Oh The Weather Outside Is Frightful..

I can't believe today is December 1st. The year is almost over, 2010 has flown by and 2011 is staring at us right in the face. I absolutely can not believe how fast the year has gone by and how much everything has changed.

I went from a student to an adult.
Moved twice.
Got my first big girl job.
Learned how to stay a float in my big girl job, even though some days I feel like Im sinking.
Tried to find myself in a new city.
Got a new fur child.

I remember this time last year and thinking graduation would never come and I would never have a job, oh how wrong I was.

I love my job but I have never worked so hard for something in my life, but I love every second of it. I love the school God has put me at and the team I work with. I have such supportive parents (for the most part) and my students are a trip. They keep me on my toes and definitely challenge me every day.

For the last three years, I look back and think, God has blessed me with not only challenges but the grace to overcome them and see why He has done everything that He has. I feel very humbled to be where I am at this point in my life and definitely don't feel as if I deserve it.

The One Where I Tooted..

Here is a teaching story that I will never forget, I lost all self-respect but at the same time gained some, too.

As I'm lecturing my students on hallway manners for the umpteenth time and swear that if they don't learn it, Im going to take them to the Pre-k hallway and have them learn from the 'little people', I have them lined up in a strait line against the book shelf and am lecturing, lecturing, lecturing. You know, how the good teachers do it.

I should have pre-tensed this story that this is also the day before I was going to run my first 1/2 marathon. I was drowning my insides with more than usual water and a ton of fiber, because you know, that's what runners do.

Back to my story. So as I'm lecturing, you all of a sudden hear a long 'pooooo'. Not a subtle fluff, but a toot that comes out of a babies bottom when they get excited scooting across the floor reaching for that shiny toy that they have never seen before. I tried to recover but it was obvious, that not so silent toot came from me. My students all had a grin on their faces and without moving their heads were trying to look at each other with their eyes and doing everything they can to control their laughter.

I tried to recover but even I couldn't hold in my laughter. I kept talking but I just couldn't go on with my serious lecture. I looked at them and just said, 'next time you toot, you remember that your teacher did one day and there is no reason to be embarrassed.' The classroom erupted in laughter. Nobody had a strait face and I can't blame them, I wouldn't have been able to either. I told them it's ok, President Obama toots, I toot, everyone toots, so there is no reason to have shame. One of my precious students raised their hands and asked if I'd stop saying toot because it weirds them out. I then politely asked if they wouldn't go home and tell their parents.

So, that is the day I tooted. Never a dull moment in 5th grade.

Uhm... Is This Thing On???

Hi, my name is Taylor and I have a blog... that I completely neglected. The whole point of starting this blog was to follow my first year of teaching, so I could look back, in months, years, whenever and reflect, laugh, cry or even cringe about what I went through as a newbie. Then I dove right in.. let me tell you, some days I can barely keep my head above water, others I feel like I am the luckiest person in the world to get to have a job where I get PAID to do something so fun.. then my bubble gets popped and I leave work and come home and cry.

There have been so many things that I have experienced the last month 15 weeks that I have thought Im going through menopause ( ;) ). I have so many fun stories to share, some heartbreaking ones, and some down right ridiculous.

I ran my first half marathon, moved into a new house, and so far, survived 15 weeks (which have flown by so freaking. fast. ).

Did I mention I have gained 8lbs? I'm working on that..

I have so much to catch on. I am so glad the holidays are here. I am like Buddy the Elf. Im ready for lights, garland, cooler weather, Christmas spirit, and of course tis the reason for the season.

Changes (hopefully) Coming Our Way

One season is ending and another is beginning (shortly) and with that comes beautiful colors, cooler weather, football season, hoodies, Fall scents and flowers, I seriously can't wait. I love opening the windows when it is cool outside and having my scentsy warmer on and watching 'Fall movies'. Yes I watch 'Fall movies'. I one of those crazies. I would love to move somewhere with four actual seasons but Texas Fall will have to do.

Mr. G has also decided to take a new career route and we are in the midst of looking into where it could take us and when. I hope with everything that it works out for him. Im trying not to get my hopes up though for fear of disappointment.

Favorite 5th grade quote of the week:

Student: You must not get a lot of sleep at night..
Me: Why do you say that?
Student: Your eyes are purple and veiny under them..

I have a slight, very faint purple coloring under my eyes that gets really dark when Im sick and I have been fighting off a cold lately but seriously? This particular student is slightly strange, but still. I love them all and they all make me smile but sometimes I wonder, really?

Im finally getting into the swing of things and I can't believe this is week FOUR. I have survived four whole weeks. I have conferences next week, wow. I feel so lucky to wake up and go to a job that I love and it not feel like 'work'. I enjoy being where I am and doing what I do.

Another plus right now, Mister and I have found an amazing church. We are in a bible study group that consists of 5 other couples studying 'The 5 Love Languages' and Mr. G is really liking it. He wants to go to bible study and is really enjoying where we are. I am so glad God put us where we are and has surrounded me with the people he has.

It's almost hump day, the week is almost over! Have a great day!

Vitamin C Pleasseee

My throat hurts so bad right now that when I swallow, I feel as if my ears are going to bust. It took 2 full school weeks for my sweet angels to infest my immune system. Im trying to fight it but I feel horrible. I came strait home today and put sweats on before I even kissed the mister and he walked in and asked if I wore my sweats to work today. I. WISH.

I do have some slippers I change into when I moving around the classroom. Its for background noise. :)

It's been nothing but rainy today and it's going to continue all week. I hope that it brings cool Fall temperatures because Im ready to bust out the decor and let the cool air into my house.

Happy Tuesday!

2 Weeks Down.. How Many 'Til Christmas Break?

I have made it 2 weeks. 2 whole weeks. I am actually proud of myself. No meltdowns (myself or the chillens), no angry parents (yet), and I haven't lost anyone (so far). I am enjoying myself and slowly getting the hang of everything. I am getting to know people and making more friends every day. I am learning to love the town I live in and that is surprising.

I have some students with horrible home dynamics and it makes me just want to take them home with me, cook for them and buy them lots of toys and clothes because they don't get a lot of attention. It breaks my heart and I think about so many of my students when i am at home and pray for them at night. I am very lucky that I have some very supportive parents, some even greet me with a hug. It makes me so happy. I have gotten the sweetest gifts, just for no reason and it makes me feel so important. I am an important person, little ole me. Now I hope I make a difference in these kids lives.

It is weird to have an adult job and adult things to do. Yes I have been an adult but now I have a real job, not a waiting tables (not that this isn't a real job because it brings in the money) in college job. I feel so validated in life. Amazing.

It's a 3 day weekend y'all followed by a 4 day week. So. Happy.

So. Tired.

I have never experienced what such extreme exhaustion has felt like until recently. Im am so tired. Thankfully when I get to work though, I'm able to push past it and do my thing. Work doesn't feel like 'work' like it did in college. I don't dread it nor do I hate going there. I love my job and I love what I do, now if I could just get the hang of it. Im not going to lie, Im not used to not being good at something.

Im so thankful God has blessed me with such a great class. Are they perfect? No. They have their behavior issues and I have some that drive me nuts but they all mesh so well. I feel so lucky. They have great parents who are involved and care about what they are doing and to be honest, I feel spoiled.

I am finally making friends. I went to church on Sunday and feel like it could be my church home. I enjoy the people I work with and know that if I ever needed anything, they would drop anything to help me.

I feel like I'm waiting for the ball to drop and I shouldn't be this lucky. Anyone ever feel that way? Like when something good happens to you, it has to be followed by something bad?

Maybe Im just crazy.

Baby fever is slowly starting to set in. I've been saying I don't want babies for years and now I feel like I want one. Its a little baby bug but I hope it goes away because I'm not sure I'm ready. Are you ever really ready?

Broken Record

Oh My Word. Where have I been.. I feel like my whole world flipped up side down and I have been thrown into the real world. I am now officially a teacher even though my contract was signed quite a while ago. Even though I am the one with the classroom and stand at the front of the room and have the desk, I don't feel like a teacher. I don't even feel like an adult sometimes! I don't feel old enough to be in this world, I remember being the age that my students are, it honestly seems like yesterday.

I have never been so tired in my life and can honestly say I'm not just saying that. I can't count how many days I have stayed at work 11-12 hours and come home and just crashed. I thought the other night, what do people with children do? How do they come home to a family and take care of a household? I haven't cooked dinner in over a week, I do my chores on the weekend and thankfully its just the mister and I so our house stays pretty clean. I just can't imagine coming home and being a mom.

