16 Weeks

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length . Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too.
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I have my 16 week appt. this week, and then the next appt. will be the ultrasound!!!!! As you can tell, we're a little excited around here to get that first look at the baby!! Yes, we are planning on finding out if it's a boy or a girl. Everyone asks me - some people are ticked that we're finding out, some people tell us we're so smart. It's all in your own choices. For us, with the baby coming in the middle of the school year, and me going back to school when my 6 weeks are up, we need to be prepared! Plus, it's our first one and I want to have everything all set - nursery walls done, clothes in the closet and washed, no "gender neutral" around here - pink or blue all the way!!!

In other news, it's Labor Day. Also known as the last day I get to sleep in until weekends, basically for the next I don't know how many years! I get to meet my class tomorrow morning bright and early! Luckily, my district got smart a few years ago and has us start the year with a half day. Everyone's so excited and this way, they can get to school, get a little taste, and then go home and take a nap. :) Although the teachers have to be there all day, I'm excited that the hottest day in who knows how long is our half day, so in the afternoon I can get work done other (cooler) places or keep the fans with me where ever I am. 90 degrees is a super way to start the school year. HA!

I actually made my way into the kitchen this morning! Basically since the middle of June when I started feeling not so great, I've been on strike in the kitchen. Sure, I can manage a bowl of cereal or chips and cheese, but a meal? Nope! Hasn't happened in a very long time. Poor T, he's pretty much been on his own for dinners this summer. Evenings aren't good for me for eating. Nothing sounds good, nothing smells good, etc. Usually, T would make his dinner and then fix me an extra ear of corn and that's what I'd have. Sometimes I'd eat at the counter with him, but usually, I was confined to my couch. My appetite has somewhat been coming back - we'll see what happens once my life returns to a normal rhythm with school. I have a feeling that I'm going to be coming home and crashing. Anyway, T and I are going to my parents' house for a little Labor Day thing and I made a peach cobbler with fresh peaches! I've never done that before, but I gave it my best try! We'll see how it turns out. :) I know a lot of you know about what I call "adventures in cooking" - all my stupid mistakes because I just didn't know! My grandma says that anyone who can read can cook. That is such a lie. It's just not true! Because I can read very well, I even teach kids how to read, and some recipes are just hard. Ugh.

Anyway, happy holiday everyone!

15 Weeks

Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam.
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T said that tonight we're going to do a science experiment and watch the baby squirm away from the light. My eyes! My eyes!

I'm now back from Louisville - it was a good time and we even got to do some outlet shopping on the way home. :)

Tomorrow is a sad day - it officially marks the end of summer. I do not have kids in school yet - that's Tuesday. But, we start our meetings. I must say, I've never had a summer quite like this. I've never been so pale - I'm usually quite toasty brown by now. I had a swimsuit on once. I went out on our dock once. I never went on a boat. However, my couch got a lot of my quality time. Looking back, it was a very good summer. And a very good time to be in the first trimester and feel like crap.

Adventures in a strange town

Today the conference started and it is very good - it's nice to know that the way that I'm moving my teaching and the way that our district is moving in is progressive and can make a difference! I think when every teacher graduates from college and gets their first job, they think they can truly change the world. What happens to that drive?!? Umm... time, exhaustion, emotions, personal life, etc, etc... Anyway, I feel like I gain a few of the IQ points that I know that I have either lost or misplaced since college. I used to be pretty smart and use big words and speak eloquently. Maybe 9 years of trying to simplify things many times over for 8 year olds has taken some of that away. Being around smart people saying smart things that I actually understand, actually makes me feel smarter. Wow, that was really eloquent, eh?

Okay, so on to other fun things that happened after the conference finished today. Shopping! Of course, in preparing for this trip, I printed out info on several malls and other fun-looking attractions in the area. I was truly in need of a few things - my mom's bday present, for instance. Her bday is the day after I get home. I found a Brigh.ton store and promptly took care of that problem. :) We then had a lovely dinner - expense accounts are fantastic things. On the way back to the hotel, we needed to fill up the Exped.ition and the fuel card they gave us is only good at certain stations (read: crazily located and very random truck stops). So, thanks to Tom.tom, we found the station and then had many difficulties using the card and getting it to be accepted. Then, when it was accepted, the PIN wasn't accepted. Frustration!!! A very kind man, who we think worked there, pulled up and tried to help us - to no avail. He then informed us that we should go find somewhere else because that was a "pretty f-ed up neighborhood." Lovely. Us three blond women (two of whom are preggers) hauled ass back into the truck and managed to coast into a very handy and well-lit Mara.thon. It was a great adventure. Ugh! We managed to get back to our hotel safe and sound and that's the important part! T was just thrilled when I told him this story. From now on, no more scary truck stops in the dark in f-ed up neighborhoods!

It's so bizarre staying in a hotel room by myself. It's so quiet - it's just me. And it's not like I'm totally here by myself - the other girls with me are not far away. I had a crazy time trying to sleep last night - different noises and I was absolutely convinced that I was going to either miss my alarm or it wouldn't go off. I woke up in a panic a few times. T is now going to be my wake-up call. :) The only other time that I had stayed in a hotel by myself was my freshman year of college. I was coming home from spring break and got stranded in the airport. I had no luggage with me for carry on- wearing shorts, had to sleep in my contacts, I was 18 and terrified. I feel a bit better now! :)

Okay, I'm off to take my pills and head off to bed for another day of sitting and then probably some more shopping! :)

One last thought - heartburn sucks. Tu.ms are divine.

In the car...

How cool is this - I'm online on my laptop in the car on the way to the conference in Louisville. I was able to score a ver.izon broadband card from my technology director to take to the conference. Of course, I had to try it out at home. I must say, it puts my (pitiful) dial-up to shame! Yes, all of you who gasped at the mention of dial-up, I do still have it. It's all that we can get out in the boonies other than buying a lot of expensive equipment and having another dish on our roof. I am loving this thing. T said that we can get one as long as we get rid of something else. I would LOVE to get rid of our land line. I hate our phone. Not just the phones themselves - they do suck. But just the actual phone - it rings all the time whenever I don't want it to. I so so wish that we can - as long as we don't need it for our satellite, then goodbye land line!

Anyway, another almost 2 hours and we'll be there. YAY!

14 Weeks

Welcome to the second trimester! This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb. Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb. In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces.
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Okay, this week in our life:

- I've done lots and lots of cleaning in the bedrooms. With a lot of help from my mom, we actually got just about everything done that I had planned to do this summer. Of course, I planned to get all that done much earlier in the summer. Of course, I didn't plan on being so incapacitated so early on.

- One of the big reasons that I needed to get my butt in gear and get things cleaned up around here was because my mom and I hosted a shower for my good friend, K, at my house. She and her husband are adopting a beautiful 6 year old girl after many years of fertility issues. It's so amazing to see how life turns out. You think you want something for so so long and then BAM! Your destiny presents itself in a very different way. It's wonderful to see them all together - they all just can't stop smiling. :) I couldn't be happier for them! Anyway, the shower was this evening and everything went very well. It was great to see some folks from school that we hadn't seen in quite some time. We have a great group of women that work together.

- One of the other big reasons for the big clean up push, is because it's time to start going back to school. People who are not teachers have no idea how much time it takes to get an elementary classroom ready for the school year. No, we do not show up the first day of school - our first contract day, with the room and materials all set. Pretty much every elementary teacher I know spends at LEAST one, and usually two, weeks prior to the start of the year in their room every day getting everything ready. Yes, it's a lot of work, but those couple weeks are usually some of my favorite days that I spend in my room. I get it all the way I want and then the little buggers come in and mess it all up! j/k! I love diddling around in my room. Yes, the summer always seems too short. You finally get used to a summer routine and then it's time to get back to the school year routine. I'm anxious for school to start and see how I do with so much more packed into my day. I have had nightmares that I've fallen asleep during reading groups, or that I've taken my kids to music and fallen asleep at my desk and forgotten to get my kids.

- Some excting things happening- I'm currently taking a class through our ISD about writing. I did a similar class last year and LOVED it. Some days I wish that all I had to teach is writing all day. It's hard, it's challenging, but the program we do is awesome. Yes, I get geeked about learning new things. I'm a nerd and proud of it. But I'm a nerd with good hair. :) Also, I am going to a conference OUT OF STATE! Whoohoo! Hotel and room service here I come! This one is about assessments and when I get back, I'll be helping train other teachers in my district about what I learned. No pressure! I'm going to have to take very good notes! The conference is about 6 hours away, and I'll be riding with 2 other women. T asked me the other day if they are aware of how fun I am to ride in the car with. I sleep. The car turns on, and I'm out. Always have, always will. No wonder my parents and my grandparents took me all over the country when I was little - I was a fantastic traveler. No DVD player, no cds - all I needed was a pillow. Anyway - fun, crazy, busy times ahead. My next post will be from KENTUCKY! :)

13 Weeks

How your baby's growing:Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce.

