to prepare for that before I leave and pack. Oh no!! Off to bed I go!

Candy Kisses Oh My!

Can you guess which part of wedding planning I was knee deep in this weekend??

F A V O R S !!!

I was surrounded (along with bridesmaid Shannon and Kenny, who was WAY TOO EAGER to eat the candy instead of box it) with kisses (thanks Tasha for the idea!)! And white boxes and pretty red ribbon too! It was fun. Unfortunetly, we're only about 1/3 of the way done. I need MORE kisses and ribbon. I way underestimated the amount I would need. So that finished task will be procrastinated until further notice.

On to more important things.....putting a veil on puppy! How cute is she? I had to wait until she was napping in her crate to get a good picture. Otherwise, she was too hyper and too into trying to bat the veil off. It did get ripped in the process, but who cares, she's so cute!

Tomorrow is my first day back to work after a week off. I'm NOT looking forward to it. As always, I'll be fine once I get there and see coworkers and all that. But the first day back is always hard. I am sure the kids will be all happy and excited to get back to their normal routine.

I made an arrangement for one of my best friend's wedding. She's getting married March 8th in Tennessee, so I'll be going on a road trip shortly! Anyway, her bridesmaid dresses are a pale green, and the bride is carrying red roses, so this is what I came up with. The bonus is that I will use these same arrangements for my own wedding! I am really stretching those dollars:)

I also got to have lunch with Tasha and her lovely girls on Saturday. She is proudly sporting the pregnant tummy bump and is adorable! And completely glowing too! This has been a great week off. I'm sad it's ending:(

Crazy Eights Meme

CRAZY EIGHTS!
I was tagged by Vader's Mom to play along, so here I go!

8 Things I'm Passionate About:
1. The BOSS (GOD)
2. Kenny, my soon-to-be-hubs
3. Making our home "our" home
4. My 60 pound puppy
5. Family & Friends
6. Teaching
7. Making things (anything)
8. Exercising

8 Things I Want to do Before I die:
1. Have kids
2. Watch Kenny become a great papa
3. Work with Kenny full time
4. Vacation in many different areas
5. Buy a house that requires little-to-none remodeling
6. Own a vacation house up north in the woods so Kenny can hunt and I can relax
7. Teach in a different school
8. Retire and love it!

8 Things I Say Often:
1. NO! (to the puppy)
2. NO! (to my students...hahaha)
3. NO! (to Kenny....see the pattern here?)
4. I'll get to it later.
5. Ask me after school.
6. I forgot. (especially recently)
7. I love you.
8. Where are you?

8 Books I've Read Recently:
1. Any and ALL Bridal mags
2. T is for Tresspass by Sue Grafton
3. S is for Silence by Sue Grafton
4. Froggy's First Kiss
5. A Charlie Brown Valentine
6. Kenny's work magazines
7. MANY Jackie Robinson books (he's my favorite person to highlight during Black History Month)
8. The Collected Poems by Langston Hughes (another famous person highlighted during Black History Month)

8 Songs I Could Listen to Over and Over:
1. When You Saying Nothing At All by Alison Kraus
2. Don't Want To Miss A Thing by Aerosmith
3. Big Girls Don't Cry by Fergie
4. Walking On Broken Glass by Annie Lennox
5. Sweet Emotion by Aerosmith
6. Building A Mystery by Sarah McLachlan
7. Good Old Boys by Waylon Jennings
8. Hey Jude by The Beatles

8 Things That Attract Me to My Best Friends:
1. Honesty
2. Can just hang out at home with nothing to do and still have fun doing it!
3. Make time for me
4. History
5. Gone through struggles and came out smiling
6. Like to eat out:)
7. I can fall asleep in their car and they think it's funny
8. LAUGHTER

8 People I Think Should Do Crazy 8's:
1. Tasha
2. Lori
3. Tee
4. Steff
5. Lindsay
6. La Bella
7. Erica
8. LaskiGal

Thirteen THINGS I Bought This Week

(trust me, the list is G R O W I N G)

1. Floral tape

2. Floral pins

3. Red beads

4. Shoes to wear on wedding day

(I know they aren't typical wedding attire, but do you know how hard it is to find CUTE flat shoes to match a wedding dress? It was a chore, and I got sick of looking. I'm not usually as dorky as these shoes, they kind of remind me something I wore in elementary school, except maybe mine were the jelly kind instead of fabric. Anyway, the good thing is, they are SUPER comfy. I promised Kenny I'd wear flat shoes because he's not that much taller than me....I HAD to keep my word.)

