CHRISTMAS VACATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2 WHOLE WEEKS OF FREEDOM!!! ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR WHAT TO DO OVER BREAK???

There isn't just one day to think of these things....

DONE with classes until January, and only 2 more classes after that.

1 more week of school with the kiddies until 2 weeks off for the Holidays!!

Countless parties with many wonderful friends.

My (current) health, and my family and friends'.

Things that have made me smile this week especially....

Things I am ever so thankful for at this moment.....

E-E-EHS

Go Maroons!!

Off to EHS for the weekend with R&WP. Go Highschool!

I have 5 minutes....

To all you teachers out there...

I have been lucky enough to be deemed one of the more flexible, go with the flow (shocking I know), try new things Kindergarten teachers at my school. Just a few weeks ago, I had our Technology assistant come up to me and ask if I would like a SMARTBoard in my classroom. I of course just assumed it was a rhetorical question or perhaps she was taking a poll. We had just bought 1 with school funds that resided in one of our computer labs, but I knew for a fact, not many people used it. When I said, of course, I love using them in my grad classes at night, there are so many interesting and fun things you can do with them, etc etc... she responded with: "Fabulous, could you stay a few minutes after school today and I'll bring it down?".. SAY WHAT!! So for the past 2 weeks, we rearranged, discussed with the class, eased ourselves into it's use, and had a lot of research time for Ms. T at home trying to find fun and interesting, Kindergarten appropriate activities. There is a plethura of materials out there, so I shouldn't really need to ask, but my mantra as a teacher truly is "don't reinvent the wheel".

Do you have any fun activities that could be used, do you have experience using it in your classroom, what has not worked, let me know! I'm so excited and right now we're still working out some kinks of where to have it (life would be SO much easier if I had a ceiling mounted projector), etc etc! THANKS!!

E-E-E-H-S and a haircut

6 days until I get to go back to the 'Holy Hill' and relive some glory days. I'll be sure to have the camera up and running by then :)

Before all that, I've been pining away for a haircut. Money is super tight, so I've been holding off and shelling out the dollar dollar bills for it. The difference this time, is that I want a real haircut. I feel like I need to grow away from the long straight hair with nothing to it. Once upon a time I suppose you could say I had long layers in it and those swoopy side bangs, but everything is long grown out and just plain LONG. It's so long. It's at that point where if I don't see someone for a week or so and they see my hair, without fail they comment on how long it is. It's exhausting, it's heavy, and it takes forrrrrreevvvvvveeerrrrr to wash and dry. My whole life I've been in the roller coaster trend of hair. It gets long, I chop it off and then grow it out until I chop it off then grow it out.................

So my question to all you out there, I want to keep the length, but I want to put a little something something into it without requiring a lot of effort to maintain. Does that make sense? So what would I tell the stylist to make sure I'm getting my point across?

H20 Overload

This morning while (very lazily and slowly) getting ready for school, I was watching Good Morning America. They had a short segment about a young woman, mother of 3 children I believe, that entered a radio contest. The contest was to see who could drink the most water and last the longest without peeing. The winner would go home with a Wii. The contestants all drank about 2 gallons of water in about a 3 hour period without going to the bathroom. Before the end of the contest, this young woman was already complaining of difficulty breathing, a headache, and being lightheaded. Nurses and others were calling in to the radio show saying you could die from water intoxication. I had never heard of this. I had been threatened as a young child that if I did not pee before a long trip (and my parents were not going to pull over if I didn't atleast try before we left), and I held it for a long time, my bladder could explode. Well, this put a whole new twist to it. Just hours after the contest, this young woman dies at home. Now, I'm not writing this to try and ruffle some feathers or start a debate about whether her family should have won a settlement or not, BUT just to point out another tidbit I've mulled over in the past. They tell us to drink drink drink drink drink water. And yet, you really seriously can drink too much. They say to take vitamins everyday! but you can seriously take too many. I think when it comes to your health and what you should do, you should, just like any other information, take it with a grain of salt (and a margarita if it's handy), and do what feels right for you. May we all find the middle ground, the perfect balance, a healthy lifestyle, and a good glass of wine.

Can you tell this teacher is in need of an adult beverage?? And it's only Monday... oh me..