On a lighter note, I have made friends. Im so ecstatic about that. I have THE best, no really, I do, the best team. I love the people I work with and I work at such a great school with a positive atmosphere (sorry to gloat but I just want to share my excitement). I have made beautiful (Im referring to the inside but they are beautiful on the outside too) friends. I am just so excited. It makes all the long hours worth it. Id rather work all the time with wonderful people than very few hours with people Im miserable with. One of my new friends even blogs!!! I don't tell anyone that I blog, for multiple reasons but I was looking at her facebook profile and saw her blog and was so excited!

I hope to find my niche soon and get the hang of all the things that I have to do because I feel like Im one big multi-tasker. I have such a great class, 14 boys and 7 girls and they all mesh well so wonderfully. Are they the perfect class? No, I don't expect them to be but I already love them. I'm so excited for the year to get rolling and for us all to get in our groove.

Funny of the week.. I was so nervous this week, I never introduced myself to my class. I told them my name but didn't tell them anything about me. For 3 days. My mom lectured me about this and how it was important. She also lectured me about the difference between being strict and being mean. Apparently I am the stylish and pretty teacher but Im mean. I don't even care at this point, Im just trying to survive.

This weekend... sleep and trying a new church with Mr. G. I am so excited about this church, Ive heard great things about it and I hope it can be our new church home.

Hope everyone is surviving August. The temperature dropped 10 degrees here putting it in the 90's and it has felt so nice. Really, it has made a world of difference, I hope that means fall is right around the corner! I LOVE fall and decorating and all the scents and the leaves, I could go on. :)

Oh Arizona

Oh how I figured out Arizona is not the state for me. It smells very different, especially in the morning and after it rains. I couldn't wait to get back to Texas. I love Texas. There is just something about Texas, ya know? People from Texas have alot of pride.. we do. How many people do you know from your state that will tattoo for example the state of Michigan on their body because they love it so much.. I know a couple of people who just love Texas so much that they have tattooed it onto their body. We take redneck serious down here.

Where is this post going? Yes, Arizona not about Texas and pride. So I was in Arizona for 9 days. Nine long days, nine days that left me emotionally and physically exhausted.

I have a cousin who is 5 years older than me that I grew up with. I am very close to her and consider her my best friend. She is one of the main reasons that I was able to get through college, she kept me motivated. She has been struggling for the past 7 years with anorexia and food restricting. It didn't become apparant to me until 2 years ago when it started to consume her whole life. The poor woman is the most career driven person I know, VP of her department in her corporation at 28, owns her own house, financially independent but something was missing. One day on her way to work, instead of turning left to get on the highway, she turned right and decided it was finally time to check herself into rehab, in Arizona. She drove to her moms house and they spent 2 days working out all the kinks and in 5 days, she was off.

She called me and told me what she was doing and I canceled my plans in June to fly to Chicago (on a days notice) and went to say goodbye to her for atleast 8 weeks. There would be no phone conversations, just good old fashioned letter writing.

She called me one day and asked if I would go with her mom to Arizona to attend family week and learn about her disorder and participate in her therapy. Let me tell you, it was not puppies and kittens. I felt so emotionally exposed and vulnerable and really struggled with having to be brutally honest with her about what her eating disorder has done to our relationship and myself personally.

I felt as if I was in family counseling, personal counseling, and marriage counseling all at once. Needless to say, wounds will hopefully start to heal and we can all start to move forward.

I definitely look at people suffering from addictions differently now. Having an eating disorder I learning is an addiction itself and it takes over every aspect of your life. Im not giving people with addictions a free pass but I can understand now how it takes over and you can't think of anything else.

So that is where I have been and what I have learned. I am exhausted today as I worked 10.5 hours for the first time in such a long time. Im exhausted. Literally. Have a great Thursday, this means it's almost the weekend!!!!

I'm Back.. And I Feel Like A Loser!

I have been in the land of dry heat and sand for the last 10 days. Oh, there really is no place like home. I feel like such a loser because I missed reading my blogs, I was sitting in our hotel room one night thinking, 'Man, I just need some 'me' time and would love to just read some fun blogs'.

Words can not even begin to express how emotionally exhausted I am today. I really want to write about the experience I had over the last week and a half but I am having trouble finding words, I want to do so in a way that is classy and full of tact just in case my blog is ever found by my IRL posse, and because this person is very close to me. I also want to share all the things I learned. I hate when I read things on blogs and people are cryptic, because IMO, if you are going to spark peoples interest and leave them hanging, then don't say anything at all. But that's just me. :)

I officially started professional development this week and got my classroom keys. I felt so validated getting my keys today and opening my door. It was as if all the hard work has paid off. I love hearing a new jingle on my key ring, it's music to my ears. Now comes the work of getting my room together after training in the afternoon and into the evenings. Lord help me.

Can't wait to catch up on every one's blogs!!!

Oh The Places I Would Like To Go..

Brittany Ann over at Living in the Moment http://brittsbeat.com (seriously.. someone show me how to do that super cool blog thing y'all do!) has given me an award. I feel very special on this wonderful Thursday morning, let me tell you (I even checked my dashboard to make sure she was talking about me! I know, nerd alert)..




When I turned 18 and was graduated high school 5 years ago.. I had no plan. ZERO. I only enrolled in community college to keep my parents off my back. I mean, what 18 year old wants their parents hounding them? So I enrolled in some classes that I had zero interest in, didn't even buy the books, and started my 'college career'.

I then met my husband. He was in the army. I never really dated in HS. I had one serious boyfriend and didn't like putting my life on hold for people so dating someone in the army was probably not in my cards. God was laughing. We exchanged emails and started to get to know each other. I started to like him and thought that while he was in Iraq, we could just be friends. Silly me, I really started to like him and decided to not date anyone. When he got back from Iraq I decided to date him. I fell in love with that silly army boy.

I started to think, if I marry this army boy one day, I will need a career. I need to finish college. I better get my butt in gear. He is the motivation that got me through college.

The person I was 5 years ago and the person I am now are polar opposites. So many of my friends are still in their 'living it up' stages still. I never went through that stage nor do I have any desire to go through it.

My plan right now is to start my master's in the next year, maybe year and a half. If Mr. G gets out of the army, buy a house where he grew up in 2012. If he stays in the army, start trying to have babies in 2012. I would love to start traveling a little at the end of the year and go to a couple of destination spots and renew our vows at our 5 year anniversary which also happens to be in 2012.

I know that right now, I have all these plans, but in 2012, it will be interesting to look back and see how my plans panned out. My plans 5 years ago when I finally decided to finish college, for the most part went how I wanted, but then again, they weren't near as big as they are now.

I have been praying for the grace to accept whatever God puts before me instead of asking for specific things to happen. I pray that whatever happens, he will show that it is all happening for a reason.
***********
Im now passing this award on..
Abbie at Satisfy my Soul
ENS at Sweetheart I Must Confess
Jane at Moonflowers Mojitos and Me
Jes at Day to Day Life of an Army Wife
Jennifer at Beyond Jennifer and Jason
Beth at This American Wife

So tell us where you think you'll be in ten years and pass it on to ten more lovely ladies.

Giveaway

No not me.. but the Mrs. at http://tryingourbest.blogspot.com is having a giveaway from her mom's super neat etsy shop. Her shop has all kinds of service stars, burp cloths, and tote bags. 100% handmade and very beautiful. So go over and check out her loot.

And for the love of Pete, can someone please tell me how to link to someone's blog with out having to do it the nerdy way like above. I feel like such a loser!!!!

Goood-bye Summer

Dear Summer,

It is with bittersweet tears that I bid you a farewell.. no more sleeping in until 8:30 or lounging on the couch until 2:00 p.m. in my pajamas watching Reba & Wife Swap. All the things I wanted to spend time doing with you, I was too lazy to do. No summer reading, no working on my tan, minimal work outs or craft projects. Taylor=lazy bum.

Even though I have been looking forward to you leaving because I have been bored to tears, Im sure by September, I will be counting down until your return next year, so don't stay away too long. I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't linger too long into the fall months seeing as it is so hot here, I feel as though I am in the Sahara desert walking to my car and sweat develops in places that Im sure isn't normal.

I am so excited for the coming months and sorry that I am kicking you to the curb early, but sadly, you have worn out your welcome in my household.

Hit the road, Jack!


Love Always,
Taylor

What Do YOU Do?

I have a small problem? Well not really a problem. I love to shop for clothes. I probably do it more than I should. I have a whole walk in closet in our master bedroom to myself. Ole Mr. G, well, his closet is in his man cave. All out by choice of course. :) We both like our space and I like to organize my closet by type of clothes. Work pants, work tops, jeans, summer clothes, sweatshirts, everyday shirts. Then they are all organized by color, so I need my space. That's not my problem though.