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Okay, since my last post, I've thrown up 3 more times and been crazy nauseous. Things are supposed to be getting better!!! Next week marks the start of the second trimester when everything is supposed to be improving. Here's hoping!

Oh, let's see... what's been happening around the 'nac...
-T and I went to another Tiger's game on Friday. Saw another loss. Boo hiss. Apparently, we were not their good luck charm this year.
-Saturday we went and saw T's mom. Two weeks after a full knee replacement, she's up and around and only needs a cane some of the time. Much better than the last time we saw her - the day after her surgery.
-I got a new camera!!! As you all know, I'm a bit of a camera nut - I can't help it, I get it from my mom!! I've had my current digital for the last 4 years and it's still an awesome point and shoot. I wanted something with more zoom and a bunch more fun features. Mission accomplished! So far, in the not even 24 hours since I've had it, all I've taken are pictures of the dogs. They LOVE getting their pic taken. Remy knew the sound of the other camera turning on and would get all jumpy and happy. He doesn't know the new one yet, but I'm sure it won't take him long to figure it out. Anyway, it's 9.1MP, 15x optical zoom and lots of fun things to do with it. I seem to do a new camera every 4 years. My first was a Mavica that recorded to a floppy disc (scary thing= my school used the same camera until just a few months ago) and was 1.something megapixels. ACK! My second, 5.1MP, 3x optical zoom. This newest camera was also the cheapest of any of my cameras. Man, I love technology!! :) Now, we're looking at video cameras. I have a feeling we'll be getting one for bday or Christmas - in time for February 14! Shelley- if you are reading this - follow our example and get your booty to the store and upgrade, sweetheart!!!! (Shelley is my sister-in-law and has used the same camera ever since I've known her and I know she had had it a while at that point, what was that, 6 years ago that I met you!?!?) :)

I have some college friends coming over this afternoon, including one of my bridesmaids that I haven't seen since our wedding!! Fun times. :)

It's been a gorgeous weekend in Michigan- I hope it's been nice wherever you are! :)

Appointment

Today I went for my 12 week appt. I got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time! Whosh-whosh-whosh-whosh. A strong and steady 150 bpm! :)

Everything else was great - blood pressure, proteins, sugar, and all the other stuff they can tell from my cup contribution.

In other news... tomorrow is my last day of teaching summer school. Yay! It's good $$, but I'm ready for it to be done. Sleeping in until 9am- here I come! I want to enjoy it for my last few weeks before real school starts.

12 Weeks

Today marks 12 weeks:

How your baby's growing:The most dramatic development this week: Reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over two inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.

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Does anyone else out there think that a proper lime is larger than 2 inches?

This week has been much more uneventful and that's great!! During the week, I mostly layed low in the afternoons to catch up on my rest. I felt much better. Maybe I'm getting to that "feeling not like crap anymore" stage. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Friday night we went out to a lovely fancy dinner with some friends at the English Inn in Eaton Rapids. Wow! I was impressed! I hope I get to go back someday! I had Lobster and enjoyed every second. :)

Saturday I slept in and then my mom came over to help with some reorganization. Holy cow, I can't believe all that we got done. Basically, my closet set-up was as follows: The closet off our bedroom contained all T's clothes, and my in season things, the closet in what will be the nursey contained my off-season clothes, and a closet in the basement held my fancy/show clothes that I don't need to look at every day. Please note that I love clothes. Therefore, I have a ton of them. Shopping used to be a part of my weekly routine. It was a rare weekend that I didn't visit a mall. And these closets I am referring to are large walk-ins and a 6 foot long closet. I wanted to condense things down to just have all my clothes in one closet. Crazy thought, I know! So my mom came over and I totally purged an ass-load of clothes. Many still had the tags on or were only worn once. I will be having a massive garage sale on Aug 23 - if anyone out there wears size L-XL, size 14 - it will be like a department store! We even got the things I dug out priced! It was a big day!

On Friday, we are getting a pellet stove insert for our fireplace. T did lots and lots of research, and after receiving our projected propane budget (which went up over $100 a month!), we took the plunge and ordered one. Basically, with the cost of the wood pellets, we would spend approx. $600 a winter to heat our home, as opposed to $3600 to heat with only propane. Ouch! We figured it would take only a couple years for the insert to pay for itself at this savings! With all the other expenses coming, wherever we can save, we're going to jump at it! I'm also very seriously considering using cloth diapers for the baby - save money and the environment. More on that research/decision later...

Oh! And because of the insert, we had to move the furniture in the living room (no furniture can be within 3 feet- and the coffee table was just inside that). Some switcheroo things happened today. I'm still getting used to it. Almost 4 years of having things one way and my diminished brain capacity as of late, have made this change not my favorite. I think that it will be just fine. However, my immediate concern is WHERE WILL THE CHRISTMAS TREE GO?!??! The former spot is now occupied by the giant brown chair. Ugh. I know I have many months to contemplate my options, it's just really bugging me right now. I have to obsess about something!

Heartburn has also entered my life this week. Lovely. I get to go to the doctor for my 12 week appointment on Wednesday. I will be able to hear the heartbeat at that one! **happy happy clap clap clap** More updates after my appt!

11 Weeks!

Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden. She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming.

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Wow, water ballet. Amazing.

Today I feel like I've been hit by a truck. We had a very full, crazy weekend and my afternoon naps and sleeping in didn't happen. :(

Thursday, Grandma came in from FLA for 3 weeks. Of course, shopping followed.
Friday, T and I went down to the Tigers game. Very fun - until the bottom of the 9th. Pisser. Mom and gma drove me to T's office in East Lansing so I didn't have to drive over and then have to drive home at midnight. Of course, shopping preceeded the dropping off.
Saturday, T and I went to see T's mom in the hospital. She had a full knee replacement on Friday. We visited for a while and watched her do some therapy. Her therapist said she was a rockstar and progressing much better than expected. Yay! Then we came home and I did get to have a bit of a nap before getting ready to go to Wharton to see my fav musical Wicked! This makes 5 times in the last 3 years. We were very disappointed in last year's performance at Wharton and after many email exchanges with people in charge, we were able to get tickets for this year's performance as compensation for our experience last year. MUCH MUCH better this year! :) Very pleased! :)
Sunday, T, Mom, Gma and I went to brunch at Flat River Grill in Lowell and then went down to Otsego for my uncle's retirement party. Lots and lots of people were there that we hadn't seen in ages. It was funny, there were 2 big tents put together outside the golf course and one tent was all Kzoo people and the other was the old Lansing friends and family. Many people got up and told funny/heartwarming/kind/"roast" style stories about my uncle. He was also a basketball coach there for many years, so there were also a lot of funny coaching stories. My cousin got up and made me bawl - he's the more emotional of my cousins and said some very nice things. Then my uncle got up and introduced the family and made a big display of announcing my news! My only wish for the whole day would have been if my grandpa could have been there. He would have absolutely loved it. My uncle was his life for so long and no one was his bigger fan - especially through all his basketball days and coaching days. I'm sure he was there somewhere and was very happy. :)

Anyway, that was my weekend, the long version of it. Sorry, I should have warned you. More interesting gma stories to come...

10 Weeks!

I am now 10 weeks along! Double digits! A quarter of the way there! :)

Here's what my handy dandy web md email had to tell me about the development this week:

"Although he's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby now has completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature. If you could take a peek inside your womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin."

Crazy all the stuff they know! :)

In other news - the bedrooms are mostly switched now. Our house is looking quite different! I spend a good portion of my weekend on the couch watching furniture go from room to room. My mom came over and cleaned my house! Love mom!!! I thought after all the switching was done that I should have taken pics of before and after. I think that I may have some befores somewhere on my computer. I'll try to post the new views when those rooms finally look acceptable. That could be a while. Still a lot more things to clean out. How did we acquire so much stuff?!?

I have news!!

Okay, I guess it's time to finally share our news - I'm pregnant!!!! We decided to give the whole parenthood thing a try. I am due on February 14, 2009 - yes, a Valentine's baby!

We're crazy busy now getting some rooms switched around. Our current guest room will become the nursery, and our current office/den will become the guest room. Lots of (heavy) furniture going other places.

The last few weeks have basically sucked for me - no energy, no appetite, no sleeping when I need to sleep, and just all around yucky. Although the last 2 days have been much improved. I'm hoping it's a sign of things to come and that the worst is behind me. Keep your fingers crossed for me!!

I'll try to update often with all progress! I know I've been a blogger slacker this last year - but now I actually have something to talk about! :)

Anniversary #3!

Wow, it's hard to believe that three years ago today T and I got married. What a crazy, awesome, unbelieveable day that was! Of course there were the minor snags, but all in all it was a fantastic day.

