What a difference a year makes

A week ago last year I was wrapping up my 2nd year of teaching and preparing for an adventure in Russia.  On this day last year I was touring Moscow with 35 people I didn't know attempting a language that I am sure I failed miserably at.  When I got back from my trip I was off to the lake for my typical birthday festivities with my wonderful second family.  Last summer I was in talks with my best friend and we decide that this was no longer the place for us anymore.  This was a great starter job and starter town but we needed something else, something new, something different, something exciting.

Yep that's us!

Well...my best friend is moving away to her something else, something new, something different, something exciting in a new city and I am staying here because I found my something right here in this town.  I am super excited for her and her new home preparations.  Can you believe that I am at an age where I could be buying a house?. I didn't buy a house but she did and she has spent lots of time painting and coordinating and   looking for furniture - all very exciting.  But quickly after that excitement is felt, sadness creeps in.  I miss her already and she is technically not yet fully moved.  She is off on her new adventure 3 hours away :(


And me?  My new adventure started shortly after the school year began.  You remember 'that man' - as my bff so affectionately refers to him - from an earlier post.  Not really much to update you on there besides that we went skiing - something I hadn't done since I was in middle school one time with my youth group - so that was entertaining :) And he has, to my dismayed, reignited my affinity for NASCAR to the point where I watch it now, even if he isn't around.  I watch qualifying and practices and Nationwide races and read articles online about different drivers...it's really bad.  This year I have gone to three races - one of those weekends I even slept in a tent.  I relayed that story to a girl at work and she was adamant that I must love him if I would sleep in a tent for two nights and go to NASCAR races.  My only response to that was "yep!"

While I still have my same job and still live in my same apartment, my life is very different than last year.  No wild summers with far away trips or NKOTBSB concert with the bff.  Just taking it easy, staying in town, and hanging out with my man.  I do still need to get on that to-do list I already have planned out...maybe tomorrow :)

Liar, Liar Pants On Fire

Ok blog readers...I again apologize for the lack of communication on my part.  And I totally lied when I said I had nothing to tell you about.  I knew I was lying to you but I did it anyway.  And then my mom called me out on the lie so this is me repenting and desperately asking for your forgiveness.  I actually have some VERY exciting stuff going on in my life but I just didn't really know how to tell you about it.

We don't have a whole lot of pictures yet so this will suffice for now.

Distraction from blog #1: This has been my biggest distraction for the past four months...I have a man in my life!  His name is Jeremy and he is really really great!  We met through a lady that I work with whose kids go to the Rec center that he supervises.  Long story short our mutual acquaintance didn't really know either of us that well but it turns out that we have ALL KINDS of stuff in common.  It is a little strange/weird/both of those words tend to have bad connotations so we will go with "uncanny" how much we have in common.  A great thing about him is that he and my best friend have become pretty good friends and can hang out with each other watching football on Sunday and neither one gets upset when I take an hour nap on the couch.  They just talk it up...I am actually glad that they have each other to talk to about football because when it is just me and one of them watching football, they do a lot of talking and I do a lot of head nodding and half smiling!  My family also loves him and finds all kinds of reasons/excuses to see him or have me bring him home.  I met a lot of his family over Thanksgiving and they are so welcoming and sweet.  This whole experience has been a bit overwhelming for me and at points seems completely unreal how comfortable and normal (yet at the same time SO different and exciting and fun and AWESOME) this way of life has become for me.

Distraction from blog #2: School DUN DUN DUN  This year has been SUPER crazy for me.  I think I have gone on a rant about all of the crazy jobs and stuff that I am responsible for this year.  I believe you can get caught up on all of that here.  I even went on and on about how that had caused a delay in September so yeah...definite distraction.  But now that I have Distraction #1, Distraction #2 gets to take a back seat!!!  Muahahahaha take that school!

Distraction from blog #3: Allllllllllllllright so really I don't have other distractions that are keeping me from my blog. #1 is really the only legit thing WONDERFULLY taking up lots of my time.  But, there are lots of other things going on in my life that I will briefly mention here and hopefully getting around to posting more about them in the very near future.

