We are pooped. After spending the weekend at the lake house, Kenny and I, and even the dog, are just plain tired! Sunday we spent the whole day playing on the pontoon boat in the middle of the lake, watching the dog swim, floating on the floaties tied up to the boat, and enjoying family. We came home late last night and crashed, the dog was the first one to bed! Today proved to be no better in the tiredness department. I finally dragged myself out of the house around 6pm. Talk about lazy! But I can still do that, because in a few SHORT weeks I'll be back at work. That's how I justify being lazy:) I only managed to get one picture this weekend, can you believe that??? But seriously, after 6 summers at the lakehouse (and a lifetime for Kenny), all the pics start looking the same. Here is the one I got, after I played around with the editing tools a bit....

And since I've started scrapbooking again, I'll share some finished pages. I ordered some awesome foam stamps (thanks Lori!!) and got them last week, I love them!! I already want more fonts, I can tell I'm going to end up with a bunch of them. I still have a L O N G way to go until I'm finished....I'm working on catching up on pictures for the last two years, including ALL the wedding stuff, which is A LOT!! But here's a peak at a couple pages I've finished so far:

I will have many more pages to come as I finish them!!

Grandparents (and Kenny singing)

Having my grandparents at my house yesterday was AWESOME! My grandpa suffered a stroke 3 years ago and even though he was 90 at the time, his only setback is his speech. He has trouble pronouncing words, but believe me, he gets his point across. Don't let the walker fool ya, he's had arthritis since he was in his 40s, that's not because of the stroke. My grandma has a hard time with memory and she fell a few years back injuring her neck. Despite physical rehab on it, her neck is very weak and it's hard for her to straighten it out. But in all seriousness, my grandparents are amazing considering their ages. I love 'em. They live in assisted living, a small corner apartment that is cozy for the two of them. They go down to the cafeteria for 3 meals a day and have caregivers drop off meds each day. They are so lucky to be where they are together, after 62 years of marriage! Again, I just love them. They are so cute. That's why I loved having them here in my house. They have heard me talk about our house for a year and a half now, so they were very excited to see it. My aunt and I also took them to a house they lived in when they were first married, which isn't far from my house. My grandpa remembered every detail, my grandma did as we were leaving. It was very cool.

And finally, here is the video of Kenny singing again as promised. He didn't know I was taping him at first, not until I tripped on the dog and he turned around. He couldn't hear me narrating the video at first either, even though it seems like I'm yelling. Oh yeah, forgive the evil laugh when he discovers I'm taping him, I have a habit of laughing like that, not very attractive, I know. Note how Kenny slips into Elvis mode with the lip when he says FAITHFULLY at the very end. And also, just before that, notice the air guitar. Those are both staples in his performances. The dude thinks he's a modern Elvis. And I married him. Heh.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Catchup

It can't really be Friday already, can it?? My week has been hazy. Monday morning I woke up with some horrid stomach issue, which turned into the 24 (possibly 36) hour flu. It was nasty. Tuesday I woke up feeling about 75% better, and as the day progressed and I washed every comforter, blanket, towel, rug, countertop, doorknob, and surface, I felt better. By Wednesday I was good as new. Talk about a crazy sickness. Yesterday I spent many long, sun-filled hours with Niki at her pool. VERY relaxing! I have also been working on scrapbooking our albums....for the last 2 years. I am THAT behind in it. Lori gave me a great idea on working backwards, starting with current pics and working back until it was all finished. I have pretty much done that, except for little events here and there that I was really excited about putting together and couldn't wait. It's been so long since I scrapbooked, and getting back into it has been so much fun. Not sure Kenny appreciates the messes I make in the livingroom every evening, but I do clean them up when I'm done, unlike SOME people. I'm sure it's especially annoying to him though because I do have a craft table and area downstairs complete with a TV and DVD player for when I'm working down there, but it's got my sewing stuff all over it right now, so the livingroom seems like the best place! My aunt is visiting from out of state and is bringing my grandparents to visit at my house today. They are both in their 90s and obviously don't drive anymore, and have not seen our house yet. So I am really looking forward to them being here in my house, and to see my aunt too! We are going to drive my grandparents to one of the first houses they lived in as a married couple, which is ironically only about 7 miles from my house. I've driven past it several times, and from what I'm told by my dad and his siblings, it looks almost the same as it did in the 1950s. I know my grandparents will enjoy seeing it! Sorry for the short post, I'll post again with pics tonight or tomorrow!!