This is the first anniversary that we have not gone back up the Homestead in Glen Arbor for our anniversary. That's one of our very most favorite places in the world and we've spent many weekends there - both skiing in the winter and sunning in the summer. We also spent part of our honeymoon there. We're going on our yearly trip with my parents to a cottage on Hamlin Lake for the week of the 4th, and we leave for that the day after tomorrow. Maybe when our anniversary is closer to a weekend, we can go away again. Tonight we are planning on heading out to the big city of GR (a treat nowadays since we don't go very often due to gas prices!) and going to one of my fav restaurants. Then we're going to do some errands that I've been saving up for our trip to town! Big fun things for a Wednesday night!

Bad, bad blogger

Well, the great lack of posts in the past year or so should tell you about how my life has been since my bday.

I will attempt a quick recap:
Health news:
in the 8 weeks following my bday-
1. My doctor thought that I had appendicitis and I had to be rushed to the hospital for a catscan. It was awful, and turned out that I had swollen lymph nodes around my appendix due to a urinary tract infection. Sucked.
2. I developed my first ulcer! I had some icky stomach pains in the days before, then I woke up at 4am the Tuesday before Thanksgiving thinking I was absolutely going to die. All I could do was lay on the cold bathroom floor shaking and sweating. T was very freaked out. Another trip to the hospital later, and I had an ulcer diagnosis and a handful of pills. Love drugs.

Musical news of the year:
In September I started rehearsals for Little Shop of Horrors. I played Crystal (one of the trio doo-wop girls). Very fun, loved every minute of it. Ulcer #1 popped up the day after we closed. Coincidence? Um, no.

In December I started rehearsals for a two-person musical called The Last Five Years. It's all in song, very cool show. This became my final stage performance. Why not go out on top, eh? Ulcer #2 came into my life right after this show closed. Starting to notice a pattern...

In March, I began rehearsals as the music director for the high school's production of Into the Woods. The show went on Mother's Day weekend - another huge success. I took extra meds as to ward off another ulcer - and it worked! :)

In school news:
My class size doubled this year. Two times as many kids, desks, chairs, and just STUFF in general. It was also a very demanding class. I had the same emotionally and academically needy students that I've always had, now there were twice as many and still only one of me. A long time ago, there was an older teacher who "lost it" while teaching kindergarten and ran up and down the halls screaming. I suddenly could relate to her in a very real way. On a pretty regular basis. The kids weren't bad, just needy and chatty. Very chatty. The year is now done. I never thought it would end. It was pretty horrible. But now it's over and now I get to rest. Love summer. :)

Other notables:
We went to visit gma in Daytona a few times. Lovely warm weather.
Splurged on a new Coach that I just adore.
Got a new laptop - realized my old one was about as speedy as a brick.
Currently trying to burn our entire cd collection into itunes in order to store away all cds. I had no idea we had accumulated so many. Ugh

Projects for Summer:
1. RELAX
2. continue itunes mission
3. Total overhaul of all rooms and closets, including basement
4. Total Clothes reduction - anything and everything that no longer fits is leaving the premises. No more waiting around for that "someday" I get a massive stomach flu and can suddenly fit into clothes I wore a few years ago. I probably wouldn't wear them anyway! Can you say, garage sale?!? Cha-ching!

Okay, hopefully the posts will be a little more frequent over the summer! I'll try, I promise!

Thirty

I am 30. As of 12:13am, I became old. I loved my 20s. There was college, beginning teaching, my master's, finally being out on my own, building a house, and getting married. I accomplished a lot in a decade! In anticipation of this day, I had a lot of mixed feelings - most of them not exactly happy. I think of the Friends episode when they show the 30th bday parties of all the friends and Joey just keeps yelling "WHY GOD?!? WHY ME?!??" That's the one I related to the most!!! But now that it's here, it's not so bad. I'm still the youngest teacher at my school and I hang around with 8 year olds all day - if that doesn't keep you young, then I don't know what will. Although some days I leave school and I feel about 100!! T will always be more than a year older than me - and so will Mimi! :) So I'm still the youngest of my peer group! I'm expecting to have lots more big events and things happen in this decade. More fun to come! Even though the last time that I had my palm read, she said that something traumatic would happen later in my 30s. That was happy news. Whatever, hopefully she was high on incense or something and got my lines crossed. She also told me that I would have one child. That is happiness to me! I guess now I'm really an adult. I know there's lots of other October bdays out there in my circle of friends - happy bdays all around!! :)

Little Update

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I don't have much time to update tonight - but I'll try to get on again tomorrow and post pictures (just for you, Melinda!).

In the aforementioned post that will be coming soon, you will read about 1) my week of vacation in Ludington, 2) Tigers (the ball team, not the RAWR! kind), 3) my garden, 4) my subsequent day of baking because of the garden, 5) scrapping, 6) musical-viewing, 7) my last week off before summer school starts, 8) giving my classroom a complete overhaul before summer school, 9)ummm... I think that's it. I'll probably think about more to ramble about when I post. I'm sure you can't wait!! :)

Anniversary #2

T and I have now been married for two years. 2 doesn't seem like a very big number, considering it feels like forever that we've been married. I don't mean that in a bad way - we've been married forever! No, just meaning that it seems like our life together has just always been there. Last night we watched our wedding video when we got home. That's a tradition that started last year - some friends of ours gave us the advice of making a point to watch our video every year to remind us of what we're celebrating. It's so fun to see it all again. I don't think that I was quite bridezilla, but I was in charge of everything - because I didn't want to give up control of anything. When I would watch the video in the weeks after the wedding, I was annoyed at the little details that I saw that were not quite as "perfect" as I thought they should be - how my hair would not keep a curl (93 degrees with 80% humidity) because that was my fault, how the pastor forgot to light the candles for the moms to light and how T's mom had to go get him to light them while everyone waited, how the organist just sucked. Now, I just think how beautiful everything was. I'm so glad that my perspective has changed!!

For our anniversary, we went up to Glen Arbor to the Homestead for the weekend. We absolutely love that place. It's right on Lake Michigan and our condo was a stone's throw from the beach. We had beautiful weather - I have the slight sunburn to prove it. While we were up there, we hung out on the beach a lot, went canoeing, shopped, and ate really well. On the way home, we stopped at my favorite winery - Black Star Farms in Suttons Bay to do a little tasting. T isn't much of a wine guy so I have a DD - at 10:30am! It was great. After we left BSF, then we spent the afternoon hanging around Traverse City. It was a great little vacation- I turned off my phone and didn't check email for over 3 days. It was very nice.

This is one of T's famous "long arm photos". Too bad it seems to add some chins to his face. hee hee...













Black Star Farms - I remembered to bring my tasting glass from last time so I got free tastings this time! :) Because it was our anniversary, the guy who was serving us gave me another limited edition glass. Whoohoo - a set!

Summertime...

...and the livin' is easy. It's now every teacher's favorite time of year - SUMMER! Sorry for my lack of posts lately, the last few weeks have been crazy busy. A week ago today was the last day of school - it seems like I've been on vacation longer than that! I still don't have my classroom totally packed up and rearranged. I somehow have to find a way to put 14 more desks into my room since my class size will double for next year. It makes me want to throw up just thinking about it.

This is the first summer in like ever that I don't have major things going on. No wedding planning, house building, classroom moving, apartment moving, grad classes. I'm all done with all that! It's a great feeling knowing that I get to choose how to spend my days. I know that I'm very lucky - but I've spent the last 10 months earning this time!! :) On the agenda this summer: exercise, scrapbooking, stamping, and maybe reading a few books (grown-up books, not 3rd grade books). We don't have too many travel plans (yet) for the summer and I love that!! We're going away for our anniversary (#2!!) at the end of June and we go to Ludington for a week in July, but other than that, we're home this summer. T's parents have a cottage up north, so I'm sure we'll head up there a few times too.

I'm off to take my dogs for a walk - my parents' dog is also visiting today so I'll have 3 big brown dogs. Luckily, they all get along really well! :)

Life

Life is pretty much back to normal around my house again. My grandma was here from Daytona to see my show and to be here for Mother's Day. Speaking of mother's day, T and I hosted my family for a backyard bbq on Sunday. It was great - including the weather! My mom and my uncle have had some differences lately and this was the first time that they had seen each other since our spring break drama and trauma. Therefore, I kept the alcohol flowing! I made peach bellinis and they were very tasty, if I do say so myself!

Allergy shots hurt. I just had to say that.

My kids at school are starting to get a bit squirelly. They seem to think that since the year is winding down that they can just do what they want to. I'm sure as a kid I never did that!!! hee hee... My nice class has suddenly turned on me - don't worry, I'll get them whipped back into shape. They hate it when "grumpy teacher" has to come out for the day. As they should, grumpy is a real bitch.