My problem is I will be out and about and I see a cute cardigan or a cute scarf or maybe a really cute belt, but I may not have anything to match the belt or scarf or cardigan. Do you buy it and wait and see if you find anything to coordinate it or not buy it because you don't have anything to make that cute outfit? I never can work up the nerve to buy that one piece because I don't have anything to match it. I guess it's fear that I'll never wear it but then I end of regretting it later on.

So what do you do? Buy it or only if you know what you will wear it with?

Letters to My 20 Year Old Self

I saw this on another blog I follow and how she saw it another blog she followed. Basically the blogger asked all her readers to write a letter to their 20 year something selves to see what kind of wisdom and advice these bloggers could convey to younger bloggers. I just want to write a letter to my 20 year old self to look back on it later and possibly laugh at the advice I gave now!




Myself at 20.

Dear Self,

Get it together, quit skipping class with your 'friends'. Those friends won't actually graduate, you will and you're only causing yourself heartache in the long run by making graduation one step further away. You're wasting your money, time, and being a pain in the butt. Just get it together finally!

Don't be such a workaholic. Enjoy time with your friends and loved ones. Putting money in your bank account isn't always the most important thing in life. Sometimes it is important but don't try to work your life away. Stop and enjoy your younger years. They will fly by and before you know it, you will look back and wish you enjoyed them more.

Enjoy the dating part of your relationship with the Mr. Don't dwell on getting married. Don't pick silly fights and enjoy each other at the age you are. You will never get this time back.

Love with all your heart. You will learn in the next couple of years who your true friends are and how important your family is to you. You will learn it is OK to be vulnerable and humility makes you a stronger and more mature person. Learn from your mistakes and try not to make them twice. Worry less and slow down in life. Take every day as it comes because it is a gift.

If you could look back, what would you say to yourself?

90 to Nothing

I feel like I went from going 90 mph to nothing. Or more like nothing-90-nothing sounds more appropriate. I am exhausted.

I have had such a great weekend, I love doing small errands with the husband but we are just spending time together. My favorite trips are those that we go to Low3's (home improvement store). I could spend all day in there, it's my new toy store.

I have started a new craft project today, it's my biggest one yet and I'm so excited. It's the final touch on my office and I'm so ready to be done with that room. Heck, I feel like I'm so ready for a lot of things but that's a whole 'nother story. 45 days until school starts, anybody else giddy with excitement? Maybe that's just me!

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe 4th of July. Happy Birthday America! God bless this wonderful country and those that protect it!

Stumped

I'm not really sure what I want to share tonight, I have a little bit of what I have heard it called as 'blog fodder' right now. I could easily tell you about how Ruby got horribly sick the last 36 hours, landed us in the vet this morning, and I got very little sleep last night. One vet bill, dry cleaning bill, a puppy who got sick all over my car on our 3 hour road trip home today, and we are all better. But really, that is all in the past. Last night solidified the fact that I'm OK with waiting for babies a little bit longer. :)

I thought I would fill you in on a little bit about me.. just so we can all be on the same page.

-I love to clean. It gives me a sense of normalcy.
-I could eat donuts, cheeseburgers, and pizza everyday. I eat at least one of the three every week.
-I enjoy working out. I can be slightly neurotic about it.
-I thrive on a schedule.
-I have a fear that my house will burn down when I am the last person to leave it. Crazy, I know. I am scared I will be the person to leave something on and I will come home and my house will be ashes.
-I am very close to my family. Very close. My mom and my cousin are my best friends.
-I would be a full time student forever if I got paid for it. I love going to class and learning new things. I love being on a college campus. I can't wait to go back for my Master's.
-I love the holidays. The time from Thanksgiving to Christmas is my favorite time of year but I wish I lived somewhere that had a Fall season because I bet Fall would be my favorite time of year if it wasn't 85 degrees during 'fall' here. :) I would love to live somewhere with 4 complete seasons!
-I love to walk around a room and straiten things. If something looks out of place, --I will 'straiten' it. If a picture frame isn't strait or a pencil is crooked on a desk, I will fix it. I have mild OCD.
-I enjoy it when someone massages my scalp or plays with my hair. Best. Feeling. Ever.
-I'm terrified of teaching in the Fall. Terrified.

That's a little about me.. anything about y'all that is random that makes you different from the rest of us?

Be Still My Heart

As I was surfing the guide last night I saw this was on.



Who doesn't love Dirty Dancing? (besides my husband) I have loved this movie for years. I saw it on the big screen 3 years ago when they did an anniversary special, we waited in the theatre when the power went out for over an hour and tornadoes were going on just to see some Johnny and Baby just to have it canceled. Fits were thrown when the manager said he wasn't 'sure' they would be able to show it the next day due to having to send the movie back to the production company. After dealing with 10 angry women, he decided to 'pull some strings' and let us come back the following night.

'Nobody puts Baby in a corner'

'Dirty Dancing I'm scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life, the way I feel when I'm with you.'

I was just so happy to lie on the couch and watch this last night.

Imagine my surprise when I wake up and THIS was on this morning!



I don't know who is cuter, Sandy and Danny or Johnny and Baby.. it really is a tough one!

The icing on the cake would have been if THIS would be wrapping up their movie extravaganza..



'I got no place else to go!! I got no place else to go!'

'No sir. You can kick me outta here, but I ain't quitting.'

My mom and I can quote these movies 'til we are blue in the face. Sometimes we will just text each other random quotes back and forth, it always makes me laugh.

Anyone else have a great older favorite that they never get tired of?

Whole 'Lotta Nothin'!

I wish I could say my absence was because something eventful and exciting has happened in my life, but sadly it's because I have done nothing. Mr. G has been TDY for the last two weeks and that means I have been one lonely wife, as in I sit and do nothing all. day. long. I can't wait to start working again. Im literally counting the days.

I literally was in a fowl mood because of my lack of human interaction. My behind went flat from sitting on it for so long. I can only clean and jog around the neighborhood so many times per day.

I have a confession to make. This was the first time I have been by myself for more than 2 days before. How you may wonder.. with 2 deployments, schools and TDY's under our belts? School and scheduling have made it to where I have always been able to go home for his 'vacations'. Im sure I could have this time but with a new puppy and another dog and my mother having 2 dogs of her own, it would have been a full on circus and I wasn't up for that. I also wanted to know I could brave being home alone, to be honest. I was terrified and as soon as I got used to it, of course his school was complete. Go figure.

Today is a lazy Sunday full of catching up on household chores and little things that I need help on since its a 2 man job. :) I hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend.

Rest Easy Everyone..

THIS



AND THIS


Are now being sold at Hobby Lobb[Y].

Hurry. GO Now. Time is running out.

It's The Small Things..

It is the small things that make me giddy. No really. I can only imagine what my neighbors thought last night if they heard me praising Ruby with so much excitement in my voice, you would have thought I had won the lottery, all because she went to the restroom on the puppy pad. Too bad it was a one time deal.

Another thing that makes me happy, getting my teacher badge. A piece of plastic with my name on it. I want to wear it around the house when I clean, I want to grocery shop in it, I want to wear it to the mailbox but sadly, I will have to wait to wear it.

The last thing that makes me happy, I get to call myself a teacher. I will teach children. Some people think its not a big deal and just anybody can do it but after my first day in 1st grade last year I felt as if I was herding cats and I had no idea if I could ever teach. I was terrified. I still am but I'm also full of excitement. I am a teacher, I honestly can't stop saying it. I know I sound silly but this is my blog, I can do it. :)

I just feel so blessed right now. I hope everyone is having a wonderful day.

What's That You Hear?

Oh.. It would be a huge sigh of relief. I interviewed this morning for a elementary teaching position and HR called be 4 hrs later and offered me the job. I really liked this school, I loved them at the job fair, they were my number one pick (not that I was going to be picky), and when I was called for an interview Friday, I was ecstatic.

I was nervous when I walked out of my interview and saw 2 other women sitting there, kinda unnerving but I literally jumped through the roof when I got the call.

Im ecstatic, anxious, nervous, terrified, excited, the list could go on. I literally can't wait to get into my classroom and go nuts and start working with my team.

In other news, does anybody have any good potty training tips for puppies? Im going nuts over here.. Ruby isn't quite grasping the concept.

New Addition to The Family

There are no longer three members of the G family, now we have 4.

This is Ruby.



She is a cocker spaniel/chihuahua and is so full of spunk, she will definitely keep me on my toes!





