oh life...

So I thought I'd give you an update on how I'm doing on my goals.  Well.... truth be told, I'm doing horrible.  Here's the breakdown:

Socially:
-Take a vacation by myself. This doesn't necessarily mean I have to go alone... I just want my vacation to be about me. Do whatever I want. Not have to worry about anyone else. Right now my plan is to go to L.A./Santa Monica area. Beach. Warmth. City life. Somewhere new. I'm also leaning towards Portland/Seattle. (Yes, I realize those are not in the same state.) I would fly into Portland to visit my sister-in-law, then continue on up to Seattle for the main portion of my vacation.
**Well this isn't happening any time soon unless someone wants to make a donation - which are always welcome!!

-Set aside some of my monthly budget for "friend time." This includes going out to movies, dinner, etc.

**I'm succeeding at this!!  :)  I love spending time with my friends... they're the best!!

Financially:
-Pay off a student loan

 **I'm about $250 away from paying one off!!  Let's hope I can manage it soon!!

-Set and follow a monthly budget
**I've been doing fairly well with this.  I'm slowly getting ahead on my bills!!

-Purchase a new laptop (one that isn't 6 years old) :)

**I gotta get ahead in other financial areas first :(

Emotionally:
-Continue blogging once per week.  Eventually build up to 2+ times per week.
**Well obviously I've been keeping this up.  :)  Sometimes it's a little difficult to know what to write about though.....
-Get back into reading.  Set aside at least 30 minutes, 3 times a week to read a book that I enjoy; set aside 1-2 hours on the weekend to spend reading.
**With the past few weeks that I've had, I have been way too exhausted to read.  All last week I don't think I managed to get home before 7:00 and even then I spent the next 1-2 hours cleaning toys and trying to get that all finished before finally passing out between 8:30-9:00.  I rarely even ate dinner.

Physically:
-Start eating more veggies.  Eventually (by April 30th) eat the majority of my meals as veggies.
**I was doing great... but then I got sick and nothing sounded good.  Then I had the most stressful weeks of my life.  This week I'm really focusing and getting back on track.  Today for example, I had broccoli with popcorn seasoning.  :)  It. Was. De. Lish.
-Try more new foods.
**I'm trying!!  :)  I even managed to try some of Alex's guacamole at Chili's this past weekend.  It was ok... def not what I would choose for myself.
-Learn to cook/bake new dishes that are healthier for me. (If any of you have ideas, please pass them on to me!!)
**Umm this means that you have to have time to cook.  I haven't.  :(
-Start spending at least 30 minutes, 3-4 times a week working out.
**Past few weeks have been horrible.  Again, I was sick and so physically exhausted I could hardly stand to teach.  Then last week was so stressful and physically exhausting again.... and I literally had no time to run on the treadmill.  The plan is to start getting back on track in that area again this week as well.
-Complete the Couch to 5k program by June 30th. (I'm allowing the weather some time to warm up first).
**Ha Ha Ha...
-Cut down my caffeine (aka Mt. Dew) intake.  By March 31st - only drink soda at special occasions (going out to eat, parties, etc.)
**Ok so I was doing great with this.  Wasn't drinking ANY Mt. Dew.  Then Melissa gave me a can at gma's on Sunday.  I should've known then... that was just the beginning of the Worst. Week. Ever.  I've had probably 4 or 5 20 oz. bottles this week.  :(  But again... I'm back on track this week.
-Join a Zumba class. (If you know if any in the area that are reasonably priced and later in the evening, let me know!)
**Still have yet to find one during a time slot I could actually attend and I need to work it into my budget.

Spiritually:
-Read through the entire Bible by December 31st.
**I'm really far behind.  :(  Our wonderful church had a reading plan worked into the bulletin every week and that's what I've been following.  However, because I started late and have been so exhausted.... I'm still at the end of January.  I'm really focusing on making it a daily priority this week and I'm reading 2-3 days worth every day to hopefully get caught up soon.
-Spend time each morning reading devotions and spending time in reflection.
**See above.
-Sign up for another area of ministry at Grace Comm. Church.
**I'm still trying to figure out the area that I'm needed.  I would LOVE to volunteer for open gyms but unfortunately my worth schedule conflicts with every time of that.  :(
-Tithe 2 times a month (after each paycheck).
**I'm ashamed to say it, but I'm failing miserably in this area.  Especially since my "take home pay" has gone down about $30 per check.
-Share my faith more openly with people around me. Don't be afraid to talk about God and the blessings he has put in my life.
**I'm def working on it!!  I have so many things that I've been blessed with and I would love to share how much God's love has impacted my life recently.