PS-I do have some more footage of Kenny singing, in case you haven't had enough yet....I'll get it on here ASAP. Be ready to laugh!

Guitar

Watch this video of Kenny singing. I promise you won't be disappointed. I know I've posted him singing before, so bear with it, you WILL laugh. Remember, every song he sings, even non-Garth and non-Elvis songs, he always has a Garth voice with the Elvis lip. And he thinks he's good. Here you go.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

P.S. Tasha had her baby!!!! Benjamin Christopher was born on July 25th, weighing 7lb3oz. Welcome little guy!! I have to take a minute to brag that I've known for months what his name would be.....hehehe!

I worked with Kenny today. We have been spending A LOT of time together because I've been with him working often this summer. It's nice to be able to do that, it's also nice to have that quiet time. Sorry honey, I know you are reading this and pouting about it, but you know that I need that alone QUIET time!! In all seriousness though, I wouldn't trade being able to work with him for anything. When we arrived home today, the dog was especially happy to see us. She was hyper, just wanting to play and go crazy. Kenny makes this "Ahhhhh!" sound to get her going, and she really does go nuts. She tucks in her puppy butt and takes off running full speed, whether she's in the house or outside. It's hilarious. I got it on video today...

Also.....
Someone special has a birthday today...so go click on her blog and give her some birthday lovin'!

Happy Birthday Tasha!!

And just in case you didn't know, she is about to have her third baby this week, Friday to be exact!

I'm still here!!

This past week was a sad one. I was in lahlah land until my gram's funeral on Friday, and then I was in a different lahlah land this weekend. I was close to my grandma, so this is hard, but I'm better now and dealing just fine, and THANK YOU to everyone who called and left sweet messages and to all the sweet, heartwarming comments and emails. It means a lot to me.

Kenny was a HUGE support last week and took us fishing a couple times just to get out of the house and away from the sadness. Here are a couple pics....excuse the RED eyes, I think you know where they came from.

And today we went out on his brother's boat unexpectedly! It was super fun, super hot, and we was super unprepared. By that I mean that I had no sunglasses (the cheapies broke in the car), no bathingsuit/swimming stuff, and no sunblock. It was hard to be in the boat with a t-shirt and capris on while my hubs could easily swim in whatever shorts he was sporting, but it was still fun and another nice break in the routine of dealing with sadness. The puppy had a blast, I have never seen her so tired in her life. She was in the water for 2 hour stretches swimming and chasing her toy, which was a pop can because like I said, it was a spur of the moment trip and we were unprepared. The can worked well as a ball, and she chased that thing all over the place! It was gorgeous today. I am definitely started to feel normal again.

Gram

Dorothy E.

(my Gram)

1917-2008

My Grandma died on Sunday in her home, sitting in her comfy chair. She wasn't sick, no diseases or serious illnesses, she even went for half of her daily mile walk that morning. She was 91, and it was just natural causes that got her. I already miss her a lot. She taught me how to sew and we have had countless conversations through the years about quilts, patterns, and crafty things.

Among the many things she made me since I was born, more recently she made me cloth animal books from old calendars to use in my classroom in the last six years, which my students love to look at. Even though I am sad and miss her, she is with my Grandpa now, who has been gone for 6 years. They were married for 60-plus years when he passed. Even before Grandma died, every time I used my sewing machine or bought fabric or did anything sewing related, I though of her, how she would be doing what I'm doing, only better. I looked at my sewing machine this morning and tears immediatly stung my eyes. I am so happy that she was here for my wedding showers (she helped plan one of them) and my wedding day, that she enjoyed herself there, and that she was able to meet her two newest great-grandchildren just last Thursday. I'm so thankful that I had her in my life this long. I miss you Gram. Love you always.

(Easter 2007)

My kitchen in clean and I didn't clean it!!

Ever have one of those sleeps that just sucks you in, like you are so asleep NOTHING can wake you? That's how I slept last night. I worked with Kenny all day and then came home with a headache. I had every intention of cleaning the kitchen (it must have been the catch all room in Kenny's mind for about 24 hours because it was BAD) but every time I went to do it, my head hurt even worse. Like it was telling me NO WAY can you clean me tonight. So I told Kenny I was going to bed because of the headache and to please wake me up in an hour for my next dose of tylenol. He did, it was so sweet, and then, just as I was dozing off again, I hear clanking and banging in the kitchen, and before I was completely in sleep land, I thought to myself that I must already be dreaming if he's cleaning the kitchen. When I woke from the the most awesome, deep, uninterrupted sleep I've ever had this morning (yes, even the puppy left me alone!!), I saw the kitchen and just about hit my knees. Kenny had cleaned the whole thing from top to bottom. He not only PUT AWAY all his crap, but he had cleaned it with actual cleaner! I was shocked. Now that I know he'll actually do it, I might have to expect more, but I'm not holding my breath. I am still so happy about it. I keep running in there just to marvel at the sight of a clean room that wasn't made that way by me!! What a feeling!

