Light as a Feather

A Visit with Mom and Nana!

2011-07-24T19:30:00.004-04:00

Hey Blog World!

I just had a wonderful visit from my mother and Nana. They came and stayed for about 5 days which included so much fun. I was able to share my life with them, which amazingly enough, means so much to me for them to experience it.

The days started off with Captain N making dinner for us after I picked them up for the airport. What a sweet thing seeing my Mom at the airport. One image I will never forget. Or the image of Nana coming off the elevator. After an enjoyable car ride home, we enjoyed a spectacular dinner and just hanging out.

Saturday consisted of shopping, which resulted in birthday gifts for Captain N and me. Who can argue with getting gifts, but apparently, I have that ability to argue about it, but my mother and father got me some wonderful new clothes. I am so blessed. After a quick visit with friends, Captain N made the second delicious dinner. He is the best cook I know! He made ribs and I made a Caesar salad.

Sunday, we enjoyed church which I was excited because Mom and Nana enjoyed the sermon and songs. I didn't know any of the songs because they were traditional ones, and I have been surrounded by contemporary ones, but it was so good to hear their strong voices singing.

After church, we enjoyed lunch out and a very nice day at the pool. We were so lucky to get 3 chairs together at the pool! What a relaxing time! I loved it! Sunday ended with a nice light dinner of cheese and crackers.

Monday was a normal day with work, but then we got to see one of my mom's bridesmaid's family who I adore. It was so good to see them and see how their life is changing.

Tuesday was BEACH DAY! What a glorious day to go to the beach. We had a really good drive there and back. We enjoyed sitting in the waves and laying out in the sun. A perfect beach day.

Wednesday was sad. I had to say good-bye to them and drop them off at the airport.

I tell you, I LOVE the time I had with them. I enjoyed every single moment with them. I loved talking with them, watching tv, and just doing anything and everything with them. The hardest part of them leaving is not knowing when I will see them again. I love having my mom in the country because since her visit, we have been texting back and forth and talking on the phone.

If you have gotten to the end of this blog post, please remember to treasure every single moment with the ones you love. I know I did, and it is still hard for me to look back at some of the things we did together without getting a tear in my eye. I miss them terribly, but I am so blessed to have them and Captain N in my life.

A Blueberry Story

2011-03-19T09:55:00.002-04:00

One of my blog friends posted this blueberry story that her teacher union's president passed on to her and many others. Enjoy. Thanks The Undomestic Goddess

The Blueberry Story
A business leader learns his lesson.
by Jamie Robert Vollmer

'If I ran my business the way you people operate your schools, I wouldn't be in business very long!"

I stood before an auditorium filled with outraged teachers who were becoming angrier by the minute. My speech had entirely consumed their precious 90 minutes of in- service training. Their initial icy glares had turned to restless agitation. You could cut the hostility with a knife.

I represented a group of business people dedicated to improving public schools. I was an executive at an ice cream company that became famous in the middle-1980s when People Magazine chose its blueberry flavor as the "Best Ice Cream in America."

I was convinced of two things. First, public schools needed to change; they were archaic selecting and sorting mechanisms designed for the Industrial Age and out of step with the needs of our emerging "knowledge society." Second, educators were a major part of the problem: They resisted change, hunkered down in their feathered nests, protected by tenure and shielded by a bureaucratic monopoly. They needed to look to business. We knew how to produce quality. Zero defects! Total Quality Management! Continuous improvement!

A school is not an ice cream company: It can't send back its inferior blueberries.

In retrospect, the speech was perfectly balanced—equal parts ignorance and arrogance.

As soon as I finished, a woman's hand shot up. She appeared polite, pleasant. She was, in fact, a razor-edged, veteran high school English teacher who had been waiting to unload.

She began quietly, "We are told, sir, that you manage a company that makes good ice cream."

I smugly replied, "Best ice cream in America, ma'am."

"How nice," she said. "Is it rich and smooth?"

"Sixteen percent butterfat," I crowed.

"Premium ingredients?" she inquired.

"Super-premium! Nothing but triple-A." I was on a roll. I never saw the next line coming.

"Mr. Vollmer," she said, leaning forward with a wicked eyebrow raised to the sky, "when you are standing on your receiving dock and you see an inferior shipment of blueberries arrive, what do you do?"

In the silence of that room, I could hear the trap snap. I was dead meat, but I wasn't going to lie.

"I send them back."

"That's right!" she barked, "and we can never send back our blueberries. We take them big, small, rich, poor, gifted, exceptional, abused, frightened, confident, homeless, rude, and brilliant. We take them with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, junior rheumatoid arthritis, and English as their second language. We take them all. Every one. And that, Mr. Vollmer, is why it's not a business. It's school."

In an explosion, all 290 teachers, principals, bus drivers, aides, custodians, and secretaries jumped to their feet and yelled, "Yeah! Blueberries! Blueberries!"

Schools reflect the attitudes, beliefs, and health of the communities they serve, and therefore, to improve public education means more than changing our schools, it means changing America.

And so began my long transformation.

Since then, I have visited hundreds of schools. I have learned that a school is not a business. Schools are unable to control the quality of their raw material, they are dependent upon the vagaries of politics for a reliable revenue stream, and they are constantly mauled by a howling horde of disparate, competing customer groups that would send the best CEO screaming into the night.

None of this negates the need for change. We must change what, when, and how we teach to give all children maximum opportunity to thrive in a postindustrial society. But educators cannot do this alone; these changes can occur only with the understanding, trust, permission, and active support of the surrounding community. For the most important thing I have learned is that schools reflect the attitudes, beliefs, and health of the communities they serve, and therefore, to improve public education means more than changing our schools, it means changing America.

Jamie Robert Vollmer, a former business executive and attorney, is now a keynote presenter and consultant who works to increase community support for public schools. He lives in Fairfield, Iowa, and can be reached by e-mail at jamie@jamievollmer.com.

100 Blog Entries....

2010-05-31T13:38:00.003-04:00

Happy Memorial Day!

This weekend has been a ton of fun full of great memories of a wonderful woman. We celebrated my grandmother's life. She was a wonderful woman who had 5 great accomplishments. Now, hopefully I can remember them all...there was
1) Marrying my grandfather.
2) Having 5 beautiful children which include my dad. :)
3) Writing an article about a institution where boys were badly mistreated. This article helped major political figures close the institution.
4) Helping an awesome woman find a home in the United States who lived in Jamaica. She made it so easy for her family to come live in the USA after she moved here.
5) Helping her sister adopt her daughter back when my parents were married.

What a wonderful woman. She did many things which I loved. She had a wonderful garden in the back of her house. You could walk out there and the smell of the many flowers hit you. It was a wave of flowers. The garden was decorated with statues and bird baths. It was simply lovely to just sit out there and smell the flowers without putting your nose directly to them.

She wrote 3 books on how to play bridge and teach it easily. She was a wife to a great preacher. She was my grandmother.

She was 96 years old when she went on to be with our Heavenly Father. She is now sitting up there with my Grandfather and aunt.

We celebrated her this weekend and enjoyed lots of family stories. We also were able to see everyone in her immediate family. What a glorious weekend.

---

Another note! I can't believe I have 100 Blog Entries! Who knew I would ever get there! Hope there are 100 more....though they may or may not come more slowly than the last 100.

I hope you and your family are having a wonderful Memorial Day.

:-)

Cheese and Candy

2010-04-05T18:44:00.002-04:00

I've got schoolwork to do right now, but like every good procrastinator, I'm writing a blog entry instead.

Let's see....CHEESE is DELICIOUS! Last night, Captain N and I had cheese. I ordered a small pizza from a local place with just cheese. It was so good! I also had Cheetos with my meal. Talk about cheesy goodness. Easter lunch included broccoli covered in cheese, and cheesy hash browns. YUM!

I have also found a new blog that dives into a random article topic and tells you about something. Sometimes these might be boring, yet more often than not, they are interesting articles. Check out this blog entry on Candy! Love the fact about the 3 Musketeers bars!

Alright, off to do some schoolwork....

:-)

8 days til cheese!

2010-03-27T11:18:00.003-04:00

and Jesus' Resurrection!

Enough said. :)

PS-I'm doing well with the no cheese...though I really do miss my pizza.

PSS-Ruby Tuesday's salad bar is awesome!

Flat Nick

2010-03-21T20:19:00.008-04:00

Have you ever heard of the story about Flat Stanley? It's a wonderful story about a boy who is flattened in his sleep and travels around the world because he is flat. He can fit into small places, go under closed doors, and through the mail. Since he can go through the mail, many classes take the opportunity to send a version of their Flat Stanley all over the world and hopefully have it returned to his original destination by a certain date.

On Friday, I received in the mail Flat Nick from my cousin. Flat Nick has travelled around the US and landed in my mailbox. My mission was to show Flat Nick around my town. How exciting! So here is my journey with Flat Nick. I had to do errands and since he was an unexpected visitor, I took him along! :)

Here is Flat Nick.

First we had to stop at the post office to mail off our taxes! (We did them early!! :) )

Then we went for a lunch date with KT. It was so good to catch up with her, but I'm sure Flat Nick was bored. (side note...she's pregnant!!!) Flat Nick did enjoy the food though!

Next we went to Rita's! Rita's always gives out a free water ice on the first day of spring so KT and I had to take advantage of that! It was delicious. Flat Nick really enjoyed tasting a couple bites of my mango water ice!

After our lunch date, we headed to Target for some grocery shopping. Flat Nick helped me choose some delicious meals for the week. When we were on our way home, he insisted on a picture of our trip to Target...but then he buckled up.

Flat Nick...Thank you for coming along with me today! I had a great day with you!

42 days til CHEESE

2010-02-21T20:53:00.002-05:00

Today Captian N and I visited our local Carrabas! What a challenge it was to pick something on the menu without cheese! My favorite dish even has cheese in it...Fettucine Alfredo.

I ended up picking the Make Your Own Pasta dish with noodles and a tomato based sauce. Again, Carrabas did it....DELICIOUS!

So far, my journey has been a rollercoaster. There are times when I think this eating no cheese thing will be easy....and then others where it can be difficult.

42 days til CHEESE!

No Cheese :(

2010-02-17T20:47:00.003-05:00

Since today is Ash Wednesday, I like to give up something along with everyone else. It always tests me and in the difficult times, I do lean on God more to get me through my cravings or wants.

This year, I am giving up cheese. That means no turkey CHEESEburgers, no mac 'n CHEESE, no CHEEtos, no Doritos, no CHEEZ-its, no pizza, no...oh golly I don't want to think about it.

I do believe CHEESE is harder to give up than chocolate...(which I have done in the past)

46 days til CHEESE!!

Happy Groundhog's Day!

2010-02-02T08:34:00.001-05:00

see more Funny Graphs

Welcome 2010 Random Life Updates

2010-01-23T10:51:00.004-05:00

Well, it's a nice Saturday at the end of January and I feel like I should write a blog post. I know I know I'm not very good at this. Keeping up with blog posts are hard with the business of life. So this will be a post about life.

We spent a wonderful Christmas with Captain N's family. It was refreshing and so nice to have time off. We came home a few days after Christmas and enjoyed doing nothing up til New Years.

Then it was back to the old grind at work. Work is going well for the main part. I continue to be really lucky because I have a sweet hard-working co-teacher. We have our funny moments, but I can't replay them on here because they require the use of some names.

A couple of my friends from college and here have had a baby! Congratulation to you! I am so excited for you and wish I could come visit some of them. You know who you are.

I am starting the second class in Early Childhood Administration for my quest to become an Assistant Director somewhere great. It's good because I have gotten to meet people and learn all about the difficulties and good things about being an Assistant Director. I can't wait for the right opportunity!

My parents have been in Nepal for the past couple of months. They are busy finding an apartment, refreshing their knowledge in the Nepali language, and visiting a hospital their organization works with. Of course, since it's winter, Mom's best friend has become her hot water bottle, and the new gas heater that heats the water for their showers.

The biggest blessing to me is that my parents and I are able to video chat with each other for free. I get to see both my parents from halfway across the world. It's alot of fun, and a much better connection than the phone.