Ok so I guess I'm not completely failing but sometimes I feel like I am... especially after a week like last week.  My eating schedule was WAY off... my energy level was nonexistent... it just made for poor choices.  However, I have managed to keep all the weight I've already lost off!!  I am even still losing weight!!  :)  So even though the past few weeks has been HORRIBLE... I think I'm still doing ok and making progress.  I'm determined to look FOT (LOL) this summer!!


FYI:  FOT = F**kin Hot (As opposed to FUGLY = F**kin Ugly)... I didn't come up with it.  It was not my idea.        ....but I kinda love it.  :)


Happy Monday!!

Awkward and Awesome Thursday!!!!!!

Have no fear............ IT'S THURSDAY!!! 

Awkward:

1.  Pulling up next to a semi at a stop light or passing them on a highway, looking up at the truck driver, and they look back!!  What do you do at that point??  Wave?  Smile?  Pretend you weren't just staring at them? The only thing that makes it more awkward is when they smile and wave back at you. Or try to hit on you... Awkward.  Yes, this happened to me on our honeymoon.... NAST.

2.  Having to explain the nights drunken adventures to people... the morning after.  Being the sober one, most of it's pretty amusing, but there are just some things that you are just plain awkward to explain.  Like why they must now wash your car because they threw up on the outside of it as you were driving down the road.  Or some of the things they did/said.  Or the many additional times you got to listen to them throw up.  NAST.

3.  Having to explain bruises.  I am a person that gets bruises in weird places in weird ways.  Most of the time I have no idea how I got the nastiest looking bruises.  But try explaining that you don't know where that bruise came from.  Normal people don't believe you when you say, "I really don't know."  But, sometimes... IT'S THE TRUTH!!  But then there are those bruises that I DO know where they came from.  Most of them are too embarrassing to tell about.  So... in the future... just avoid asking about bruises.  Thanks in advance.

4.  Having your phone go off while you're in the middle of a serious conversation.  Oh yea... and your ringer is ON.  And turned all the way up.... Unfortunately this has happened to me WAY too many times to count.  You'd think I'd learn or at least change my ringtone to something less embarrassing.  But no, I don't.  ((BTW my ringtone is "Airplanes" by B.O.B. which isn't horrible by any means, but in a christian school, you're kinda held to a standard...)) So, I feel awkward as I quickly try to hit the mute button.  Then there's some people, like my mother, who continue to call me back over and over and over until I answer.  ...and I still don't learn.

5.  In light of recent events, it is extremely awkward to call the parents of every child in your class to explain the catastrophe that has happened... aka the fire extinguisher going off.  Especially to those parents whose children were COVERED in that nast powder.  Even though there was really no way for us to prevent the whole situation, except for telling the child to leave it alone (which we did numerous times), it still sort of makes you feel incompetent.

6.  Hott boys.  Talking to hott boys.  Flirting with hott boys.  Being near hott boys.  Awkward.

Awesome:

1.  Matching shoes... specifically moccasins.  Little kid moccasins are the cutest!!!  Little Ms. Abbi and I have our occasional days when we match and we both get super excited!  Our next step is to plan our matching sweaters on the same days as our matching moccasins.  :D

2.  Parents who step and up and help out with their child's school.  Just today I had 2 awesome parents step and and volunteer to help me out with getting materials ready for the next few weeks.  ((HUGE thank you to Sara and Kyle!!!  You are AWESOME!!))  Especially after the week I've had, I've run out of time to get some other important things done.  :(

3.  Friend dates.  I have one coming up this Saturday with one of my besties and I couldn't be more excited.  I love our dinner and movie nights.  We people watch, and complain about the service at the restaurant.  We critique the food, and make fun of the many interesting people in this world.  We even sing on the top of our lungs in the car.  There's nothing better than friends dates!!

4.  Cuddling.  I love it.  It's awesome.  It makes you all warm and cozy... what's not awesome about that?!

5.  Sunshine.  Isn't it amazing how just a little sunshine during your day can boost your energy level x10?!  I don't think it gets any better than sunshine coming through your sunroof with your shades on and the music up.  Life's pretty great at that moment.

6.  Planning your future.  Most of these plans probably change daily but it's still fun to dream about how you could rearrange a room, different paint colors, where to go on vacation next.... It's just. Plain. Awesome.  I have loved making plans for my future because who knows where I could go!!  The world is my oyster!!!

7.  Flirting.  The newness of relationships.  The excitement of new relationships.  Now I'm gonna kill all rumors right now.... I am NOT, I repeat, NOT in a relationship.  I am however, free to flirt with anyone I want and it feels great!  It's just so exciting to put yourself out there and see what happens.  Even being married, it was always fun to dress up, go out, and flirt with my husband.  Flirting is just awesome.