We are going canoeing today on a nearby lake. This is the lake where the falls are, so I will have to make sure we STAY AWAY from that end of the lake. Last summer we canoed there and I knew there was an end of the lake to avoid, buy Kenny didn't believe me, and we were almost toast in the rapids. Hopefully this time he'll remember that and listen to me when I say turn around!! heheheh. I am looking forward to canoeing. I wish I could take pictures, but I don't dare bring our camera, not with our track record of flipping canoes, which will be a whole other post!!

I can just tell today is going to be one of those lazy, awesome Sundays!!

Locked Out & Misc

What a story!!

Tuesday evening Kenny was still working in his parents' basement. So I took the puppy and we drive over (3 miles away) and hung out there for a little while. I chatted with his parents, and his dad went to bed, and then his mom and I were watching TV. I fell asleep on the floor around 11pm. I woke up at 1am and Kenny and his mom were chatting, she's a night owl too, on the couch. I was uncomfortable sleeping on the floor, but Kenny told me we would be leaving in a couple minutes. So I fell back asleep, waking up at 4am to find him passed out on the couch snoring. Ugh. I had no intentions of sleeping another couple hours on the floor, as it's not too comfortable, and since we only live a couple miles away, I decided to drive home. I got the dog, walked out to Kenny truck to get my car keys which I had left in there, and they weren't there, which meant they were in his parents house, to which I had just locked and closed the front door on my way out. I was LOCKED OUT at 4:30am with the dog!! I WAS SO MAD!! It was VERY humid and I had to pee so bad...thank goodness for bushes in the backyard is all I'll say about that....I didn't know what to do, I was SO TIRED and also achy from sleeping hours on the floor, and I didn't dare ring the doorbell or knock on the door. Kenny's family is a little dramatic and who knows what would have happened had I woken his parents up at that hour. I was screwed. The only way I was able to get into his truck was with his pin on the keyless entry. I had no keys to ANYTHING. So I took the dog and we got in his truck. I tried to sleep for a while, I really did, but it was so humid and sticky, and without the keys I couldn't roll down any windows which caused the dog to pant and drool all over me, and then she thought it was play time. I'm telling you I was MISERABLE! I finally got out of the truck around 6am and we sat on the porch swing on the front porch, but soon the sun was beating down on me so it was too hot to try to sleep there, plus the dog was running all over the place and they don't have a fenced in yard, so who knows where she would have turned up. FINALLY, at 7:30am I hear the garage door going up and here comes Kenny's dad, out to the car to go get a paper. THANK GOD!! He asks me what in the world I'm doing and I told him what happened, and he told me I should have rang the doorbell, he'd been up since 4:30am, about the time all I locked myself out. Ugh. I was so stinkin' tired. I got my keys and drove home, put the dog in our backyard because all she wanted to do at this point was play, and I went to sleep IN MY OWN COMFY BED until noon. What a morning!!

The rest of the day I spent with Niki and I hemmed some clothes for her and grilled the best burgers ever!

Today I went to Tasha's house to hang out and teach her to crochet. We only got an hour (barely) into the crochet lessons and Kenny called and left his work stuff in my car, and he needed it ASAP, so I taught Tasha as much as I could hoping she would be okay with her blanket for a couple days until I could come back and teach her more....then she texted me saying she screwed it all up......Tasha, I promise I'm not laughing AT you! But the text was cute!! I hope to get back there in a couple days to help her some more!

That's the catch-up on my week so far...and it's only Thursday! You never know what else is going to happen in this crazy house this week!!

Guess who's birthday?

The Puppy turns ONE today!!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Just Happy

Today was one of those days that is just perfect. It's probably the most beautiful day yet in Michigan, not a cloud in the sky, hot, no humidity (rare for July in MI), and no where that I need to be. I finished up cleaning this morning and then helped Kenny for about an hour, and then the rest of the day was mine. He went to work, and I went to the backyard to work in the flowerbeds and the lawn. We're still bringing the backyard up to par, it seems like it's taking forever, but it's almost there. I got some GOOD sun today, it was hot but it felt so good.