This weekend is going to be filled with birthdays. My dad's bday is on Saturday, so we're going out with them and doing cake and presents at our house that night. Sunday afternoon, we're doing a bday celebration for some of T's family. There are so many of them, that we used to have bday get togethers like every month. Now, we're grouping them more and only doing like 2 per year. Sunday, we're celebrating T's mom, dad, sister, sister-in-law, niece, and 2 nephews. Do I have to buy presents for all of them? Yep. Those of you who really know me, know what the shopper I am, so I usually have things covered way in advance from previous sales. I'm still working on the nephews and t's dad. It has not been a normal winter/spring for me with the play going on, so I got a little behind on my shopping.

Flowers. I like flowers. I like looking at them. I like buying them. I hate planting them. I do not in any way, shape, or form care to get dirty. I never have, and I'm sure never will. Last week, my mom and I went to a greenhouse to pick out some annuals for out pots and hanging baskets, etc. Loved that. I bought some awesome stuff. Last year, my mom planted everything for me - I plead ignorance at flowers. This year, my grandma was here, so my mom was off entertaining her and didn't come to plant my flowers and I HAD TO DO IT!! Ugh!!! T is really good at planting other stuff - big stuff. So I put it off until of course the last minute Sunday morning before people were going to be coming. I was a mess. It was gross. But now it's done and things look nice. A gardener I am not.

Done!

The show is now over! We had an excellent weekend! The kids did a really great job and we had really great attendance. Meaning, we made some money!! We're the first high school show ever to have made money! Usually, they're either in the red, or just break even. Hooray!!! This means that we have a budget for next year. And yes, we are talking about doing another show next year. Despite the fact that we have a list of students who will never ever be in another show with us again, most everyone was quite committed. It's now all done, everything put away and taken care of - although my truck is still full of crap. And when I say full, I mean, I can fit in it and that's it.

Last night I had dinner at home with T for the first time in about 2 months. It was great! Then I went and took a 2 hour nap. Then I went to bed.

I hired a cleaning lady! I'm sooooooo excited!!! A friend of mine is adopting a baby soon and her parents are here for the summer. Her mom is looking for something to do to keep her busy, and she loves to clean! Perfect, because I hate to clean!! With the musical, I haven't been very vigilant in my cleaning regiment. Normally, T does all the floors, and I do bathrooms, dusting, and glass. If we're working together, it usually takes us the same amount of time, so I feel it's pretty fair. With the weather so nice, T is always working on projects outside, and I've been pretty much non-existent so the dust and dog hair have totally taken over our house. It's gross. If there were more hours in the day, then I could do it myself, but there's not. So now I'm almost excited to go home and start picking things up to get ready for her to come. We're having the Mother's Day celebration at our house again this year and I want it to look good. But I don't have the time to do it. I'm soooooo geeked!!!

I have flowers coming up in my flower beds!!! Last year was the first year that we planted anything and a lot of stuff is coming up. We built our house two and a half years ago and we didn't get to any landscaping until last spring. I'm totally loving not having to put in all that work again this year! Although I am starting a garden. T planted it for me last weekend and put up a big fence around it so the deer and other critters stay away from it. I had him plant summer squash, zuccinni, pumpkins, mini pumpkins, and gourds. A lot of fall stuff. Those of you who really know me, know that I am not good with growing things. Plants, flowers, anything basically dies in my presence. Hopefully something will grow. I'll try to post pics soon of some awesome double tulips I have blooming right now. Man, I sound like a total nerd.

Crazy!

I think my head is going to explode!! Way too many things bouncing around in there of things that need to be done before my show opens this weekend. There just are not enough hours in a day, so I will taking the day off sick tomorrow to get it all done. Next year, I'm going to delegate a lot of these responsibilities to parents or capable students!! We had our massive tech rehearsal yesterday and things went well. It was a very long day, but a lot got accomplished. On Satuday I learned how to sew. We had to sew some patches onto basketball and cheerleader uniforms. And they had to be sewn on by hand because next week we have to rip it all off! But, the kids wore all their costumes for the first time yesterday and it all looked really good. The end is in sight!!

Same Job!

Yes, I have kept my position at my school! It's going to be so totally different here next year, with only one of each grade level. Everyone else at my school who was displaced was able to "bump" into another position - except our newest teacher. She's only been here 3 years, but she's first in seniority order to be called back. It sucks. She's pregnant with her second child and now they have to put their house for sale because of the instablilty of her job situation. Sucks. I'm sure that there will be a job for her - over the summer, something always happens and someone takes another job, moves away, etc. After the meeting on Friday, 7 people left without a job. Oy vay. Terrible. I know that there are a lot of other school districts in a lot worse trouble than us, but it's still hard to see people that you know go through these things.

In other news, the musical is less than 2 weeks away. We had a work day on Saturday and got many things painted and finished. Good things!! Although some student left the top to a can of brown paint laying on the stage, which is the same color as the stage, and I didn't see it and stepped in it. I'm still trying to get the brown paint off the bottom of my foot. That was fun.

We watched Borat this weekend. I'm still not sure what I think of it. Yes, I leaughed out loud many times. But would I have felt satisfied that I had gotten my money's worth had I seen it in the theatre? I doubt it. I guess 'shock value' is more of what that show was about. But it was a nice form of free entertainment for an otherwise uneventful Saturday night at home. Plus, now I feel more "in the loop"! I've seen Borat! :) hee hee...

Speaking of being home, I got to be home for a good portion of the weekend! In fact I never left my house on Sunday. I used to hate having to stay home - now I love it! I'm never home anymore, although 2 weeks from today I'll be all done with the show and can be home again! I did mountains of laundry, totally cleaned my house, and my parents and my in-laws came over for dinner. It was a good day! Plus, it was gorgeous outside so I had just about every window in my house open. Loved that!

No longer displaced!!!

I just got some terrific news today! I am now officially NOT displaced anymore. I'm not totally in the clear yet for keeping my same position at my school, but it's a lot more feasible now! Long story short, my teaching partner was offered another position within the district (non-classroom teaching), which left me as the only 3rd grade teacher here, and since we only need one - that's me! Now, I can still be "bumped" out of my position, but I'm not sure why anyone would choose to come here. Generally people don't choose to come to my school - we're considered the 'bottom of the barrel' population. Yes, we have kids from very diverse backgrounds, and yes, they're a pretty transient and unstable bunch, but kids are kids. You just gotta love 'em. Anyway, our big bid/bump meeting is on Friday, so then we'll finally know for sure where everyone will be. It's a bit tense around the schools these days. One other good thing - our school board approved a buy-out for 9 teachers in our district. As long as they free up the right jobs, then no one will have to actually lose their job. The retirement/opening list still has not come out. What a wacky time! I'll for sure post again this weekend about what all happened - that is, after I sleep off my hangover - I'm actually going to drink on Friday. A lot. Can't wait.

Thanks for the idea, Jess... wow, this was an eye-opener!!

Your Dominant Intelligence is Musical Intelligence

Every part of your life has a beat, and you're often tapping your fingers or toes. You enjoy sounds of all types, but you also find sound can distract you at the wrong time. You are probably a gifted musician of some sort - even if you haven't realized it. Also a music lover, you tend to appreciate artists of all kinds. You would make a great musician, disc jockey, singer, or composer.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

My mom's crack pipe

As promised, here is the story of my mom and the crack pipe...

In Daytona, there is something called the Flea Market. It's only open on the weekends and there is everything imaginable there. Mostly, it's t-shirts and hats, but also fresh fuit and vegetables, jewelry, purses, toys, cell phone accesories, etc. A lot of the vendors go up to Shipshawanna (sp?) in the summertime. So if you've heard of that place, that's like the flea market.

We're walking down the aisles browsing at all of the stuff and my mom stops at this glass case. Inside were all these colorful, blown-glass things. I was down a ways, so I didn't see at first what she was actually looking at. As I got closer, I saw that it was a place that sold "smoking paraphenalia". Great. My mom says, "I think I'm going to get one of these, they're so pretty!" Um, hello!?? I said, "Mother! Get away from there!" She said that she thought that they were fancy wine bottle stoppers!! I quickly informed her that those pretty things would not make good bottle stoppers and dragged her away from the case. Can you say, naive?

That's my mother. Gotta love her.

******************************************

We are now back from vacation. Overall, it went pretty well. We had some family drama and trauma - and it's very nice to be back home. We did convince my grandma to come up to Michigan in May for my show and for Mother's Day. That was a good thing!

This week we attended the funeral of my grandpa's brother. He was a little more than a year younger than my grandpa and died a little more than a year after he did. Crazy. 80 years seems to be the life expenctancy of the brothers. Weird.

The show is coming along. We're up to our armpits in rehearsals. I'm having a great time - a stressful time, but it's a lot of fun. We have a lot of really great kids in this show. We open in 3 weeks! I'm a bit nervous about that!!!