Hero is still warming up to her but I know they will be best friends in no time.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and remembered all those that we have lost and thanked those that have served past and present. A local radio station in Dallas was having commercial breaks every 5-10 minutes on Sunday and the air would get silent and they would name a couple of names of fallen service members and where in the metroplex they were from followed by a patriotic song. It was very moving, I listened to it all day as we had the radio on all day on Sunday. I am very proud of our military and am very proud to be a military wife.

Really?

Driving to D-town with the husband, 3 hour road trip ahead of us, this is what started our trip.

Mr.- I want to learn how to play the guitar.

Me- Ok.

Mr.- You should learn how to play the piano.

Me- I never understood how to read music, I failed that part of music in private school.

Mr.- You could learn. It would be easy. You could play the piano, I could play the guitar and we could have a little band, just like Rodney Carrington. He played the guitar and had a little piano player and they sounded good.

He then proceeds to bust out a Rodney Carrington song and I proceed to stare at him because he was kinda being serious.

Just a little background, we saw Rodney Carrington this weekend on post. Mr. G loves him. His humor is kinda crude (ok, a lot). Some of it went over my head but some of it you can't help but laugh at.

I was just dumbfounded that out of nowhere he, wants to start a family band.

I got nothing..

Happy Wednesday, I wish I could say I'm in this wonderful, happy, flowers shooting out of my ears mood, but sadly, I'm in a Debbie Downer mood. I will not let my mood pour into my blog post, though, because honestly, things could be so much worst and I have no room to be throwing myself a pity party.

I have sat on my rear and done a whole lot of nothing for the last 3 days. Wooo for 'summer vacation'. I begged the husband to let me get a summer job. Really. He wanted me to un-wind. I guess he thought my summer would end in August. Either way, it will because I will have a job, it may not necessarily be what I want it to be, but I will have one, but I'm just so bored. I like to be active and going. When I get in a lazy rut, I get so un-motivated. It's either all or nothing for me. Luckily he is going TDY and I am going with him for half of it and the other half I am going to visit family so that will get me out of the house.

To put it in perspective, I have swept and mopped my floors twice in 6 days. There are only 2.5 people living here. I sit in the living room all day, so there isn't a whole lot of movement going on here. :)

I could tell y'all about how cute my dog is. He is precious. See.. look.




He is a great nap time buddy.. Ive learned all he does is nap.



We latched his retractable least onto a hook in the garage while we were working last night and he popped a squat and watched. He is more of a watcher, not a do-er.


Last but not least, here is one of my craft projects that I did and it actually turned out how I wanted! I got the idea off of another blog.




With the left over fabric from my above project, Mr. G surprised me on graduation night with a project he and my mom worked on together for our bedroom. Granted I will have some professional pictures of the two of us together put in here in the future but I was stunned that he came up with this on his own and had my mom help him make it. It was the best present. Ever.




Have a great day!

Coming Up For Air

I feel like my head is rolling, I hate, no more like despise living in a messy house. With that being said, everything had to be unpacked Sunday night. When Mr. G and I got home Sunday from Dallas, he started painting and I started un-packing and putting things where they belong. I now feel like I am at home as of yesterday. Is everything done? No, but if someone were to stop by, I wouldn't die of embarrassment. We had our wall unit delivered yesterday and our dining room table is finished being re-finished. I feel like a load has been taken off my chest.

So much has happened in the last week, I don't even know where to start. I graduated, officially moved, and had a birthday. I actually thought I'd feel different after graduation. Not physically but I guess mentally/emotionally? Maybe I'm crazy, Mr. and my mom just laughed at me when I (in a pitiful voice), told them I felt the same after I turned another year older and officially completed my degree.

I'm sooooo mad at myself, I barely took any pictures of this weekends festivities. I mean seriously, very few. I'm so disappointed in myself. But, here a few of the ones I took.


My Mom & I





All the important ladies in my life




This was my delicious cake. I ordered it 4.5 weeks before graduation and was looking forward to this cake for sooo long, it was worth the wait, it was that good. I only got to have two pieces, too. I didn't bring any home with me either, I am so mad at myself.

Hello Murphy

My dear old friend Murphy stopped by today. I hadn't seen him in quite some time but I will say, he wasn't welcomed with open arms. He actually wasn't welcomed with any arms at all. I would rather give him a swift kick in the behind then have him here right now.

It is 3 days before graduation, 4 days before I officially move and I get sick. I get sick when I can't go to the doctor because I have switched my PCM and Im not anywhere near my new one. Go figure. Im not sick with a 'fever' kinda sick, Im sick with a 'horrible, sharp pain' in my body kidna sick that is associated with an infection that I have had before.

I mean in all honesty, if this is all that goes wrong in the next couple of days, then I will count myself lucky, but still, it does suck.

Im exhausted, stressed out and just ready to be moved and starting fresh.

I wish I was in Colorado Springs with Mr. right now. It looks beautiful and I could really enjoy a relaxing mini-vacay.

Hope everyone is having a great week!

A Case of The Blahs

I have a serious case of the blahs. I am in a rut, a serious one. I have always had some sort of a side job while going to school and have been in school for the last 4.5 years. Now I have neither of these. I am so anxious about getting a job that it is stressing me out and it is basically the only thing on my mind.

I went to a job fair where we live last week. 900 people where there, or so the news station that was covering it said. Yes, 900. It was a circus. I felt so hopeless. I did get 4 pre-screening interviews but haven't heard anything yet. I didn't know that finding a job after graduation would be like this. I feel so defeated. I know after this week, I can hit the pavement hard and hand dropping off my resume but I hate not knowing in the back of my head that in August, I will be employed.

I know God has a plan and that everything works out for a reason, I really do, but dang-it, I am so impatient.

I'll Get Over It..

Graduation is in 9 days and let me tell you, I couldn't be more excited. I see my friends facebook statuses with daily countdowns and I could explode with bunnies and unicorns. I never thought Id graduate college to be honest so to be at this point in my life is so exciting. Like any commencement ceremony though, there are a limited amount of tickets. I was the only one in my student teaching group that had extra tickets.

When listing who would be attending this exciting event in my life, my husband was not on the list. Nobody could quite understand why seeing as he isn't deployed. Not deployed=attends every function that I participate in? Right? Nahh..

Normally, Id be bummed, but I have never been so proud of Mr. G and why he wont be with me next Saturday.

Starting Monday, in Colorado Springs, the 2010 Warrior Games will commence for the first time. All 5 branches of the military will compete for the ultimate wounded warrior. There are many articles on the internet about the event and Mr. G has been interview down in the good ole 'Great Place' for the last 3 weeks by news papers and news stations.

I found this just now by a google search. The Army will be represented by 100 soldiers chosen out of a pool of almost 9,000 wounded warriors. The Marine Corps will send 50 competitors,the Air Force will send 25, and the Coast Guard and Navy will combine to send 25 more, Cheek said.

I guess my civilian friends cant wrap their minds around it, but Im okay with him not being there. He will be home in time for a family gathering the night of graduation and I told him I would put my cap on for him and reenact someone calling my name and getting my 'fake' diploma they gave me that day.

Seeing that he has missed so many events, maybe Im used to it, not sure, but I am so excited and proud of him, how could I be bothered by this??

Anyone ever have a problem trying to explain things to civilian friends that just dont understand?


On a different note, just wanted to say hello to my new followers via the blog hop! Id love to say hello on your blog!

It's Over!

What a long week it has been! Yesterday I spent EIGHT hours at a job fair passing our resumes and putting myself out there. There were over 600 people looking for a job, I have never felt so defeated. I honestly thought being in a military town and finding a teaching job wouldn't be too difficult. I was so very wrong. I did get 4 pre-screening interviews and I left feeling great about 3 of them. The only reason I didn't feel good about the 4th one is because they said they didn't have any positions open and weren't sure they would. At least I put myself out there, like I said.

In good news, undergrad is over. It was bittersweet and now I wait to walk the stage in two weeks. I took a load of stuff to our new house and am ecstatic to move and get settled. Two more weeks!

Riding the Roller Coaster @ http://militaryspouserollercoasterride.blogspot.com/ is hosting a MilSpouse Blog Hop! Add you blog to the mclinky on the site and post a brief bio on your blog. She has the 'rules' on her site as to the proper etiquette to follow but there are tons of military spouse blogs already on there. I think I was 162.

So here is a little about me. :)

Mr. and I have been married 3 years, all I know is him and the army. I am about to graduate from Texas A&M-Commerce and we live deep in the heart of Texas. I am 22 years old and am looking forward to the next chapter in my life. Mr. G and I have a fur child named Hero who is spoiled rotten and I love to pieces. I am starting to craft and can scour crafting blogs for hours, so if you know of any, please share

What Week Is This Week??!

Oh that'd be the last week of my undergrad career!

