Christmas

Okay, well, it's happening again. It's something that should NEVER happen, but it does, every year, and it happens to most people. What? you ask?

Forgetting the true meaning of Christmas.

I do this every year. I make lists of what to buy people for Christmas, and without a doubt those lists are way too long, and then I stress out over how much I spend on each person and by the time the holidays are over, I cringe when I *balance* the checkbook. EVERY YEAR. And I know this going into the first Christmas shopping trip...and it still always happens.

But this year, I didn't get sucked into buying too many gifts and spending too much money. I almost did, I felt it coming on, and then, about 2 weeks, ago, I was reading someone's blog, (I can't remember who's it was!!) and it dawned on me AGAIN that Christmas is about Jesus's birth, the meaning of Christmas, and being thankful for the loved ones we have around us. After all, there wouldn't be this beautiful holiday without His birth and the story surrounding that magical moment. There wouldn't be a need for all the pretty lights and delicate wrapping paper and bows that we buy or make. There wouldn't be that urgency to get "the perfect" gift for that "someone special" on our list. And we certainly wouldn't be out spending money on all those gifts. But is this holiday really about spending money? Is it about giving gifts? Is is about receiving gifts? The wise men gave gifts to Baby Jesus in the manger, but they were different kinds of gifts, not the kind that we rush to Best Buy to get on sale or thos gifts that we go broke buying. The gifts that we sometimes forget to give are the ones that matter the most...the gift of love and forgiveness, and somewhere in there, spending time with people that matter the most to us.

I actually whipped out the Bible today just to read the story of Jesus's birth. I've heard it a million times, especially around Christmas time. But I wanted to really sit down and read it, and think about how "Christ" mas the day He was born was compared to how we celebrate Christmas now.

It's so different! Back then, the gifts that the wise men gave to Jesus were gold, frankincense, and myrrh, gifts that were made for "royalty" and someone very special. Is that how we give gifts now? Do we give the most important gifts to the ones we love? Do we give them unconditional love and accept them for who they are? Do we do this now? I don't feel like I do. Of course I give the gift of love to everyone around me, and most of the time forgiveness, but that's not good enough. It's not just what you give at this time of year, it's what we give ALL the time, all year round, because that's the time when it really matters, in the off-season.

This just really has me thinking about the true meaning of Christmas, the most colorful, wonderful, special, magical holiday of the year for Christians. I'm proud to be a Christian, and I'm proud to say that the true meaning of Christmas KEPT me from spending too much time in the malls and too much money from the checking account. I've always known that the best gift to give to anyone is love, but this year, I'm really giving it.

Happy Birthday to the creator of

My Spatter Painted Life, LINDSAY!!!!

Click on over to her site and wish her a Happy Day!!

Putting up the tree.....AGAIN

We put up our Christmas tree on November 25th, right after Thanksgiving. Usually Kenny makes me wait until December 1st, but this year, I just couldn't. It's too exciting!

So we put it up. And then last week half the lights went out. Damn those light strands where when one light goes out, half the strand goes out too. I took ALL the decorations off and put on new lights and the decorations went back on. All done, right? Wrong.

Tonight we were shopping at Tar*get, and Kenny had his eye on a HUGE tree that was on sale. We had already decided to buy a new one after Christmas because the one we have now is the one I used in college and it's only 3 1/2 feet tall, so have always put it up on a table or something to make it seem bigger. The tree Kenny was drooling over was 8 feet and gorgeous....very real looking, as real as fake can get. And it had pinecones too. Bonus.

So we bought it. And when we came home, we took the decorations off AGAIN, then the lights came off, then the little tree went back into its box and into the closet. We put the new tree together, added more lights, the decorations and wah-lah, we're good to go.





And the best thing about it is that I made a new Christmas tree skirt while I was sick this past weekend (I had nothing better to do while I was laying around). I made a pretty big one because I knew that we would have a bigger tree next year, and it looked silly under our old dinky tree, so we weren't going to use the skirt until next year. Well, now it's in use!





For anyone who is crafty, it's all felt, and I hand sewed the trees and candy canes on it, as well as the rope border. Nothing fancy, but it was fun to make.

So that is the saga of our Christmas tree this year. Again.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my 28th birthday!

There are several reasons why I haven't posted in 4 days:

*Wednesday was Parent Teacher Conferences.....LONG day.

*Thursday Kenny took me to a Red Wings game as an early celebration for my birthday since he's out of town now.

*Friday I called in sick because I REALLY WAS SICK.

*I HAVE BEEN FEELING LIKE SHIT.