My grandmother past away at the beginning of January. It is was expected shocking news to hear of her passing. We were expecting her to go around October and were able to enjoy her til January. She was 96 years old. She lived a wonderful life full of many accomplishments which included having 5 wonderful children, writing a couple of books about Bridge, going on many trips, spoiling her grandchildren, and just enjoying life. She told great stories, and I loved hearing them. She had a wonderful laugh that was contagious. She was wonderful grandmother and I will miss her. She has always been in my life, but now we know she is up with our grandfather, probably dancing with him. She had missed him so much. I am happy that she is happy now, but sad because the world has lost a great woman. I love you Grandmother!

Julie & Julia

2009-12-30T12:27:00.003-05:00

Captain N went to a basketball game and I stayed home and watch Julie & Julia. I thought it was a good movie. I laughed out-loud at a couple scenes, like the onion and lobster one. It's a great chic flick, and I definitely recommend it to watch with your girlfriends.

Here's the trailer link...I couldn't find one I could embed in this blog :(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjvJHsJD8ic

Enjoy!

:-)

That's my (old) Doctor!

2009-12-25T10:14:00.001-05:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Comfort of Parents

2009-09-10T18:48:00.005-04:00

There is a certain comfort that come with your mom and dad no matter what age you are. I am lucky enough to enjoy these comforts every once in awhile. I love when I wake up and Mom is reading the Bible and drinking her coffee. I love seeing Dad enjoy himself by playing Spider Solitaire on the computer or reading the Economist. Just some of the small comforts of home…

Captain N and I just finished a week-long visit with them. It was a lot of fun being with them. Mom taught me some of her secret cooking ways, and Dad enjoyed spending time talking about sports or movies with Captain N. It was a great time and I will treasure it always,

I guess I am writing this to state that it's very hard to leave my parents no matter where I am or they are. So I am going through the effects of saying good-bye by writing. That's about it. I hope you are having a good day and treasuring every moment you spend with your parents.

:-/

On a more positive note....ELLEN has come back on and all the TV Shows are starting up again!

:-)

Kid Quotes

2009-09-02T22:47:00.003-04:00

I have switched classrooms and now work with 4-5 year olds. It has its many benefits and one of them is looking at things from a child's point of view. Here are some cute recent quotes from my children.

(While playing outside)
Child 1: Teacher! Teacher! I just made a home run!
3 minutes later after the child has gone back to playing baseball
Child 1: Teacher! Guess What!! They are showing it on the big screen!

Child 1: My mommy was so hungry last night. She almost ate a horse!
Child 2: But did you stop her before she did?

Teacher: We are having fish sticks for lunch today.
Child 1: That's my favorite kind of fish.

Child 1: I coughed so hard, I made happy tears.

Child 1: (on a different fish stick day) This is how you make fish sticks. You cut a piece of bread in half, put the fish inside, and sew it back up.

Hope one of these made you smile because each of these made me smile!

Have a great day!

:-)

1 Year Down...Many More To Go!

2009-08-23T10:55:00.007-04:00

To the man who has given my life many joys again and again. Captain N!

Today is our 1 year wedding anniversary. It has come way to quickly, and we are losing our status of newlyweds. I can't believe it has already been a year.

One of the best parts of celebrating our 1st year anniversary is CAKE!!

Take a look :)

After the first bites! YUM! :-)

:-)

It's been Over a Month...opps

2009-08-06T17:00:00.003-04:00

I realize that I haven't written on my blog in awhile, and again, I want to apologize. So here are some updates...

Job

I have switched classrooms. I no longer teach my lovable, adorable 1 year olds. I changed classrooms and am now enjoying teaching Pre-K. It's fun. A whole different ballgame. When you work with one year olds, you are doing much more physical work: picking up the children, changing diapers, feeding them, helping them learn how to walk/run/climb. In Pre-K, they are able to do all that and more! Now it's a mental job where I need to figure out how to help each child learn how to read and share. I am honestly looking forward to September because I can finally follow a curriculum! I can start teaching them every day instead of here and there!

I do miss my one-year olds, but I am enjoying the 4-5 year olds!

Weddings

Congratulations to my friends who just got married, Mr. and (now) Mrs. F! I couldn't be happier for you two! You guys have always made a great couple and I know will make each other very happy! I wish we lived closer together so we could hang out more often!

Home Life

Captain N and I are just chugging along with life. We are still loving Lifetime Fitness. Now we go more often for the outdoor pool than the indoor gym equipment. We do still try to work out, but it's amazing how many times the pool wins.

We have begun going to a new church which is really exciting. I've been participating in a program called Kidz Out Loud which is really awesome. It reaches alot of different kids in fun ways. For instance, last night, we had horses and cowboys visit last night.

I guess that's it about now.

I hope you have had a great month, and I look forward to going into August!

:-)

Goodbye Smokey K

2009-06-22T20:07:00.003-04:00

After many many thoughts and prayers, I decided to give my cat away. I love her dearly, but unfortunately she was causing my husband some allergy issues.

Thank God for good families. Smokey went to a wonderful family with 2 children and a mama and papa. I know she will be happier there then here, but I will truly miss her.

I love you Smokey K!!

Food Court Musical

2009-05-11T07:52:00.000-04:00

Happy Monday!

An unfortunate Bunny

2009-05-04T20:36:00.003-04:00

Wow a month since my last post...I need to do better!

So, yesterday, I was up early for a Sunday and decided to go shopping to beat the Wal-mart crowd. I was so excited that I actually beat the crowds and got through pretty quickly.

On the way home, I turned onto a back road...and a bunny ran in front of me. YIKES!! I did a little swerve..but unfortunately the bunny got stuck under my wheel. I roadkilled a bunny. A poor unfortunate bunny. I felt horrible. What a way to start a Sunday.

I know it's not the worst thing in the world to accidently kill an animal because they ran in front of you...but it isn't the best thing in the world to do.

A day has past and I past the site of the unintentional murder happened, and I saw the rabbit. Now I'm thinking there might be some good because nature took it's course. Maybe I provided a meal for a random cat or bird. Fresh kill. Maybe it was good. Maybe it was a simple death...quick and a short pain.

Does a death of animal bring good to other situations? Life cycles say it does...but one still can't stop feeling horrible about a situation.

Hope you had a good Sunday.

Gimme Gimme Gimme That Fish

2009-04-04T14:03:00.002-04:00

Ever seen this commercial?

It's so funny and catchy! We sing this song wherever we go! (well for the past the 24 hours). Don't know if I'll buy more filet-o-fish products, but it definitely fun!

Hope you are having a wonderful day!

:-)

Jodi Picoult

2009-04-02T06:59:00.004-04:00

Have you ever read Jodi Picoult books? If you haven't, I highly recommend it. Yesterday, I just finished my 2nd book by her....and Oh My Goodness! It was phenomenal!

Awhile ago, I was introduced to Jodi Picoult through a new book club that I joined a month or two ago. We were required to read Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult. It is about a guy on death row who decides during the book that he wants to donate his heart to the sister of the girl he killed. Does the mother take the heart or not? Is it possible to donate organs while having the death penalty as your way of death? Lethal injection kills your heart so you can't reuse the heart. What do they do? What happens?

The second book I read by Jodi Picoult was My Sister's Keeper. This book made me stop a couple times to think...what would I do in the situation? How could I request medical emancipation from my parents when it affects my sister? One of my best friends? That's what this book is about....a sister who was created to be her dying sister's donor. She was created with the perfect DNA for her sister so she could live longer. Anytime the dying sister needed blood or bone marrow, the sister gave it. It takes a deep look into a heart wrenching situation.

I don't want to give you too many other details, but I do suggest both these books. I can't really suggest her other books, but I have no doubt in my mind that they are good.

Enjoy a good book? Please share!

:-)

Old Navy or Kohls

2009-03-06T22:15:00.003-05:00

I'm not much of a shopper. I mean, I do the regular shopping like "grocery" shopping and "getting things we need for around the house" shopping, however shopping for clothes is not the highest priority on my shopping list. In fact, I feel like I hardly do it compared to some people.

These last two days have been a different story. I feel like I have shopped like crazy..yet really...I haven't. I went to Kohls yesterday to buy a swimsuit for my aqua aerobic class which was pretty nice. Kohls for the last couple years has been my favorite store. It's an amazing store with astounding bargains sometimes. I have gone up to the register expecting to pay one price and end up paying much less. That's my kind of deal!

On the other hand, I use to love Old Navy. I loved it while I was in college...and some after. Then I started feeling like I was getting too old for Old Navy. So I deleted it from my "favorite stores" list. I am here to tell you today that is back on my "favorite stores" list!

I went there tonight and I went crazy (for me). They have a wonderful sale on jeans and I bought 2 pairs! (Old Navy jeans last...I have 2 pairs that I bought back in college and am still wearing!) I am so excited because I found 2 short pairs of jeans. So that means, I don't feel like a dwarf when I put on the jeans! They fit! Then I proceeded to find 3 inexpensive shirts which I know I'll wear! YEAH!

Have you found any extremely cool deals lately? What are your favorite stores?

Hope you have a wonderful day!

:-)

PS-Thanks Sonic for agreeing with me about Old Navy!

Valentine's Day...a week later

2009-02-23T08:10:00.003-05:00

Last week, Captain N surprised me with a really special trip to Myrtle Beach! Have you ever been? If not, I highly suggest it! It was an incredible trip! :)

We were able to leave on Friday because my boss was kind enough to give me the day off. We left in the morning and arrived in the smack dab middle of the afternoon. Since last Friday was the only scheduled "nice" day, we immediately took a walk on the beach which was COLD, but still the exhilarating feeling you get when you step onto the beach and see the waves, and feel the grainy soft sand beneath your feet was unbelievable! We took off our socks and shoes....and walked. It was beautiful!

Afterward, we went to a place called Captain Benjamin's Calabash Seafood. Can I just say OH MY GOSH! This place had incredible crab legs. Just right. Juicy with the butter flowing off. I must admit though, I'm rather bad at taking the meat out of the crab legs, but luckily (for me) Captain N is great at it!

On Saturday, it was rainy, but we still were able to explore Myrtle Beach. We drove around Broadway at the Beach. We went into an overpriced t-shirt store and then eventually went to the Hard Rock Cafe! They have the most incredible chicken club sandwich! I don't think I've tasted better bacon! :)

Saturday also was fun because we got to spend alot of time in the hotel room. We ended up ordering a $20 pizza...which was a little too much in our opinion.

Then we watched the movie Australia...which was really good!!

Sunday arrived too quickly, and we packed up. We went on a quest to find a good breakfast place and each one was full to the brim at about 11 am! So we drove by the Ocean and headed on our way home. Our trip ended with an excellent breakfast at the Cracker Barrel! :)

I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day! :)

:-)

Superbowl XLIII Ads

2009-02-07T23:23:00.002-05:00

Well, last Sunday, we celebrated Superbowl at our place. We ended up playing alot of Rockband too, so I wasn't able to watch all the Superbowl commercials. Tonight, on Hulu, I updated myself on the commercials and here is my opinion of some of the best ones. Enjoy! :)

My favorite commercial by Doritos!

Another Doritos one that I liked!

I really enjoyed this Bridgestone one... :)

This NBC one was good too though I don't like all the shows advertised...

Can't say she didn't deserve it...

I did like the horse Clyde that Budwieser advertised.

Which was your favorite Superbowl Ad?

:-)

Happy Late Anniversary Light!

2009-02-04T08:00:00.003-05:00

Well, last Sunday, Light as a Feather celebrated it's 1 year anniversary. I find it hard to believe that I have been writing a blog for 365 days! In total, there were 72 posts! Yikes...That averages out to more then one post per week. WOW! Happy Anniversary Light as a Feather!

In other news, Captain N and I joined a new fitness club! It's called Lifetime Fitness! It is an awesome fitness club that has 4 pools (2 indoor and 2 outdoor), lots and lots and lots of equipment to work out on, lots and lots of weights, 2 basketball courts (where pick up basketball can be played), and a rock climbing gym.

Unfortunately, this means I had to quit my beloved Curves :(. I love all the friendships I made at Curves and it was difficult to say good-bye to them. I will still recommend Curves to anyone! It's a great system. I just wish it allowed men.

Well, I'm off to work.

Have a great day!

:-)

Lifehouse's Everything Skit

2009-01-28T23:37:00.000-05:00

25 Random Things About Me!

2009-01-27T22:38:00.001-05:00

I got tagged on Facebook....so I thought I would post this on here!