This weekend will be filled with more rehearsals and mountains of laundry. Somehow I acquired a bunch of new clothes on spring break. Unfortunately, most of it is for warmer weather so they're going to have to go in the closet for a while. I'm also going on a date with my husband! He's been crazy busy with this seed thing he's in charge of for pheasants forever, so we really haven't seen much of each other this week. Can't wait for the weekend!! Have a good one, everyone! :)

DTW sucks my butt

I am on Spring Break! Hallelujah!! It's been wonderful since we've been here - mid 80's and sunny every day. I'm getting tan!! No more pasty white!! However, we had quite an ordeal getting here. Let me fill you in...

We have had reservations on Spirit Air since October 30. I actually booked the seats using Travelation - cheap, everything good. Usually, we fly right out of Lansing (lovely little airport), but it was way more to fly out of there this time, so we had to fly out of Detroit. Yuck. Not a fan of DTW. Plus, it's almost 2 hours from my house compared to just over 30 minutes to Lansing. So, we had to leave school an hour early just to get there on time. Soooooo.... we did and we actually got to Detroit in record time! :) So we wait in a nice little line and then go up to the counter and give the girl our driver's licenses. "I'm sorry but we have no record of you on this flight." Excuse me?!? It was true- they had no record of us. All that I had was a printout from Travelation with a confirmation number. So, we stepped out of line and I frantically called Travelation (sucky site - good prices, but apparently some incompetancy abounds). I was on the phone with an agent for an hour and a half - to no avail. There was absolutely no way that they could get my mom and I out of DTW that night. Ugh!! This really sucked because we had this all arranged and my aunt and uncle were also on this flight and we had a car rented for us all to go to my grandma's. Therefore, we really needed to be on that flight. However, it was totally booked. So, we got on the standby list. Never done that before. The girl at the desk told us to come back up to her a few minutes before the flight was going to close to see if there were seats left. We did, and there were two!!! Home free!! Then some little fucker comes running up to the desk and proclaims that HE is a ticketed passenger going to Orlando. ARG!!!! Thus, leaving one. My mom and I argued about it, and I won - sending her on the flight. She's not incredibly independent and I knew that I would fair far better than her being stranded in the airport. Yes, I was totally stranded - my dad had dropped us off hours ago. So, I called my cousin who is in grad school at U of M (boo hiss - he's the total misfit in our family) right now and he and a friend came and got me. The next flight I could get out was at 6:20 the next morning. I stayed at his apartment and he called me a cab the next morning - since I had to leave at 4am. I'll delve into that experience later - suffice to say, his apartment was nasty. I realize he's in college and doesn't care - but there was stuff growing in the shower. I slept on the couch and didn't walk around without shoes on. Maybe it was also my avertion to everything U of M. Yuck. Ick. Gross. I have no idea how he got this way!! I was in college too, and have seen some really bad apartments, but I really think his takes the cake. It made me want to immediately start cleaning. And I hate cleaning with a passion. Although in order for me to have even gotten started, I would have needed a haz-mat suit and industrial-strength cleaner. Okay, time for a new paragraph.

I got to the airport way early only to find a gigantic line!!! I stood in line for over an hour and a half, only to get up to the counter 15 minutes before my flight was to take off, and have the girl tell me that since I was "so late" (hello? is it my fault that you don't have enough people working?), there was a good possiblity that I wasn't going to make the flight. WHAT?!?!? You can't make me go back to the filth hole in Ann Arbor!!!! So I ran. Of couse, my gate was the farthest away, and I ran. I got up to the gate, handed the attendant my boarding pass, and she told the guy that I was the last one and to close the door. Hot damn!! I did it! To celebrate, I slept most of the way to Orlando.

We're really not sure what the hell happened that we were even in this predicament. According to Travelation, it was Spirit who dropped our reservation. According to Spirit, it was Travelation that never booked the flight. Luckily, I had brought my itinerary that Travelation had emailed me, with the price we paid, and Spirit sold us our seats for the same price - even though they could have gotten a helluva lot more out of us. I must say, I am pleased with Spirit and how they took care of us on an incredibly busy Friday night. However, we will not be flying out of DTW for a long time. If ever.

Before I close, I also wanted to share our rental car experience. I had reserved a 'Standard SUV' for us - since there would be 4 adults and lots of big luggage. Well, there was a kind of an accident at the Sanford/Orlando airport (where we usually fly into BTW), and they had redirected all their flights to Orlando. I wasn't there Friday night (I was at the dirty AA bachelor pad, remember?), but this is what was relayed to me. My mom, aunt, and uncle got to the Dollar counter and because of all the extra flights, there were a gazillion people in line. They stood in line for 2.5 hours just to get the damn car!!! And, they weren't able to get the SUV, they had to get a little Sebring because they were all out of big things. My grandma lives in Daytona (approx. 1.5 hours from Orlando) so they didn't get to her house until 2:30am. Then got up at 7am and turned around to come and get me. Today, we went and exchanged the car for a Grand Cherokee and all is now okay.

What a mess. But, you know, it's been only a few days since all this happened, but it seems like a long time. It's been sunny and beautiful everyday. We have gone to the beach everyday and it's been great. I've also been doing a good job of catching up on my sleep. I don't wear a watch and we just do things when we feel like it. We already have our arrangements to come home all set - with printed itineraries right from Spirit, so there will be no more 'snafus'. From talking to T, it sounds like the weather is really really crappy at home. I wish I could send all this sunshine up there!! I sure would if I could!!

Have a great week everyone! Next time I'll tell you all about how my mom wanted to buy a crack pipe! Seriously.

Tick

I have an eyelid twitch. IT. IS. VERY. ANNOYING! It just started yesterday at rehearsal. Stress?!?! Actually, rehearsal went quite well - it's just lots of work. At one point, I was a bit frustrated and I just wanted to shout, "Lexapro, take me away!!!" Anyway, I have a twitch. It sucks. My eyelid is waving goodbye to you.

ho hum

Sorry it's been so long since I last posted. The musical is going well - we finally got our scripts and the cd on Monday. We have a lot of work to do! But it's coming!

Hmmm.... let's see.... as of late, my world has been revolving around school, musical, and sleep. That's my day. Last weekend I did get together with M for a fun afternoon of mall walking and then of course, shopping! On Saturday T's sister, her husband, and 3 of their 4 boys came over. They pulled in at 9am - I was still in bed. Oops! No one told me when they were coming!!! The guys worked on framing up part of the basement!!! If you've been to my house, you've no doubt heard my grand plans for our basement - right now it's just a big open space full of all our extra crap. The extra crap drives T crazy, I'm not so bothered by it. Along one wall, we're installing 4 walk-in closets (9'x5' each) so that all our crap can go into them!! We also have one part that has all the necessities (furnace, water heater, etc.) that is being enclosed to have it's own room. That's all the framing that happened this weekend. We're going to work on the basement in stages. Eventually, there will also be another bedroom/craft room, a full bathroom, and an entertainment area with kitchen and bar. I wish we could finish it all off, but there's that damn $$$ factor working against us. The closets and the furnace room will all be finished off this year, and we'll also finish pouring the patio off the walkout. That's all for the home improvement this year. Last year, we focused our efforts outside - new house=no landscaping. I'm sooooo glad that's done!

This weekend I'm very much looking forward to sitting on my butt and catching up on the tv I'm missing this week. Thank God for Tivo. I'm also going to visit a friend who just had a baby. I swear, babies are just popping out all over the place. Since Christmas, I've known 4 people who have had babies - another teacher at my school is due next week and another one is pregnant. Sheesh... something in the water around here. I bring my own water from home! :) And that's the way it's going to stay for a few more years!!

Skiing and Cows

Odd title, I know. But I have to tell you about both! This weekend T and I went to Shanty Creek skiing with some friends. We had a great time - and I only fell twice! :) I don't ski very fast, so I don't fall very hard. I did my first night skiing when we got there Friday night. I took a wrong turn on the first hill and went on one that was a bit too challenging for me. I pretty much screamed the whole way down. But I didn't fall. :) After that terrifying experience, I stayed on my nice, slow green runs. My favorite up there is called 'Chicken's Choice'. I am not ashamed of the fact that I'm a big chicken. There were lots of people on the slopes Saturday - including many little kids taking lessons. That always freaks me out that I'm going to catch an edge and go careening into a group of innocent little people. I successfully maneuvered around them. Then, there was this very large group from a rehabilitation center who took people with disabilities skiing. Basically, the person would sit in this chair with a ski on the bottom, and someone would ski them down. And there would be about 10 other people skiing around them with bright orange vests. Well, I started going down my Chicken's Choice just as the person and their entourage went, and so I just stayed clear of them. Until one of the orange vest people thought I was getting too close and she threw her arms out and yelled 'STAY BACK!' Hello, yes, I'm not a very good skiier, but I do know how to stay out of people's way. Like I'm going to go gunning for the disabled person. Friggin eh. Anyway, it turned out to be a beautiful weekend. Except for driving home Sunday. Icky. T drove- I slept.