Back to the Wings game. They won in over time! It was awesome! I knew at the game I was getting sick too, but I still enjoyed myself and loved every minute of it. I went to bed wondering if I was going to call in sick the next day. Sure enough I woke up feeling awful. Urgent care was a horrible experience. Usually, I can be in and out of there in 45 minutes, and that includes a prescription! But this time, with a fever, my head pounding, and the bones in my face aching so badly, I waited FOREVER! I knew I had a sinus infection. And I was right. So 3 hours later and in MUCH MORE PAIN, and got home and went to bed for the rest of the day. The pain in my face finally stopped at about midnight. The worst part about it was that I had to cancel my birthday party with my girls on Friday night. I hated making that phone call. We had all been looking forward to it since our last get-together in August. But I couldn't go sick! So Kenny took care of me on Friday and yesterday I sent him to work promising him I was fine alone, and I was. I slept a lot, and I feel now like I just have a cold.

Last night Kenny's parents gave me a cake and my present, and because Kenny is leaving to go out of town today, I am going to my dad's house for part of the day. Then a couple friends are meeting me for dinner tonight, and tomorrow my mom and I are going shopping together (I took a personal day off). Kenny comes back on Tuesday, and he'll take me out for dinner and then a surprise, whatever that means. When Kenny says "surprise" it doesn't usually mean that. It means something silly, but I love it anyway!

So despite the canceled plans and sickness, I'm still having a Happy Birthday!

All too busy week...

I have so much to talk about and ZILCH time!

So I will leave you with this:

Here is the beginning of what has turned out to be a fabulous fairytale written by one of the brightest girls I have ever met! We had just finished a discussion on remembering to indent....

And on the same day, by the same child, this was given to me. I love the drawings I receive....I actually have a "figure" even if it's a boxy one! And I always seem to have big hair and rosy cheeks.

I can't do my work....

I have lots to talk about....but right now I'm trying to do some school work and this is what I have to contend with......

He was sitting next to the computer desk, where the tree is, holding a wrapped present (not for him, I'm smarter than that!) pouting for attention. How can I not stop working with this face?

Hope everyone had a great weekend! All hail the snow falling!

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

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

1. Sharpening a Pencil

2. Reading

3. Typing

4. Teacher & Student

5. Math

6. Dinosaurs

7. Legos

8. Puzzle

9. Coloring

10. Memory Game

11. Sewing

12. Jacks

13. Doorknob

A-Z of Me

I was tagged by Lindsay!!!

A - Available/Single? Taken and in love!

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

C- Cake or Pie? Pie, yummy.

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

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

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

M - Marriage Date? Soon

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

O - Oranges Or Apples? Oranges

P - Phobias/Fears? Climbing up high places

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

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

T - Tag Four People? Nah....

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

V - Vegetable you don't like? Brussel Sprouts

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

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

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

Kenny, the dancin' machine!

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

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

Congratulations A & J!!

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


Here we are before the craziness happened.

What a Thanksgiving...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

To see the pictures, click here.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer

Have you ever changed a flat tire by yourself?

Yes, and it was a most UNPLEASANT experience.

Soup

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

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

Salad

Name a new paint color and describe it.

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

Main Course

What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Taking pictures....what else?

Dessert

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

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

I got the idea for this meme from Tee.

If you want to play along too, click here!

Thirteen Reasons Kenny Is

Thankful For Me!!!

1. I rub his back.

2. I clean up after him (sometimes).

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

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

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

6. I love being outside.

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

8. I quit overreacting to crazy stuff.

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

10. I brighten his day EVERY DAY.

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

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

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

LOVE YOU HONEY!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!

Word Beads

Word Meme!!

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

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

~Slogan~

~Acronym~

~Stochastic~

~Ancient~

~Circumscription~

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

Photo Hunt

P L U S H

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

Meme Again!!

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

5 Things About Me

1. I love it when Christmas is so close!

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

3. I miss living in the country!!

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

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

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

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Reasons To Blog!

1. For therapy

2. To meet some pretty nifty people

3. See others' creative ideas

4. To tell a story

5. Keep in contact with family/friends far away

6. For your job

7. Just because it's fun

8. To keep a journal of your life

9. To feel accepted

10. You are addicted to reading others' blogs

11. You want to share your life with the world

12. For a school assignment (college)

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

Jerk, cheap, literal, in that order!!

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

Wrong.

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

Taking a break? TAKING A BREAK??

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

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

Jerk.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Weekendness

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

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

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

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

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

Thursday Thirteen

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

Thirteen Things I Am Thankful For

1. Mom, Dad, Mark

2. The love of my life...Kenny

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

4. Crunchy peanut butter

5. My job (I LOVE what I do)

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

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

8. Campfires with loved ones

9. Riding in Kenny's truck with him anywhere

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

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

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

13. Sparky

Election Day

It's the American thing to do!

Don't Forget!