Christmas in a nutshell

It seems although I have not been at work I still have not had time to sit down and blog. This year and especially this holiday season has flown by. I just neaver really got a chance to sit back and take in the festive time of year like I usually do. This did not mean that I did not have a wonderful holiday with family. It was great to spend Christmas Eve with my parents, Christmas Mass was beautiful and all of Anthony's aunts, uncles and most of his cousins made it into town. We had dinner out with 27 people! Far different from the 4 or 5 we usually have dinner with for my family. I was able to see my oldest friend Anthony, and both of my grandmothers as well. That is always special to me, sometimes it is difficult because my grandmother with Alzheimers loses a bit more every time I see her but she still smiles and opens her amazing blue eyes for at least a short time. Besides the great time spent with family I also had a couple of suprises under the tree this year. My husband had the biggest suprise. A car- it was just like a commercial- red bow and all. I was so suprised but he has been planning it for months. It is so pretty and I didn't realize how run down my car had become until I drove the new one. I also got a great camera, all the seasons of Fragle Rock (yes, all 20 disks and 36 hours) and my mom finished a tree skirt she has been working on for 7 years. I can't help but think how blessed I am to have all these people in my life that care about me so much. Well, I'm off to the gym for now- I can't think of any excuses not to go.

Baby Will!

Baby Will is here. We got the great news late Tuesday night that Will was here. We visited him and his proud parents Joel and Monique on Wednesday. Joel went to high school with Anthony and so it is neat to watch the first one from the high school group to transition to parenthood They make an adorable family. I can't wait to visit them again soon.

On the week before Christmas break

My students gave to me...
A whole bunch of homemade cookies
On the week before Christmas break
My students gave to me...
No common sense and a pain in the patutti
On the week before Christmas break
My students gave to me...
Lots more homemade bakegoods
And i think I might go insane!

Not really, I do love them but I did have one student crawl under my easel to learn a mini lesson, two others try to find eachothers' pressure points by shoving their fingers into eachother, 2 girls play a shoving game and finally I leaned over to one and said... If you don't make it home for Christmas break I think your mom would understand (I was totally joking).

Finally

I have been saying for three weeks that I would take a day off. I am so sleepy and at school I am caught up (well for the most part) and I am way behind at home. So, I compromised and I am taking tomorrow afternoon off. I am going to the gym, to get Anthony's gift, take Gracie for a walk, we also need a new blanket for our bed I need to go to the store, fold landuary, make cream candy, paint, and finally clean the house. Yikes, I didn't realize I had so much until I wrote it down! Well- at least I will feel better when it is finished:) Tis the season!

WooHoo

I am so happy for our dear friends Teague and Laura. They announced they are expecting in July. I am so happy for them. I know this is something they have wanted for a long time now. They will make wonderful parents and their kid will be one of the most amazing musicians, bakers or golfers around- taking after their talented mom and dad. In the pic Laura is on the left and Megan is on the right (she just became mommy to Grace in November).

This and That

I spent 1 hour and 30 minutes in the car on the way home form work tonight because of a wreck on the other side of the highway- why do people insist on staring?

Anthony and I started our new devotional and I couldn't be more excited about it.

I have 4 tutoring jobs now- YAY for extra money. The kids are awesome. The 2nd grade more who I am tutoring in math tells he "I like this" or "this is fun" everytime I pull a new activity out. The 6th grade boy who hates reading after 1 time I am told I lit a fire and he likes reading now (that makes me feel so good). Sometimes it is hard to see these things with my kids in the classroom and it is very rewarding to see and know there is growth.

Only 11 more days of school till Christmas break.

I am taking tomorrow afternoon off. I need it badly!!

I Quit- I got a new job.

Just kidding but I did want to post some pictures of what I have been doing in my free time. I made apple butter, my Grandma's strawberry jam, and cranberry bread. I still have more apple butter and jam to go as well as Grandma's cream candy and truffles ( the pic was just from the 1st day of baking). I also am painting- for fun mostly but also for a few gifts.