Okay, onto the cow adventure. I was coming home from school last night, when I hit the dirt part of our road, I noticed 6 very large black cows jumping a fence and start running down my road. Um... what the hell do I do now?!? I had never been in that situation before. So, I went to the person's house, but no one came to the door. I thought they might want to know that their cattle were hoofing it toward town. So I followed them for a bit and called T to look out the front window. He said "Are you driving a herd of cattle home?" Yep, I'm a cowgirl - I drive 'em around with my Explorer. So T said he'd call the police and told me to back up and go around the block to come at them from the other way so they'd stop running. Did I mention that we live out in BFE and rarely do cars drive by? So I went around the block and was able to stop them just past our house. As I tried to push them to go the other way, they decided to keep running, not down the road anymore, but up our neighbor's driveway. At least they weren't in the road anymore. What a surprise to anyone who would drive down the road! T went back to the house where the cows lived and was able to find the guy who owned the cows. He said the guy was standing out in his driveway, scratching his head wondered what happened to his black angus. So T ended up getting our quad and helping the guy round up the cows out of our neighbor's field and back down to their house. We never know what goofy things are going to happen out in the country.

More Vacation!

T and I are leaving Friday for an extended weekend up north. We're finally going skiing!! It's been 2 years since the last time we hit the slopes. Last year, the weather never seemed to cooperate with the weekends that we could go, so we had a year off. We're not big-time skiers. Usually once or twice a winter we'll ski for a weekend. Having the slopes so far away, and crazy lives, it makes it difficult to find the time/energy/moo-lah. I have packed all kinds of reading material and comfy clothes to hang out when not outside. I'm good for a few hours a day and then I'm ready to warm up and give my legs a break. I like to hit the smaller hills- I'm not much of a daredevil. I just love the shush-shush of going down the hill. Not a big thrill-seeker here. We're going up with some friends that we haven't gotten together with in a long time. They are leaving their son (who is 18 months) for the first time with grandma and grandpa for a whole weekend. He'll be fine- I just hope mom and dad aren't too preoccupied with thoughts of him instead of being able to enjoy themselves. Hopefully I'll have some pics from the hill the next time I post. Have a terrific weekend everyone! :)

I'm back!

After I typed that title, I realized that many of you probably didn't even know that I had been gone, due to my lack of posts recently. And I will apologize for the negative tone my last few entries have had. It's just been kinda crappy around here. Anyhoo, I went to Florida for the weekend! This was the first time that T had been down to visit Grandma in Daytona. It was sooooo great to wear shorts and t-shirts everyday. It was on the cool side, but hey, it's winter there too! When we left Lansing, it was 10 degrees, when we landed at 9pm, it was 60. Much better!!! Of the 3 days we were there, it was generally in the low 70's. It was great to show T around town and go beachside. Although, we never were able to go down to stay at the beach. Ugh! That's the best part!!! There is absolutely nothing like being at the ocean - it's probably my most favorite place in the world. We ate down there at our favorite restaurant right on the pier yesterday (we're on the pier in this pic). Wow, it doesn't seem like it was just yesterday!! We also went inland a bit to Blue Spring to see the manatees on Sunday. There were gators there too! Very cool. Anyway, it was great to get away from the drama and trauma around here.

This is T and Grandma before we left Monday. They're standing by the plant that T's family sent for Grandpa's funeral last March. It was what we would call a house plant in Michigan - in Florida everything grows crazy fast outside.

Pissy

I am very pissy today. Namely, because there is school. Yes, I am quite pissed because I had to get up and come to school this morning when I had many things already planned for my snow day. But I'm mostly pissed because my superintendent wants to push her own agenda instead of keeping our students' safety at the top of her priority list. I had a lovely day on Monday. I got a lot of things done at home and I was looking forward to just one more day!!! It was especially nice given the piece-of-crap week I had last week. When I drove in this morning, it was negative 9. NEGATIVE NINE! On the news, Terri DeBoer the weather whore said that exposed skin can freeze in 3 minutes. At my school, all the kids walk. A lot of their parents do not have transportation - and if they do, usually it's not very dependable, especially in sub-zero temperatures. If I was a parent, I wouldn't send my kid to school if they had to walk! Right now, I have 3 kids gone. I thought I'd have a lot more than that. Ugh. PISSY!!!

Displaced

This will be my last year teaching 3rd grade at my building. Due to budget cuts, 5 positions at my building are being cut. Me, being the lowest in seniority at my grade level, is that position. We knew that some things like this were coming down, but we didn't know for sure until the school board meeting Monday night that it really was happening. Therefore, I will be in search of another position within my district. I have 7 years seniority and there are plenty of places for me to go. Unfortunately, I'll most like have to do a "bump" and take someone with less seniority out of their position. It's a not nice thing to do, but it's part of our system and that's the way it works. I am not a layoff or a pink slip, but unless 5 elementary people retire this year, then the people at the bottom will be. This is something that I never imagined would happen in my district. However, students moving out of district or out of state, have had a huge impact on us. Our economy sucks. We've had a really good fund balance up until this year, so nothing major (like staff) has had to be cut. Right now, we're in the position that a lot of other districts have been in for quite some time. I think what upsets me most is that my school is awesome the way it is. We have 5 good elementaries in my district, but this building has the most flexible staff, the most challenging students (behaviorally and academically), and we make it work. Our MEAP scores are great, we all go way above and beyond what I know others within the district are doing. Plus, we're all great friends and get along so well. I truly love coming to work everyday. Today was the only day in the 5 years that I've been here that I didn't want to come to school. Unfortunately, T said that I couldn't stay home. Our superintendent came and talked to each of us who have been displaced individually. That was a fun meeting. I was so upset by just the thought of the meeting that I couldn't eat this morning- not good for my stress level, but great for my diet. We have our bump meeting sometime in the next few months. I'll find out for sure then where I'll be. Everyone at my school is trying to stay positive and enjoy these last few months we have together. It sucks. A lot. But, life will go on and sometimes change can be a good thing. At least, that's my stance as of now. In the meantime, I'll be collecting boxes to pack up my classroom.

In other news... the party we had for our theatre group this past weekend was a roaring success. Lots of people, lots of food. Everyone commented to us about how great it was. And it really was! Party planning is one of my favorite things to do, although I'm really looking forward to not having theatre-related things to do this weekend! Oh, and BTW, I didn't win, but it was an honor to be nominated. Maybe next year... :)

Finally Friday

No, I have not been on one, continuous snow day since my last post. I wish! This week I took my class to our local YMCA for water safety/swimming lessons. The kids had a blast (it's usually a third grade highlight). Every other year, I just sit and watch - take pictures and get caught up on paperwork or take my phone and check email. This year, they didn't have enough volunteers to help out, so I went in the pool too. I love to swim and I had a great time. I'm always amazed at the amount of kids who have never been in a pool before. My parents have home movies of me jumping off the diving board when I was 2 and a half. No swimmies either- they were for wussies! Every summer we spent at the cottage and I was always in the lake. I had a little blow-up boat that I used to row all over. When I was little, my grandpa was worried I'd go out too deep and he'd tie me and my boat to a tree in the yard. I hated that damn rope. Anyway, swimming is great, and if you don't do it- try it! Or the lifeguard will just throw you in. Either way.

I did receive one oddball comment from one of my goofy kids. The first day that I walked out to the pool deck in my swimsuit, the kid says to me, "Wow, you're Mrs. R. PG-13!" I really wasn't showing that much cleavage! I never ever know what's going to come out of their precious little mouths. :)

This week I have been hard at work on a dvd for a little celebration that b and I are planning for our theatre group. Scanning sucks. Scanning poor-quality, older than dirt newspaper clippings sucks even more. I think that I am finally done scanning and can now put the thing together. BTW- I do that- make fun dvds for parties, anniversaries, weddings, etc. T thinks I need to start a little business doing it - if interested, give me a call. :) Anyway, the party is Sunday and I really hope it goes well. This is the first major function that the board has trusted us with. Plus, it's the first giving of our new awards. Like the Tony's - we have the Spiro's. Named after one of our longtime directors. I'm even nominated for best supporting actress for my portrayal of the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella. I don't think that I'm going to win - but it was an honor to be nominated! :) ha ha... I'll keep you updated next week of the results.

In other news, I was saddened to hear of the passing of K's grandpa. Much love goes out to her and her family.

In more other news, I don't know what the deal is lately with all the people around me having those 'come to my party and buy stuff' things. They're everywhere! So far, just this week, I have purchased from Stampin' Up, Creative Memories, and Lia Sophia jewelry. Why? I have no idea? Moments of weakness, I presume. Will I have enough in my checking account this month to pay my mortgage? Maybe. Will I have some kick ass new stamps and scrapbooking stuff instead? Definitely. :) BTW- I'm thinking of hosting a CM party soon. Anyone interested? shameless plugs all over this post... sorry!!