Priorities and The Pig

Two big fat P's seem to be hanging over my head lately. Priorities: I should be working on my homework that is due tomorrow and Wednesday evening in both my classes, but it almost seems too daunting and I just don't know where to start. I came home and knew I needed to get right to work, but was easily swayed by the idea of a 'short' cat nap. 2 hours later, well, it was dinner time, isn't that a priority. So here I sit, still procrastinating (another darn P), but atleast I have my notebook, books, and syllabus in front of me. It's not that I don't want to do it, or that I can't do it, I just seem to be a little burned out from the past 11 months of grad school that I know I'll get it done, so why stress. I wish I was getting the grades in undergrad that I'm getting now and I wish I had the freedom and time I had in college. Always greener....... But atleast I know this 'P' is of my own creation, I do have control over it, and I better get my act together. The other 'P', however, is sadly far far out of my control. The Pig (aka: swine flu): I had the regular flu about a month ago. I shouldn't have been at school on Monday, got the fever that evening, did not break the fever until late Wednesday night, went to school on Thursday for about an hour, and then came home with another fever (I know I know), before actually almost staying the whole day on Friday. I still used much of the weekend to recuperate, so it was a solid 6 days for me. Now fast forward 3 weeks. Picture my classroom. I'm so anxious for the kiddies to come in and tell me all about the end of last week and their weekend. I was out Thursday and Friday (a later blog) from school for a wedding and missed our very first field trip. Though some very interesting things happened that I'm not sad to have missed (projectile vomitting), I was anxious to hear how they felt about it. But last Wednesday we had 8 students out of my 22 absent. Yes, over a third of my class, sick. AWESOME. So I was hoping they would all be healthy, happy, and present. Well, not so much, atleast there weren't AS many absent today. Atleast, in the beginning. I sent a student home shortly after lunch with a fever, so we were back to 8 absent. UGH... I know they do not ALL have swine flu, but it doesn't matter!! We wash our hands, with soap, and we count. We use tissues, we wipe down tables AND chairs, we don't use the water fountains in the halls (we have one in our room which we wipe down and have practice NOT touching with our mouths (I can only control so many)... So why is my class dropping like flies. Most other classes have at most 2-4 kids out. What am I doing wrong?!?! It's driving me NUTS!!! This is NOT a fun post, and I hate that, but I'm working my way back into this so.. well, Baby Steps.. Now whenever someone says that, know it's just a bunch of BS... clever aren't I????

Enough is enough...

I'm coming back.. I thought we were phasing out, but I just can't do it anymore. I miss writing. Whether people actually really read and/or enjoy my writing, I enjoy it, and we all need to have something in our lives, that we can claim to be completely selfish about. I (sometimes) like knowing that I need to set aside a few minutes to sit down and write.... This all came to me last night when I was finishing up some homework and decided I just needed to get away from it all. I threw on some unnecessarily dark clothing (need some new running clothes if I keep doing this at night), threw the phone on the bed, grabbed the IPod and ran out of the house. About an hour later (I KNOW RIGHT?!), I came back in to my exceptionally warm house (it was gross to be honest), and felt amazing. I'm not saying I ran the whole time, let's not get ahead of ourselves now. But I enjoyed walking/running around my (new) neighborhood and seeing all the Halloween/fall decorations. I figured enough is enough. Get my act together, on so many different fronts, and let's get moving...

Here's to fall, getting our acts together, and enough simply being enough

Can you tell I'm back in school????

I miss y'all so much!! I have so much I've been wanting to write about and just never have the momentum to do it!!! Until that time, listen, watch, and enjoy my 'new' favorite song.. I jam out to Otis on my record player to my papa's "Best of Otis Redding" album, but thanks to youtube.....




PS: to all you teachers out there, I only have 22 in my class thus far.. phew.. But it's only the first week of school. Pray for me that our numbers don't get any bigger. I have a friend in the same county, Kindergarten as well, that has 27. jeez louise

Don't mind me.....

I'm just sitting here in bed getting a little light headed (don't worry, I just opened back up my door). You see, I have this fear; a rather irrational fear at that. I believe I have mentioned it before. I have a fear of cockroaches. Not just because they're dirty, creepy, gross, big, and crunch when you kill them, but I just outright fear them. I try to be brave, and I'll see one, I'll grab a shoe, and attempt to attack. I'll get within a foot and before I know it I'm throwing the shoe at the darn thing and screaming like a little girl running in the other direction. I CAN'T HELP IT!!! I once had to get TWF to come over to my then condo, come inside and kill a roach that had been residing on the wall over my only door in and out of my condo. I had been a prisoner in my own home for about 5 hours because I knew, I just knew, that if I attempted to leave and pass under said roach, he would jump on me. And as a grown woman, I don't fancy screaming like a little girl and spazzing out while (not to be crass) most likely peeing in my pants. I kid you not. And yes, I know it's ridiculous. But back to why I'm light headed. I have this spray that works wonders. Country Fresh Scent my butt. If you can get a direct hit and hold it for at least a second, the sucker is a goner. I have even found the residual effects to be rather good as I have found a day or two later dead guys I didn't even know were around. So I'm sitting here in bed, and out of the corner of my eye, what should I see, but a nice young fella trying to crawl up my pretty blue curtains. Oh hellllllllll no. I run to the kitchen, grab my Country Fresh, and I go to spray and the damn thing jumps. Well thank God I didn't just throw the spray can!! I'm spraying up towards the ceiling as I'm screaming and jumping onto my bed (leaping might have been a better word). But of course he drops down behind my chair. I inch off my bed and walk over to said chair. Don't see him, don't hear him, I'm certainly not going to move the chair and see if he's under it... so naturally I spray a ring around the chair. He wants to get away from the chair; he must pass through the ring of death. Feeling a bit better about the whole situation, I get back in bed and pray I don't have creepy bug dreams. BUT LO AND BEHOLD, not 5 minutes later over in the other corner of my room I hear this odd sorta scratching noise. HE'S ALIVE!! Though I can tell he's suffering as some of his legs don't seem to be working. He's actually kinda freaking out which is only making ME freak out. Needless to say, the spray was still sitting on my bedside table... I grab the spray, take aim, but just as I am about to spray, he casually cralws under the bed. Wanting to get some sleep tonight I knew I couldn't let him get away. So I lean over, hanging over the side of the bed on my stomach and look... and wait.. and decide to just spray... when WHOOOOOSH the damn thing comes flying/sprinting/dive bombing/suicide mission running straight towards my face!! Still spraying for my dear life I spring upwards onto my bed essentially spraying the entire wall before regaining some composure and I look over. He's sitting on top of my book (that I swear I've been reading.. aka: haven't even started). Well, I figured I wasn't going to start it tonight anyway... and once again, I spray like my life is depending on it. So now, if you came into my room, you'd smell the lovely Country Fresh aroma and find a dead cockroach upside down on top of a book next to my bed..... WHAT?! I'm not gonna touch it....