- I got to see Lion King and Beauty & the Beast in 3D.  They are two of my favorite Disney movies and I got to see both with my incredible guy.  Lion King was on the 1st date...definitely a good sign!!!
- I am actively involved in two Journey Groups (sort of like small groups) at my church. One is people - guys and girls - my age and we meet on Sunday morning before worship and the other is women of all ages - 17+ - and we complete different Bible studies from Beth Moore.  Both are great groups and have helped me grow a lot in the last year/year and a half.
- Everyone in my family and most of my friends have smart phones and I do not.  Sad day for this girl and her tiny tiny budget.
- Today was the end of the 2nd Quarter and 1st Semester of school.  Half way to SUMMER!!!!!
- Girls' soccer starts in February - only a few weeks away.

I can't think of anything else but I know Laura will be very satisfied that I gave a list with a semi-nice number. Ok, so I thought I gave a list of five things and then I recounted and saw that it was six so maybe she won't like it too much.  Uh oh!  Anyway...for those of you less concerned about the number of things in a list I hope you enjoyed the very brief recap of my life.  And that you forgive me for lying to you in my last post.

Until I get the notion to write again...

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Ok so on second thought there are only 5 things in the list but a formatting issue and a hyphen in one of the thoughts made me think it was six ideas.  Great!  

Recap of Russia

We had our Russia reunion yesterday and it was so fun seeing my fellow travelers again.  I apologize to Bess for stealing her post but I thought it was so awesome that I could share it with all of you as well.

Check out this photo/video montage of my trip to Russia.  Our group leader created this and it was so great to reminisce.  You should be able to notice a few shots of me with my traveling companions enjoying the Russian experience.  Enjoy!

'Cause I Want It That Way!

Oh my goodness!!!!!  How could I have forgotten to tell you about my adventure to see NKOTBSB?  Let me just tell you, it was amazing.  I am sure I lost several cool points with some of you but I actually have way more cool points than any of you can count!  I turn into a 12 year old without even trying!  The lights went out and the smoke came on and I screamed and squealed like they were going to hear me above everyone else!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

New Kids on the Block

Backstreet Boys
They were like right there!
At one point Brian totally waved just to me!  Eye contact was made.

There was this little girl there that had a shirt on that said "I learned to walk by listening to Step by Step".  She had blond hair in pigtails and it was super cute.  But then there were these cougar ladies in front of us that were super dressed up like they were going to a cocktail party.  And then they left every 15 or so minutes so they could get more alcoholic drinks while I was screaming and belting out the songs and taking a hundred pictures.

All-in-all it was fantastic and if you don't get a chance to see them then I feel really sorry for you!

Movies I can't not watch!

So I was reading Pioneer Woman's website the other day and got the idea for this post by reading her Five Movies I'll Drop Everything to Watch.  By the end of this I am not sure how many movies I will have thought of so we'll go with it.  (Sorry Laura, it may not be a nice number but it is what it is.)  These are movies that I own or have seen a zillion times that I know it in my head!  I can't not watch/DVR to watch later these movies.  They are some of my all time favs!  I am pretty sure that if you know me you will be COMPLETELY SURPRISED by all of my movie choices!  Insert as much sarcasm into that statement as you can handle and let's go!

#1 - Titanic - Don't hate!!  I can't help but watch this movie any time it is on TV (regardless of what part it is) and sometimes I even plan to watch it on the VHS tapes that I own.  Sadly I have never upgraded to DVD but it is so awesome that I don't really care - but the DVDs might be a good gift I mean if you are ever short on ideas.  I am not really sure what I love most about it; history, love story, that I used to have a huge crush on Leo, great story, lost love, pretty clothes, Irish music and jigs, poor boy meets rich girl, old lady telling a story about a naked picture of herself, and the list goes on and on - just as my heart will go on!