1. This is the first time I've ever done a note on Facebook! You learn something new each day!
2. I am so excited that I just became friends with another cousin on facebook!
3. We looked for a church today and have struck out. I wish I found a church like newHope which is closer to us!
4. I am trying to be healthy.
5. We just joined a gym together which has an indoor pool!!
6. I have a cold that I hope is almost over.
7. I love playing board games....anytime, anywhere.
8. I am sitting in our big comfy chair.
9. I have been married for 5 months and 2 days to a awesome guy.
10. I hate cleaning.
11. I had a job before I was 16 that required me to clean an entire house and I did it.
12. I love watching Ellen Degeneres' Talk Show.
13. I love swimming.
14. We keep our house cold during the winter.
15. I love wearing my MU shirts around the house.
16. I had a wonderful time at Christmas with my entire family!
17. I hate change.
18. I really enjoy teaching 1 year olds.
19. I am sitting beneath a blanket made by my Nana.
20. I love going to the beach.
21. I don't wear make-up on a daily basis.
22. We have Wii Fit, but I hardly ever do it.
23. I love snow!
24. I bought two board books for a dollar at Target for my kids at school.
25. If you are reading this consider yourself tagged!

SNOW!!

2009-01-20T19:39:00.005-05:00

We got snow! Not just a light dusting but SNOW! It started last night and continued to today! It was perfect because we were able to watch the inauguration live. Here are some pictures of our SNOW DAY!!

Captain N's feet in the snow!!

A Fire Hydrant & SNOW!

Snow makes everything beautiful!

The Kitchen Window! Loved washing dishes today!

Welcome to our Winter Wonderland!

Happy New Year continued!

2009-01-15T19:40:00.003-05:00

My last post was probably very general. I apologize! In a little more detail, two of my kids got hurt. One child did something to her leg which caused her not to walk...but crawl (eventually). The other child, tripped over his feet and received a shiner on his forehead. It just kills me when kids get hurt under my watch. So therefore, I wish I had more eyes!

Luckily, the one child with the shiner, looked much better the next day. The other child (who couldn't walk) went to the doctor, and didn't break her leg. She had an inner bruise which causes her pain when she puts pressure on it. In the past day and a half, she has become a mighty fast crawler, and today she began to put a little pressure on her foot! :)

I will never stop thanking God for His healing ways!

Hope you are having a hurt-free day!

:-)

Happy New Year!

2009-01-13T20:53:00.002-05:00

This is my first new year's post and I hope you all had a great new year. So far this new year has been great for me! You know it's funny. I am really lucky right now. I have a good job, I have good friends, I have a great family, etc. Life is good. Yesterday I was feeling awesome about life in general.

Today...I've been knocked back to reality. You know, people still get hurt and sometimes I feel like there is nothing I can do about it. Sometimes, I wish I had 15 eyes just to prevent it all from happening. Sometimes it happens right in front of my 2 eyes and you still can't do anything about it.

Hope you had a hurt-free day today!

:-) :-(

Smokey K Found a Friend!

2008-12-30T17:14:00.003-05:00

Yes tis true...my cat, Smokey K, has found herself a friend.

It all happened one day maybe about 2 weeks ago. She was meowing at the window, which she does usually when she sees a bug. I went over to investigate what she found. I didn't see any bug flickering, but after turning on the light, I saw a another cat (for blog purposes I'm going to call her Greyee). I had to take a double look because this cat looks like Smokey (a mostly gray cat). This cat was sitting up on the ledge of our porch.

So...over the past two weeks, I would see them interact sometimes. Once Smokey's tail was up and puffed out...another time they were staring at each other. I also noticed that whenever I walked by this cat would disappear and run off.

Well, today after being lazy for about half the day, I walked out of our bedroom to find Smokey and Greyee pawing at the door. It was like a scene from a movie. They wanted to touch paws, but a piece of glass was stopping them. AWWW!!

I wanted to show you this...but when I got my camera ready, Greyee walked away as to say I'm not really bothering Smokey. I wonder how I can get Greyee to not run away from me.

Thought I would share an AWW moment! :)

Hope you are having a wonderful holiday season!

:-)

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T15:24:00.005-05:00

To all my blog readers out there...Merry Christmas! This Christmas has been a dream come true for me. I am able to spend it with my wonderful husband, and awesome family! We haven't be able to do this in years! I think the last time we were all together (all 5 of us) was in 2001 or 2002! It's been a long time!

We are also able to spend Christmas in the house that I grew up in. Since my parents are missionaries, we had to give this house up to renters (who tore it apart) while my parents were away. When they returned...they had to basically remodel alot of new aspects of the house! It looks so different from back in the day...but there are so many familiar things that reminds me of different parts of my childhood...like

being able to see in a mirror that I remember not being tall enough for
the creaking of the stairs and almost every upstairs floor area (our house squeaks!)
the rumble of the highway really close to our house...yet sorta far
the sound of the salt truck going up and down our street
parking in the driveway just the right way so the car door doesn't hit a bush
the rooms...the same...yet so different.
the sounds of voices downstairs as I sit on the computer upstairs typing this blog :

I could go on and on. The basic point is it is wonderful to be home with my family. I'm loving and cherishing every moment.

I hope you and your family is having a wonderful Christmas. Remembering the joy that Jesus brings to us...and hopefully enjoying the company from family and friends from near and far. We are so blessed.

Merry Christmas!

Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)

6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, ^[a] Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

:-)

To My Mother...

2008-12-21T23:03:00.002-05:00

Found this on a pastor's blog. Thanks Moms!

Advent Calendars

2008-12-13T17:09:00.003-05:00

I love advent calendars. Each year...doing an advent calendar creates new memories and brings back the fond memories of childhood. My family use to do a Nepali advent calendar every year as we counted down the days til Christmas. Like most, we would start on the first day of December and continue nightly until Christmas Eve. We had this special Nepali-made advent calendar which had Nepali coin purses. Right before December, Mom made every individual in our family write down something they would like to do for each person in the family. This could range from pieces of paper that said "I will empty the dishwasher 3x for you." (usually from myself to my siblings or vice versa), or "I will take 5 walks with you anytime you like (usually from Dad)" or "I will let you watch a tv program of your choice, when it's my turn to choose". We would essentially have 20 good deeds from one family member to another that we would put randomly into the calendar. Then my mom would add a couple fun family activities for us to do together. (going out to eat, watching a movie, etc.)

After we got all our good deeds prepared, Mom would put a good deed, and candy in for each day. Then every day after our family dinner, we would have one kid open the day's calendar purse and retrieve what was inside. It was exciting...wondering if it was mine they were opening or something for me. Small gifts of good deeds. The perfect gift plus dessert!

Since I have grown up with that awesome tradition, I have tried to continue on the tradition of an advent calendar in my home. Last year, I got an advent calendar from a card shop. Captain N would come home and we would read the Bible verse together.

This year I went out on a search for advent calendars and found one in Borders Bookstore. I was so excited especially since I bought it before the 1st of December! On December 1st, Captain N came home and I insisted we open the first one together. He obliged and we opened it and we got our first glimpse of a picture. A picture? That's it? I spent 7 bucks for an advent calendar to reveal a picture? WOW.....well maybe it was just the first day. We preceded to open up December 2, and found another picture. (It was after midnight after all...) Captain N and I looked at each other and agreed that this was disappointing. So we decided not to do this advent calendar. Immediately, afterwards I found some online advent calendars that we are currently opening day by day...One with a flash video, one with a trivia question, and one with a Bible Verse. (and they were all free!)

Google Free Online Advent Calendars

The story continues on and the other day I was shopping at Wal-mart and found another advent calendar...but this one had chocolates in it. I thought perfect!

I brought it home and Captain N and I opened Dec. 1 (even though that date had passed awhile ago). We saw a little picture, and a piece of chocolate. Captain N tastes it, and before I could blink he was running to the sink to spit it out....the awful tasting cheap chocolate. Another advent fail. Oh well. I guess we'll just stick to the free online advent calendars!

:-)

Happy Turkey Day

2008-11-27T20:11:00.003-05:00

Thanksgiving is still happening...and it's been a blessing. :)

Here's just a couple of things that I am thankful for.

Family & Friends
Captain N who has been in rare form all day on limited sleep. (ie-really funny all day long!)
the ability to function on little sleep
my job
all the little blessings in my life.

What are you thankful for? What blessing do you have that you are grateful for?

Hope you had a wonderful Turkey Day!

:-)

Who Broke It?

2008-11-23T22:34:00.005-05:00

It's been awhile...I know. I apologize. Sometimes I end up being really good at this keeping up a blog thing, and again sometimes I'm not. So I'm writing now. :)

Our life has been crazy of Broken Things. Yes Broken.

1-Two weeks ago, Captain N was sitting in the computer chair and leaned back a little too far and the chair broke. Well, personally, I'm glad...because I didn't like that chair, but Captain N LOVED that chair. I felt a little bad. So we trekked out during the weekend and found a good office chair that suits us both :)

2-A week and a half ago I came home for a short break from work, and found out our TV was broken again. (It happened about 3-4 months ago). Henceforth, we weren’t happy. See…our TV is a DLP. A DLP needs a certain type of light bulb in order to work. This light bulb is $$$. We decided we can’t afford to keep buying light bulbs that keep burning out, so we sprung for a new TV. This time we bought a LCD. (Captain N did do all the research trying to find the best priced TV…and we ended up with a decent LCD)

3-Last weekend, we had our recliner break. The handle which moves the footrest broke. It was an old chair, and we had wanted to buy a new one, but when this broke…we decided to go for it. We went to Big Lots and found a really awesome chair which we can cuddle in. It’s huge! Captain N and I can sit in comfortably at the same time! Check it out below!

The Old....

The New!!!

I think my favorite surprise purchase was the reclining chair. Though each item is nice within itself!

Things happen in threes right?? Hopefully we won’t encounter any other items that break in the near future!

Hope you are well!

:-)

A Vote for Change

2008-11-05T08:08:00.007-05:00

Yes We Can! Loved last night, but now I am seriously lacking in sleep!

I hope we can now all just get along.

It's hard when half the country is for one side and the other for the other side. I hope everyone who voted for Mccain will learn to trust and respect Obama. I believe he will do the best job he can. God Bless America! and America Bless God!

Saw this on two other blogs and loved it... enjoy! (A Whole Lot of Nothing and Patrick Moberg)
:-)

Have a wonderful day!

It's been a long time...since I updated last...

2008-11-02T16:28:00.006-05:00

I know it's been awhile since I updated, but we have been busy! We celebrated Captain N's birthday by going up to my in-laws house. It was a very nice relaxing weekend. Come to think of it, it went by too quickly. The past weekend we went to SavvyDollar Guy and KT's wedding celebration! It was the perfect day for it and we enjoyed our time celebrating them! Congratulations you two! I couldn't be happier for you guys! I can't wait to hear about their wedding. It's been too long since KT and I have had dinner!

After their wedding celebration, we ended up going to the State Fair with Sonic, Tails, and Bean (their awesome fun loving 1 year old). It was so much fun seeing a 1 year old taking in the State Fair. I mean...the lights, the people, the delicious greasy food, the noise, the vendors shouting at you, the animals, etc. They can all be overwhelming but Bean took it well :) One thing that impressed me a bunch was the humongous pumpkins! I mean really how big can those things be?

Take a look at this picture...and take note...there was no zooming in!

Then there was the mighty delicious fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich. (They fry everything down south and this was truly one of the best things fried! It even beats the fried snickers bar)
Can you say YUM!

Til next time

:-)

Go Vote

2008-11-02T16:17:00.003-05:00

Have you seen this video? Check it out! If you haven't already...go vote...it's so important!

and you can vote however you like!

Sarah Palin's SNL Rap

2008-10-20T21:32:00.001-04:00

Did you see this on SNL? It was awesome! Enjoy!

Sarah Palin really is a good sport!

:-)

A Weird/Good Night...

2008-10-13T22:31:00.002-04:00

Friday night=weird/good night

Why? Well, it started off with a bang as soon as I got home from work. Captain N and I were scheduled to go bowling with Mr. Tickles. I had approximately 10 minutes to get ready, and I was filthy because my kids got to play in the dirt in the morning....and there was alot of throwing dry dirt around :) (I do love kids!) So, I promptly took a quick 5 minute shower before we headed out. I was ready in a mere 5 minutes after with one change of clothing choice. (not bad right....)