Last week of school has finally come and all my assignments are done early, I have one actual day of 'work', a fun field trip to attend, a relaxing day with all my student teacher friends at our liasons house for lunch and mimosas, and then my last day of school.

Today is a week full of so many fun and exciting new things, I can barely contain my excitment.

We packed up all of our stuff out of storage, loaded it in a Uhaul and it is on our way to our new house. Have I mentioned Ive never actually been inside this house? I found it the weekend Mr. G was riding his bicycle and he went and looked at it, signed the lease and keeps raving about how nice it is. I get to see it Friday night when I go home to attend a job fair. This week he is painting, unloading and putting boxes in rooms for me to unpack. God love him, he offered to un-pack everything so I wouldn't but I told him he would be doing me a favor by not un-packing because I would have to re-arrange everything he did. He really means well, though.

Hope everyone had a relaxing weekend.

We went to see Darius Rucker in Oklahoma this weekend. Such a good concert. Seeing as he only has one album, he only played for an hour, but it still was really good. He played some Hootie songs and ended with a Prince song (that I may have never heard of, but that is neither here nor there).

After the concert.


Ole Darius.



Hope everyone's weekend is going great!

Is Is May Yet?

This is what I feel like. My head is screwed on so tightly that it just might explode. All I have to do is get to next week and undergrad is complete, summer can begin and I can start moving. I feel like the next week will go by so slowly because Im trudging by with the weight of a hippopotamus on my back.

Not that Im being a Debbie Downer or anything.

The weekend brings a much needed break of getting the keys to our house, a concert at a casino and just sleeping.

Time to go back to the massive amount of homework I have. Hope everyone is enjoying their week.

Happy Thursday!

Getting Close!

We have a house..It has everything I want and the owner (we aren't renting from a property company). It has stainless steel appliances, a security system, arched entryways, a bose sound system for the Mr. G, and is conveniently located in the my first choice neighborhood. Oh how Im glad that weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Now it's time to move and do I hate nothing more than moving. I find it stressful, my husband on the other hand doesn't agree. I pointed out to him that I am:
1. Permanently moving 3 hours away
2. Have zero friend where we are stationed ZERO (they all left)
3. For the first time in my life, I will not have school or a job to fall back on (hopefully after the end of the month I will have a contract)
4. I have to un-pack, paint, and decorate our whole house. My husband helps but the way he does things and the way I like the way things done are two totally different ways!
The man thinks that moving is a piece of cake and I shouldn't be stressed. Add to the fact that he is leaving for the 'military olympics' right in the middle of when he wants to be moved in and Im sitting here scratching my head as to what he expects out of me. Silly man.

Do you think moving is stressful or am I an oddball?

Tomorrow is Thursday, I love Thursdays. They are my favorite day of the week. Ive always loved them.

Welcome Sunday!

The weekend is come and gone and we are that much closer to April ending! So many new and exciting things to come in the next couple of weeks. I'm learning to embrace change and can't wait for the next couple of weeks to pass so the new chapter in our lives can start.

This past week Mr. participated in an event called the Road2Recovery. He bicycled with about 120 other wounded marines, army, navy, and air force veterans 277 miles. On a bicycle. They would cycle 70 miles one day, stop for the day, do 60 miles the next and so on until they arrived at the Texas Rangers Stadium today. This organization puts on rides like this all over the country and it is such a moving thing to witness. They have Legion riders (?) escort them along the route, the local VFW's feed them at night and Ive never heard my husband talk like he did about such an event. He said the camaraderie is amazing. He would push the hand cyclers up the hills when they couldn't pedal themselves, they would all just talk along the rides to entertain themselves, and he has made friends with so many people.

I went and stayed with him at 2 of the stops and it was such a neat experience to see. Needless to say, Mr. G is sore to the core. I could never be so brave to ride a bicycle that far. He is now talking about us joining a group where we are stationed every Saturday morning and cycling. I don't know where this we came from, he must have a mouse in his pocket.

Here are a couple of photo's I was able to snap!

This was right before he left.



His first day of the ride (he sent this one to me).



Last one.



Last but not least, I finally snapped a picture of my finished dresser. I will say, its not the best because I didn't take the stuff off the top because I was being lazy. Not gonna lie. But here it is with the knobs I bought and the paint.

First is the before, pardon the get up. I was trying to protect my eyes and hair and wear clothes that didn't matter if they got paint on them.




FINISHED and on to the next one!





Hope everyone enjoyed their Sunday! I know I will be!

I Might Have A Problem..

Hi my name is T & I might have a problem.. I buy ugly things online so that I can 're-finish' them. I scour craigslist for hours just so I can find furniture that needs a little fixing up and extra lovin' and make it into a masterpiece. Not to toot my own horn, but my re-finished dresser looks good for being a first time piece. Pictures to come on Sunday. I drove way out of my way on Wednesday to buy 3 nightstands to do the same thing to. Mr. is now saying our bedroom is full of garage sale furniture! Call me old fashioned but in the last year, I have fallen in love with non-traditional pieces. EVERYONE has the same couch as us.. I hate it.

I want people to come to our house and think.. 'wow, this is put together so nicely'. They dont have to say those exact words, but anything along those lines will do. Anyone ever seen the episdoe of Friends (FYI, I can watch Friends 753 times.. doesn't matter what episdoe, if Ive seen it 5 times before or not, I will still watch it) where Monica 'is the hostess' and thats all she cares about? Im totally up front, I love having people over at my house. I love cooking for people and having laughter fill my walls. It makes a house a home and like Monica, 'Im the hostess'.

I cant wait to move in a couple of weeks and go CRAZY decorating. I am about to burst with excitement. Poor Mr. G, he has no idea what's in store for him. Good thing he will be out of town for a good part of the month or his behind would be put to work helping!

Can't wait to share pictures, I have tons. Happy weekend, y'all!

For Me!???

Jess over at Day to Day Life of an Army Wife gave me an award! My first! It really made my day. I had a really tough weekend and she had perfect timing because it made me smile, seeing as I don't think I smiled all day!

So sweet!



Alright, here are the rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award and link back to their blog.

Thanks for the lovely award, Day to Day Life of an Army Wife .

2. Pass the award on to 7 other bloggers who have a beautiful blog.

Im supposed to pass this on to 7 other people, but I dont know anyone that follows my blog really. I have always wondered how I figure this out. Im not gutsy enough to just come out and say, 'introduce yourself new people!' because I never would when I read other people's blogs.

But Im gonna be bold tonight. If you follow and I don't know you, introduce yourself so I can know you. I love to read new blogs and get to know new people.

I must now say 7 things about myself.

1. I color coordinate my closet. I have been told by doctors I have OCD, I'll live.
2. I suffer from chronic migraines and take medicine twice a day for them.
3. I am terrified of graduating and having my own class in August. It's turned into my biggest fear, I don't feel 'old enough' yet.
4. I love, love, love sour candy. I have the biggest sweet tooth ever.
5. I eat pizza or a cheeseburger at least once a week. Its a food group to me.
6. I treat my dog like he has human characteristics.
7. I love to get dressed up but sadly, Im a hermit and never go anywhere. I still love to get dressed up, though!

Tomorrow is a big day, job fair. Icing on the cake though is I pick up all my graduation items following the job fair. This is a major job fair so Im hoping the school districts around where we are stationed are there, even if its just one. Wishful thinking, though! Im excited to wear my new business suit! Following the job fair Im going to pop into Hobby Lobby to get knobs for my re-finished dresser so I can post pictures.

Hope everyone had a magnificent Monday!

Another Weekend Come and Gone!

Happy Easter to all.. I hope everyone had a wonderful day.

Another weekend is coming to an end and Im actually glad. Weekend over=one week closer to graduation. This weekend is the first Monday of the month so Mr. and I went to First Monday again and bought some stuff for our house. I am doing my first DIY project and refinishing a dresser for our bedroom. Pictures to come later this week. Im actually really excited.

Any crafty people out there read craft blogs? I could scour those blogs for hours. I actually have before. Any good ones you'd like to share? I have gotten so many ideas that I cant wait to attack when we move, I am going to go nuts in our new house. I seriously am giddy with excitement and anticipation.

Anyone done a DIY project they are proud of? I love reading about projects that others have done.. dont be scared, now is the time to shine!

In other news, does anyone know what happens one week from today?? My absolute favorite show returns.. wonder if anyone can guess. I find it amusing when people ask me if my life reflects the actual show, God love 'em!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Of Course I Have Self Control!