#2 - Hook - I love the story of Peter Pan; the play version with Mary Martin (1960), Disney's animated version (1953), or this real-life "Peter Pan has grown up" version (1991).  There are so many great lines in the movie...the lost boys chanting "Ru-fi-o.  Ru-fi-o.  Ru-fi-ooooooooooo", the name calling session between Rufio and Peter - R: "You are fart factory, Slug-slimed, sack-of-rat-guts-in-cat-vomit, cheesy, scab-picked, pimple-squeezing finger bandage. A week old maggot burger with everything on it and flies on the side!"  P: "Rufio, if I'm a maggot burger why don't you eat me! You two-toned zebra-headed, slime-coated, pimple-farmin' paramecium brain, munchin' on your own mucus, suffering from Peter Pan envy!", or Smee and his craziness.  Classic!  So great!  Plus Maggie Smith is in it and I. LOVE. HER.  PS - it was on this weekend, I have it on the DVR and I am 1/3 of the way through it (and have it paused) and knew I had to write this blog.

#3 - A Walk to Remember - Oh my goodness!  Who does not love this movie?  If you don't, we can't be friends, PERIOD and EXCLAMATION POINT.!  The soundtrack is fantastic, the story line is great, ahhhh Shane West!  I remember watching this movie for the first time in the theater and basically crying through the whole thing.  I also can recall reading the book in high school, late at night (on a school night), in my room bawling my eyes out.  It was a sad cry but a good cry.  Such a sweet story.  OH!  By the way, I was in a shop in tiny little Suzdal, Russia this summer, minding my own business, shopping for souvenirs when I hear about 5 seconds of "Cry" that Mandy Moore sings for the movie and turn around and see the movie on the TV, dubbed in Russian!  Unfortunately I couldn't watch much because my traveling buddies were ready to head out but I still thought it was pretty cool.  WARNING: Do not watch this movie with me if it bothers you when people quote movies word-for-word.

#4 - Three Ninjas -  Oh the '90's.  Weren't they fantastic?  I could place this movie in the same category as Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead, Richie Rich, all of the Mighty Ducks movies, Adventures in Babysitting, Camp Nowhere, and Heavyweights.  There are probably way more that I left off of this list but they are so great in their awesomeness that I can't list them all here or I will lose focus.  OK back on track.  So, who doesn't love a grandpa that teaches his grandsons to be ninjas and gives them ninja names and then those grandsons have to use their ninja skills to save said grandpa?  Oh plus - favorite line - "Rocky loves Emily!  Rocky loves Emily!"  haha LOVE. IT.

#5 - Borrowed Hearts - One of my favorite made-for-tv Christmas movies!  I have lots of favorite Christmas movies but this one just has a sweet story and little Zoe and her hopes for a house just like her doll house.  It just leaves you warm and happy inside.  It comes on for "Christmas in July" specials, "Falalala Lifetime" or "Countdown to Christmas" and I can't miss it.  One Christmas morning I woke up to find this movie under the tree just for me (thanks Mom) so now I can watch it whenever I want!

  

#6 - He's Just Not That Into You - What did I do before this movie came out?  It has been my go-to movie as a single 20-something.  Justin Long is so cute.  Jennifer Aniston and Ben Afleck - LOVE IT!  "I want you to stop being nice to me."  "This feels like a trick."  "Do not be nice to me unless you are going to marry me."  Except for the Jennifer Connelly/Bradley Cooper/Scarlett Johansson story line, I pretty much love everything about this movie.  Practical advice, awkwardly funny moments that make me cover my face every time I watch it, many happy endings - really, what's not to like?

#7 - Remember the Titans - Also another great movie with a great soundtrack!  This is probably my favorite sports movie EVER.  Great inspiration and characters and actors and DENZEL!  Dancing and chanting football players struggling to bust through the trials and tribulations of racial desegregation in America.  This is history people!

#8 - Beauty and the Beast - Of course there would be at least one Disney movie on this list and why not this one?  I mean I am totally Belle - nose stuck in a book, wanting to travel to far off places (even if they are only in books), singing and dancing around all the time, hottest guy in town after me constantly wanting to marry me - totally me.  Well at least part of that is true.  Again, FANTASTIC soundtrack.  And also, don't watch this with me unless you are comfortable with my singing and line-by-line replay!