We met Mr. Tickles for bowling first, and just chatted while he finished up his first "warm-up" game. Then we started our game. Well...that's when the night took a turn for embarrassment...

After Mr. Tickles and Captain N took their turn, I was up. So I get up and get my 7 pound ball and start the bowling process. As I begin, I wiggle my butt as if to be a little sexy. Well, I hear Captain N and Mr. Tickles laugh behind me. After I roll my ball down the lane, I turn around and I don't remember what they said, but it was then that I realized that I had put on the one pair of jeans with the HUGE hole right near the pocket! ARE YOU KIDDING ME! I was embarrassed to say the least! YIKES! I immediately turned bright red and covered it up with my shirt....while quickly asking Captain N if there was anything I could wear to cover up my mistake. Thankfully, he had one of his shirts in the car that I could wrap around my waste. That shirt is a lifesaver....from embarrassment.

So we bowl. I am a terrible bowler. I was a part of a league when I was something like 10-13?? and I couldn't bowl worth my life. I am pretty sure I was the team's handicap. It was fun at that age, but still...I stink at bowling. My highest score for most of my life was 98 and that was when I was 10-13. Recently, (talking back when I first met SavvyDollar Guy which was more than a year ago, but less then 2 years ago), I bowled my best game ever and beat my score by 4 points...scoring 102!

Tonight was a totally different ballgame for me. Captain N always beats me...but tonight...Let's just say...my name begins with J :)

1st Game

2nd Game

100 and 102! What was a I drinking or on??? Nothing! How awesome is that! I tied my bowling score!

Crazy! Great! Embarrassing! Night......yep! It sure was!

Hope you had a great wildly weird weekend!

:-)

Don't Vote....

2008-10-04T15:20:00.000-04:00

Are you registered to vote?

:-)

Our New Fridge!

2008-10-01T23:26:00.008-04:00

Apparently, I'm getting lazy at posting again. To me, it's hard to find interesting topics to post about it. The wedding was BIG news and exciting and fun to plan...now we are back to our normally scheduled program....LIFE. Fun, exciting, boring, and yet interesting. I will try to post more then once a week, but there are no guarantees! (PS-Sonic keeps on encouraging me to post...so this post is dedicated to her!)

So, this past adventure was quite sudden and fun. Captain N and I have been talking about getting a new refrigerator it seems like forever. His refrigerator was old and sometimes made scary sounds. I didn't know when it would die on us, so we decided it was better to be safe then sorry.

We have been checking out Best Buy for deals and different kinds of refrigerators, and have found several that we liked...though never took the plunge and bought it. This weekend, we did a little compare shopping between Best Buy and Home Depot. Unfortunately for Best Buy, Home Depot won our money! We bought our first big together being married purchase! We bought a refrigerator! It's one of those refrigerators that has a freezer side and a refrigerator side. It also has a water and ice dispenser! Who would think that all those things are exciting, but they are!!! I can't wait to have cold fresh from the fridge without opening the door water!

We had to wait a couple days while it traveled our way. It finally arrived today! Captain N was able to stay home to welcome it, as well as say goodbye to the old refrigerator. I'm sure it was very emotional. I know I might have gotten a little water in my eyes.

So here are the before and after pictures!

BEFORE

AFTER

The INSIDE! :) (with Captain N's wonderful shopping trip included!)

Hope everyone has a blessed day!

:-)

Internet Party: What Happens If Google's Parents Leave Town

2008-09-23T23:23:00.001-04:00

So Digg, eBay and Facebook walk into a room ...Enjoy! This is truly pretty darn cool!

read more | digg story

Weekend Update

2008-09-21T22:43:00.004-04:00

I'm bad. Why? I haven't posted in over some odd amount of days because I haven't put my pictures from our honeymoon up and can't post them on my blog...so I've been waiting for me...

My apologies to my readers. This weekend was tons of fun. We started out with a date to the infamous Red Robin. We then came home and watched Made of Honor with Patrick Dempsey. I thought the movie was good, but I did like Baby Mama better. Which do you like better?

Saturday was lazy which is wonderful. We got to spend time Saturday evening with Sonic, Tails, and Bean. It was alot of fun to see how much a 1 year old learns between the short gaps of time we see him in. I love that he loves men. Captain N is so good with Bean! :) Then it was games like Mexican Train (with the longest train ever) and Rumikub! Both great games! They are just one of those couples that I could talk to forever....once we got going, we didn't stop to after midnight! Yikes!

I hope y'all had a great weekend and I promise an update on the honeymoon soon...

:-)

Wedding Part 2

2008-09-07T13:33:00.002-04:00

I'm married to the most wonderful guy ever. I am Mrs. Captain N and I am so happy to be chosen by him.

I've been trying to figure out how to write a blog entry for my wedding and I must say it's quite difficult. I know it is the best celebration I have ever had. There were so many people who I love and adore am so honored they could come to the wedding. I had all my different walks of life there and it was such an incredible experience. My only wish is that I could have spent more time with the individuals who travelled from such a long way. (I understand as the bride, I couldn't but I can't help but want to spend more time with the people I love)

The rehearsal was interesting. I loved hearing the music and the different comibinations of artists. I loved seeing people there from RBC for the first time in ages. It was overwhelming that they were all there for Captain N and I. One interesting thing that happen is during rehearsal, I was able to be the bride. I had to watch "the Bride" so I would know what to do when it came my turn. (apparently it's a tradition, though I have never heard of it) This was very wierd at first, but I got to talk to some people (briefly because I had to pay attention too).

The reheasal dinner was fun and a great party. It was awesome to see so many members of my family and friends interacting with each other. It was good to see all the laughter happening. I loved every moment of it.

The day of the wedding was fun. I started it off with my sister and us getting our hair done. That went very smoothly and was fun. Then we headed to the church shortly after. Everyone met us there and we started getting ready. That took forever compared to my normal 15>minute time of getting ready. I was quite happy that I didn't really start shedding tears til my wedding dress came on...then they were off and on til I saw Captain N standing at the altar.

The ceremony was beautiful (or so I'm told). I heard some of the music after the ceremony and it was gorgeous, but I haven't really seen it all. I'm waiting for the edited video. I remember bits and pieces of it, and I know it happened, but I think I am the typical bride when I say, "it was a blur".

The reception was great too! The music was fun, the food was great (though I only ate a bite), the cake smashing was awesome (I can't wait to see all those pictures!), the first dance was fun (though I think we dance a whole lot better in our kitchen with no one watching), the father/daughter dance was a little tear-jerking for me, but then really sweet, the mother/son dance was so sweet to see all the mother/sons dancing together, the bubbles were fun, the pictures were beautiful, etc. I could go on and on, but it was the best celebration for me. It was just perfect for Captain N and I.

I was very blessed and there wasn't any major blunders. That is at least to my knowledge. Let me know if there was!!

If you came to our wedding, thank you so much for making the effort and being there for us. We are so glad that you came. If you weren't able to make it, we missed you.

If you would like to see pictures, shoot me an email and I'll send you to a couple links! There are some fabulous pictures that my friends and photographer took! :)

God Bless Y'all!

:-)

Signing Off
MRS. Captain N! :)

If you would like to see pictures, email me and I'll send you a link.

Wedding Part 1

2008-09-03T08:12:00.005-04:00

It's been a long time since I've updated, but I think I have good reason for the delay. We are finally back and getting our house...(yes OUR house now!)...back into order.

Our wedding is over and I am now a married lady. It was a blur (like they all said it would be), but incredible. Every moment was so special and unique. My only regret is that I wish I could of spent more time talking to individuals who came just for us.

Here are some things that were so great to be a part of before the wedding/rehearsal!

getting the marriage license with Captain N! (our county makes it really easy!)
eating the first wedding dinner with Aunt Sexy S and my parents
getting my nails done with my cousin
eating dinner with all the guests that came in on Thursday night..it was a rolling dinner on some levels, but it was so great to see so many people
spending an hour in the indoor/outdoor pool area with Kat and Captain N
talking with Kat and Jen in their hotel room (cousins I haven't seen in ages!)
the last minute details get together with everyone in another aunt's room....Thank You Everyone for your Help! I couldn't of done it without you!
having lunch at a great restaurant with my brother, his girl, and my sister
riding in the car with Sunshine K

I think that brings us to the rehearsal. Unfortunately, I have to go to work, but I promise there will be more later!

Til then!

:-)

PS-ELLEN begins in 5 days!!! (Sept. 8)

It's down to the wire!

2008-08-18T07:57:00.003-04:00

It's so hard to believe that it is only 5 sleeps til the Big Day....and that it's my Big Day. I am so lucky to have found a man that loves me and wants to be with me.

The stress is making itself a comfy little home in my life. There is this and that to do, without things ever seeming to stop. I am getting less sleep, and less personal time to do my own thing. I know it's all worth it, but it is difficult. The To Do list is a mile long...

I do hope I'm not Bridezilla, but if I am...I'm probably a weaker version of it then others. I hope!

The flowers are starting to look beautiful! The cake will be awesome! The family and friends coming into town are such a blessing! Only 5 more sleeps to be "single"! Only 5 more sleeps til I say "I do"! Only 5 more sleeps til the wedding....and the fun starts before it...and continues on a long time afterwards!

(Only 5 minutes allotted to write this blog post too)

Have a great day!

:-)

The Patriot (2000)

2008-08-09T10:52:00.003-04:00

Have you ever seen this movie? The Patriot (2000) If so, I would recommend it...but my advice is to only watch it once because it's one of those movies that burns the horridness (yes I believe I made that word up but it fits!) of war into your mind, yet speaks truth of what happened in the past. Here's the trailer

Captain N and I watched this movie last night because it is one of his favorite movies. Throughout the movie, I kept questioning him...why it was because I think a "favorite" movie should be one you can watch over and over again. I personally can't watch this movie over and over again. It depicts the strong values of family which is great. (though I don't believe killing another after a member of your family is killed is right) It shows the heartlessness of war where people just fall down like flies left and right. By the end of the movie, you wanted to kill one of the guys because of how horrible he was. It was too real.

The movie did have many wonderful parts like, Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger did a wonderful job in acting out their parts. The story was incredible where it took you through almost every emotion possible from laughter to sobbing tears. On a Blue-ray player (which is incredible!), the scenes were immaculate. Just in general the scenery was beautiful. (well, in the non-fighting scenes)

Some might say the above reasons is what makes it a fabulous movie. I would agree with them there, but the story makes me hate what our country had to go through just to be free. I am however very thankful to those soldiers and current soldiers who are fighting in a war. I know I wouldn't be able to face what they are facing. I am also thankful to all the soldier's families...because I personally couldn't imagine being away from Captain N because he would have to go to war. I couldn't imagine him standing up in church one day...spur of the moment and saying "I've gotta fight for our nation." While I believe it would be the right thing to do, it's a very difficult thing to do for everyone involved.

What are your thoughts?

Hope you have a great weekend, despite the horridness of war.

:-/

21 Sleeps!

2008-08-03T00:03:00.005-04:00

Yikes! 21 Sleeps and counting! I have been bad about posting this last week and a half....so I apologize.

Since the last time I posted...this is what has happened
-my sister and mom finished their visit
-I went to a wonderful Bible Study with my girls from when I lived at the apartment.
-Another bite happened in my classroom :(
-stress level is starting to peak for the wedding
-all the response cards should be in (though I have to get back into touch with a couple who I think might be coming)
-Sunshine K and her new hubby :), Dr. S, (for lack of a better nickname) came back from their honeymoon!
-we put away most things from the surprise bridal shower! Who knew that would be a job!
-Captain N and I are visiting the future in-laws for a 2nd bridal shower!
-I mowed the lawn and stung by fire ants...which are nasty and itch like crazy (and I got stung 2 days ago!) Doesn't this itching stuff go away?
-My piano player for our wedding broke her wrist :(, but after asking, one of Captain N's cousins will do it for us.