A little summer loving'

*check out the garter and the veil on the 'bride'....

I stole this from a friend's wedding facebook album... How cute is that!

WOOP WOOP

CONGRATS TO RED AND WHITE PREPPY FOR GETTING THE JOB!!!!!

XOXOXOX

Not trying to be political, but sometimes you just have to laugh

Our lovely thriving metropolis of Raleigh is being graced by The President's presence today. He is here to spread the word of his health care plan. I am not here to get on my soap box as a state employee and how all these pay cuts and firings and hiring freezes suck, BUT I am here to hopefully make a few of you chuckle. There is a saying in Raleighwood, about being "ITB". This, otherwise known as "inside the beltline", is the distinction between all that is good in the world, and all that is not. To be OUTSIDE the beltline, well, we won't discuss that in detail, but let's just say you know when you're OTB. To be ITB is to be above the rest. To be what people strive to be and have. (SOO joking by the way... but not really....you'll never know). Obviously, this is something that is taken above and beyond and to heart by many to a level that is just ridiculous. And yes, there are ITB round stickers for your car. BitP and I were talking the other day about how we could live in this bubble, how we could live ITB, and never have to leave. There is nothing you can not get within the beltline, or not be able to get online. Try me, we wracked our brains. If you can think of something, I shall be impressed. Anywhoo, back to the point. Many within the beltline, shall I say, may not be the biggest supporters of our new president (such a stereotype I know), but many are greatly interested to see him in person and hear him speak on his plan. Well, he was messing up my world as I really needed to get to Cameron Village to do some shopping, but he was speaking at Broughton Highschool which is within a half mile of CV. Not needing to spend 2 hours trying to find a parking spot or have dogs sniff for bombs in my car, I decided to just forgo and try again tomorrow. A friend of mine, who works very close to CV got to see the limo parade by his office window this morning... I shortly received this text from him:

I cant figure out why Broughton is letting Obama speak on campus,
he is SO not ITB.

I didn't stop laughing for about 5 minutes. To many of you, this will be a pointless blog and you may think me weird for writing it. But it's just too funny.

.

PS: I obviously live ITB ;-)

Spread The Word

If you live in or visit the Raleigh area, I have a great new place you need to stop and check out.

Check out Barefoot Bird's new gig!!!

I finally got to go up today to check out the store. She has found some fabulous finds and has given them some TLC and spruced them up to try and sell them at Affordable Chic. LOVE IT!!! So proud of her for doing her thing, putting herself out there, and keeping a smile on her face the whole time.

passed down....

Since highschool, I have worn this ring:


(image courtesy jamesavery.com)
I have worn it on my right hand pretty much without fail for going on 8 years. Wow, it really has been 8 years since highschool........ Anyway, occasionally I will wear my grandfather's ring that looks a little like this:



Mine has a fancy 'E' engraved on top which is actually square, and the sides are just like that all fancy and whatnot though mine seems thinner, more delicate. I'm sure someone is cringing at my wonderful description and there are actually phrases and terms I could use, eh, I'll figure it out later.

But every now and then, I will wear one of my grandmothers bands. It is platinum with a small band of diamonds in it. It was one of two bands that she wore and then were passed down to my sister and me. It is so thin, so fragile, so delicate, and yet to me so utterly beautiful. There was a while that I wore it more often than my JA cross, but I felt like it was getting worn a bit too much. But every now and then I will take it out, shine it up a bit, and think of Nana...



Do you have any family jewelry that you love to wear? What is your quintessential everyday jewelry??

Some light entertainment...

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother & father's middle name) Mary Ulric
9. NASCAR NAME: (first name of your mother's dad, fathers dad) Nils Jack
8.STARWARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, 2 letters of your first) Thoev
7. DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, fav animal) Blue Dog
6. SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) Louise Warrenton
5. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd fav color, fav drink, add "THE" to the beginning) The Green Tea
4. FLY GIRL/GUY NAME: (1st 2 letters of 1st name, last 2 letters ofyour last name) Evnd... aww, that doesn't work at all
3. GANGSTA NAME: ( fav ice cream flavor, fav cookie) Cookies & Cream Oreo
2. ROCK STAR NAME: (current pets name, current street name) ....... Reaves
STRIPPER NAME: ( name of your fav perfume/cologne, fav candy) Woman Reece's

Happy 4th of July!!!