8.  Kids coming asking about words.  They're beginning to hear individual letter sounds in some words and they always get so excited when they're right!  It's one of the amazing things that I love about my job!!

People - start doing your own Awkward and Awesome Thursdays!!  You'll be surprised at what you can come up with and the smiles and laughs it brings!!

19 days till..........

MY BIRTHDAY!!!  It's the big 2-5 baby!!  A quarter of a century!!

Source: http://shaunchng.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=448

Woop Woop!!!

So in honor of my birthday, I am creating my (first of many to come) "Must Haves" list.  These would be perfect gifts for someone... like myself.  {hint hint}.

 1.  The Book of Awesome.  I've recommended the blog numerous times throughout my blog already and I'm mentioning it again because, well, the blog is awesome.  Therefore, the book must be awesome as well.

2.  Grey's Anatomy, Season 6 on DVD.  My personal all-time favorite show.  I already have seasons 1-5 on DVD and I'm just missing number 6.  Fabulous.

Source: http://www.aceshowbiz.com/images/news/00037190.jpg

3.  Big Bang Theory, Seaons 1 and 3 on DVD.  (Yes, I already have Season 2 on DVD).  This show is tied for my all time favorite with Grey's Anatomy.  Sheldon Cooper is frickin hilarious!!

 Source: http://www.aceshowbiz.com/images/news/00037190.jpg

4.  The DVD of Eat Pray Love.  I am in LOVE with that movie and the book!!  :)  It's my new fav.

5.  Wine.  Lots and lots of wine.  Gotta stock up!!  Oliver Sangria is my all-time fav.  (Only the Sangria Classic).  It. Is. Delicious!!

 Oliver Winery is my all-time fav winery as well.  :)  Although I've never actually been there... I am a fan of all their wines.  My plan (hopefully) is to go wine tasting there in the very near future!!!

6.  Four tickets to the NKOTBSB Concert!!  Girls night out!!  Either the July 26th concert in Indy or the June 17th or 18th Concert in Chicago!!  I just think this concert would be absolutely AMAZING!!  :D

 
 7.  A GIGANTIC Friends Poster!!  I lied earlier when I said Grey's Anatomy and Big Bang were my favorite shows.... they're tied for second.  :)  My ALL-TIME FAV SHOW is FRIENDS!!!!!  :)  I've wanted a huge poster of the cast for the longest time!!

 Source: http://www.avtora.com/uploads/images/content/articles/2006/02/14/friends_poster_01.jpg

I WANT THAT EXACT PICTURE RIGHT THERE!!!!! :D

These are just a few of my favorite things!! 

Well, this concludes my "Must Haves" list for now.  Hope it offers up some ideas and you got to know me a little better!!  :D

i. dislike. fire extinguishers.

So what better for a Monday morning than for a fire extinguisher to go off in the middle of the hallway at school?  How about a fire extinguisher going off in the middle of the hallway while about 75% of our kids are standing right by it?

Well I can tell you this: IT'S. NOT. FUN!!

This morning one of my preschoolers decided the fire extinguisher made a great toy.  The extinguisher then fell and went off.  So, all my kids, the kindergartners. and part of the 1st and 2nd grade class were all covered with the smoke/dust.  This then lead to the fire alarm going off.  We ended up having school wide half hour recess for about a half hour and then about an hour of movies before finally getting all the kids settled for lunch.

Talk about a crazy morning!!  Tonight and tomorrow will be devoted to cleaning my entire classroom, toys, hallway... EVERYTHING.  Anyone who is willing to help is more than welcome to come join!  :)

Moral of the story: Preschoolers and fire extinguishers don't mix.

                                                    

Who knew this combination could lead to so much chaos?!?!  Ha ha ha ha......

Disclaimer: The above picture is NOT the actual child who set the extinguisher off.


Picture Sources:
http://cityspur.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/preschooler.jpg
http://www.sayeducate.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/FireExtinguisherABC.jpg 

well, hello again world!

Don't get too used to me writing something every day.... :)  I just had news and updates I needed to share today!!

First - I am officially a single woman again!  Yes, we had court this morning and the judge signed and finalized our divorce.  Yes, I'm really ok... I've had plenty of time to prepare for this.  I even treated myself to a celebratory hot chocolate from Starbucks just because it's done - no more trying to figure out when it's going to finalized.  I can start making plans for my future again!  So yes, I'm ok and ready to take on the world again!!