A little about today's bridal shower! It was awesome! I got the chance to know a little more about Captain N's home home life and the people who have seen him grow up. They were all very generous! The food was spectacular! His family can cook! The gift theme was household stuff so we received a lot of good items to put in our house. I think one of my favorite parts was talking to his aunt from his father's side who I've only met once and interacting with Captain N's 10 year old cousin. We hardly ever see them! It was very sweet for my future MIL (mother-in-law), sisters, and niece to throw the party for Captain N and I! I couldn't have asked for a better second bridal shower! Here are just two pictures of the beautiful food! The cake was delicious too!

On another topic...Sunshine K and Dr. S's wedding was absolutely spectacular. Sunshine K was the most relaxed bride I have ever seen. I only hope I can be that relaxed! Her color scheme and ceremony was great. It was great to see all of Dr. S's family and friends that I have known from Dr. S's siblings weddings! It was also fun, just getting ready. I will always remember it very fondly!

Tomorrow a regular Sunday after church dinner with the future in-laws and family! I can't wait! (Captain N thinks I'm crazy for getting excited for these dinners!)

Hope you have a blessed day!

:-)

My First Bite

2008-07-24T00:14:00.003-04:00

Did I mention that I moved to the Young Toddler (1-1 1/2 year old) classroom about a month ago?

Today in school, I as an educator of very young minds (toddlers) experienced my first bite. Well, that is my first bite that happened right before my very own eyes. I feel awful that something like that could happen in my care, but as such it did, and we must go on. This bite did lead me to research biting. I already knew it was common among toddlers.

The funny thing is that you know babies and toddlers put everything into their mouth. Toys, paper, cushions, etc. You name it...it has a direct pass to the young one's mouth. It's no wonder that an arm would also get the free pass to another child's mouth.

After doing the research (the research after reading 2-3 articles on biting), the interesting thing is that there are several types of reasons why a child bites. This could range from boredom, frustration, aggression, complaints, and my favorite cause/effect. Today's bite I believe was a pure cause and effect...a toddler's thought process might be something like this....what would happen if I put his arm in my mouth and closed my mouth hard...OUCH and a cry heard from the other child...oh I hurt him.

A toddler scientist hard at work....

So, I believe this was a cause and effect bite, but it doesn't make it any less horrible. It still hurt the other kid.

I could go on and on about the cause and effect with toddlers (it is very intriguing to watch and analyze for the most part), but it's getting late and I must go to bed.

Here's hoping to a bite-free tomorrow!

Hope you have a great day!

:-)

I am the Luckiest Girl Around!

2008-07-13T22:23:00.004-04:00

On Thursday, Captain N told me that he wanted to take me to a nice restaurant after church on Sunday. So after church today, we hung out for a little while and then got ready for our reservation at 2:30. Well, we headed to our reservation, and I asked the Captain about this new place. He told me it was called Danielle's and it was only open about 3-4 months. He had heard about it from a friend at work. It was a restaurant with an art gallery attached in a building that use to be a house.

So we got there after driving a little bit (and dancing in the car :) ), and we headed into the building. We pasted a receptionist, and went upstairs. I did notice that in the lobby there weren't too many pictures, but maybe it was on a different floor. As soon as I got off the elevator, I was startled by a "SURPRISE"!!!

Standing in front of me was my sister, my mom, Stylin' K, Stylin' K's mom and sister, KT, Sunshine K, Cristin, Tharper, Sonic, Captain N's Mother, Cousin, and Aunt! (I hope I didn't miss anyone and if I did, I'm terribly sorry...) WOW!! I couldn't get over it.

It was my bridal shower!!! What a surprise!! I was shocked! Captain N quickly made an exit and we headed into the shower room. It was decorated beautifully and my goodness there was an abundance of gifts! The shower started off with everyone introducing themselves and how they knew me. It's amazing how many different people came from the different parts of my life. Afterwards, stories were told of how Captain N and I met, and how he proposed to me. Then the Gift Bingo began! I got several great gifts that were requested off our registry!!! I also got some unexpected gifts from folks that weren't at the shower that were so thoughtful!!

The shower was a true blessing and I am such a blessed woman to have such great and awesome friends and family! Thank you to everyone who was involved! Especially Stylin' K and Stylin' K's mom who hosted the party!!

I wish I could share some pictures, but unfortunately, all the pictures were taken on other people's cameras!

Hope your weekend was just as blessed as mine!

:-)

Happy Belated 4th of July!

2008-07-07T21:34:00.005-04:00

Captain N and I enjoyed America's Birthday in style! On July 3rd I bought us two awesome T-shirts. After only asking one time, Captain N said that he would wear this t-shirt with me even though he thought his family would give him flack for it. (published reason 14 of "why I love that guy")

I'm not sure how much flack he was given for it...but there were no complaints from him on the 3 hour trip home! :) We even traveled home without the radio on...amazing!!

The future family July 4th BBQ was great! One thing that is a highlight of Captain N's family is that they know how to cook! The love they share there is amazing. The kids love everyone and aren't afraid to show it. The adults love talking to each other and just seeing each other again is a small constant holiday reunion which is awesome. I can't wait to join his family!

Some other major events that happened this weekend is Captain N and I (mostly Captain N) purchased a TV for his bedroom. (which will eventually be ours!) He spent Saturday putting it up while I spent Saturday cleaning our place! Then we had a wonderful get together with some of our friends! It turned out to be a great night which I am so thankful for!

Well...I'm off to watch another movie on our new TV...

PS-If you were keeping up with The Bachelorette Dianna Style-I was voting for Jason...but I'm ok with her Jessie. As long as Dianna is happy!

Hope everyone had a great Monday!

:-)

Family is Stateside!

2008-07-01T22:17:00.002-04:00

Yes....my family is finally stateside...they have all arrived and our family is around. I can now call them anytime I want and it won't cost a bundle!! They have all arrived safely and I am so happy!

Life has become busy again! I have officially switched to the Toddler room at work! It is incredible to see the minor growths as the kids grow each day. I have only been working in this classroom for a little more then a week, and it's amazing. I have never realized how much work goes into taking care of 5+ young toddlers. There is so much physical work involved, yet the rewards are great!

This weekend was great. One of the highlights was shopping with Stylin' K. She loves to shop so I asked her to meet me at the mall and shop for dresses for different events for the upcoming months. The most amazing find was a $128 dress I found for about $40!! Who could ask for anything more?? I love deals!

That's it for now...life is still boring..yet exciting.

Off to play a game from Shockwave....absolutely love those games!

Have a great day!

:-)

Engagement Pictures!

2008-06-25T21:45:00.002-04:00

They're up! NietoPhotography has done a wonderful job at making us look awesome! Click on the link and find us! If you don't know who we are...just enjoy all of Nieto's great work!

It's a busy week with VBS!

That's all folks!

Hope your week is flying by!

:-)

A Lazy Saturday Tidbits

2008-06-22T00:57:00.003-04:00

Some tidbits about this week....

-Captain N arrived safe and sound on late Thursday evening. I was even able to go pick him up and listen to all his stories from Las Vegas. There were many highlights like visiting the hotels, going to Coyote Ugly, getting a massage (lucky duck!), and some other things. The only downside was that him and his friend, Mr. Tickles, caught a cold somewhere along the trip.

-We officially decided our flower person and cake person for the wedding! I can't wait to work with both of them!!!

-Today was a lazy Saturday! I slept in and then took a glorious 3 hour nap! Hopefully I'm all caught up on sleep and feeling better next week.

-My Pre-K II friends graduated last night. It was a wonderful ceremony. I loved every moment of it. It is such a precious thing to see someone graduate regardless of what they are graduating from. The kids did a wonderful job singing for their families. They created laughter and tears in the same moment. It was a memorable experience.

-I move to the Young Toddler room on Monday to be with another wonderful co-teacher. I am looking forward to working with that age group. I can't wait til the kids get to know me, because sometimes that's the best feeling in the world.

-The movie The Incredible Hulk was wonderful! It had the perfect amount of action and even some romance. The storyline was great too! I really enjoyed it. I might even have a new favorite superhero!

-The movie The Happening is not worth your time or money. In fact, I am only mentioning it and linking it so that you won't go see it. It doesn't even deserve a picture. Sorry Mr. Shyamalan. Sorry Mr. Marky Mark and Zooey (I usually love her roles!)

Well I'm off to read a couple of your blogs before I go to bed. I hope you all are having a great weekend! Thanks for reading!

:-)

Las Vegas

2008-06-16T06:55:00.003-04:00

Sometimes the hardest thing for me is to have someone leave. Captain N will be getting on a plane in about a half hour to go to Vegas. Yes...Vegas. He is going there with one of his friends to celebrate the ending of his bachelorhood. He leaves this morning and will be back late Thursday night. I truly hope he has a fabulous time and really lives it up...to a point, but I'm sure going to miss him.

You don't realize how important someone is until they have to spend days away from you. I just hope these 3-4 days go quickly. Thank goodness for other people to keep things busy for me. :)
I think I may try to take a little nap before work....it's early!

I hope this week goes quickly and wonderful for you.

:-)

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

2008-06-15T12:42:00.003-04:00

Happy Father's Day Dad!

I love you and can't wait to talk to you in 16 days! I hope you have a blast in Greece with Mom and soon Lady Marmalade.

My dad is a phenomenal man. He is kind to others, doesn't put up with crap, and loves people everywhere. He has a heart to help others and shares the gospel with people who may never of heard it. He loves playing games especially ones that challenge his mind like Bridge, Freecell, Rushhour, and Sudoku. He counts cards, when others don't have a clue what has passed through the table. He gets upset if you don't try your best. He loves his kids and supports them. He always has a good story to share or a good movie to suggest. He is a spectacular man and I am blessed to have him as a Dad.

Happy Father's Day, Daddy! I love you!

Hope everyone else is having a great Father's Day!

:-)

Countdown #2 begins!

2008-06-08T15:04:00.002-04:00

23 SLEEPS TIL MOM AND DAD GET TO THE STATES!!!

If you don't know my family, here is a quick summary of them. My family loves to travel and live in places outside of the states. I personally love living in the States, but they love living outside of the states....to each their own. Mom and Dad have been missionaries in Nepal since 2005. I get to see them about once a year which is always awesome and heartbreaking because they go back, but it's what they love. This time, they will come home for months. (more then one!!) They will be here for a month or two before my wedding and many months after so we can celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas with them!

24 SLEEPS TIL MY SISTER COMES BACK TO THE STATES!

My sister (Lady Marmalade) has been traveling as well. After college she spent 2 years doing the Peace Corp and worked in Burkina Faso (on the left)! I have so much respect for her to go and live there! When she was done with her Peace Corp assignment, she went to France (on the right) to teach English to French students. She loved it there so much, after her job done there, she decided to stay throughout the spring in France! She did come and visit me around New Years and we made 2 marvelous lasagnas! She comes back to the States in 24 sleeps!

I can't wait! I will finally be able to talk to them for free on my cell phone! I will finally be able to know their daily activities instead of just the big picture. I won't have to, but can still communicate with them through email. I can't wait!!

Off to eat cake!

Say a prayer for this mega hot weather to go back to hot weather!

Have a great day!

Highs and Lows of Saturday

2008-06-07T23:01:00.004-04:00

Like many days, today has had its highs and lows.

This Early Morning
High:
-watching 2 episodes of Step by Step this morning because I got up so early
Low:
-having a rough night of sleep and waking up 2-3x during the night

Wedding Dress Fitting
Highs:
-It fits...a bit snug but it still fits!
-I still feel and look like a princess in it!
-It still doesn't show this belly that I'm trying to get rid of :)
-I saw one of Captain's N's groomsman fiance :)

Lows:
-It was so hot in the fitting/tailor area of David's Bridal that I felt nauseous.
-I had to sit down to cool off and regain composure in front of other brides-to-be

High:
-The tailor woman says it happens to alot of brides-to-be

Hanging out with Sunshine K, her sister, and enjoying her "bridal shower" party
High:
-I got to sit down in a chair in Kroger while I waited for them to walk to Kroger.
-Sunshine K was so sweet and made her sister and I Jamaican chicken!
-WE GOT TO GO TO THE POOL!!!
-Just spending time with Sunshine K...miss having her around all the time when I lived in my old place
-I'm really happy for her because she has got a great bunch of friends/sister at her party.
-I enjoyed talking to CJ's Mom and holding CJ.

Going Home
High:
-I got to go back to Captain N who had spent the day doing Saturday things at home.
-Spending Saturday evening just doing things we both enjoy...separately, yet we were together

That's my day in a nutshell.