 

I had to venture into W@lgreen’s today to pick up some pictures for a project. I was drawn down the Easter candy aisle like a Jedi’s strength flows from the Force. I went up and down that aisle for five minutes. You may think I’m kidding but I’m not. Did I want lifesaver jellybeans, sourpatch swedish fish (?), jolly rancher jelly beans, whopper robin eggs, chocolate bunnies, M&M robin eggs, cadberry eggs.. oh the list goes on. I mean, the choices were just overwhelming! I had actually wanted to try these new sour patch jelly beans because I’m a sucker for anything sour!

Without further a do.. this is what I settled on!

 

This was sitting IN the parking lot of said store.. at least I waited until I got into the car to tear the bags open. Now, I can either have a ton of self control or zero.

For instance I went to my favorite burger joint this past week (so I would have consumed  it THREE times) and I took my healthy little lunch and ate out of my lunch box as my friends chowed down on burgers. I can also eat at my favorite steakhouse and choose a grilled chicken salad.

It’s either all or nothing with me, all or nothing. Don’t know why. I will say this, I didn’t eat a ton! I had a little bit and I’m going to take it to school with me tomorrow to get rid of the rest. :) I’m a great influence.

Im not even going to talk about ‘Moovin March’ for the week because its just not good.

I will keep this up though. I made some changes, lost about 5 pounds and want to keep it up, even though I don’t plan on losing anymore, just working out and following through on healthy habits.

Hope everyone had a marvelous Monday.. what’s not marvelous about it?? It’s a FOUR day work week! Can I get a woot??

Not Tears of Joy

We were given permanent, or as permanent orders as the military can get, orders to stay in Tx. I sobbed shed a couple of tears, put on my big girl panties, and am looking ahead into the future. It doesn't matter that this place sucks the life out of me, I will find ways to enjoy myself.

I get to spend the next 2 years with my husband, I'm making an appointment with a counselor to talk about enrolling in graduate school, and am attending a job fair in one month.

I will make new friends, seeing as all of mine have moved away, and I will be at peace with all the decisions that have been made this week and look forward to the future because I learned last year that God does everything for a reason. Everything that happens, happens for a reason. We may not learn of that reason for days, months, or years from now, if at all, but it all happens for a reason.

On that note, I haven't done so good this week with my work out and eating choices. I went to the same burger place TWICE to drown my sorrows in a cheeseburger, seasoned home made french fries and of course ranch. I had a brownie one day before said burger. I worked out Sunday and this morning and that's it. BUT.. there is always a but, I did eat good for breakfast and lunch everyday this week. That balances it all out right? I also didn't step on the scale once.. I was too scared. Maybe tomorrow..

Have a wonderful weekend!

Oh Army..

How you light the fire under my skin. Today, you turned my beautiful day into a terrible, no good, very bad day. Complete with tears, anger, and I may have even thrown myself a pity party.

I am a very laid back person when it comes to my husbands job. I'm not one of those spouses that complains about his job because honestly, I'm thankful that he has one and that we have insurance and a place to live. I honestly love the army and the lifestyle. I encouraged him to stay in and hope he chooses to re-enlist.

But today.. today I'm so irritated at the fact that nobody can tell me what in the world is going on. I'm struggling with this now because I want to apply for jobs. I want to attend job fairs. I am a planner. I plan things, its one thing that I'm good at. Some people are good at decorating, others are beautiful writers, me I am a planner! I need to look for a place to live, start re-organizing things, but with out that little paper that has a date and a state, I can do nothing.

Seeing that I am only certified in one state, I also have that uphill mountain to climb.

Today.. was just not my day. I cried my tears, got everything off my chest (not to the husband) and felt better. I will wait patiently, plan for 3 different outcomes, know the likelyhood of those happening are still slim, and go on with life. God likes to laugh at our plans Ive learned. I also learned that I may not see it now, but everything happens for a reason and it will all work out. I really do have a hard time with that last part though.

Moovin' Monday!!

Another week down!

I will say that I had a good week.


Down another lb, which puts me at my original weight back in August. I'm going to try to keep going though.

I started running and doing incline training to tone up my behind.

I found a work out video that I bought in November that got great reviews but still has the plastic on it! Shows how bad I fell off the wagon this past year.

I will say I am pretty proud of myself this week. Every Sunday morning, we have a big breakfast with my parents. Biscuits and gravy, eggs, sausage, we go all out! Yesterday, I had a banana and 1 serving of cheerios. I'm quite proud of the changes Ive made.

Random observation.. went to the dentist today.. they weighed me. Never been weighed at the dentist, but whatever. I went in the afternoon after I ate during the day, hadn't gone to the bathroom since lunchtime (just sayin') and had my shoes and clothes on (every little bit counts) and I put on 8 lbs. Seriously. I almost told them no, that I wouldn't get on the scale because I didn't want to be depressed. I even asked to take off my heels and they said no. I mean, it would have taken a second, they were slip ons (it would have made me feel better, even if it didn't matter!). Ok rant over.

Hope everyone had a great week!

Bittersweet

Spring break is over. OVER. Oh how I enjoyed lounging around doing what I wanted, making plans at my convenience, and playing hookie. Now comes the hard part, 6 weeks of a crammed pack schedule. I looked at my calender tonight and it makes my head spin at warped speeds.

I usually look forward to breaks being over as I miss those little kiddies, but this time, I actually enjoyed my time to myself.

On a different note, Spring is here. I got SO much accomplished in the last week. Everything on my list plus some more. I feel so good right now, just knowing there isn't a looming cloud called a 'to-do list' hovering over my head, makes me happy. But since Spring is here, I was excited so excited to officially bust out the flip flops and shorts (I may have last Sunday when the high was in the 80's) but no. I woke up to 7 inches of snow on the ground. In Texas. Yesterday it was in the 70's. Tomorrow the high is in the 60's. Today, snow. I'm supposed to take our class on a nature walk tomorrow so that we can talk about Spring, hard to talk about spring when there is snow on the roof tops. I really want a normal climate. WHen I say normal, I really mean warm. Anything below 73 is cold me to. I carry a light jacket around in the Summer because I freeze everywhere we go because I get so cold!

Happy Sunday!

I did it!

Wow... that is all I can say. Lasik was THE best thing I have ever done. I was nervous over nothing. I felt like I was in there for 5 minutes, it was that quick. Seriously. I keep reaching for my glasses or trying to push them up. I feel so naked with out them on my face. I have some 'bruising' on my eyes and it should last about 3 weeks and I have to use 4 different eye drops for at least another week but other than that, I feel great. After my valium induced nap following the surgery, I was up and going. I felt great!

I did get some looks in the gas station with my goggles on. I was suprised at how many people came right out and asked me why I was wearing them. I mean, what if I had something wrong with me and had to wear the goggles 24/7, kinda rude dont ya think. Totally understand being curious and I had no problem telling people why but what if it was because I had a serious ailment?

I had a brain stem injury in '08 and had to wear an eye patch for 4 months and I bedazzled them. You wouldn't believe the comments I got from strangers when I had an eye patch!

Point of the story.. if you're contemplating Lasik.. totally worth it. Best thing I have ever done. I splurged on some expensive sunglasses as my anniversary present and cant wait for the sun to show its beautiful face so I can wear them. Seriously Texas, possible snow and rain today but 70 degrees on Monday. Im DONE with that! Haven't we moved on to Spring weather??

In other news.. Jane over at http://moonflowersmojitosandme.blogspot.com/ is hosting a give away. Go show her some loooove! I love reading about her med school life.. wish I was intelligent enough to go to med school but I could never be a science major. When I realised I had to be a science major to go into a med school, I went with my second passion in life, teaching!

Hope everyone has a great week!

12 hours..

Literally.. 12 hours until I'm glasses free. I'm getting nervous but I just keep telling myself, its 30 minutes and I'm done for the rest of my life. Amazing how fast a week will fly by when your dreading something.

I have read, re-read, even had Mr. G read my pre-op instructions. I can't be breaking any rules now, this is my vision you know!

PSA: Don't ever search photobucket for pictures of 'Lasik' for your blog. Especially if you have an eye phobia. It will thoroughly gross you out.

I accomplished all my Spring break 'goals' for the week. I'm ready to kick my last 6 weeks of my undergrad career into gear and get this show on the road. I'm and stalking White House/Black Market for my graduation dress, waiting for it to go on sale. Husband thinks its looking more and more like we are going to Georgia. This really makes my head hurt. Texas and Georgia are two different states with two different laws when it comes to teaching. I pray that it will be as easy taking a test and getting certified and getting a job. If not, I don't know what I will do. And here comes the head ache..

On that note, hope everyone has a beautiful weekend! I will be sleeping majority of it and being a bum!

Get Moovin March.. Week Thu-ree!