Happy Happy Freedom weekend!

I have (stolen) internet so I do apologize for not updating more about the big move! BUT, we are in, we are getting more than settled, we are painting, decorating, shopping (with money neither one of us has!), and simply loving The Bungalow! It's an OLD house, so there are a few things we're getting used to, but I simply adore it. I can't believe, after almost 3 years of living in Raleigh (I can't believe I've been here 3 years!!!), I have only now found a place I know I will truly call home. I've had a few close calls, but this house is so much me, so much Peaches, and it's just really working out wonderfully.

But it's now the 3rd of July and I am preparing for a very fun filled weekend. I am partaking in a fun filled day, hosted by Barefoot's Badger. We're going to have some fun yard games, lots of domestic beer, some pig on the cooker, and of course, some good old fashioned kicball. AND I took note of the signs I had been getting for about the past week and a half, and bit the bullet and invited a boy to join in my Freedom Festivities.. and he said yes! So I'm kinda excited about that, and look forward to seeing if he is just coming as a friend, or perhaps maybe we can make it a bit more. I'll have to write about that later when I might actually have something fun to write about.

We're in....

As a few of my guy friends like to say whenever they correctly do something (find the write channel, get the internet to work, get the car started, you name it, they'll say it); well, WE'RE IN! (and no..... get your mind out of the gutter right now missy).  Ladies and gentlemen, I have moved once again.  It is an amazing disaster, boxes everywhere, nothing unpacked, and I still have stuff (just clothing) at the old place.  Long story short, I have to pay rent at old and new house in July, so I figured I'll worry about all my hanging clothes later after I figure out where in the world I'm going to put them in my new teeny closet!!! EEEK. 

The parents came down to help me move and as it turned out the 3 of us moved everything. I thought I was going to have some manly help, but apparently a trip to Figure 8 took precedence. Needless to say all that beer I was going to buy them for saying they would help me, well, I think they now owe ME! But with only a few minor confrontations between everyone, we're both in (me and Peaches the roomie).  I came up and stayed with my parents for the night, though not planned. I wanted to spend the night in my new house, first night, but my parents are staying at one of my friends' home who are out of town, and when I fell asleep on the sofa, they didn't wake me. Hahaha, imagine the confusion :)  So as I'm sitting here waiting for my home-cooked breakfast (suhweeeeet), I figured I'd say hey to everyone.  

I think I'm going to go home and take 'before' pictures of boxes everywhere so I can give you the fabulous 'after' pictures.  I can't wait for it to be all set up and good and ready to go.  We're hoping to have everything together for a something the weekend after the 4th.  Shall it be a stock the bar party, cookout, straight up housewarming, who knows!!  

I need ADVICE on something...

         Peaches the roommate has these fabulous chairs for the back deck and a table that goes with them. This table however used to have a glass top.  This glass is now no longer with us, but getting a big piece of glass cut I know you all know is NOT cheap.  Has anyone found an out of the ordinary type of place to go, a good way to find cheap glass. I don't want it scratched or poorly cut or anything, but ya know what I mean???  Or any fabulous super cheap ideas to remedy the situation short term until we can afford the new glass?  

I'm thinking I'll be writing frequently, as I see myself getting bored, tired, exhausted with unpacking and will need some breaks :)

Hope everyone's summer is going fabulously!!!!!!!!!!!

Greatest thing EVER

I got the keys early to the Bungalow and ran by today to open the doors, let it air out a bit, see how much I want to clean BEFORE we move in, even after the cleaners have been there, check light bulbs, water the (few) plants in the yard and mostly just daydream about being in and settled. I sat down for a mini-break on the porch swing and decided to give my father a call and have a daddy-daughter chat. We talked for about 20 minutes when I couldn't help but say "Papa, whenever I get off the phone with you, I'm just not sure if I'll be leaving this porch swing!". I was so absolutely content, sitting there swinging, there was a breeze, birds chirping, no one around, AMAZING. So to all you out there, if you can't get ahold of me, you will probably find me here...



Now, who can tell me where I can find some fabulous porch swing pillows?!

In honor of the first day of summer

So now that I've had some time to catch up and read some of y'alls blogs, I came upon this video from Ro at Bare With Me... As I told her, maybe I shouldn't have seen that the first day of summer... BUT, as I wiped my tears away I knew I just had to share it

xoxoxox to all you teachers out there!!!

Schoooooool's out FOR the summer!!!

Hello everyone,

I am writing to you from the comfort of my bed; at 9:30AM; on a Friday. Hello summer :)


Though I am super excited to have some down time, time to pack, time to work on a tan, time to sleep... I am not super excited about having no set source of income lined up for the summer months yet. I have tried, I have applied, I have almost begged a few times. I am supposed to be taking a bunch of workshops this summer, I'll continue having classes on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and because of all these prior commitments, go figure when I walk up with a list of times and days I can NOT work, they aren't exactly jumping for joy to hire me. I know that something will work out, I've gotten a few calls about babysitting, and a potential part-time weekend only job (which blows, but beggars can't be choosers). So I think if I am super good, I can make it through the next two months. FINGERS CROSSED.

15 days until we move to The Bungalow!!!!

Movin on up!