Ok well 8 isn't a horrible number and I could probably think of 2 more movies to make it a nice 10 but hey it's still summertime and I am on vacation.  I'll follow those crazy rules in about 3 weeks thank you very much!  Enjoy!  I would love to hear your top movie choices - I am always up for a new movie.


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BTW - IMDB and Google are AWESOME!

I craft - no biggie

So I was spending the morning searching Amazon for new free books to put on my Kindle (because I only get free ebooks) and I was showing off my new Kindle cover/carrier that I got from Thirty-One (click the link to take you to Jordan's website to check out all the cool things you can buy).  The holder is actually a Fold-N-Go Organizer with notepad but a Kindle (or Nook) fits in nicely.  So anyway...downloading books, showing off my new cover and I stand up to put it away and my Kindle falls out the top! Hitting my computer and the falling to the floor...crash, bam, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I freaked out - but only slightly (which surprised me that I wasn't more freaked out).

So Laura and I decided something has to be done!  Her suggestion - get some ribbon or something like that and attach snaps to hold it in place but so that you can still take it out.  Guess what...I just so happen to have a snap attaching kit and ribbon.  Really random I am aware but also VERY awesome at that point in time.

I read the directions carefully before attempting anything - because I am a planner and because I won't do it if I can convince myself that it won't work.

OH!  Did I tell you that I had to listen to Jason Aldean while I crafted?

The first step is to poke holes in the fabric.  This makes me extremely nervous because I don't want random holes in it if it doesn't work.  I do a test hole in a portion that can't be seen and it works!  So here we go.  I measure for the hole very precisely - stretching a piece of ribbon across the distance, folding it in half and then seeing where the middle is, and then eye ball it with the hole puncher - like I said very precise.  I worked really hard to punch the hole, got most of it punched and finished it off with scissors.  Whew that was stressful but accomplished nonetheless.  Now I had to make a hole in the ribbon to attach the snap - I just used scissors for that knowing the hole punch would jack. it. up.

Now comes the attaching the snap part.  I looked at the diagram to figure out which piece is (A), (B), (C), and (D).  And then I went to town.  Hammering was involved!  And voila! one snap is completed!  Now I folded the ribbon over, again precisely measuring where the holes will go and repeated the above steps!  Now it is complete.  I also added little pieces of rubber (extra stuff used to secure a rug to a hardwood floor - also something I just happened to have laying around) to the underside of the snaps that touch the Kindle so that the metal of the snaps won't rub and mess it up.

Let me just tell you this thing looks AMAZING!!!  Way better than I thought it would.  I do have some critiques of it - the holes are just off center (maybe my precise measuring should have actually been precise), I could have done this and that a little differently, etc etc.  But really I am super excited about it and won't complain - too much.  For half an hour's work I got a revamped Thirty-One Fold-N-Go Organizer turned one-of-a-kind Kindle cover!  Some things money can't buy!

Summer trip

Ok ok I know my posts are getting further and further apart but really the 3 people that read this on a regular basis already know whatever it is that I am posting.  But, for those of you that don't know, I am going to Russia in 36 days!

Russia?  Yep!  Why?  Because how many people do I know that can say they have been to Russia?  Like 1 - and it was the Soviet Union when she was there.  Also, I am teaching 6th grade social studies this year which includes Russia in the curriculum.  But really I just love the idea of going somewhere far away - for a visit - and learning about the history and see how other people live.

In order to get ready for this trip I have been teaching my students some Russian to help me learn some Russian. I can now hold a conversation that goes something like this:
"Hello.  Good morning (or afternoon).  My name is Brandi.  What is your name?  Pleased to meet you.  Goodbye."  I can also say "please" and "thank you".

Yep.  That's about all I've got at the moment.  Not going to get me very far but like I told my students, if you can be polite, it can get you some help.  Plus I don't really think that I will be able to hide my American-ness while I am there anyway so whatever I learn will be a miracle.