Tomorrow...cake tasting try #2...hopefully we'll find a winner tomorrow! :)

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

:-)

Curves Works!

2008-06-03T19:26:00.002-04:00

So it's been about two months since I started at Curves ("the cult" as Captain N calls it). It has been wonderful!! I've been blessed because I am lucky enough to get to know several fellow Curves members.

Each month they do a measurement session on about the same day. My measurement day happens to be on the 5th of each month. I tried to do it last month, but things had just gotten in the way. So...today I found out I lost 9 inches! WOW! Going to Curves 3x a week works! Funny how my weight has stayed the same...

Wedding Updates...
-We are currently interviewing for the best wedding cake makers out there, yet still pretty cheap (but not Wal-mart cheap...right Dad). We get to try some more delicious cake on Sunday!
-My first Wedding Dress fitting is happening on Saturday! AHHH!! I absolutely LOVE putting that dress on it! It's a magical dress! I can't wait till Captain N sees it!
-Sunshine K is having a bridal shower this Saturday! WOOT WOOT!
-Our invitations have arrived and are being put together in the next couple of weeks!! Thanks to MB for helping me address them next week!!

I hope you have received some great news today too!

State Inspection and Oil Change

2008-05-31T08:50:00.003-04:00

I am completely guilty of being one of those people who waits til the last day of the month in order to get their oil changed. Luckily, I don't have a big wait. They are currently vacuuming my car right in front of me....hope the seats are clean enough! I went to

where they have computers in their waiting area....a BIG plus, yet they probably charge you a bundle and a half!

Things are coming to an end as the school year ends. We have Pre-K graduation in the next month which is gonna be soon. I'm going to miss my kids, just like I miss all my other kids from the past. After that, I'll switch to work with 1-1 1/2 year olds!! YIKES! I'm a little nervous but I know the basics...how to feed them and change a diaper. I'm most excited about doing water play with them!

Hmm...other latest news...I got my haircut finally. I went somewhere "right close" to our place. (not even 5 minutes away...I could walk there :) ) The lady, Melissa, did a wonderful job! Thank goodness! She even straightened it which looks about 20x better then what I could ever do to it. If you want a picture...send me an email and I'll send it to you!

Captain N and I have finally gotten our wedding invitations!!! Mom has helped me finalize the guest list (hopefully it's done!) and I have asked a wonderful woman (my past Teacher Assistant), Tell It Like It Is MB, to do my calligraphy on the invitations. She has wonderful handwriting. I can't wait to hang out with her for a couple hours.

Well, either my car is done or they just pulled it out of one section of the garage....I tell you I wish this whole car stuff was my specialty.

Till next time.

I hope everyone has a blessed day!

:-)

Maria Sue Chapman

2008-05-22T19:54:00.004-04:00

I want to send out my deepest condolences to Steven Curtis Chapman's family. They recently lost their youngest daughter, Maria Sue Chapman. She was only 5 years old. That's the age of most of the children I teach. So scary to lose one at that age.

The Chapman Family (Maria is in Steven's lap)

This YouTube video was taken 2 months ago.

My thoughts and prayers are with the Chapman family.

To learn more about Steven Curtis Chapman and his awesome organization that he set up for children to be adopted, Shaohannah's Hope.

God Bless You All and Please Watch Your Precious Children

99 Days!!!

2008-05-16T18:56:00.003-04:00

It's kinda scary but awesomely cool....99 days til Captain N and I tie the knot! We have so much to do, but we'll get it done soon enough!! Last weekend, we went and met two photographers. Both of them were extremely good and had some great packages. After talking with each of them, we decided to go with the cheaper one. I am very happy with him. To see more photos by him, go to his website NietoPhotography.

I apologize for the delay in posting. I am feeling like some topics are not post-worthy, but I will find more post-worthy things!

One thing that I have enjoyed in the past week is that this place finally feels like home. Last Saturday, I was running errands and ran into 3 people! I can't believe it...it seems like forever since I've done that! Home Sweet Home is the best feeling in the world!

I hope everyone had an awesome week!

:-)

Search Kindly

2008-05-08T23:30:00.005-04:00

Ever heard of it? Me neither....but I found out about it just this past week through one of my groups that I joined on facebook. Compassion International (one of my favorite charities) is being supported by www.searchkindly.org for the month of May. Every time someone searches through Search Kindly, they donate some money to the selected charity of the month. To me it sounds like The Hunger Site, but it's to a great cause! It is also like Google searching which is pretty darn good.

Anyways, that's all I have for tonight, but go support Compassion International!!

PS-I tried to post a picture of a child from Compassion International, but they won't let me copy any of their photos to protect them. Makes me love them even more!

:-)

Smokey K Update!

2008-05-06T18:59:00.003-04:00

I am currently sitting on the edge of my couch...because Smokey is sitting in my seat!!! It's true and wonderful!! (and a little annoying....) Ha...she just moved to the other end of the couch...she must of known I was blogging about her again.

Smokey came out of hiding last night when I got home from work!!! WOOOHOOOO!!! She came out sniffing everything and very aware of all her surrounds. She sat on the floor, she ate some treats, she had some water, she hid behind a wall (but still in the open). Smokey is back! I have missed her!

I waited til today to post because I was afraid it might not be true, but I believe it is. :):):)

Last week sometime, I believe I figured out the true reason why she wasn't coming out of her room. I think she got really scared of something outside. Why? Well...when I brought her out to the kitchen area near the porch window, she jumped out of my hands and ran back into the hiding room. Another time, I put food under the chair and she would eat that food, but not any food in the light. Strange but true facts of my Smokey K! :)

So in the meanwhile, I moved her food, water, and litter box into the hiding room, and waited. Overnight I saw different changes which confirmed to me, she was eating and drinking normally...just in that room. Yesterday she appeared in the wide open house!! WOOHOO!!

On that note, I thought this was going to be a short post, but it turned out longer then I thought..

Last thought of the post...

I know what she was doing in hiding...GROWING HIND NAILS! ouch!! She's already scratched me three times...and gotten caught on my shirt two times, but at least she's out!!!!!

My Smokey K on the Hunt!!

Hope you all had a great day!

:-)

Top Ten at T Beach!

2008-05-05T23:07:00.010-04:00

We finally got to go to the beach!!!....and it was good! Even better then good...it was fabulous! We went with SavvyDollar Guy/KT and Sonic/Tails. What a perfect weekend!

Here is the Top Ten at T Beach! (in no particular order because each numbered item was incredible!)

Our House/Room--Wow! Wow! Wow! As we entered the building, it was in renovation style where dust was flying high. (so much people had already done some interesting pictures in the windows)...but after going up the wonderful glass elevator (with a great painted mural going up before you hit "the view") we entered into our "condo". WOW! It is elegant! Very nicely home decorated! Very comfy! Great view! It had funny things in it, and really nice "I don't want to break" things in it!
The Wii--Super Mario Bros 3/Guitar Hero--playing it at the random times when we had free moments!
Ocean!!!--Gotta love the ocean! We actually were able to spend about an hour or so (I think) in the ocean...body surfing the waves....playing with "Wilson/Spalding"...just talking..the eerie seaweed...and that mysterious thing that kept nipping.
Food!!--If I don't say so myself, but I have the best friends who cook great! French Toast that Sonic and Tails made...and the sandwiches by KT and SavvyDollar Guy...Spaghetti by Sonic and Tails...and then our breakfast....which was not successful. (Don't buy the Betty Crocker Hashbrowns....they take forever to cook...not like what the box says)
Mini-Golfing--Just a great time with the 6 of us! 3 Holes in One....Way to Go Sonic, Captain N, and KT!!
Sonic's Short Birthday Celebration-I loved surprising her!!
Pool and that HOT Jacuzzi
Late Night Porch Talk with Sonic (we missed you KT!)
Room Names and Port Holes--it's one of those you had to be there for the port holes. The rooms had cool names which were Palm Court, Yacht Club, and Main Suite.
WEATHER/VIEW--WOW WOW WOW. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect weekend with the weather and view! We got a view of the ocean! The first night, we walked out to the porch and saw/heard the waves crashing. All Saturday, the weather was perfect to sun, do anything outside and just sit and enjoy the waves.

Out of 80+ pictures...here are a few!

Our "Condo"

Morning Sun

Dusk Ocean

Thank you SavvyDollar Guy for hooking us up!!

:-)

Wedding Rings!

2008-04-30T21:48:00.003-04:00

Captain N and I went wedding ring shopping tonight and we bought them!! We bargained shopped, and found the best prices! We got 2 fantastic rings!! I just wish I could wear them now....but I'll have to wait a couple months! (115 days!)

It's late, and I can't think of anything else to write right now, but I wanted to share our exciting news!

2 sleeps til the beach!

:-)

Our New Mailbox

2008-04-29T00:02:00.004-04:00

Apparently I like writing a lot right now, because this is my third post in the last 48 hours! Anyways, I wanted to share some really good news of the day. It rained all day long and when I came home from work today, I went to go check the mail like I normally do, and .....dun dun duuunn....our mail was dry!!!

This past weekend Captain N and I spent most of Friday night putting in our mailbox. We started the project last weekend, and finished it up this weekend. I give all the credit to Captain N because of the beastly plant beneath the mailbox, and the old mailbox that was stuck in the ground. It was a very strenuous job, that I certainly couldn't of done. I could only help....

Yeah for our new stylin' mailbox!!

:-)

Hash Browns are not my friends

2008-04-27T13:43:00.004-04:00

I must say that right now I am having a love/hate relationship with hash browns. I absolutely love the way they taste, how they look, how they soak up my egg juice when I do an over-easy egg, and the idea of them.

I hate them because I cannot seem to cook them. I have tried to cook them so many times, and each time, I think they are just OK, not like the restaurants or Captain N's mom, but OK. Then I proceed to give them to Captain N to try...and he either, doesn't eat them, or eats them with no compliments. I'm not fishing for compliments on my hash browns, but I do want them to taste good. Today, I attempted and failed at making hash browns yet again. I was trying to get them ready so I could make them for the beach crew next weekend....flop on that idea. When I gave them to Captain N...his exact words were "Why don't I make the hash browns too next weekend". OuCh! Oh well, I will not let my friends eat my hash browns....even though I thought they were OK...but if you don't hear from me in a week, then you and I will know they were not OK...

The funny thing is I don't do the homemade hash browns. I definitely do them from a box or the frozen ready to cook section at the grocery store.

I follow the directions to a T and they still turn out OK...whatever I'm doing wrong, is beyond me. Oh well...my failures will not stop me from making them, only to try try again till I have the award winning batch. (or at least a good batch)

Couple Positives from my experience in making Hash Browns
1. Captain N still loves me despite my lack of culinary skills with hash browns (I do make an awesome BLT...even though the grease from the bacon jumps out and burns my foot)
2. I found out they sell hash browns on Amazon! Here's the link....WHAT??!?!?!?!

5 sleeps til the beach! (I took one of my blogs that I read ideas to count down. she always count down by sleeps and it makes sense!)

:-)

Smokey K

2008-04-27T01:48:00.005-04:00

Smokey K is my adorable loving cat. She is so precious to me.

I'm concerned for her right now though. Her normal behavior is usually, meet us at the door when we get home from work, visit us when we are around for the day, follow us around from room to room, purr (with a really fast motor), etc.

For the past couple days, I've noticed that she is not as sociable as before. Hmm...what is up with this?? She doesn't meet us or follow us around like she use to. She just lays on the bed and sleeps all day long. I do realize that cats sleep alot, but this is more then usual. She also just plain isn't as happy.

To help her, I have given her lots of loving care, holding her more often, and just loving her more, but it still isn't working...so tonight I thought I would research it...

After doing research online, I think I have figured it out....I think Smokey is bored. BORED BORED BORED...why do I say that? Well, when I lived in our old apartment, it was messy....things on the floor, pens to play with on the floor, some of her balls to play with, a hanging thing on the door for her...etc.

While living at Captian's N place, we have slowly but surely cleaned it up to the point of nothing is on the floor....She has nothing to play with. :( This is not ok. My cat is over there sleeping because there isn't anything for her to do. :( What was I thinking??? How unfair am I? I just wanted a clean house...and meanwhile I took away all her toys without meaning to.