I must say, I kicked @$$ this week! Very proud of myself. I have changed my eating habits tremendously. Instead of nightly snacks like a bowl of ice cream, a candy bar, or chips I bought 80 calorie sherbert cups that I will let myself have. Big difference the cake and ice cream has made once it is cut out. I only ate fast food once and I worked out really hard 4 times. I have started to see a little bit of differnce and the number on the scale went down a little bit, not that I expect it to as I don't have alot to lose otherwise it wont be healthy, I just need to tone.

My biggest goal was to cut out my snacking and now that I have found better alternatives, I plan to stick to them. Im not craving the fast food as much anymore either and hopefully I will stop craving cake, ice cream, and candy soon too. Seriously, some people crave alcohol, I crave sugar. I dont drink but man I crave a candy bar after a hard day at school, let me tell ya!




I will say that I have an app on my iPhone that has the nutritional value of a plethora of restraunts so I can't say I won't pick the healthier choices when dining out. Ihop even has a healthy choice menu now, which is a good thing since Im craving french toast like its going out of style! Maybe the husband will be wining and dining me there this weekend since I will be holed up in the house after Friday (so Ive been told). Four days left!

Taking the plunge!

Im taking the plunge, Im getting LASIK in 6 days! Im actually really excited. Im ready to burn these frames that have taken permanent residence on my face and get rid of them for good! I feel so comfortable with the place I chose and the staff was so friendly! I cant wait to work out and my glasses not fall of my face, wake up and not have to reach for my frames, and last but not least, not have to constantly change from glasses to sunglasses.

I CANT WAIT.

I always take my glasses off for pictures and its rather embarrassing to have to say 'hold on' so I can hide them in my hand or throw them on the counter. Ive heard from many people that this was the best thing that they have spent money on and I am literally busting from the seams if you can't tell!

Sporting the frames..




Anyone have a great LASIK story they want to share to calm my fears that are soon to come? Because like I said, I am scared of eyes!

Why hello....

Spring break!!! Oh how I'm so glad to see you! I have big plans for us this year, a whole lotta nothing will our time together entail!

Spring break is here and Im so excited to rest and rejuvinate. I have big plans to catch up on doctors appointments, a hair appointment, cook some new recipes, and spend time doing nothing! Last year I spent Spring break skiing and Im kinda sad that Im staying put this year but after the last 9 months of a workload that I have taken on, 10 days of doing minimal schoolwork and lesson planning will be exciting!

In other new.. tomorrow I have an appointment to see about getting Lasik. Anyone had it before?? Want to offer insight? Everyone has there phobias.. snakes, spiders, thunderstorms.. Mine is eyes. Yes, you read that correctly, I am afraid of eyes. You cant talk about eyes, touch your eye, get near my eye. NADA. I curl in the fetal position and freak out, yes, as an adult. I had to have eye surgery last year due to a brain stem injury that effected my eyes and normally the surgeon allows his patients to stay awake for this 15 minute procedure, but not me. He full on sedated me because of my phobia.

So good vibes my way that I can do this. I hate my glasses. Hate them, hate wearing them, hate that they fall off my face when I work out, hate always having to change them when I go outside, HATE THEM. DId I mention I dont like them?

Anyone had Lasik that doesnt like eyes either and had a good outcome?

Happy spring break everyone!

The Great Wait

Oh how I hate waiting.. I feel all I do is wait. Waiting on orders. Waiting to see where we will live. Waiting to start applying for jobs. Oh and if you only knew me.. I am verrrry type-A. I try to be more go with the flow, really. It has been a goal of mine I have been working on. Mr. G, he is very laid back, fly by the seat of his pants. The girl behind these thumbs, not in a million years! If we are going on a vacation for instance, I like to plan when I am going to start planning. Seriously, Im borderline nutty! I just like to be in control, I know that God laughs at our plans, that is why I write everything in pencil (and have 3 back-up plans). 37 days.. that is all we have to figure out where we are going and what is going to happen.

On a happier note.. I have a first. I bought my first business ensamble for when I interview for jobs. I also have my dress picked out for graduation, both from The Limited. I have never really been in there before but they have really classy clothes for work. I normally stick to New York and Company and Express. Anyone have any nice professional clothing stores that they like that I haven't found? I have to buy my clothes in petite sizes (thanks to my short legs) and hate hemming my pants so unless they come in a petite size, unless they are to die for pants, I won't buy them.




So.... last week, didn't go near as well as I had thought. I got sick (thank you, 1st graders). I barely worked out but I ate ok. Didn't help that I found an AMAZING home made pizza recipe that I had to make and I ate it for dinner and had left overs for lunch the next day AND dinner. In my defense, I only ate 2 pieces for lunch and 1 piece for dinner.

Enough with excuses, they are like asses, everyone has one!

I weighed in on Friday, lost 1.2 lbs. Not too bad, my goal is 6lbs. but I really want to tone up so Im trying to stay away from the number and look at results.

I am more diligent about working out this week, Im kicking my cold and feeling good. Amazing how you do one good workout and it gets you in the mood for the rest!

Hope everyone else did better than me!

It Only Took 4 Days

I have been back in first grade for four days.. four days and I am already sick. Sick with a nasty head cold that coincidentally falls on a 4 day weekend. Same as last time I got sick.

Side note- the way my student teaching works is I spent 8 weeks starting in August in 1st grade, switched to 5th grade for 16 weeks, now I'm back in 1st grade for my last 8 week rotation.

When I started in 1st grade, I was sick in 6 days with a nasty head cold, fever, congestion and sore throat. This time around, I have all that again but fever was low grade. I really wasn't expecting to get sick at all, 1. because I had already been sick and 2. I have been taking vitamins so I thought I was immune to their little germies!

Oh well, live and learn. I have been told that next year I will use all my sub days being sick if not more. I am a very healthy person who never gets sick so I dismissed it, I'm starting to think I should take this more seriously.

On another note.. We have orders.. SOOOOO glad we didn't buy a house or even put offers in. God was telling us something! After being told we would stay put 'til 2012, now, we don't know what is going to happen. I hate having to be so patient with such big, life changing decisions. Regardless, we should know what is going to happen in the next week or so. We may be calling Georgia home in less than 6 weeks.

Dear 1st graders..

I love you.. I really do. I love your hugs, your funny stories, and your beautiful smiles. What I don't love, is your boogers. Especially the ones you attach to your math test complete with nose hair still in tact. It makes me want to vomit, especially since I'm a germa-phobe.

I wonder now that every time I touch your pencils, pick up your books, or grab your backpack, if their is a little boogy creeping around under there. It makes my skin crawl.

Sometimes I leave school and marinade in germ-x. I do not understand how you manage to cram your finger so far up your nose, do you think you might pull out a surprise the longer you leave it in there?

Please stop. It makes me want to gag. One day I might not hide my disgust with a smile, I may actually show you what I'm thinking with the facial expressions on my face. It might hurt your precious little feelings.

Love,
Me

PS.. Boogs aren't full of protein either. Don't eat them. If you do, I will no doubt judge you.

Happy Monday!

Moovin Monday was a success, so far. I have a girls night tonight for the Bachelor season finale and one of the ladies is bringing homemade pizza. You might be thinking, that isn't healthy... but my plan is to only have one piece.. I have been over eating for a while now, I NEVER get full. It's really sad when the husbands soldiers tell me I can eat any one of them under the table.

I ate healthy all day, didn't snack, and worked out. Not as hard as I used to, but I made more progress than normal.

Anyone watch the Bachelor? I so hope the spoilers aren't true! If they are, gag me!

Question for blogger saavy people out there, I feel so moronic for even asking but I have tried for so long to figure this out. If I have a follower, how do I go see their blog? I click on their picture but it says, add friend, email, block, and shows me who THEY follow. I just want to go visit. Can you tell Im blogger illiterate?

Have a happy Monday!

Such a great weekend!

I saw the sun for the first time in a long time and the temperature rose above 55 degrees. It was so nice, it's amazing what a little sunshine can do for your attitude!

This weekend was also First Monday in North Texas. Being from the area, I LOVE FM's. They are the first weekend of the month and people from all over come to sell their stuff. You can buy everything from animals, antiques, furniture, jewelry, clothes, oh the list goes on!

We bought a handmade dog house, a watch, some bulletin board decoration for my classroom, an American flag and Tx flag for my in-laws and a gag gift for my mom.


This was what the car looked like after we finally got the dog house into the car. I was more confident when we bought it thinking it would fit into my 2 door car. It only took us 25 minutes, 1 stranger, and 5 feet of string later to get it secured.

Best part about FM's??





THE FOOD! Corn dogs, funnel cakes, lemonade, oh my!

This my friends is why I will be participating in Get MOOVIN MARCH!!