I have stocked up on travel size necessities, space-safer bag things so I can pack for stuff, luggage locks that are TSA approved so they don't have to cut them off should they need to make sure I don't have a bomb, and a wall outlet adapter.  I am still waiting on my visa to come back from DC.  I had to send my passport to the Russian Embassy in DC to get the visa.  This is super scary because should something happen to that passport during transport or whatever, there is no way I will get another in time for the trip.  YIKES!!!  And the embassy has been closed for at least 6 weekdays in the last 2 weeks due to different holidays for Russia.

I also was flipping through the channels tonight and found out that I have a Russian Television channel that comes straight from Moscow but is in English.  I have been watching for about an hour and they are replaying the same exact footage that I saw when I first tuned in.  I think if I watch it a few times a week, I will know more info about the ins and outs of Russia.  Like did you know that every year they open up all of the museums all night, for one night for free to anyone that wants to come?  Or that Volgograd is powered by a hydroelectric dam on the Volga River that although provides enough power to run the town plus send extra over to Moscow is also cutting down on the sturgeon population responsible for the famous Russia caviar?  Or that there are only 1000 days until Sochi hosts the 2014 Winter Olympics?  Well, now you do!

I hope to learn more about the wonderful place I will travel to in a few short weeks.  Maybe you can learn something too!  I will keep you updated on the process of packing, etc and of course supply you with lots of stories and pictures when I get back.  Stay tuned.

Why is it almost Monday already?

I am not a fan of daylight saving time! The 'falling back' one hour part is kinda nice but not really worth its 'spring forward' counterpart. Yeah I know it is only one hour but I really think that my body was going to allow me to sleep another hour this morning, which is not normal recently (ie Saturday morning I woke up at 7:30 with no chance of falling back asleep).

I also don't really know where my weekend went...actually I do, I showed some signs of actually having a life and BAM...weekend over.

Really my weekend was jam packed with stuff.
- Awesome country concert on Friday night courtesy of Steel Magnolia, Easton Corbin, and Blake Shelton!
- Nail-biting ACC Tournament Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Disappointing ending for my Heels :(
- Getting my read on - I have been slack lately on reading so I read one all the way through and started another. The first was a sweet fiction book about a middle child that feels Stuck in the Middle with two sisters that have amazing lives and opportunities while she continues to be a 'plain-Joan' that brought real tears to my eyes and down my cheeks and demonstrated how chocolate ice cream has the power to drastically alter a person's life. I also started an interesting non-ficiton memoir-type that was recommended to me by one of my BFFs Maggie Same Kind of Different As Me that has already made me laugh and want to cry.

This has been a GREAT weekend and I guess I just don't want it to be over yet.

So I figure there has been a lot to keep me busy and not notice the time flying by. Knowing this still does not make me excited to go back to work tomorrow. I pray for a better attitude when I wake up.

Funny school story

Did you know that Joseph Stalin is from the COUNTRY of Mississippi?

I will leave you to ponder on that until I have the energy to elaborate!

-> Originally posted Feb 28...as of March 13, I still don't have the energy to really tell the whole story. Suffice to say, when asked what country Joseph Stalin was from, one of my wonderful - but clearly misinformed - students stated that he was from Mississippi. Oh the wonders of 6th grade.

Super Saturday...Extravaganza

OK...so since I have lived in the area for a year and a half, I decided it might be time to spend a Saturday exploring it. And with whom is it best to do said exploring? Only a girl's bff, that's who! (or is it whom?)

First stop, The Green Bean. And just so you know, you can click name to get there or (I love the webpage address) go to greenbeanspaceship.com. Yeah a coffee shop and space ship all in one! Anyway, one of the girls I work with and her husband run/own two of these coffee shops in Fayetteville and I thought it would be fun to it check out. Obviously I don't drink coffee but their hot chocolate was AWE-SOME and the coffee-table-esq books and magazines on the table provided lots of enjoyment. It was interesting to listen to/eavesdrop on other people's random conversations. Then there was a point when Laura mentioned she likes analyzing other people's personalities so I got my own analysis...possibly to be explained to you at a later day; we shall see.