Since I researched it, I immediately put up some toys for her...balled up some papers for her to play with. I also tried playing with her, but there wasn't very much interest. Hmm...

My goal this week...get my cat out of her funk. I will be making a trip to Wal-mart or a Pet Store and finding a few toys she can really enjoy. I hope she'll get out of it soon, because it's really worrying me!!!

I hope you are having a good week.

:-) More later today after my sleep of the night!

Breastfeeding at Age 8

2008-04-20T18:09:00.003-04:00

What!!! Just from the title, it sounds weird. Note the British accent, so I am thinking this isn't in the US, but what if it was? I would never breast-feed my child this long. If a child has memories of breastfeeding, is that wrong?

I found this breastfeeding video after viewing this cute video of a baby who knows ALOT of sign language. (I am not going baby crazy...I am not pregnant...but some of my friends have kids who I like to keep up with. See a very cute baby here CJ's World)

Enough about Babies for one posting! Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend!

We spent our weekend pulling out bushes in front of our yard. What a job! Those bushes are a BEAST! Next thing we have to attack is the roots! Then we get to make that area pretty with a new mailbox and flowers surround it. I can't wait!!

:-)

TimeWarner Cable

2008-04-16T22:17:00.003-04:00

I came home today and Captain N told me to turn on the TV to check out TimeWarner's new cable DVR box format! How awesome! At first I was a little skeptical, but after exploration of the features, it's rather cool! I think it's more like TiVo now, but TimeWarner style! Luckily the DVR didn't erase any of my important shows!

The best feature on there that I have found...it shows you how full your DVR is (ours is currently at 65%).

Just thought it was cool.

I'll leave you with this....a cool show on the National Geographic Channel...It's a really interesting documentary...kinda overwhelming!

:-)

PS-I officially hired our wedding planner, Ms. P :-) :-)

:-)

Weekly Update 1

2008-04-14T20:54:00.004-04:00

Finding Titles for my blogs must be one of the hardest things to create. My mind is like a whirlwind of events going on sometimes, and whenever I sit down to write a blog post...I have no idea what to title it!

I took Smokey K (my cat) to the vet on Saturday. Thank goodness for the complimentary pass I got from one of the ladies at Curves. She saved me $47!!! Talk about cats being expensive...that didn't even include the tests they had to run to make sure she was alright (which I am about 98% sure it will be. The 2% is just for the uncertainty just in case I am wrong.) She got her shots, but she goes again for Rabies on Saturday for a cheap clinic.

We babysat Captain N's cousins on Saturday. It was fun and easy. I made cookies with them and N and A both helped. I don't think they had done this very often with their mom, so they got to taste/smell white sugar (eyes really big with a "yum"), brown sugar (head shaking yes and a smile), flour combined with a little salt and baking soda ("yuck" and a coughing sound), and pure vanilla extract ("that smells like medicine"). Gotta love kids reactions! Baby B was an awesome baby. He just observes the world and doesn't speak one ounce of complaint....I do wonder what that kid's personality will be. He didn't even let me know that he was hungry, but as soon as he saw his bottle, he squirmed! I love those kids!

Curves paid off again. (or I hope) I got up really early (not really, but early for me) and headed there for my Monday work-out. I met a lady who has connections with people around the area. She offered to give me phone numbers for cheap people. A flower shop (local!), a cake baker (30 min away), and a photographer (semi-local)!! I won't get them til Wednesday, but I will definitely check it out!

Tonight ended with meeting with my 3rd Wedding Planner. Whew! I think I found her, but more about that later! I have to run it by some people before it's official.

I hope you are doing well! :)

Beach Trip Countdown Begins! 18 days!

:-)

Mail On Strike??

2008-04-08T18:37:00.002-04:00

Has this ever happen to you?

This morning when I went to work, I put 3 envelopes in the mailbox expecting them like usual to be taken when the mailperson drops off our mail. I even put the flag up to signal....TAKE MY MAIL!! Lo and behold...when I came home from work today, I opened my mailbox and the found my junk mail, but in addition to that, I found my 3 envelopes. Hmm...the flag was down and my 3 envelopes were in the mailbox. What happened??? Has this ever happened to you? Did I do something wrong?

On other notes, I went for my second workout at Curves and met a wonderful lady who gave me a complimentary vet visit for my cat! Woohoo! This Curves membership is paying for itself already! They are playing the game survivor there and I got put onto a team. In order to win points, I have to go there 3x a week and do a challenge. (this week's challenge...20 sit ups for 3 points or 50 sit ups for 5...think I'm going to try the 50 one at least!)

Spring is here! Flowers are blooming! Trees are getting leaves! Grass is growing! Lawnmowers are revving their engines! Kids are playing outside, racing each other, riding bikes, just plain talking outside. Spring is here! Allergies are here too! I'm not sure if I am experiencing a head cold or an allergy attack. I am stuff up! Not fun! Hopefully it'll go away soon, but at least every moment I experience it, is a closer moment for it to be done!

Hope you all are allergy-free!

:-)

Tidbits of Life!

2008-04-05T12:05:00.004-04:00

Happy April! April started out with a trick or two by my 5-6 year old students. We played a trick on my co-teacher. It was the simple "stick something on your back" trick. Of course she found it right after the kids attached it, but they got a huge laugh out of it!

It's noon and it's been a productive day! I just signed up for Curves. Wow...I love the working together but not competing attitude there! Of course, it's an all women's gym and you get what you put into it. (They are looking for referrals so let me know if you are interested!) They have competitions there and I live for competitions! So I signed up! I did 2 circuits and the work outs there seem oh so simple, yet I feel the power of working out. :-) We'll see how it goes, but I'm looking forward to it!

Then, I went right next door to Curves and got my eyebrows waxed at a place I just discovered. I always get really nervous when someone I don't know waxes my eyebrows. I mean...they are my eyebrows...and I do have to live with the results they put out...so I was nervous (I could end up eyebrowless!). The nervousness increased when they don't show you what they are doing in the mirror until the very end. As I waited and cringed while my eyebrows were being waxed, they turned out well! Woohoo! I'm going back there again!

I guess that's it for today. I get to see Rake 4 tonight! We will be visiting a Korean Restaurant so it should be interesting as I don't think I have ever experienced Korean food. Mom Rake 4 love ethnic food! Dad Rake 4 could care less...and the two little ones...will eat what is put in front of them! I wish I saw that family more!

Til next time

:-)

A Couple Dad Songs

2008-03-31T22:43:00.003-04:00

I figured it was time for another post especially since I found out in the past couple days that I gained a reader or two!! Welcome!

"Anyone can be a father, but it takes a special man to be a Dad."

People enjoy different kinds of music and I must admit through the fault of my awesome friends in college, I now enjoy country music. I wanted to share with you two of my favorite songs that I have heard on the radio. I don't know if they are old or new, just that they were on the country radio station. The first one is by Rodney Atkins called "Watching You". It just touches your heart how much a child watches you especially if you are a father or mother! I just want my future kid to look up to his Daddy like this kid looks up to his. (this song always brings tears to my eyes)

The other song that I heard for the first time today was called "He Didn't Have To Be" by Brad Paisley. It's a song about a broken family that becomes the traditional family. It talks about a man who makes all the sacrifices for a child who isn't theirs. I give so much credit to any man who is a dad. Any man who will do anything for his kids. Any man who takes up the slack of the men who bail out on their kids. Here's the video...Sims 2 version (the real version wasn't available to be embedded into my blog on YouTube)

Thank God for great men out there!

:-)

A Tire Swing Conversation

2008-03-26T19:31:00.004-04:00

Today I was on the playground pushing some of my kids on the tire swing. They always love to swing, but lately I have found that exact push that pushes you up "so high" and makes your stomach go "whoa". It's so awesome to watch the kids get that feeling in their stomach the way they squeal and get that precious smile on their face.

After I had finished pushing them "high", I began to over hear these comments on the tire swing.

"Hello, God!"
"Hello, Jesus!"
"Hello, God!"
"Hello, Jesus!"
"Hello, God!"
"Hello, Jesus!"

Then O, who was standing to the side of the swing said, "Jesus was a smart teacher"

E's response was, "You know Christmas and Easter are like opposites. At Christmas, he was born, and at Easter he died."

S goes, "Jesus was sad" (that's what i heard at that point in time)

Then O responded with, "uh-huh, Jesus was stabbed" (maybe she said stabbed too)

I think that was followed by either a disagreement, or an agreement, as the tire swing slowed to a stop and they continued to play in other places on the playground.

After hearing that conversation, it always amazes me what these children have to say. Being a teacher, I don't feel like I am allowed to talk about my beliefs, but if a child starts the conversation, I will certainly let it flow! :)

My thoughts on this conversation....They were swinging on the tire swing so high, they could reach Jesus and say "hi" to them. Granted, I believe Jesus is everywhere and I can feel his presence in everything that is around me, but how cool is it to have the first thought come to your mind when you are swinging "so high" is "Hi Jesus"! That's childlike faith at it's grandest!

Then to think of Christmas and Easter as opposites....when studying opposites...what's the opposite of being born?? Dying!! So of course they are opposites. (I didn't correct him and tell him that actually Easter is when Jesus rose from dead.)

When S said that Jesus was sad, it made me think. How does she view our Jesus? Why is he sad? For our world? Our lost people? Then to immediately take the turn in my thoughts from sadness to Jesus being stabbed....wow. Ouch. In ways he was stabbed. Not in the heart like a murderer might do, but in the hands.

Amazing thoughts coming from the minds of children all from a tire swing going "so high"

:-)

Disclaimer: These may of not been the exact words of the kids, but they are pretty darn close!

Reception Site and Hotel

2008-03-25T21:24:00.012-04:00

For those who would like to see where we will celebrate our marriage, here are some pictures. This is also where we are setting up a block of rooms for our guests to stay at. This place is absolutely incredible!

Our Wedding Reception Tent!

The Hallway

The Indoor/Outdoor Pool!! I want to swim in this!!

I won't be frequenting this place during my wedding, but it was nice. :)

The Patio and Lake

The Beautiful Lake and with a paddle boat on the side :)

The King Size Bedroom from the Hotel website

The Double Beds from the Hotel Website

The Other Room (some of these rooms have sofa beds)

Just another view of the hotel room from the Hotel Site

I hope you enjoy the pictures! If you have any questions or want more information, just email me or call me!

:-)

August Rush

2008-03-21T20:51:00.004-04:00

I don't give movie reviews very often, but when a movie strikes me...I will tell you about it. This evening, we saw the movie August Rush and it was awesome. If I had a system, I would give it 2 thumbs up or 5 stars (out of 5). :)

Before I really look up what other have to say about it, let me describe it to you in my own words without giving away the ending.

This is a movie that includes, an orphaned child, a love story, a great musical score, and a incredible build up of a story. The entire time I was watching this movie, I kept thinking to myself, I wonder if it was based off a true story. When you watch this boy play music on his guitar, you become mesmerized in the individualistic way he presents the music. He is a musical genius.

Robin Williams also stars in this movie. I love Robin Williams and the roles he plays in his different movies. I loved him as the genie in Aladdin, the doctor in Patch Adams, the priest in License to Wed, Mrs. Doubtfire in Mrs. Doubtfire, and even Teddy Roosevelt in Night at the Museum. This was the first movie I have seen that I didn't enjoy his character as much as the others. He did a great job at making me not like him. (Wow...after looking his www.imdb.com profile, you have to wonder what his resume looks likes!!)

As the movie progresses along, your feelings for these characters are shared with them as they continue on the journey to the end of the movie. I won't go into anything else for fear of giving away the movie's ending and what not, but just rent it and watch it.

Here is the synopsis from DeathtoGlitter on Internet Movie Data Base

"The story of a charismatic young Irish guitarist and a sheltered young cellist who have a chance encounter one magical night above New York's Washington Square, but are soon torn apart, leaving in their wake an infant, August Rush, orphaned by circumstance. Now performing on the streets of New York and cared for by a mysterious stranger, August uses his remarkable musical talent to seek the parents from whom he was separated at birth."

Here is the movie trailer

My favorite quote from the movie...

"Remember Mozart who is like a musical prod?
Prodigy?
Exactly! Well I have one of those...and he's living under my bed."

I know I will be buying this sounds track!!