Okay, it's Friday. It's after school. My report cards are done. My papers are (almost) graded. I'm whipped. Going home. Have a good weekend everyone!

ring ring (part 2)

Love those 5:30am phone calls! :) Yes, I do have another snow day today. It's been a great weekend and now I get one more day of it! Why was it great? We had nothing planned. I got things done around the house when and how I wanted to with no time constraints. Awesome. I can't remember the last time that had happened. A long time.

I have been doing some experimental cooking lately. Since I've been on this diet/health kick I've been trying to find recipes from weight watchers or lowfat cookbooks. I've never been much of a cook (why? because my dad is a professional chef - he always cooked and I just enjoyed the ride, I never really paid attention), but now I'm feeling better about being in the kitchen. I even planned out our week of dinners. I feel so much like a grown up. :)

TTFN...enjoy our snow-covered world! It finally looks like Christmas!

Update

Just a quick note - the Z pack really helped and now I'm feeling much better. Our washer gets fixed today! hooray! We're going to see my cousin play basketball at Hope tonight (he plays for Albion). I'm on a new diet/excersize plan and have lost 3.8 pounds in the past week. I get to really eat tonight though- Johnny Carino's. Love love love that place. :) Our weekend was not very eventful - until sunday. We had our final Christmas, with my Aunt and Uncle and 2 cousins. Afterward, down came our tree. :( I was sad to put it away, but it's about time. The "wintery" stuff I left up. I doubt that will come down until the end of January. The house always seems so bare after I take down the Christmas stuff- so I try to leave it up as long as possible without becoming one of those 'crazy holiday ladies' who leave that stuff up until the fourth of july. The copy machine at my school is broken. It is a horrible thing. I hope the copy machine near you is still working, I might come over and run some things. :)

I'm back!

To work, that is! Sorry it's been so long since a post, but I had quite a lengthy one I was working on last weekend and then by some strange phone line twist of fate (we have dial-up at home -bleck), I was booted off without rhyme or reason. Pissy is how I felt the rest of the day. So much so, that I didn't get back on and type it all again. I think it was a recap of our Christmas(es) and New Year. Long story short- Christmas- awesome, busy, long long day. Day after- shopping! and then napping and putting away presents. New Year's- we were supposed to visit some friends and then they all came down with the flu. Ew. We stayed home and had a nice dinner with my parents since they didn't have any plans this year. On to new things going on: 1. I came back to school on Tuesday. 2. I have a sinus infection which has now traveled down to my lungs so I have a nice, smoker's cough. 3. I hit a new blood pressure low at the doctor's yesterday - 82 over 60! The nurse said "Wow, you really ARE sick!" 4. The enter key doesn't seem to want to work so I have to continue typing like this. 5. Our washer broke. We now have solved our lack of places to ski problem- we have mountains of laundry in our house!! The motor seems to have died. It was making this funny clicking noise, and the clothes came out more wet than usual. T tried to take the cover off to look at it. That was disaster #1. The repairman came yesterday and has to order parts for it. But he hooked it back up so we could at least use it. Last night T was doing some laundry and the motor totally died. That was disaster #2. We spent a good 45 minutes getting all the water out of the washer, with cups. 6. I get a massage tonight! 7. I think that's it.

VACATION!!

The holiday season is now upon us, and I truly can now be festive because I don't have to go to work until January 2! :) After a harrowing week, I spent the weekend baking and addressing Christmas cards. It was lovely! I've been looking forward to it all week. Now I have a whole week before Christmas to get my s--t together so that everything it ready. December is always so nutso at school that I tend to leave a lot to do at the last minute. But does it always get done? Yep! Well, most of it. Some of the time. Anyhoo, I'm very ready for a couple weeks away from my normal life and just be at my house. Right now, I want for nothing. Except I do have one request. K, could you please update your blog so that when I check it, I don't have to look at the bare behind of a giant Japanese man? Thank you. Very much. Love and kisses. Bye for now.

Ring Ring

5:30am "hello?"
"No school today! Go back to bed!"
Love it love it love it. The two greatest words to a teacher SNOW DAY!! It wasn't until I became a teacher that I realized how people have these vast misconceptions about teachers and snow days. No, we don't have to go to school. Yes, we still get paid. Yes, the teachers actually look forward to them more than the kids do. Especially at my level - elementary. My kids really want to come to school. I realize that they get more jaded as they get older, but I think it's kinda sweet. Today is a wonderful day for a snow day - a three day weekend! I have a ga-jillion things to do before next Friday and this helps me get closer! I love my snow day!

In other news, I visited the chiropractor for the first time ever. He was fun. I laughed through the whole thing - he was funny and I was nervous/anxious/in pain so I didn't quite know what to do or expect. According to him, I had lots of stuff out of whack and he proceeded to whack me until I was right. It didn't hurt, except for one particular jab in my lower back. When I got home, I felt awesome! The next day, pain pain pain. I'm now doing the whole ice for 20 minutes, off for an hour, repeat when I get home at night. I'm also still taking my meds from my real doctor, although those are not working so well anymore. I'm a mess. It sucks getting older.

Speaking of getting older...T turned 30 over the weekend! He's really officially "my old man" now. :) He took it in stride. I bought him an air hockey table for the basement - it was a big surprise and I think he really liked it. We haven't had much chance to play it this week, but we did last night and he kicked my butt in sudden death. I need more practice!

Well, I'm off to enjoy my school-free day. I hope everyone else out there was able to stay home and not go out in this icky icy stuff.

update

I've been looking through the blogs and there doesn't seem to be much updates as of late. Reminding me that I probably should update my blog as well. Not much going on in my world. The neck/back thing is getting better - no more yoga class for me for a while. Much love goes out to my wonderful muscle relaxers, my heating pad, and my pain pills (which I found out are generally prescribed to arthritis sufferers). I'm off school for a conference for the next couple days, so I really only have to physically teach one day this week. I got to ride to work with T this morning since his work is just down the road from where my conference is. The closest I'm sure that we'll ever get to carpooling or working in similar fields or even in the same cities.

This weekend I did a lot of cleaning up around the house. Somehow I agreed to have my school's staff Christmas party at our house. I love having people over, it's a lot of work, but lots of fun. Especially at Christmas time. It's supposed to be really nice (weather wise) this week, so our plan is to get all the outside stuff done. Then, over the long weekend we'll start getting the inside decorated. Last year I think that I had the whole house done by the middle of November. It was our first Christmas in the house and I was so excited to unpack all the decorations I had been accumulating and saving over the years. It was a ton of work, but great fun. It should be much easier this year.

If I don't post again later this week, have a great Turkey day everyone!

Ow

I had a little injury last week and it's still bothering me a lot. As many of you know, I've been really trying to get healthy the last few months - basically kicking my butt with excersize, trying to eat well, etc. Part of my regiment has been to balance out all my cardio with a yoga class once a week. Well, last Monday I went and it was fine. Until we did "the plow". Basically, you lie on your back, then put your feet behind your head. Fine, I had done it before with no problems. This time, I somehow went too fast and really screwed up my neck. I actually heard it go crack, creak, pop, crunch. I have now been in pain for a week and a half and today I go to the doctor!!! I can't wait!!! The otc meds I've been taking aren't even touching it anymore. I walk all hunched over and I am pretty grumpy. My poor students, I try not to take it out on them, but I've had a pretty short fuse the last few days. On top of that, a lot kids in my class have some nasty coughs that their parents don't seem to notice, so they come to school and hack on me. My face has also seemed to revolt against me and my skin care regiment. I somehow aquired 5, yes FIVE, shiny red zits over the weekend. WTF?!?!? I feel pretty... oh so pretty...

In other news, today is the first day of firearm deer season. My school district used to always take this day off since so many students and teachers wouldn't come to school. We no longer do that, apparently my town isn't as redneck as we used to be. T and my dad are out in the field behind the house this morning. Neither of them have gotten anything yet, so our freezer is starting to look a little bare. Hopefully today!

Basketball & Halloween

No, I did not play basketball on Halloween, those are just my two topics. First, Halloween. Fun time, my kids were quite good, still a very tiring day, but they live it. :) We had a record 26 trick-or-treaters! My mom (also a teacher at my school) and I give out maps to our kids to come out and t-o-t at her house. I live about 15 miles away from school, a bit too far for many kids to make it, so I go to my parents' house and camp out there. Good time.

Last night, my parents and T and I went to Van Andel to see the MSU spartans men's basketball team in action in their first exhibition game against Grand Valley. T went to GVSU, so it was 3 vs. 1 in our crowd. Surprisingly, the spartans looked like crap and the lakers looked pretty good! We were behind most of the game, but then put them away in the last few minutes. There is a player on GVSU's team with the last name of Redder, so we had a good time cheering on "Cousin Dan". haha... T says that he's a distant relative but not sure how distant. I think that grand valley should have a good season. I'm a bit worried about my spartans - they lost too many shooters. Damn it, basketball is always my saving grace after putting up with looney John L. all football season. grrrr....