Actually, I'm moving down the street! Yep, that's right, I'm moving AGAIN. Y'all that have known me for awhile must think something is severely wrong with me. BUT, one of my new most favorite friends, Peaches (met through Pav) and I found our little bungalow and are super excited to be moving. There is a whole load of high-drama surrounding my current roommate and landlord, but in hopes of me becoming a more optimistic and positive person, I'll focus on the fun. This will be for the best because I'm moving WITH someone into a new house that neither of us have lived in before. It's a clean slate and I can put just as much of me into it. I can truly feel like it is my home and I am living there with someone that I chose.

The house is a teeny little thing, with a great front yard that has 2 huge oak trees; I'm feeling a hammock. It's in an area I would love to always live in, 5 points. It's quiet. There is a fun park just at the end of the street with a creek and everything running through it. I have friends that live nearby. We have a working fireplace, a fun back deck, hardwood floors. OH I'm so excited. Almost doesn't seem real yet though. AND crazy thing is, I haven't started packing and we move June 27th!!!! EEEK!!! Anyone care to come help?

But you can just call us

Bungalow Bunnies ;)

*PS: this is the banner to someone's blog, but I just couldn't resist. It's perfect

Oh, to be a girl...

So I would say that I've been running on fumes for quite awhile as of late. Never being able to get to bed before 11 or 12 most nights, eating horribly, and just seemingly in a daze most days. When I get in a rut I find it very hard to find that jump start that will kick me back into some normalcy. I was hoping this weekend away, up to Fishing Creek (TWF's family cabin in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania.... about 9 hours away.... yes, we drove), would be my ticket to snap back into it. But I think a night of drinking (celebrating Pav's going away), and a 9 hour car ride in the backseat wrecked me before the weekend even started. I had such a low headache, in my neck, and I couldn't get rid of it for the life of me. The beds were old, I didn't have my pillow, we all sleep in one room and I'm an infamous light sleeper and let me tell you what... BOYS SNORE. We get back late Monday night, I realize once I'm in bed I have to finish my homework for class the next day, have a LONG day, staff meeting and all, at school, then drive to class in pouring down rain. I walk into class and for some reason 2 of my classmates were talking about me so I walk in and they literally stop talking. It was nothing bad, just chitchatting and I came up for some reason. But they were like we were just talking about you! How are you?! How was your trip?!. And before I could even respond, I felt my eyes tearing up. WTF!! I was fine, I'm fine, we're all fine. But the look on Jo and A's face just wrecked me. (and NO, it's NOT that time of the month). Jo, who could be one of the sweetest ladies and would help everyone do anything, just stands up, walks over, and gives me a big hug. I gave a few big sobs, held onto the hug, and realized how badly I needed that. Someone, without prompting, no obligation, no nothing, simply just thinking about me and asking how I am and then giving me a hug. It just hit me big time. I was no longer worried about our midterm, the homework that I had thrown together at 11pm the night before, the drive back in the rain, my lack of a summer job, I just needed a hug. I'm tearing up now just thinking about it! Some that know me say I can be melodramatic, but I guess that's just me. And to know, that someone, Jo, who has known me for only a few short months on a very limited basis, didn't judge, and just hugged and I didn't feel stupid or silly for just letting it out. Perhaps it's time to go to bed super early for a few nights, but I can't tell you how much I didn't know I needed that hug last night.

So on that note, I'm waiting for the kids to start walking in and start our Wednesday. I'm helping out with some testing again this week. Poor kids already took the damn EOG's, but these are makeups. UGH.. But only 11 more days of school left. I can not believe it.

ANYONE IN RALEIGH HAVE A FANTASTIC (OR EVEN JUST OK) SUMMER JOB FOR ME?!?!

I'm getting too old for this:

and


followed by



and this



at



so I am doing this


and watching this

Not so SURE!

So the season is fully here for me to worry about how SURE! I am. The past year or so, I have sadly realized that not every deoderant works for me. I have tried:

and frankly none of them are working anymore. They don't keep me dry, not very fresh if ya know what I mean, and that's just not gonna cut it. I spend 3o minutes at least outside, from 1:00 to 1:30pm every afternoon during recess, and well, you know here in Raleigh what it can be like. I currently have the Dove Cool Cucumber and I just do not like the way it smells after being put to the test. I can reapply before and after, and BLEH! I need something that will help me through this time of need!! Help me?? What have you used that doesn't cost an arm and a leg? It's not so much the antiperspirant that I need, if you catch my drift. PS; my favorite part of the commercial.. 3 words.. Statue... of... Liberty.

AND I really will need it Saturday at:



Was this just a little TMI??? Too much information??

in love....

yes, yes, I am in love... with yesterday. I can not tell you the last time I had such a truly enjoyable, low key, wonderful time. I had never been out to Koka Booth, and let me tell you, I will be going back. The company was amazing. I had friends from school and non-school and everyone got along great. I wish we had taken more (nice) pictures, but I don't need them to remember!! Today however I am paying for a day of wine drinking, for I sadly do not bounce back like I used to. Or perhaps it is the Mint Julep that Jr. and I insisted on having when we got to III's house at about 830pm last night. Needless to say, bourbon was a poor choice....