Update on Dexter:
He was able to come home Wednesday morning with pain medicine.  He spent Wednesday at Scott's mom's house and as of yesterday is back with my mom and Scott.  He has a cone one (poor puppy).  He looks so sad now.  :(  He's still on pain meds and probably will be for the next week at least.  He also has to keep the cone on through next Thursday at least to keep him from scratching his ears and reopening the wound.
As of right now, they are also planning to keep him.  They think it was a freak accident and I'm hoping that's true.  I'm just afraid it will happen again.  :(  He's my baby.... but he didn't seem scared to be back around Queen and Bear so I'm hoping that's a good thing.  I would love to still be able to see him whenever I wanted to.
I went over to Scott's for dinner last night and to visit Dex.  He was extra cuddly and just wanted to be held and be close to all of us.  It was fun to watch him try to play with his ball though.  :)  It's also sort of funny to watch him in the kitchen... he always has to have us in his line of sight.  So... you add in a cone that gets in the way and only one eye to see out of and it makes it a little more difficult.  :)  But I still love him to death and I'm so glad that he's ok!!

This was soon after I got there... He greeted me at the door and kept pawing at me for some lovin. :)

He's so cute!!

In light of recent happenings of my life - I encourage everyone to really read the blog: 1000 Awesome Things.  I mentioned it before and today I finally took the time to start reading some of the earlier posts.  I'm determined to start with #1000 and catch up to where he is now.  The posts really make you think about how many awesome things there are in our lives but take for granted!!  Spend some time this next week focusing on finding those awesome things.  There's definitely awesomeness all around you!!

Happy Friday!

Awkward and Awesome Thursday

Well I know you've all secretly been waiting for it... so here it is.  Awkward and Awesome Thursday.

Awkward.

1. The go-to question "How are you?" I'm guilty of using it many upon many of times. However, when I get asked that question about 20-25 times a day, it gets awkward.  I never know what to say... do I be honest and say "I'm exhausted and ready to go home or I'm going to strangle your child because I have no patience left" or the generic "Good"??

2.  Related to number 1: going through the receiving line at a wedding.  You know they've only heard "Congratulations" about 1000 times.  So, what's something original to say?  "Good job on saying your vows. I hope you stick to them??"  I mean really.... maybe I'm just not that creative but I usually can't come up with anything else to say to the bride and groom....

3.  Men who shave their chest.  After they shave it gets all prickly and not comfortable to be near.  So men, step up and be proud of your chest hair.  When you shave you just look like a little boy.... Nast.

4.  Having a huge booger in your nose while talking to an "acquaintance". It's not necessarily visible to the naked eye but you know it's there, you know it's HUGE, and and you know it's just waiting to sneak out into the open.

 http://extrabutterny.com/blog/wp-content/imagescaler/72c484c3b74ed179caf1028d6525ebc5.jpg

5.  Having a conversation when you're about to pee you're pants.  And you don't know the person well enough to say "Hey... I have to pee.  I'll be right back."  So you start doing the pee-pee dance without making it obvious that you're doing the pee-pee dance.  And that person just keeps talking and talking and talking and talking and talking and talking.... and when they finally stop you rush out of there to the bathroom.  But again, you can't rush too fast because you don't want to make it obvious that you had to go THAT bad.

6.  Talking to parents after their child just spilled some their family secrets.  Parents, please realize that your children are probably telling all your deep dark secrets to their teacher and it's just plain awkward for that teacher now.  There's no way to avoid it.  We know about your underwear, what you drink, what you watch on TV, what you call certain body parts, and if you pee with the door open.  We even know when you fart at home.  We don't WANT to know these things, it just comes with being a teacher.

Awesome.

1.  Unique little gadgets such as :ninjabread men.  When I finally get my own place, I look forward to having lots of unique little gadgets around my house!!

2.  Dream shopping at ikea!!  For those who have been to an ikea store, you know what I'm talking about!  For those of you who have missed out on this wonderful opportunity - please plan a girls weekend at your nearest ikea store asap!!  It'll be well worth it!!  (Boyfriends and husbands may not appreciate this trip as much).

3.  Thought provoking questions.  I found a whole list for your enjoyment!!  (click on the dark yellow folks).  It serves as a wonderful time filler.  :)  Happy thinking!

4.  Photography. I LOVE how photography can capture amazing moments in peoples lives.  As soon as I win the lottery (ha ha ha) I plan to buy the best of the best canon slr cameras with amazing lenses and travel the world taking breath-taking pictures of various people and places.  So like I said... Ha. Ha. Ha.  I do LOVE photography though!  I just wish I had more time and talent for it!!

 http://www.mojomechanics.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/Artistic-Photography-6.jpeg

5.  One. Word. Sentences. I have a tendency to use them a lot for emphasis because, well.... they are just. Plain. Awesome.