I feel so much more comfortable and happy this summer for some reason. I was happy last summer too, it was our first summer in our house, there was tons of stuff to "re-do," and it was a great summer, but for some reason, this one is different. Every day I'm so happy, thankful, loving life, more than I ever have. I'm sure it has to do with being married to Kenny, and not waiting around guessing when he will propose, hearing people constantly ask me when we'll get married. That was getting SO OLD. I don't have that to think about, and also because the summer started out with an amazing honeymoon, I KNOW that adds happiness. I just look around at things in our house and things outside, and I'm so elated that we are where we are in life. Not just with the material things, I mean the two of us. This feels like the most magical time in my life, even more so than when I was newly engaged or in the throws of wedding planning (which, just in case you forgot, I LOVED EVERY SINGLE MINUTE OF IT!!! but I'm glad I have my life back now). I guess the best way to describe it is this....there have been 3 absolutely perfect days in my life: 1) graduation from college 2) Kenny proposing 3) our wedding day.....and the way I feel right now is like all three of those combined. That's how happy I feel!!

While I know life and marriage has ups and downs, I'm taking full advantage of this UP right now. Believe me there are times every day where I am irritated or antsy, and my life is by no means perfect. But I know when happiness hits, we are supposed to thrive in it, and that's exactly what I'm doing!

Jumble Post

For the 4th, we didn't do much. Since we got back from our vacation, Kenny has been working, I have been working with him and outside, and also trying to get back into the swing of non-vacation life. Like paying bills. Yick.

We worked together yesterday for about 4 hours, then came home and relaxed. Kenny fell asleep on the couch and I hosed down our new (to us) patio table & chairs so we could have dinner on our new patio for the first time!! I can't even tell you how long I've been waiting to have this patio, and then once I got it, the patio table. It's finally here!!! Now Kenny is shopping for an umbrella for it, but I love it even without one! I grilled chicken and woke him up to eat dinner outside....so awesome!! We stayed outside for the rest of the evening. I was reading the rest of my book (it was one of those you CANNOT put down even with 100 pages left) and he mowed and weedwacked and the dog ran around between us. It was so relaxing. Then we sat on the front porch and watched fireworks in the surrounding towns (cities??). I think we saw 3 different displays from our porch!! This was the dog's first experience with fireworks, wasn't sure what to expect. She was SUPER curious, her head snapped every which way with all the lights and booms. She loved it. Then some neighbors on both sides had sparklers going...she was in heaven watching it all. I fell asleep watching TV while Kenny was working on the computer, a nightly ritual around here. Nothing beats that!

Today I have been a work horse. The last couple of days the closets around here have been driving me crazy. So I started in on one, it turned into another, and another, and then the whole house, and I'm just about done now. I'm telling you, when I'm in the mood, it hits me hard, and watch out because everything ends up in the trash or in someone else's hands!! Kenny walked into the spare bedroom which I had just cleaned, closet included, and it was TRASHED before, and his jaw dropped. He said, "This would have taken me all day and it took you an hour?" All I could think was, "Yes dear, this is what happens when you don't have ADD." But I didn't say it. I think all men are ADD when it comes to cleaning. I just sleep better with a clean house. I can't start a project or get something out without first cleaning things. I've just always been like that. It's probably nutty, but I can't help it!

I got this meme from Lori...

1.What is in the back of your car? classroom stuff (still haven't cleaned it out yet)

2.What color is your toothbrush? mostly white, a little blue stripe

3.Name one person who made you smile today...Kenny-he always does!

4.What were you doing at 8:00 AM? Waking up to a rerun of Dawson's Creek

5. What were you doing 45 minutes ago? Cleaning!!

6. What is your favorite candy? York Peppermint Patties

7. What is the last thing you said aloud? OUCH!!! (I stubbed my toe)

8. What is the best ice cream flavor? Anything mixed with cheesecake

9. What is the last thing you had to drink? Ice tea

10 What are you wearing right now? shorts & t-shirt

11. What is the last thing you ate? a bowl of strawberries, blueberries & raspberries

12. Have you bought any new clothes this week? yes, I was on vacation and did what any tourist did...bought new t-shirts!