Another grrr is trying to upload pictures. Lately, whenever I try to upload pics to this site, it will not do it. Then, I'll get on the next day to try it and it will go right through. Today is issue #1. Therefore, no pics. At least not today, maybe tomorrow. Anyway, I'm off to get poked for my allergy shots. yuck.

Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone out there in bloggerville has a great halloween! Today is a very fun day at school, but also incredibly exhausting. As you can imagine, my little darlings are oh so excited for our party this afternoon. They're already pretty pumped full of sugar, and then it will just get worse as the day goes on. I've gotta keep my little song and dance pretty entertaining if I want them to learn/do anything productive this morning.

In other news...
1. T is now home from South Dakota - hooray! :)
2. We got our new mattress on Thursday and we LOVE IT. No more sinking to the center, no lumps, just pure bliss. It is now even more difficult to drag my butt out of bed in the morning! My side is plush and T's side is firm, we had no idea a mattress could be made like that. Fab-u-lous.
3. Visited with old friends over the weekend and did quite a bit of shopping. Christmas is almost done! At mall #2, I had to buy a new pair of shoes because I just could not walk another step in mine.
4. I have shows coming up this weekend! It's our annual Music Revue. Come see it, it will be pretty good! I sing a solo - all by myself! hee hee... and a duet with Ben. We kick ass. Check out www.ioniacommunitytheatre.org for more info.
5. Finally booked tickets for spring break.
6. The countdown to Christmas break can now begin, and tomorrow is when I officially break out the Christmas cds.
7. Saw a production of Little Shop of Horrors on Friday, it kinda makes me want to do that show (we are putting it on next fall). Even though I have sworn off doing any more musicals for the time factor. I dunno, I have a year to make up my mind. I'll see how our "Suddenly Seymour" is received and go from there, I guess.
8. We're going to see the MSU men's basketball team kick some GVSU laker butt at Van Andel. Thank goodness football agony is almost over. Basketball will redeem us (we hope)!!!

I'll try to post a pic of my two chocolate babies in their halloween gear tomorrow! Happy tricks and treats everybody! :)

Par-tay!

Saturday was Melinda and Virlena's super duper Halloween party. As always, it was a fabulous time. The best part- I got to partake in the tequilla/jello shots because Ben was driving! Hooray for Ben!! :) Wonderful fun was had by all - here are a few of the pics...

This and That

Here's the pic that I tried and tried to upload a few days ago. Technology is weird. Some days I feel like I'm in complete control of the devices I use, and some days I feel so incredibly lost. Anyway, here are my boys, all decked out and finished hunting. These were the first green heads that were shot behind our house - very exciting! :) Too bad, we already have a lovely stuffed duck that T shot in N. Dakota in our living room (his name is Chuck - Chuck the Duck), or else T would probably have gotten this one done. Taxidermy is something that I vastly do not understand. But that's a topic for another post.

In exciting news, this weekend is M's World Famous Halloween party! :) Fun fun fun!! :) This year, I'm actually dressing up and my costume is kick-ass!! T is hunting so my date will be Ben. Happy Sweetest Day, Sweet Tea! I'm going out with another guy!! Haha... j/k!!

Yesterday my mom and I went to have massages at the Aveda salon in Belding. It was veeeeeerrrrryyyyy nice. I have become a total aveda addict - I came home with 5 new bottles of crap to put on my hair and I've been enjoying the smell of them all day long. The stuff is not cheap, but I think it's my new guilty pleasure. Better than porn or drugs, I suppose.... :)

In sad news, a very special little dog died this week. M's canine sister, Mickey passed away on Wednesday. I have many fond memories of staying with her while M's parents were away on trips. Such as the time when I took her outside and she got all muddy - I didn't know where her doggy shampoo was to clean her up, so I used my Big Sexy Hair shampoo and conditioner on her in the kitchen sink. Big Sexy Mickey! When G & P first got her, I remember seeing the ferocious little darling in their van and she would get so worked up and excited she would poo in the van. Icky. Luckily, she grew out of that unpleasantness. She was a sweetheart and will be missed terribly. My grandpa thought she was just an awesome dog too - it helps me cope to know that the two of them are together somewhere playing and watching over us.

Have a swell weekend everybody!

Been Long Time

Sorry it's been so long since the last post, but it's been crazy. I don't have much of anything exciting to report about last weekend, but I do from the weekend before! :) It was my bday weekend. My parents and T and I went up to Clare to golf and spend the weekend. Here's some pics from our golfing adventure:



It was a gorgeous weekend. We also went to the outdoor shopping super-store, Jay's. Luckily they did have some pretty Brighton jewlery, but not enough to keep my interest for the entire time we were there. So my mom and I found some comfy chairs in the camping section.

It was also PUPPY DAY! All these people come to the parking lot and sell their hunting dog puppies out of their cars. It was the most adorable thing I have ever seen! Puppies puppies puppies!! There were two litters of Weimers - even some of the blue ones!! It was all I could do not to come home with one or a few. It didn't stop me from picking them all up and lovin on them a little. There's no way that we could have a puppy right now. Two grown up dogs is plenty at one time- I can't even imagine having three!! Smokey is already 8, and Tim tells me the life expectancy of big labs with hip issues is around 10. It's horrible to think about life without him, but it will happen someday. When that happens, then we'll think about a puppy. I can't see that we would ever go down to just one dog. When T goes on hunting trips and leaves me at home, I have to have to dog to protect me out in BFE where we live!! :) Not that anything ever happens, it's just a matter of company and security. Speaking of T and the dogs, here's a pic of all my handsome boys that I took this past weekend after T came back from duck hunting out in the field by our house. Now we have enough for a la orange! :) yum yum...okay the pic seems to not be cooperating, I'll try it again later...

Another Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday to Japan Kim! I think it's already a day later where she is, but it's still oct 10 for quite a while here in Michigan. Have a great day Kim-a-ree. :)

October 9 - a very important day!

I have 3 reasons to tell you about how important Monday, October 9th is.

First, it is Leif Erikson Day! :) For those of you in the blogging world who don't know why this is important to me, I am Norwegian and this is a very big day. Contrary to popular belief, Leif discovered America 500 years before Columbus. It makes me ill to celebrate Columbus Day. He was a murderous and icky man. Leif was a VIKING! :) And for the record, his name is pronouced "Life". For more fun info on him, check out http://www.mnc.net/norway/LeifErikson.htm.

Another reason October 9 is important is because it is the day the MEAP window opens. I teach 3rd grade, which is the first year that students are required to take the test. It sucks. A lot. It's a lot of pressure that 8 year olds just don't need. They don't know anything about it, yet they're scared out of their minds about it. They don't even get that it's the MEAP test - they call it the MEAT test. We've done a lot of prep for it - keep your fingers crossed for us! :)

Lastly, October 9 is a very important day because it's my bestest best friend Melinda's THIRTIETH BIRTHDAY!!!!! 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30!!! Happy happy bday Mimi!!

Numero 29

Tuesday I turn 29. The last of the 20s. Not a big deal, I guess. One of my students told me a looked 42 the other day, so age doesn't really matter. Another student told me a looked 17, so I suppose the happy medium I'm in is A-okay. :)

This weekend turned from a by-myself-with-the-dog weekend into a weekend of fun! Friday T left to go duck hunting up north with Remy. That night, my mom and I joined some other Ionia Community Theatre board members to go see The Full Monty at Circle in GR. It was even more hysterical that I remembered it being - and for those of you out there who have never seen the bway version and just the movie, the musical is WAY WAY WAY better. Saturday, my buddies from WMU came over from the east side of the state for a little get-together. I hadn't seen them all since my wedding, and unfortunately, I didn't really get to see or talk to them much that day. Although they were kind enough to help pick me up off the dance floor after I fell (actually tripped on my ripped bustle) while I was doing the infamous 'leg-dance'. In my defense, it was very difficult to do in a super heavy dress after I had finally had something to drink!! E & A have the MOST adorable daughter. The last time that I had seen her, I think that she was about a week old. Now she is three. She's changed a lot! :) All I can say, is they can bring her over any time!! Sweet sweet sweet! Per her request, all five of us did 'Ring Around the Rosie' in my driveway. Several times. Good thing I don't have many neighbors, otherwise they would probably think I was a part of some kind of cult.



Saturday night I got a very nice surprise, T came home early! Hooray! :) Not that I mind him going away, but I just like it better when he's home! Sunday was spent getting our pun'kins!! They're great. We're going to cut down some of the corn shocks from the field to put on the front porch too. The afternoon was spent in rehearsal for a music revue.