:-)

PUD

2008-03-18T18:36:00.005-04:00

PUD....that is the name that Sawyer from LOST would give me. I thought he would be a little more creative, but granted it was an internet site, I'll take it with a grain of salt.

Stylin' K asked me which one I liked better in the show, Jack/Kate or Kate/Sawyer. Right now my honest opinion is that I like Kate and Sawyer. I really like Jack and Juliet even though Ben likes Juliet too. So therefore, I'm alright with Kate and Sawyer prayer!

Some other random things that my kids at work say

-"Miss Light, your hair is fancy today" (it was halfway up and halfway down, nothing special!)

-Talking about one of my co-teachers on the tire swing
"I love her"
"I love her, too"
"I love her, twenty-five."

-I saw one of my kids at church the other day. She told her parents that I was sitting with my biancee.

This post is dedicated to a great friend who is always there for me! Thanks Stylin' K!

Bareback riding WITHOUT reins

2008-03-16T22:32:00.002-04:00

Stacy Westfall is an amazing lady. ELLEN has found an amazing person again! This woman can ride a horse bareback and it listens. I can barely ride a horse, but I would never dream of doing this barebacked! Check out this video!

Just in case you wanted to see her wonderful website...Westfall Horsemanship.

:-)

Sunday Afternoons

2008-03-16T15:11:00.003-04:00

Don't you just love Sunday afternoons?? They are so relaxing....taking a nap, playing games, spending time with others, shopping, etc. I love Sunday afternoons! It's the perfect afternoon after the "big event" (church). How do you like your Sunday afternoons?

This week has been a regular week. No highs or lows. Just plain standard. Who could ask for anything more? The biggest news of the week is that our house is clean!! I mean the type of clean where you move all the chairs out of the kitchen area to mop the floor. We just bought a new "cheap" vacuum cleaner. I am so excited about it!

After cleaning the house, we had KT and SavvyDollar Guy over. We ending going to the wonderful Chinese Buffet nearby and then playing a good ole fashion game of Clue. I went to go look for an online version of Clue, but they don't seem to have one. (all the versions I found you have to download..) Let me know if you come across one!

Well, that's all for now. I'm going to go enjoy the rest of my Sunday afternoon.

:-)

HoNeYmOoN!!

2008-03-09T00:01:00.004-05:00

Well, today ended up being a very productive great day! Captain N and I went to see my friend, Travel Agent Teacher. She was ecstatic when we used her to book our honeymoon. We are going to Jamaica!!! We are going to stay in an all-inclusive resort! It's one of those places you always dream about...so Captain N and I decided to go for the gold. After all, you only get married once! So we put our deposit down today! Woohoo!

Then we headed to the Verizon Store. I am actually very happy to say we had good luck unlike Cristin. She had a horrendous time last time she went, so she decided to switch plans and incur all consequences. Capitan N and I decided to up our ante with them by making my plan into a family share plan. It was really nice because he was able to get a new awesome phone. I was also really fortunate because my phone's volume had started to go haywire on me, so they replaced it free because I have that insurance (the one that cost $6 per month). I tell you it's a good thing I decided to get that insurance way back when! So far, my phone has been broken, and then stopped working. I haven't had to pay a thing for it! Thank you phone insurance!

I'll leave you with a very interesting video I found on YouTube from Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen's early days. I loved Full House and how cute they were. This song in particular was from their Mother's Day TV Special. Enjoy!

:-)

Two Guys Named Chris

2008-03-05T23:22:00.004-05:00

Every morning I go to work listening to the Two Guys Named Chris Show. Since I can't listen to it all morning long, I often visit their website.

Today I was visiting this and I found this YouTube video of Sawyer from LOST. I love how he calls everyone nicknames, though I never realized how many there actually was!

On another TV note, I have been catching up on One Tree Hill and I am on the last episode of the 4th season. WOOT WOOT...only this season to go..hopefuly I'll be able to find them all on the web!

If you are a OTH watcher, have you ever had any sort of compassion for Dan?

:-)

I Has A Hotdog

2008-03-04T21:45:00.004-05:00

I just discovered this awesome dog blog that is like that cat blog, but in my opinion funnier. Here is a a sampling of some of the pictures that I have enjoyed....

see more loldogs are funny dog pictures!

see more loldogs are funny dog pictures!

see more loldogs are funny dog pictures!

Check it out for a laugh!

:-)

A Disgrace to the Teachng Community

2008-02-27T21:51:00.008-05:00

Watch this Video!

First of all, she is a veteran teacher and she should know better. I am appalled at this teacher in Houston, TX. I was searching for movies today and this video caught my eye (then my mouth dropped open). I do not and am very glad to say that I do not know any teachers that are like this to their kids. I know teachers get frustrated with children, and even I have gotten frustrated with different children as a teacher. I also know part of being a teacher is staying calm, treating the child with respect and dignity, and moving on. Venting also helped a lot. (Thanks to all my friends who listen!) Teaching is not calling a child stupid. No child is stupid. Even if they are acting like a dumb blond, no child is stupid.

I posted this video because I am just outraged to know it happened. I am a teacher and this an absolute disgrace to the teaching community. This teacher should be fired and find a new career. (I don't care that she is a veteran teacher.) This was just a one-time recording. Who knows what went on in the classroom on the other days.

After reading the Good Morning America article, I found out that back in December this teacher slapped a student. WHAT!! Her "punishment"....suspension for 1 day without pay. Don't our high school students get more days of out of school suspension than that? There is no doubt in my mind that this teacher should be fired.

What are your thoughts on this?

:-)

(that smiley is to keep a positive attitude, not for this "teacher")

We are Registered!

2008-02-23T21:41:00.003-05:00

Let me begin by saying that I am not a shopper. I don't like doing it for hours on end. I enjoy going into the store and looking around quickly, and either making a purchase or leaving so I can think about what I saw. Right now my favorite person to shop with is Sunshine K. We always end up going to Kohls to shop. That store has the lowest prices and nice clothes! We go in, saunter quickly from one section of the store to another, and then either try on some clothes/make purchases or leave. It's absolutely great. She and I move at the same pace and when I'm done with one section of the store so is she.

Well, today Captain N and I did our wedding registry for our wedding. We spent the first 2 hours at Target experiencing the join of Club Wedd! I think we did pretty well. We didn't fight or argue, though there was a little expected disagreements. We selected one bathroom decor and our future guest room bedding. We also selected some kitchen things. Halfway through this non-shopping/shopping trip at Target, I was beat. Apparently, Captain N is a better shopper then I am. He kept going like the Energizer bunny. He pulled me through the end of our time in Target.

After Target was Bed Bath & Beyond. That was an experience! They thrive on people who want to register for their wedding! We must have seen 3 or 4 other couples in there registering for their wedding. They have a wedding consultant that is always on hand to help you! We sat down and immediately got along with the "wedding consultant" there. She was so kind and attentive! She even asked if we wanted something to drink! After, we met with her, we went on our way to scan, scan, scan. Bed Bath & Beyond has many cooler "let's start our life together" things. We made a lot of choices together which included our future bedroom/bathroom decor and some kitchen items. I love our choices (especially our new bathroom decor!).

Someone once said that doing your gift registry is like going on a shopping spree! I think they are completely right. Who knew it would be so exhausting though!

PS-If you are registering at Bed Bath & Beyond, give them our name and we might get something from them! (I gave them one of my friend's names so I really hope they get something from this.)

:-)

Check out Ruth's Chris Steak House

2008-02-19T19:14:00.004-05:00

Valentine's Day with Captain N was absolutely wonderful. The last one I will ever have as a "single" woman. We went to this spectacular restaurant called Ruth's Chris Steak House. It was phenomenal. What a gift! Captain N and I savored every single bite from the distilled water to the en trees. I have never tasted a better steak. (This is the place to go for steak if you are going for steak!) It's one of the finest ever cooked. I would recommend it to anyone. The atmosphere was incredible too. Candlelit dinner, a waiter that addresses you by name (what!), and waiters wearing tuxedos, chocolate mints after dinner, valet parking, etc.! What more could you ask for!?!? It was a late reservation but every moment was worth it!

Thursday Thirteen

2008-02-14T18:19:00.001-05:00

Thursday Thirteen

Edition 1

Loving Captain N!

1. I love him because he thinks I’m beautiful inside-out.

2. I love him because he cares so much for his family that he would do anything for them.

3. I love him because he enjoys children (even though he may not always admit it).

4. I love him because he is good at everything he does.

5. I love him because he is stubborn when he knows it is the right thing to do.

6. I love him because he has grown into a mature man who knows what to do with his anger. He even walks away if the situation allows him.

7. I love him because he cooks great dinners.

8. I love him because he has great home decorating skills (mine stink).

9. I love him because he has a passion for movies.

10. I love him because he played and aced video games “from the womb”.

11. I love him because he gives me those butterflies even after dating him for over a year and a half (and being engaged to him Since August 27).

12. I love him because he loves to swim with me when no else will.

13. I love him because he is exactly who God made him to be and just right for me.

Now I must say this list was simple and easy for me to make. I could go on and on but one might begin to roll their eyes at me for being too sappy so 13 is the perfect number for right now. (and I may lose some of my readers!)

I love you Captain N!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Two Wonderful Answers to Prayer!

2008-02-12T08:41:00.000-05:00

We received 2 answers to prayer!

Yesterday night, Captain N came home with some "good" news. Once he was home he told me that they had finally switched his hours so he could be home on Sunday!!! He'll still work some of his regular hours, but his Friday hours will be switched to daytime!! So he will now have Saturday and Sunday off!! Church here we come!!

Also, I have recently been asked to be one of the Pre-K teachers at my school which gets me out of the 2 1/2 year old room and my co-teacher whom I didn't get along that well with. Hopefully it'll be a switch for the better. :) If not, it is a trial basis til June and I can see if I like it and if I do, I can stay and if I don't, I can switch classrooms again.

Thank you God!

:-)

Peter Potty

2008-02-10T01:16:00.000-05:00

Who knew this was ever created?? Check out the Peter Potty

One of my kid's parents bought one for him. I have never thought about how a parent would introduce a urinal to a little boy...I guess this would be a good way.

Human Tetris

2008-02-08T19:05:00.000-05:00

Wednesday was Lent. Catholics tend to give up something for Lent each year and they have their other rules they follow like they have to abstain for eating meat on Fridays (also on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday). I thought I would actually do it this year, so I am giving up French fries. One of my favorite bad foods! So far so good! The last time I had a French fry was on Tuesday night with one of my friends from Bible Study. This weekend will be hard.

On another note, I found this interesting video on another blog that I read. I thought it was so cool to see Human Tetris! Check it out!

:-)

The David Tyree Catch!

2008-02-04T23:44:00.001-05:00

I promised you a video of the catch and here it is! It was incredible!

:-)

Giants Stun the Masses :)

2008-02-03T22:51:00.000-05:00

Well, to be honest I'm glad. The Patriots needed to lose....after already having 4 Superbowl wins under their belt, I'm glad the Giants have won.

As I'm watching the "after-math" of this "Giants stunning the Masses", I am surprised the all the Patriots are saying is "I'm disappointed" and then silence. I wonder if it'll come to anything else.

It was a great game! Captain N and I are very happy. We ended up having a quiet Superbowl evening. Normally, we would have held a Superbowl party but we didn't like either team. Captain N really dislikes Eli, and thinks the Patriots are arrogant. I think the Patriots are a little bit arrogant (they could have tied the game tonight by taking the opportunity to make a field goal, but decided not to) and I think they need to let someone else win the Superbowl. I don't care if they are disappointed. So we were rooting for the Giants because they were the lesser of the two evils. (I do like the fact that I have been on the Giant's field when I was in high school :)...or at least the sidelines being in the Pit)

Did you see that great pass caught by Tyree and his helmet? Be looking for a video on that soon. Til then.

:-)

The Hawaiin Chair

2008-02-02T12:11:00.000-05:00

Have you seen this chair?? It's hilarious! Ellen (I'm a big Ellen Fan) brought it to my attention and to watch people sit in it...is just plain funny. Enjoy!

My First Webblog Entry

2008-02-01T23:46:00.000-05:00

Hi Folks

So I'm not sure what will come of this blog, but I know I like to ramble on and this might be an outlet to do so. I look forward to sharing with you my random thoughts and happenings in life. Feel free to email me anytime at light827@gmail.com

:-)