I am THANKFUL!

Sometimes I get caught up in what I don't have. I am so blessed for what I have in my life. I have a wonderful husband, a great family, beautiful house, a rewarding job I could go on and on. There are times however, like today that I forget about those things. Instead of saying I wish that could be more or I want that I need to remember I am blessed for what I have and. God has done so much in my life and I am thankful and blessed for everything I have.

* The pic is of me and Anthony at the UK/UT game- he wants to take me to all the SEC stadiums (see I am blessed to have such a sweet husband)!

Blahs

I have the blahs. You know when one thing after another begins to go wrong. It is usually small things but occasionally they mount up and I get the blahs. Here is my Blah list: My flash drive is not working- if someone can actually fix it (and it isn't a guarantee) it will be at least $150- that is better than my 1st quote of $259- yikes: I have a blister in the back of my mouth and my throat is sore but I am too busy to take off: I had progress reports and conferences for the past 2 weeks- culminating with an hour conference that is only supposed to take 20 minutes. Ok I'm finished now. I feel better! A little venting helps. On a good note, Anthony is back and I have someone to talk to when I get home and 2 parents told me I made their kids feel smart. Woo Hoo:)

Single for a week....

Anthony is leaving tonight for a week of training. I am not sure what to do with myself. I won't have as much to do but I also think it is a full time job to enteratin myself. I am thinking of doing some painting, some Holiday baking and cleaning the house in places I wouldn't normally think to clean (yes there are places I don't always clean). Wish me luck. I have never lived a wek by myself ever. I could go stir crazy:)

VOTE!

Last time I voted I was 18. I quit because I never was all that interested and I was summoned for Jury Duty (YUCK). I finally decided to put my name back in the voting poll this year. I am actually excited. There are so many issues I feel affect me and all of us. Even thinking about a family in the future I believe it is important for me to do what I can now. I have such a respect for those people who have a passion for our government and would like to work to be more that way. I don't think I have seen this much spirit and pride my whole life. It is a shame that as Americans we take so much for granted (believe me I am at fault too) and it has taken so much to get us motivated. It is an important time to take stock in what is going on around us- so regardless if you vote McCain, Obama or Jimmy Buffett just VOTE! I figure that if our soldiers are in a war (rather you agree with it or not) we can at least vote for the fact that they protect our freedom. If you are interested there are some great documentaries on Insight's SunDance Channel that will get you fired up and will make you want your voice to be heard.

Jamaica Day Dreamin'

It is about this time of year that in the words of Jimmy Buffett "I want to go where the pace of life's slow". I love the fall but when it gets this chilly I dream of the beach, I also wish life would just slow down to a better pace. Which is why I want to leave you with this video of Jamaica, a place with warm sun and a slow pace of life. Augh- just close your eyes and picture your feet in the sand. The breeze, the drinks- the amazingness of it all- ignore the sideways nature of the video.

Bit of This, Bit of That

Okay so fall break is officially over in less than 24 hours. I will hear the sound of my alarm waking me up at 5:30 before I know it. Here is a list of my accomplishments this week.

• I went baking crazy- with pumpkin. I made 4.5 dozen pumpkin drop cookies (s0 good- pumpkin, oatmeal and chocolate chips YUM), and 2 loaves of pumpkin bread. Hope my friends are hungry cause I can't eat it all by myself.





• I painted. I used to paint all the time but I have been able to pick it back up again. They aren't going to make me any money but it is a relaxing hobby. I am looking around for a class to take.





• We had a cookout on Saturday. I have been dying to use our fire pit and I finally got to. The girls sat out and we made Smores. It was a great night with everyone.





• I finished 2 books! That is more I read in the year and a half I was in grad school. In case you are interested they were both by a new author I am trying out- Mary Kay Andrews. They are a must read.