5. Hershey Kisses

6. Coffee

(Starbucks, Tim Hortons, a no-name coffee shop)

7. Gas

(don't even want to think about it)

8. Card for Kenny

(I was being sweet)

9. Dinner & breakfast with college roomie

10. Paper for printer

11. Doorknobs at Home Depot

12. New collar for puppy

(now 60 pounds)

13. Wedding gift for a friend

I have been B U S Y

As promised, a real post!

I am on mid-winter break this week, all week. And believe me, I feel BLESSED to have it. Not only did I need the break mentally, but I am getting tons of wedding stuff accomplished!

First, the invitations are mailed!! Yay! Big load off. Thank you NIKI for helping me sooooo much with it! There have already been additions to the list and more that I'm sure I'll be mailing, the but the bulk of them are done.

Second, here are all of our new fiestaware place settings...we received all of them from our registry and aren't they gorgeous?!?!? I LOVE fiestaware, especially the colors we picked out. They even look nice in the dishwasher!

Third, I made my wedding necklace. I made it with whote pearls and crystals, 3 18inch strands, twisted together. What do you think? I picked the pearls and crystals because that's what's on the dress. I looked and looked and looked for necklaces and couldn't find anything I liked, so I just decided to make it.

Fourth, I made corsages for my grandmothers and my stepmom....white roses with red ribbon. And then the corsages for my mom and Kenny's mom.....red roses and I don't know what ribbon to use with their's yet. Should it be red or white?

I have been busy!! And now I'm off to visit my roommate from college for the night and help her move. I also am in desperate need (not really) of a new sweatshirt from the college I graduated from. So I'm packing lightly to force myself to buy a new one....I love the way I think:)

I promise I'm still here....I didn't elope:) Way too busy, but I'm hoping to catch up today!!

Saturday??? Where did it go?

Ever have one of those days where you have a lot to do, and none of it gets done, but somehow, you were moving and going all day? That was my day today. I just don't get it. Well, I really do get why I accomplished nothing. I wasn't here to do it. I was everywhere else. And then when I thought I could be here to do stuff, nope, didn't happen. Huh. Another weekend half over and still not close to getting things accomplished. Whoever decided that weekends needed to only be two days long was smokin' the big one. Because two days is NEVER enough time to do ANYTHING. Nuff bitchin' about that now.

Vader's Mom linked to this neat little picture making thing.....go over and try it...

Here's my personality summed up in a painting.....PEERRRTTYYY!!!

More fun pre-marital stuff coming tomorrow morning!! I'm so excited I probably won't be able to sleep tonight:)

Unwinding

Today I finished up a science unit about solids, liquids, and gases. Lori gave me an awesome idea to use rootbeer floats to end the unit with. Ice cream as the solid, rootbeer as the liquid, and the fizz and reaction as the gases. The kids LOVED it!!

They didn't do so well answering their questions about the little experiment, but it was the last thing we did on a Friday, so I'll have to go over it with them on Monday. But they had so much fun:)

It snowed again the other day and we played outside with the puppy...she's so entertaining! I know I yak a lot about her, but she's our "baby" so she gets lots of attention from us. Taking out the garbage (and getting rid of the old dishwasher-yay!!) turned into playtime in the snow for the dog, so it was for us too. Here she is intently watching her "father" ball up some snow to throw at her. Don't feel bad for her at getting snow thrown...she's no angel!! She is in that play-biting stage, where she latched onto shirt sleeves and sometimes gets the skin....OUCH! She's not being mean, just a pain in the butt. But we still love her:)

I love the way the trees look in the winter when there's snow and ice in them. Kind of a crazy-scary picture I took here. It was completely dark outside, as dark as it can be with snow which seems to light everything up. And I didn't have the flash on, but it still came out somwhat light. I heart winter!!

It's Raining It's Snowing

No wonder people are sick all the time around here!! The weather changes so fast! I got up this morning and the backyard was flooded. No snow left, just complete wetness. And it was raining. Now look at it!!

These pics aren't great, I took them from the comfort of being INSIDE the house, not out in the madness. Gotta love this wacky weather. That's Michigan for ya.

Kenny captured me lovin' on the puppy the other day. Again, not great shots, not really flattering to me, but you can see the puppy in all her glory. She is the cutest lab baby ever! And she's not really a baby anymore, she's OVER 50 whopping pounds now. Can you handle the pink pants and blue socks? Can you tell it was Sunday?? Check out flickr for more of these lovely pictures:) Excuse the messy hair. That's what it looks like on Sundays. After church, of course.

I wasn't so stressed out at work today. I had the "who cares" attitude. I still got interrupted a million times, but I let it slide all day long. I came home and STAYED home. Those of you who know my habits know that I am anything but still when I come home from work. I usually don't come home, I'm busy running errands or finding Kenny or something. Not today. I think it was the weather. I just wanted to be warm and inside. So I watched what was on the DVR (Kate & Allie, Nip Tuck, Wedding Stories) and messed around on the computer. What a nice way to end the day!!