13. When was the last time you ran? Thursday at the gym

14. What was the last sporting event you watched? Tigers on tv

15. Ever go camping? Tons as a kid, at least once a summer now

16. Do you have a tan? Are you kidding...I just got home from an ocean honeymoon, of course!!17. Do you take vitamins daily? when I remember

18. Do you go to church? not as often as we should, but yes

19. Do you like Chinese food more than pizza? nope

20. Do you drink your soda with a straw? out of a glass? when I'm out to eat!

21. Are you someone’s best friend? yes

22. What are you doing tomorrow? Not sure, maybe out of town, maybe not depending on the husband's stuff!!

23. Where is your dad? On vacation in WI

24. Can you say the alphabet backwards? If it's in front of me!

25. Do you have a maid service clean your home? LOL...I am the maid

26. Do you have a favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time? I have MANY sandals and my adidas running shoes too

27. What color is your car? Silver

28. How do you like your popcorn? Butter

29. How did you get your worst scar? Got my thumb slammed in the truck door when I was about 4

30. Look to your left. I see a cork board with lots of paper junk on it (after the closet cleanout I'll get busy on that!)

31. What color is your watch? I don't wear it in the summer, but it's silver

32. What do you think of when you think of Australia? Olympics

33. Do you use chap stick? Constantly

34. Do you have a dog? Black lab, almost one year old

35. Last person you talked to on the phone? Tasha

36. Have you met anyone famous? Yes, lots, because of my husband

37. Any plans today? It's almost 9pm, so I'll probably read my book and/or watch reruns of Matlock (I love DVRing!!!)

38. How many states have you lived in? One

39. Do you dye your hair? Highlights and lowlights when needed

40. Do you like cats? Yup!

Happy 4th of July!!!

I hope everyone has a safe, fun, relaxing weekend!


Here are a few more honeymoon moments to share with you!!

Sharks swimming around above our heads at the aquarium....



Aquarium from lindsey oo on Vimeo.


View of the ocean from our condo....



Untitled from lindsey oo on Vimeo.


And the ocean while I'm standing in it....


Untitled from lindsey oo on Vimeo.

We're Home!!

What a honeymoon!! Our week away was the best week ever. I can't even believe we're home now! I feel like we just left, but that's always a sign of a great trip. We arrived in SC and got our rental car and we were off to find the perfect condo on the ocean. And it ended up being the perfect place and the best price too. Kenny is the king of negotiating, and he did a heck of a job.

Our seven days consisted of LOTS of swimming in the ocean and the pool, laying in the sand and on the decks, sitting in the hottub at night, lots of yummy dinners, and some road trips here and there. We ventured off to Wilmington, NC one evening and stumbled upon the famous places that were used in Dawson's Creek and Matlock, two of my favorites! That was really fun, and that town is so charming with the boardwalk and the river. Film crews were taping an episode of One Tree Hill while we were there too, so of course that made it even more exciting! Here is "Leary's Fresh Fish" and the wall that Pacey bought for Joey....you know what I'm talking about if you watched Dawson's Creek.

And here is the famous courthouse in Matlock...

We went to Ripley's Aquarium and saw the most awesome display of sharks. They swim right over you in their tank...it's the best view you can imagine without getting eaten!

Kenny had his birthday while we were there and we got dressed up and went out to celebrate....

We went fishing after midnight on the pier and I caught two baby sharks. Believe me when I say that this picture almost didn't happen because I was DEATHLY AFRAID to hold that little monster. He was flailing all over the place and I was screaming like a baby. But Kenny snapped the picture in time.

I found out how much I loved snowcones. They are the perfect thing to drink (eat) when it's so hot out!! And Kenny had to indulge in ice cream....

We had an amazing honeymoon!! I have to admit that I am glad to be home now. Our puppy stayed with my inlaws so she was well taken care of and fed. She was happy to see us! It's so nice to come home and have a clean house (it won't stay clean for long) and still be on summer vacation. To see the rest of the pictures go to flickr. Enjoy!

We have finally.....

Gettin' Ready

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

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

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

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

Lots Going On

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

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



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



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



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



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

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

Home & Snoop Doggy Dog

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

(this is what the entire trip looked like)

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

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

Break Front

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

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

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

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

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

A day late...

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

And to my father in law!!!

(on the right)

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

Wedding Gift

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

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

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

V A C A T I O N

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

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

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

Summer vacation, here I come!!!


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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

24-48 Hours Left!!

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

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

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

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

One more real day of work! YAY!!!

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

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

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

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

Happy Saturday!

SUNNNNNDAY

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

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

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

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

SEX & THE CITY, THE MOVIE....

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