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!!!

A Crap Day

That's right, the title says it all. And it was THAT BAD. I wasn't at work yesterday (appointment) and so this morning I go into my room to find that the sub had used EVERY SINGLE SOCIAL STUDIES ACTIVITY FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR PLUS OTHERS IN ONE DAY. HELLO??????????????? THAT WAS A LOT OF MY PAPER AND TIME SPENT PREPARING THOSE LESSONS AND THEY WERE MEANT TO BE SPREAD OUT OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS AND NOW I HAVE NOTHING. NOTHING AT ALL. I was so mad. I'm still so mad. Hence the cap locks. That's not all she did, but I'll just stop there with her, because who knows what could happen if I continue to recap what else she did. So my morning was shot, and it was only 730. Today was the last day to pay for our zoo field trip, so of course it was crazy with all the last minute payments and chaperones expecting to be able to go too when they wait till the last minute, yada yada yada. At 820, I am asked to go on a field trip with the other multi-age class (third, fourth, and fifth graders) because their teacher is still on crutches and can't make the trip. I was already gone yesterday, my kids are a mess because it threw off their schedule, they were so happy to see me this morning, I'm so happy to be with them at this point, and I'm still mad about the sub. And I'm expected to take someone else's class on a trip I'm not prepared for?? And for the record, this trip required the chaperones and teachers to be formally trained for about 4 hours, so it wasn't like I was just crowd control. I was expected to do stuff and explain stuff. So I had no choice but to go, and of course my students (some of them) were crying when I left, you know they are just babies after all. And when they are not prepared ahead of time for me not being there, it's hard. Anyway, I was completely embarrassed by some of the fifth graders' behaviors on the trip and wanted to get the heck out of there and I will never do that again. EVER. It wasn't even the kids who were in the class I was in charge of...it was other classes. The day just dragged on and on and on. Ugh. I'm finally home, finally safe from madness, and you know what?? I miss my students. I really do. I told them before I left that they would have movies and popcorn and treats on Monday for being so good while I was gone for two days, and they will get every minute of that.

THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY. I don't know what I would do if it wasn't.

Holy Tired

Wowzaaas am I pooped. Since yesterday morning I have worked nonstop around the house, except for an hour nap yesterday on the couch and going to bed by 10pm last night. I was up this morning working on our scary laundry problem....too many clothes, and the fact that we have been SERIOUSLY BEHIND on laundry since our wedding. So I spent almost 4 hours working on it. And I can proudly say IT'S DONE. Thank GOD. Cause if I see another sock or t-shirt that needs to be put away, or if I see another piece of clothing to iron, I'm all done. I did ALL THE LAUNDRY FOR THE ENTIRE WEEK TODAY. Plus all the back up stuff, several sets of sheets (since we have so many thanks to Bed Bath & Beyond's gift registry!!!!!), towels up the ying-yang. I can't believe I'm still talking about laundry. But come on, you all know what I'm talking about, the stuff that you set to the side and think you'll catch up on it later. Yup. Even that stuff is done. I rock.

We invited the inlaws (I just love saying that, and I love THEM!!) over for burgers on the grill, so Kenny is manning the outside stuff and I'm about to get the other stuff in the kitchen ready. I DO NOT want to go to work tomorrow, it's extra hard to go back after a 3-day weekend, but I', sure everyone feels that way too!! Happy Memorial Day!!!