In love and happy summer is almost here!!!!!!!

A lovely weekend ahead...

This weekend I am excited. This evening, I am doing nothing. I am staring at the Hungry Howie's website (mmmm mmmmmm good) because the last thing I want to do right now is stand long enough to cook something (I'm currently lying down on my bed). I am looking forward to getting the energy to go back downstairs and either browsing the DVR or popping in a movie. I will pprrrrobbably do some laundry, and will go to bed SUPER early. I had a great week, just a lot going on and I need some good old shuteye because TOMORROW.....

I'm heading with a few friends (Junior, Dr. D, and his lady friend) to a teacher friends house down by Koka Booth for a cookout before moving on to the wine!!!!! SO PUMPED. And just look at the forecast; could it be any better...

Sunny
High
81°F
Precip
0%

Tata for now, I'll do a recap on Sunday!!

A beautiful day...

I went back up to Virginia to the rents for the Easter weekend. On Saturday, Mama T, VLK, and I went Winery Hopping!! SOoooo much fun. When I have a bit more time I'll put up the links to where we went and tell you all about it. Thoroughly enjoyed myself.

On my drive back down, thanks to a radio station that only plays beach music Sunday afternoons, I was thoroughly enjoying the peace and quiet of the 4 hours I had to myself. With about 2.5 hours still left on my drive, I see a car coming up in the other lane. The person in the passenger seat seems to be waving.. or something. As we get closer, I realize that is exactly what that person, or child was doing. With a big old smile on her face, looking right at me, a complete stranger was waving to me. For a split second I thought perhaps my car is on fire, do I have a flat, am I dragging something.... then as we were about to pass, I realized, she was simply waving. At the last second, I shot my hand up and waved back with a big smile on my face. For the next mile, thank you Rt. 15, I didn't pass a single vehicle, but I couldn't get the smile off of my face. Finally, I saw a car coming... and I waved

Happy Easter

Hot couple alert!!

YAY!! Welcome these two fabulous new (sorta) North Carolina residents!!



How hot are they ;-)

Anyway, I get the pleasure to steal Diana for the day before she heads back to yankee land to visit her family for a week. I'm taking her here:

Where they do this:



I can't wait to throw her fully into The South.

PS: It's "spring break"!!!! Yep, all 3 days of it. Thank you WCPSS for not having any extra days in the calendar and when we have snow make up days you take our spring break. I love you too.

I have pics from the races last weekend, but that will have to be tomorrow morning as I lay in bed past 8am in my PJs. I love vacation :)

Something to make you smile

RECAP

Sorry for being MIA. I have been super crazy busy with school work. Working full time and taking classes two nights a week; just need some time to get used to it. So here is a little of what I've been up to, and what is to come!

Went to Charleston!!!
We want to go backWe love us some South Carolina!Had a grrrreat time

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
This upcoming weekend, Pav, R&WP, III, TWF, W&I (hmm, they need names), and I are all heading up to good ole Virginia for the Old Dominion Hunt Races. This is a point-to-point just down the (country) road from my parents home. It's just like the big ones like The Derby, Preakness, etc etc, except super low key, out in the boone docks, and not such much dresses with big hats, but more the preppy horse-country attire. BUT, on the warmer days, it's hard to resist a good dress and hat.. ya know ;)

I haven't made it in 2 years, and the last time we went it was SUPER cold and raining the entire day. So what did we do... drink more and add layers.
TWF, Aussie, Bahr, ME, The (Future) Seivers, Shnookums, The LBS


Me and Papa.. He NEVEERR wears baseball caps, but I told him he would look adorable; don't you think?! And I'm wearing TWF's (long lost) cowboy hat

So I'm super excited to be heading up there with a wonderful group of people. Any suggestions for what to wear??? The above outfit was my JCrew Navy with green whales wellies, knee length khaki skirt, brown turtleneck sweater, puffy vest, green with navy (and ducks) lined rain coat. The weather looks promising. Potential showers the day before, but SUN and a high of 64 for Saturday. I always over think this. What is a springy, yet not too springy, skin-baring kind of outfit. I need an inspiration!

I was thinking this: My dress is navy, with sleeves.. but this is sorta similar...

and perhaps these:

Thoughts?

help a sister out :)

One of my bestests and her fiance are in the top ten finalists in a best of Northern Virginia Engagement Stories, sponsored by Northern Virginia Magazine. They have until Friday, 3/27 at 5pm to get as many votes as we can! The prize is $2,000 in wedding services from some great local vendors including the Ritz and a local (and very preppy!) stationary and wedding planning company. $2,000 might not sound like a lot, but it's about 10% of their budget and it would be an AMAZING boost!

SO GO VOTE!!!

VOTE for Victoria and Todd!!
http://www.northernvirginiamag.com/engagement-survey/submit/

Heading south.....

A little extra southern comfort this weekend.....

Off to Charleston with Peaches to find us some true Southern Gentlemen...

Any MUST go-to places to visit while there on this beautiful weekend??!!?!?!?! LET ME KNOW!!

Thank you EHS!