I could Totally do 13+

Yeah for me! Today I hiked 6 trails up at Bernheim Forest with my friend Heather. We were originally going to do 1 13 mile trail but instead I wussed out and we did 5 miles total on 6 different trails. I only wussed out because everyone told me I couldn't do 13. Ugh- I did 5 like a -pro and that even means keeping up with Heather's LONG legs. I am so ready to tackle 13:). It was such a beautidul day! Of course afterwards we decided to be more healthy and ate at Cheddar Box and had a big hunk of chocolate cake! The pic is of me and Heather about a month back when we went hiking with our other friend Amanda and of course the pooch- Grace.

Pray for me

I am actually considering getting up the nerve to head to one of the scariest places I know. What is the mother ship to some is a complete nightmare for me. I have to go to Babies R' Us to knock out the enormous amount of baby shower invites that are mounted/taking over the side of my fridge. Now I hope I am not the only one that feels this way but that place is completely overwhelming. Hopefully one day I won't feel this way but for now I have to phys myself help for this event which will at least take a couple of hours of aimless walking around with a confused look plastered to my face. Wish me luck!

This deserves 2 in 1 day

OK, considering I fell off the earth for like a month I am surprised I am actually posting 2 times in less than an hour but... Anthony got a new job. He will still be working with Semonin but he will also be working at Farm Bureau selling insurance. I am so proud of him!

Key West Bound

I went to the Saint James Art Fair this weekend. It is SO pretty there. We met a photographer there who lives outside of Key West and had some great pics of the Key West area. I bought one of Jimmy Buffett's old house and another of an outdoor shower building with a sign that reads "shower with a friend" (I thought this was such a eco-friendly idea). As we were looking the man shared a photo with my dad and said "I took that one on my birthday and I had a beer in the other hand" My dad then smartly asked the guy, was that your first beer?" He replied "No, it was my third." It hit me I was in the wrong prfession. I get up at 6 (on a good day), don't have time to have a drink during the week and always come home with work. Key West here I come, all I need is my camera:)

Babies, Babies, Babies

Last night we had a cookout with our wonderful friends. There were 6 couples (and of course little one year old Hanna) and it was a lot of fun. Through the course of the night though I had an epiphany. Wow! I am old. It used to be that wedding invites covered the side of our fridge, now it is covered with birth announcements, baby shower invites and birthday party invites for 1 year olds. When did we get to this point? I mean at the cookout alone 3 out of the 6 girls were pregnant. I'm not really sure the point of this email- just thought I'd share I am getting old and have lots of adorable pregnant friends:)

Blue Underwear

So, teaching 3rd and 4th grade there are some interesting things I hear on a daily basis. I keep the really unique ones in a notebook and one day I am thinking of compiling them into some sort of book. Some of the things in the notebook are things like "My testicles were in my tummy and I had to have an operation for the doctors to get them down" (1st grader). Anyway, I made a deal with one of my kiddos who is a die hard UofL fan. The deal was, if UK won he would wear a UK button and vise versa. SO on Tuesday when the kid came to my desk I asked him if he was going to follow through with the deal. He bluntly told me no but that he wore blue underwear. Ugh! The things I don't want to know

Cooking, Football and R&R

It is so nice to have the time to not know what to do with your time. After a year and a half of masters work I have to say sitting here trying to decide should I go to the pool, the gym or try out that painting I have wanted to is a nice change of pace. What a treat. This weekend was one of those weekends I would have paid for with hours spent on the couch completing work afterwards. Not this time. I was able to spend time with friends at a Pampered Chef Party (Liz is pregnant and I got to feel the baby move- so amazing!). This was followed by the UK/ UL game where of course the CATS pulled off a victory and even though it was sweltering I loved it. What could be better. Now I think after doing my first blogging I am headed to the pool to get rid of my raccoon eyes I got yesterday and then to the gym. Maybe I'll even get in my painting. The pic if from last year's season.