Blonde

Yesterday I worked with Kenny all day, for about 12 hours. It was fun and exhausting. When I work with him, I'm concentrating and working with numbers constantly. I didn't get a break for 5 hours, which happens, but it does a number on the mind when it's all over with. When we were done, one of his colleages was talking to me about something and I had to ask him several times to clarify what he was saying. I was thinking one thing, he was saying another, and my mind was fried, rightfully so. I know he walked away from the conversation thinking I was a complete moron, an airhead, a ditz, whatever, and I assure I WAS NOT. It bothers me so much still that he is thinking this. So I talked to him about it before we came home, and I still think he thinks I am. I was explaining why I was thinking what I was thinking based on a previous situation, and he said he understood, but I know he was all, "The boss' wife is a dumb blonde." I just know it. And it is still bothering me, even after we came home, even after sleeping, it's still driving me nuts!!! Kenny sometimes does this to me to, where he'll say or ask me something without much information, and I need him to tell me something more before I can answer or help him, and when I ask for more info, it's like I'm an airhead. I SWEAR I'M NOT. SERIOUSLY. I keep it together 8 hours a day with wild smart children who don't belong to me. An airhead could not do that. No way. I keep this house together and I planned a beautiful wedding where everything went off without a hitch and an airhead couldn't do that. I was on the Dean's List in college and had several honors, an airhead couldn't do that. I'm just trying to make myself feel better by stating all these things, but the bottom line is, I really do have my shit together, and that guy, as awesome as a colleage that he is to Kenny, made me feel like a dumbass. Ugh.

(okay, now I'm off my soapbox...and I'm going outside to work in the gorgous weather!!)

OOOPS

You know it's going to be a good day when you get to work and realize you are wearing the same pants as you had on yesterday at work. All I can say is oooops.

I did a whole bunch of laundry late last night, and I was trying to get ahead of the game and iron clothes and put them on hangers so when I get ready for work in the morning, there's no fumbling with things in the dryer or having to iron things. I can just grab it and go. Well, I washed the pants I wore to work yesterday, ironed them, hung them up, and put them back on this morning. I'm just laughing at myself. I doubt anyone even notices, because to be honest, I don't think teachers pay much attention to what other teachers wear most of the time, unless there are flashy dressers, and in those casese EVERYONE notices. But I am not a flashy dresser, most of my clothes are shades of blacks, grays, beiges, and reds, easy to match and apparently easy to wear twice in a row. All my dress clothes look the same, what can I say??

I am counting the days until school is out. We have 15 after today. The count keeps changing because I'm not even sure when our last day is. We might have to make up one snow day, but I really hope not because parents won't send their kids in the last day just to be there, attendance will be under 75%, and the day won't count anyway, so why bother?? I think I should be principal.

I legally changed my name now, on everything. So those of you who were wondering if I took Kenny's name, YES I did, and my maiden name is still in there too, not hyphenated, but it's all there. I have four names now. Cute, eh?? I couldn't drop my maiden name, just couldn't do it. The kids are trying to call me by my married name but it sounds wierd to all of us so I told them to call me either name, whatever they like. I'm cool with being called whatever, even after this year. I still love my original name:)

My mom is coming out tonight....I love it when she stays with us! That means maybe I'll get a homemade breakfast in the morning.

I am looking forward to a fun Memorial Day weekend. Saturday will be a very busy day and I'll be slaving away with Kenny all day. But Sunday and Monday I hope to be in the backyard working or maybe going the lake house. Our new patio will be poured in 2-3 weeks, so I still have some work in the backyard, but I enjoy doing it, so either way, this weekend will be a good one. I can't wait.

Beautiful

This morning is was beautiful outside. We were supposed to get a whole bunch of rain and nasty weather, but, staying true to Michigan weather, it only rained 3 times yesterday, and all 3 times lasted 5 minutes and the sun still shined. Today the sun is out, it's chilly, but I love that kind of weather. I am actually going to work with Kenny today, but if you read yesterday's post, I promise it's not THAT kind of work where I have to dress up and be fake. This work is manual labor, just the 2 of us, no fake-ness involved, I don't even have to talk proper. Bonus. And Puppy comes with us too. Plus, the physical labor will cancel out my trip to the gym this afternoon. Even better!! The house is clean (most of it) and I feel tons better than I did yesterday. So things are looking up. I have exactly 16 more days with kids, 17 for us teachers, until vacation starts. Can't wait. Neither can my head!!