Since school has started back in August, I have packed on about 5lbs, lost all my muscle and my gone up a pants size. Might sound a little vain, but I lost 35 lbs 18 months ago and I am on the road again to being that person again.

I may or may not have grabbed an extra donut in the teachers lounge once or twice. Ok, three times, sue me.

I might have ate popcorn with the kids in tutoring, and had some candy.

I eat pizza when I come home, dont work out, and snack sometimes during the day.

This will end. I am throwing these habits out the window and getting back to my old self. Starting tomorrow. I kind of started today but didn't do my best.

I promise to:

Only eat out once a week.

Work out 4 times a week.

I will keep a food journal.

I will weigh myself tomorrow morning. Havent weighed myself in a while, I may have gained more than I think and very possibly be in denial. We'll see in the morning!

Good luck to all!

Today was such a crazy day, 5th graders working on major projects (major for them) and me with a horrific migraine makes for one eventful day, to say the least.

Lets just say, I had zero tolerance! I 'yelled with my eyes' as my husband calls it many a time.

I made a career decision last week that in the long run, will be good for Mr. G and I. It took many tears and prayer as I didn't know the right thing to do and I wanted him to tell me what to do so I would know it was the 'right' thing. In the end, I am at peace with my decision.

I decided Im not going to start graduate school this summer, I AM going to start taking spanish though. Nervous about that, let me just you! It has been almost 10 years since I have been in a traditional foreign setting so we see how well that goes. I have to stick with it as knowing spanish is required if I want to acheive one of my future goals and if I dont take it starting now, I never will.

It feels at this rate I will be a student forever.. too bad I can't get paid for it, if that were the case, I would stay in school forever, because I do love me some school!

Where has the time gone!??

There is one more week left in February.. Can I get a woot?? Then again, I can't believe March is already here!

I wish I could say that I spent the weekend doing romantic things but sadly, this I can not. Mr. G insisted we have deer chili and watch World Trade Center Sunday night since I 'drug' him pots and pan shopping. Really, because that is how it went. The rest of the night was spent lesson planning and being lazy. I tried to convince the husband to give me a foot rub but he politely declined.

I was hoping that we would have a house by this week but that we do not have. We have 2 we really like but by the time we found them, they were closed Saturday and nobody was opened on Monday. Didn't they know it was imperative that I be able to house hunt on Monday?? Come on, guys! In the words of my 5th graders, 'Gah!'

I then concluded my peaceful weekend with a migraine. Love it when that happens.

Here's to hoping the house fairies send me some dust and if the job fairies could too, Id really appreciate it!

DUNZO & back to the drawing board..

As I sit here in anticipation checking my email every 10 minutes, I can't help but think of where I was this time last year and all the amazing things God has given me. I feel so blessed, even though I'm stressed to the max, sometimes ya gotta just slow down and remember all that He has given to you.

Today, we are back to the drawing board, a financial advisor via the military said it would be in our best interest not to buy right now with how the housing market is in our area and the amount of time we would be living in the house (2 years). Thanks for raining on my parade, lady! Now we have to look at rentals, the thought of pouring an obscene amount of rent into a house for 2+ years makes me ill. All the decent houses here in the nice areas are well over $1000 which is in our budget but for 2 people? It just seems silly. Most are 4 bedrooms which would give Mr. G his man cave and myself an office/work out room but it just seems so silly for TWO people. Can you tell I'm very frugal with our money? Ive been scouring the Internet for rentals and we have been driving around aimlessly and nothing has caught our eye. I feel like this is hopeless. We can't live in an apartment due to the furchild and it would be selfish of us to do that to him. Ive also been asking for the last 18months for a new puppy for a graduation present and we've been going back and forth on breeds for a while now.

On a lighter note, I applied for a job, they received my application, and have already called. Could I take said job before I graduate, possibly. Would it be stressful? Most definitely.

Things on our list:
*House before April
*Job
*Graduate

I want to apply to grad school but I'm not going to add that to my list in the immediate future.

Happy Saturday!

Big week!!

This week is a big week. I had big lesson plans to teach (done), I have assignments to turn in tomorrow, I start my last special populations class that the university requires when you are a resident, and I take my last certification test to become a teacher. To say Im a ball of nerves right now is an understatement.

Im ready to graduate, start the job hunt, receive a normal paycheck and live a normal life with Mr. G. I am heavily considering starting graduate school this summer, though. I want to have my feet wet in grad school before we start having kids and I want to start trying in the next year and a half. Im also thinking about taking spanish classes at the local community college this summer begin the journey of becoming 'fluent'. I can carry on a basic conversation right now but am by no means fluent. It is required if I want to pursue one of my career goals. I think I need to slow down though and enjoy some down time but Im scared if I do, I wont ever go back to school. All the advice I receive from the 'older and wiser' crowd is to not stop, to just keep going, but I feel like I am at a little bit of a crossroads.

Oh the decisions. If I could get paid, I would be a professional student. I love going to school. That is such a change from before because 5 years ago, strait out of high school, I hated school. I only enrolled in college to keep my parents off my back and I didn't know how to study at all. I was a B & C student in high school and didn't care at all. Now, Im an all A student who keeps my nose in the books. Im the polar opposite of the person I was 4 years ago. So crazy to see how much Ive changed.

Next time.. I will be more prepared.

I have returned from camp with 120 some odd 11 year olds. Oh my word am I exhausted. It rained the whole time and the temperature decided to hover in the high 30*s until right before we left. The sun (which I haven't seen in almost a week) peeked out today and gave me a small dose of vitamin C and perked up the kiddies slightly. I will say that near freezing temperatures, rain (and I do mean steady rain), 3 hour hikes, and high maintenance children do not mix well. It was hard to be perky and up beat when all I wanted to do was whine with them.


I have never seen grown adults pull pranks on each other like I did this week. I was the butt of many (or all) of them. They included, honey being poured down my face when I was napping one day, having a trash bag of ice being placed in my bed, and an alarm clock going off at 2:18 am (this was a 'group' prank so to speak). At first everyone assumed it was time to get up until someone found the hidden clock and flipped open their phone and realized it was in the middle of the night. There were some very angry people in our room. The alarm clock was done by our principal to 'get' the teachers, they retaliated by setting of the smoke alarm and duck taping his door.

I will never take my warm bed, hot shower, and warm food for granted again. The week went by so slow and all I could look forward to was hitting up the drive through and marinating in a bubble bath when I got home.

There is no place like home.

I did tell the husband that I know what it's like to be in the 'field' now. He begged to differ.

Roughin' It

This week, I, along with 5 other teachers, 30 parent volunteers and 1 principal are taking 122 5th graders camping. I, am not an outdoorsy (not sure if that is a word) person. I have no problem admitting that. I love soaking up the sun during the summer months and working in the garden in the spring time, but the cold and I do not mix. At all. I would rather have my legs waxed than be outside when it's cold. Anything below 73* and I have a light jacket on. Right now, it is in the 40*s and I am going to be miserable, but, I am packing accordingly and going to make sure all the little kiddies have a blast because this is the one thing these kids look forward to.

This is their 'right of passage'. They look forward to this trip for years. They will talk about this trip for years and I know I will remember it for years also. I'm sure I will come back with a ton of good stories. The 5th grade team is a hoot and I can't wait to see what happens.

So, I'm leaving behind the 'girly' items and I promised the girls in my class I would be roughing it (they aren't allowed to bring a straitener, blow dryer, etc.) and I told them I will be looking like a mountain woman too. Here's to hoping I have as much fun as they say I will, because I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty nervous.

Today, they broke me..

Today.. my fifth graders broke me. I cried, not like give me an academy award for the waterworks but my eyes filled up with tears and I just couldn't hold them in and they just spewed out. I had my head turned and thankfully wasn't in from of the whole class but still, they broke me.

If I have learned anything from this whole experience, it is how that much more important manners are to me and instilling them in my unborn child. Sometimes the students think it's strange that I say 'yes ma'am/no ma'am' to the teacher who's classroom I'm in. One, she is the same age as my mom, two, I was taught it's respectful to respect your elders. These kids are so disrespectful to not only me but they are so rude to each other. I honestly can't get over it.

I cried out of frustration.. I was frustrated with the sass they gave me, the fact that they were telling me I was wrong and then arguing with me. I am all for debating your point when you think you're right, but one can do so in a polite way. I guess it is something that comes with age.

I love that I am student teaching in two grades ( I move back to 1st grade in March and stay until the last week of April). I student taught in 1st grade from Aug-Oct then moved to 5th grade and I will stay with them until the last week of Feb. It has really opened my eyes to what I really want. And let me tell you, what I thought I wanted, has completely changed!