6.  TV on DVD.  I don't know about you but I love going back and rewatching some of my favorite TV shows such as Grey's Anatomy, Friends, Private Practice, Big Bang Theory.... Love. It!  They're also great to fall asleep to!!

7.  Conversations (mainly with the little people) that can start with Jesus' Disciples and who they were and end up on the top of going to the doctor and getting weighed.  Yes.  That just happened today.  Although it's obviously way off topic and nearly impossible to get them back to Jesus' Disciples, it's worth the little laugh.  LOVES it!!

8.  Paint colors.  I love matching color combinations and decorating whole rooms based on those colors in my head.  :)  I can't wait to get a house in the future and decorate each room!!


What are some of the awkward and awesome moments and things in your life?!  Happy Thursday!!  ((It's almost Friday!!))

when life hits you in the face...

I feel like my life has flown by since my last post which has made me feel like its just time to post again.  However, it's only been 5 days which results in me not having anything interesting to post about.  So... I apologize for the extremely low entertaining level that this will provide today.

Saturday we got Andrea married off to Graig!! :)  They are an absolutely beautiful couple with an amazing love for each other and God.  I felt so blessed to have been a guest for their day!!

 BEAUTIFUL.

Next comes Sunday.  Unfortunately this begins my marathon of exhaustion. :(  I feel like I haven't been able to catch up on sleep since Saturday night.  Alex met me for dinner then we went back to my place and literally sat in the dark for about an hour trying to figure out what to do.  Our solution?  Go to bed.  He went home and I got a text about 8:30 saying he was going to bed and I went to bed myself about a half hour later.  How pathetic are we?!?!

Then Monday come and the exhaustion continued.  Then the chills and achyness started.  BUT... no fever!!  So there's a plus I guess.....

Tuesday - still exhaustion, chills, and achyness... but also throw in the cough.  The dreaded cough I was able to avoid last year but seem to be getting this year.  :(

Unfortunately Tuesday night turned into a rough night for other reasons... Dexter got attacked by another dog.  :(

His eye had popped out of the socket and once at the vet, they had to perform surgery but they were not able to save the eye.  :(  We're not exactly sure what happened but the vet found bite marks around his neck.  The vet seems to think that Dexter and Bear must have gotten into a fight and Bear bit him around the neck and shook him like a toy and that's what caused his eye to pop out.  I should probably mention Bear is a chow/rot/mastif mix (aka he's HUGE) and Dexter is a little 27 lb. cocker spaniel.  So Bear is fully capable of throwing Dex around a bit.  :(  The vet said if their hadn't been bite marks he would've thought he got it by a car based on the amount of damage.  He also said there there was quite a bit of blood loss.  :( Poor guy... Anyways... after picking him up at the vets office we had to take him out to Mishawaka to the Emergency Animal Clinic for the night.  Since he was still coming out of the anesthetic he needed to be monitored and there was a good chance he'd need a cone, more iv pain mends, and fluids.

This is Dex while we were getting him checked into the emergency clinic for the night.  Poor pup was so scared and confused.  He just wanted to be cuddled.  :(  He was supposed to be picked up this morning from the clinic and depending on how he did over night he was going "home" (to Scott's mom's house for the next few days) or back to the vet for more observation throughout the day.  I still haven't heard what's happening yet.  My mom's been talking to the vet and everything trying to make arrangements.

Needless to say, this was not how I wanted to spend my Tuesday night.  :(  I was scared to even see him.  I just wanted to hold him and squeeze him like I usually do but couldn't for obvious reasons.  :(

And now we're on to Wednesday.  Take all my previous illness symptoms and add a sinus headache and drainage plus more coughing.  ((If anyone has any idea what this could be - please let me know :/))  Bottom line: I feel like poo.  Today also happened to be Dr. Seuss's birthday - aka high energy levels from children all. day. long.  I was also smart and chose this day to do a science experiment with the class about mixing colors.  Before you get all worried - I DID survive!!  However, now that it's my "prep time" my non-existent energy level is hitting hard.  BUT nonetheless - here are some snapshots from Dr. Seuss's birthday!! :)

 

The crystals that we made after mixing some colors. 

Cat in the Hat reading to all our Pre-K through 2nd graders 

My 4s class with Cat in the Hat, Thing 1 and Thing 2 

My 3s classes with Cat in the Hat, Thing 1 and Thing 2

Now, here's to hoping I kick whatever this is ASAP and have a great rest of the week!! :)

Tomorrow: watch for the next installment of Awkward and Awesome Thursday!!