I thought this morning I had lost my marriage certificate. It wouldn't have been the worst thing, at least to Kenny, who didn't stand in line FOR HER ENTIRE ONE HOUR PREP AND GIVE UP HER 20 MINUTE LUNCH TIME TO GO TO THE CITY COUNTY BUILDING WHERE THE MOST INCOMPETANT PEOPLE WORK, EXCUSE ME, THE MOST INCOMPETENT PEOPLE ARE ON BREAK ALL THE TIME WITH A LINE OF 15+ PEOPLE STANDING IN IT ARE. I panicked, then realized I had tucked it away with my school bag for safe keeping because Kenny often loses things. Like on a daily basis. Anyway, I found it, and had I not have found it, I would have been furious because the way this county works, I couldn't deposit MOST of our wedding checks because they were made to Kenny AND Lindsey, where we both had to sign and my name had to be legally changed on my drivers license, which couldn't be done until the city county building called me to tell me my official marriage certificate was done. I called on Monday, they didn't know. I called on Tuesday, it wasn't ready. I waited until Thursday to call again because I was still mad about Monday and Tuesday's phone conversations, both of which the person on the other end was probably on break too. Ugh. Anyway, I JUST legally changed my name at the secretary of state on Friday after that big huge ordeal, so if you happened to send me a check for our wedding, and it hasn't been cashed yet, I'm so sorry, it will be done on Monday!!

Now I'm beginning the process of calling my credit card, car loan place, and all the other places, plus social security and all that good stuff. What an ordeal. What does a guy have to do?? Nothing. Oh yeah, silly me. Even my gym requires me to bring in my marriage certificate saying we are now officially married so my name on our membership can change...oh the drama of a name change!!

Pooped

I am so mentally drained. And I don't have my own kids, but I can't even imagine what I would feel like if I did.

I have been drained for weeks now. Probably lots has to do with just getting married, and the craziness being overwith immediatly, but I'm so loving having my life back at this point. But working all day and coming home is just about all the mental challenges I can handle. Kenny likes for me to be included (submersed) in his business and one day, honestly, I will not teach and work with him. But not for at least 4 or 5 years, except maybe sooner when kids get here, but that's all up in the air for now. My point is eventually I will be working with him mostly from home, but not for a while. It's too much right now for me to process. And I feel bad when I say that I'm too tired or don't feel like going with him places, and sometimes I fake it and go because I don't want him to be diappointed or just want to be with him because we are rarely home together during the week, but other times, I just can't do it. I'm not sure he understands, but I do tell him when I'm drained, and sometimes he's cool with it, and other times he complains.

Today, which this is the point of my post, I promise, I woke up and told him I was going to the gym and then to a friend's house to drop off a birthday gift. I did all of that and came home and cried. He had cleaned the livingroom (I DEEP clean the house every weekend and when I left this morning I had asked him to pick up his stuff and put it away to make my cleaning easier, something I NEVER ask him to do, ever) and vacuumed, put some things away, was understanding about me wanting to stay home tonight and not accompany him on his job (thank GOD), grilled a burger for me on the new grill, and is mowing the lawn right now. I think he is finally REALLY getting it. I'm drained. And he's picking up the slack. I love this man so much.

So Kenny, when you read this, and I know you will, I love you for doing things like this to make me feel better. You are already a wonderful husband!

Boys and their toys

With a couple Christmas gift cards, we decided to buy a new grill. Correction, A grill, cause we never had one before now. So a shopping we went, and FINALLY made the purchase at homedepot. And what a grill it is too! Our neighbor is ALWAYS outside using his grill while he works on the yard, I'm not even kidding, every single day. He really truly uses it daily. So we've been smelling his grill now for over a year, and I think that's what really pushed us to finally get one. I have to admit, Kenny wanted it much more than I did, but like our big TV, once it was home, I loved it. Tonight I got to watch Kenny in action on the grill. It was hilarious. He was loving every minute of it, as was I watching him. Then it hit me....he was grilling to get the neighbor to notice. Not to show off to me or to show off in general, but to get the neighbor's attention so he could see that Kenny can "do it too." I just watched him work on the burgers, he was grinning and smiling and chatting with me, and every once in a while he would glance toward the neighbor's direction, checking to see if he was out watching us. It was so cute. Kenny's burgers rocked, he calls them his Texas Burgers. I don't really know what that means exactly, maybe Lindsay can elaborate on that, but anyway, he did a darn good job with them, and I was so proud of my boy with his new toy:)