The BBC believes most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here. Can you believe it! I would just like to thank The High School for providing me (ahem, making me) the time (or lack there of) to read many of these fine books below. Though I was hoping to have read half of them, I came close, and have read 43, seen a few movies, and have a couple on a list of "one day" to read. I'm not sure where this list is from, what's the criteria?! I bet I could find a list where I read all the books, but I like this list. Has a bit of everything. Though having multiple Jane Austen books put the numbers in my favor, I'm a sucker. :)

I have two favorite books. One, however, is not on this list. The Horse Whisper, by Nicholas Evans. My grandmother was a member of this book club, kind of like those CD programs, where you rip off the particular stamps, send them in, and you get those 12 cds for 1 cent each, and 2 at the regular price. OH, what was that called. CBG, BCG, CBS, BB&T, oh I don't know. Anyway, she would quickly read her books, and when I got old enough or she felt it appropriate, I would read them next! I was such a little dork and even faked needing glasses in 1st grade because I felt they would make me a better reader. They were pink, naturally. When I read this book, I fell in love with it. I could read it over and over and over again. I was super excited when back in the day, Robert Redford was making the film version. Hmm, Robert Redford plus favorite book, HAS to be a winner. Alas, I was pretty let down and he changed the plot line. A cute movie, but nothing like the book.

My other favorite book... well let's see if you can guess. It's been number 1 and 25. It should be pretty obvious.......

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (x)
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien ()
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte ()
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (x)
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (x)
6 The Bible - (x)
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte (x)
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell (x)
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman ()
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens ()
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott (x)
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy ()
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller (x)
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (x - well, a whole hell of a lot of them)
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier (x)
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien ()
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk ( )
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger (x)
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger ()
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot ()
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell (x)
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald (x)
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens ( )
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy ()
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams ()
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh ( )
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky ( )
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck (x)
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll (x)
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame ()
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy ()
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens ()
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis ()
34 Emma - Jane Austen (x)
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen (x)
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis (x)
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini - ()
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres ( I saw the movie!)
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden (x)
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne (x)
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell ()
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown ( x)
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez ()
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving ()
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins ( )
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery ()
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy (x)
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood (x)
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding (x)
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan (x)
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel (x)
52 Dune - Frank Herbert ()
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons ( )
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen ( x)
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth ( )
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zifon ( )
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens (x)
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley ()
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon ()
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (x)
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck ()
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov ()
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt ( )
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold (x)
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas (x)
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac (x)
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy ()
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding (x)
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie ( )
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville ()
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens ()
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker ()
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett (X)
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson ()
75 Ulysses - James Joyce (x)
76 The Inferno - Dante (x)
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome ( )
78 Germinal - Emile Zola ( )
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray (seen the movie!)
80 Possession - AS Byatt ( )
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens (X)
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell ()
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker (x)
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro ( )
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert ()
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry ( )
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White (x)
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom ()
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ()
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton ( )
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad ()
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery (x)
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks ( )
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams (x)
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole (x)
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute ( )
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas ()
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare (x)
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl (x)
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo (seen the play on broadway!)

Congrats!!!

Please head on over and congratulate Pav for getting a 100% on her dosage exam!!! WOOHOO!!! She's kinda a big deal!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

We're having a Ladie's Game Night this evening, potentially followed up with going to The Pour House to see Old Habits. YAY for the weekend@

My mother sent me this....

I'll tell you how my mother and I did after you tell me how you do... I think it's only fair... :)

Test for Dementia
Below are four (4) questions and a bonus question. You have to answer them instantly. You can't take your time, answer all of them immediately . OK?

Let's find out just how clever you really are....
First Question:
You are participating in a race. You overtake the second person. What position are you in?









Answer: If you answered that you are first, then you are
absolutely wrong! If you overtake the second person and you take his place, you are second!

Try not to screw up next time.
Now answer the second question,
but don't take as much time as you took for the first question, OK ?


Second Question:
I f you overtake the last person, then you are...?

Answer: If you answered that you are second to last, then you are wrong again. Tell me, how can you overtake the LAST Person?

You're not very good at this, are you?





Third Question:
V ery tricky arithmetic! Note: This must be done in your head only .
Do NOT use paper and pencil or a calculator. Try it.


Take 1000 and add 40 to it. Now add another 1000 . Now add 30
Add another 1000 . Now add 20 . Now add another 1000
Now add 10 . What is the total?

Did you get 5000 ?

The correct answer is actually 4100.



If you don't believe it, now check it with a calculator!
Today is definitely not your day, is it?
Maybe you'll get the last question right....
.....Maybe.



Fourth Question:

Mary's father has five daughters: 1. Nana, 2. Nene, 3. Nini,
4. Nono. What is the name of the fifth daughter?





Did you Answer Nunu?
NO! Of course it isn't.
Her name is Mary. Read the question again



Okay, now the bonus round:


A mute person goes into a shop and wants to buy a toothbrush. By
imitating the action of brushing his teeth he successfully
expresses himself to the shopkeeper and the purchase is
done.
Next, a blind man comes into the shop who wants to buy a pair of
sunglasses; how does HE indicate what he wants?








He just has to open his mouth and ask...
It's really very simple....