Teaching Mambo

Oh my stress level from work is SO HIGH today. I just want to teach!! That's it!! No committees, no meetings, no after school activities that we are forced to man, no more!! Just let me teach and leave me alone! Ah! The one complaint I have with being a teacher is that you are constantly being pulled in 300 directions ALL DAY LONG. No breaks, no moments of peace, it's ALL DAY. I asked for 10 minutes with any questions, tattles, or bathroom needs. 10 minutes!! Never got it:(

There, I got it out. I should start feeling better with that said. That, and some wine. Yummmm. I was sooooo good yesterday and today. I went to the gym both days, working hard on adding tenths of a mile every time, and two miles won't be all that tough soon! Did you know that fat people really can run?? I'm living proof! I'm not ripping on myself, I promise, but most people wouldn't believe that I can do it. I can! And I keep stretching that endurance every time too. Now I just need to get back to no carbs for a little while. That's the trick for me:) Anyway, I was going to the gym 3 times a week, and my new goal is 4. We'll see:)

I bought some more wedding magazines today in hopes of inspiring something in the jewelry department. I just don't know what to wear. So I keep looking. I might "MIGHT" try to make something myself. We'll see just how ambitious I'm feeling!

In class today, I was looking over some haiku poems the kids have been working on. One of the girls wrote her title, the first line with 5 syllables, the second line with 7 syllables, and the third line with 5 syllables. Then she invented a fourth line, which was "w w w . j e s s i c a . c o m." That is her name. She added that BELOW her poem. What do you make of that?? Is that what she thinks should there because she sees websites all over the place? Oh my gosh. She wasn't here today for me to ask her about it, but you know I'll be asking tomorrow!!

This is totally random, but a few weeks back Kenny & I had to take a pre-marital counseling class (8 hours long) and there was some psychological testing at the end of it. I've been dying to know the results, which we won't get back for a while yet, but when we saw the reverand who gave us the test (it was actually a paper test, multiple choice, machine scored) and who is also marrying us, I asked him about it, and his response was, "You will be surprised." That's it. No expression one way or the other, no hints, no reassurance, no nothing. Ugh. I know it doesn't matter really, and that they will marry us regardless (I made sure that if we failed they would still marry us!!), but come on!! That's cruel!! So we wait....

Shower

The wedding shower given by my mom was yesterday!! It was so much fun too!! It was actually hosted by my mom, two cousins, two aunts, Kenny's mom, and my grandma. I didn't know that I wasn't going to get much time to talk to the guests...I guess that's all in preparation for the wedding day, right? I know I won't have much time on that day, but I didn't know the shower was going to be the same way too!! I barely even got to take any pictures of guests either!! But that's okay, because I'm sure there will be plenty of chances in the next couple of months for that. Kenny and I registered for a full line of Fiestaware dishes, in 4 different colors, red, green, blue, and yellow. And we received most of them yesterday. They are GORGEOUS!! If you are not familiar with Fiestaware, google it and start drooling. It's so pretty! I usually am the person who makes people gifts, like quilts, aftgans, scrapbooks, whatever, but I actually RECEIVED a homemade gift at the shower! It's an aftgan made by my great aunt, who chose green because I like frog stuff. Isn't it cute? I already used it last night!!

I (we) also received heirloom pillowcases from my grandma, the kind with the lacey ends on them. I'm not sure of the proper description of them, but they are so pretty!

The night before the shower I made badges for the bridesmaids to wear.....they turned out so cute! Take a look!

I used the fun foam, cut out the shape, and use the sticky-back pins on the back of it.

Then I took tulle and tiny beaded garland and wrapped around the waist and glued it down. Easy as pie!

I really have the best bridemaids ever. They rock!! There are really 10 of them, plus a junior bridesmaid, and two flower girls, but here's one group of them and me!

And there are a couple girls who got away without group pics....Nik and Jules....you know who you are!!!

We came home and passed out almost immediatly. Hard work opening presents! The house is in complete diarray today because I couldn't just put things away you know. First, things had to be washed, and then the cupboards had to be reorganized and all that stuff, and I have spent the whole day in the kitchen and it's still not unpacked. It takes so long to box up old dishes and other things and then put the new stuff in!! I spend way too much time dawdling too. I know I do. Oh well. I had a great weekend. Maybe another snow day tomorrow? I need one again!

Guess WHAT???

I got my wish.......

SNOW DAY TODAY!! There was big talk about the amount of snow we're supposed to get this morning, and even though we don't have a ton of it right now, it's on its way!! So even though I'm already showered, I'm going back to bed!! Talk about a great wish coming true!!