Tuesday Trivia

Yes, Yes, I know it's Wednesday. Last night, after giving CJ a ride home from school because she and the hubby are down to one car (after his got totaled after an accident driving her to school one morning... see what you get by trying to carpool and be green and rushing... karma), we had a glass of wine. We still had our Mardi Gras beads on from the staff meeting that morning. Our Principal is from New Orleans so every February we can expect to get to choose from some of her many beads. Anyways, to say thanks, CJ invites me in for a glass of wine when the husband calls all excited that he just remembered what day it was, and that we should go out for a proper drink. Now money is tight this week (we get payed on Friday!!), so I've been trying to be good and not drinking too much and staying away from smokey bars, when the husband says he'll treat if I go. WELL OKAY, if you insist. We end up picking a local bar that is right in between me and CJ's house, so I can just scoot on home after a couple beers (shhhh, I KNOW). When we get there, LO AND BEHOLD, it's trivia night. Another teacher friend was meeting us (phew, no longer 3rd wheel... atleast I'm used to it with CJ and husband, sometimes I feel like the little sister.. weird?). We were so taken aback, we were not prepared with a good name like all the other teams had, so we quickly just wrote down our school's mascot and turned it in. For a Kindergarten teacher, a 1st grade teacher, a special ed teacher, and an attorney, I was proud of us. There were some very obscure questions, and the husband bailed us out big time on some of the sports questions. Sadly, the team "Those girls would be a lot hotter if they weren't smoking" pulled ahead in the bonus round. I won't say we did great, but we were upper middle pack. Next time, and there will be a next time, the Wizards will be more prepared.

and this evening, I'm so excited to FINALLY be having my happy hour date with R&WP, Barefoot, and WIDD. Lord helps us to find a date the 4 of us could get together for half priced appetizers and drinks at The Bar. But we finally did it, and wooohoo!!!

Trying to figure out which of the below items I'll be checking off next...

Things you have done during your lifetime..
( x) Gone on a blind date
(x ) Skipped school
( ) Watched someone die
( ) Washed, groomed and dressed someone after they died.
( ) Been to Canada
(x ) Been to Mexico
(x) Been to Florida
( ) Been to Hawaii
(x) Been on a plane
( ) Been on a helicopter
(x) Been lost
(x) Gone to Washington, DC
(x) Swam in the ocean
(x) Cried yourself to sleep
(x) Played cops and robbers
(x ) Recently colored with crayons
( ) Sang Karaoke
(x) Paid for a meal with coins only
( ) Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch
(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't.
( x) Made prank phone calls
() Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans
(x) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(x) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(x ) Danced in the rain-naked
(X ) Written a letter to Santa Claus
(x) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(x) Watched the sunrise with someone
(x) Blown bubbles
(x) Gone ice-skating
(x) Gone to the movies
(x) Been deep sea fishing
( ) Driven across the United States
( ) Been in a hot air balloon
( ) Been sky diving
( ) Been bungee jumping
(x) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets
(x) Seen a falling star and made a wish
( ) Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
(x ) Seen the Statue of Liberty
( ) Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle
( ) Been on a cruise
(X) Traveled by train
(x) Been horse back riding
( x) Ridden on a San Francisco CABLE CAR
( ) Been to Disneyland OR Disney World
(x) Truly believe in the power of prayer
(x ) Been in a rain forest
( ) Seen whales in the ocean
( ) Been to Niagara Falls
( ) Been to the Olympics
( ) Walked on the Great Wall of China
( ) Saw and heard a glacier calf
( ) Been spinnaker flying
(x) Been water-skiing
(x ) Been snow-skiing
(x) Been to Westminster Abbey
(x ) Been to the Louvre
( x) Swam in the Mediterranean
(x ) Been to a Major League Baseball game
(x) Been to a National Football League game
( ) Been to Las Vegas
( x) Been snorkeling in any ocean
(x) Been naked or topless on a beach

A moment in the day of the life of me

Azaria (female kindergarten student): Ms. T, do you like black babies or white babies better?
Me: Well, sweetheart, I love all babies, no difference.
Azaria: So you'd rather have a black baby than a white baby?
Me: I'd be blessed to have any healthy baby.
Azaria: Well, my sissy is gonna have a baby and momma said we got to get rid of it, so if you want it I'll let momma know...... (wide-eyed staring at me obviously waiting for a response)
Me: I'm not ready for children yet, but thank you for thinking of me.
Azaria: But aint you 26? That's old Ms. T! My momma is only 24 and she has 3 kids! You need to find a man that will give you a baby, that's a woman's job is to have the babies. Can you not find a man, is that the problem Ms. T? (again, with the wide-eyed staring)
Me: (Lord help me, please set off the fire-alarm, make a child vomit near me, something). Azaria, it's not appropriate to talk about me having babies. Let's get back to work.
...........
As I'm walking away, barely 5 feet away, I over hear my new favorite friend whisper to her neighbor....
Azaria: We needs to finds Ms T a man so he can give her the sex and she can have the baby.

Seriously, if she and my mother were put in a room together, things would happen. But for now, I'd like to (be legally allowed t0) stick one of the below items into this beautiful child's mouth.....