While at the coffee shop I mention that it might be fun to go by the Ft. Bragg Flea Market and Laura got this "heck no!" face goin' on. She doesn't like the idea of going to somewhere called a FLEA market and I told her it might be good to not touch/buy any fabricy items where fleas can congregate. Furthermore I thought it might be a good idea to think of it like a thrift store and went further to propose that we maybe suggest they re-name it to be Ft. Bragg Thrift Market instead to stave off any future grossed out feelings. AND since by going to the newly named, by us, thrift market we would be close, it might be a good idea to just swing by the used books store. Laura wasn't thrilled with these ideas because of the thought of spending money but alas, she conceded. We put a spending limit of $10 on ourselves so that we didn't over-do it.

We decide to go to the book store first (it was on the right side of the road) and let me just tell you that bookstores in general are some of my favorite places but slightly used books for cheap - you can't go wrong! Walking in Laura decided she wasn't going to spend any money - this one was gonna be tough for her so I remained skeptical. I on the other hand went straight for the FREE book shelf and picked out four books, 3 for me and 1 for research for my 6th graders - it is about Latin America. We then went to the 'Love Inspired' section and proceeded to read and laugh at the back descriptions of at least 20 books. I used restraint and didn't get anything from this section! I know it is shocking! I did end up getting a movie about Anne Frank - also to use at school - and 2 more leisure reading books for me. All-in-all I think I did really well...$6 - 6 books and a movie! Check me out! Laura, although tempted by many a cookbook, was able to stick to her plan of not buying anything. Yay her!

Now on to the flea market. One word...INTERESTING. We walked around for awhile looking but not buying. Some things - plates, glassware - looked like things we might buy but neither of us were really in a buying mood so we moved on. And then we went inside... Cue creepy music and smells (I couldn't think of an appropriate adjective for the "smells" so use your imagination). We meandered though the many stalls lined with chicken wire and definitely were not in a buying mood at this point so we moved quickly, surely missing out on many great items and deals but its whatever (as the kids are saying these days). AND moving on.

Now it is 3 o'clock, we have yet to eat anything today and what comes to mind? Olive Garden! Since Laura has gift cards from students and I got one from Santa Claus, why not? Now this is not your typical outing to Olive Garden. Because of a recent water main break in Fayetteville, there is concern with bacteria and other gross things in the water causing many places to operate out of their norm. Insert disposable everything.
Plasticware, styrofoam plates, to-go cups, paper napkins, plastic to-go containers for salad and soup...EVERYTHING! But it was great! Our wonderful waitress Tanithea was so not happy with how things had to be done bc of water issue and it made us laugh the whole time...the poor thing. I can understand how it would mess up your flow. They even served Coke products from 2 liter bottles! Hopefully for Tanithea's sake, all the water tests come back ok for tomorrow and she can get her groove back. But really it might be one of my best trips to OG. Of course the food and raspberry lemonade was delicious, as always!

I then spent an hour at the car wash to remove salt/sand from recent snow. Not fun but I rocked out to good tunes while I waited!

Laura and I also noticed that we like to add Extravaganza on to everything now and why not today as well! GREAT GREAT day!

Snow!

Ok I'm not gonna lie. I LOVE SNOW! I love that it gives me an excuse to be lazy and stay inside in front of the tv all day. (Do I really need an excuse though?) I think that it is beautiful - before people mess it up with their cars and walking through it. I love to watch people out having snowball fights and building snowmen.

I also enjoy the occasional Snow Day off from school. But for some reason right now I am not thrilled to be out of school. My students have a project that they are working on and some can't really get it done at home without resources we have at school. Also as I am a control freak I don't like to have to rearrange my lesson plans and schedules to accommodate interruptions. I mean, I have my plans set through March and into April already - that's how controlling I am.

But alas, I have today and most likely tomorrow off due to this winter storm. Can I be productive during this time? If so, what do I do?

Christmas Surprises

Ok so I love trying to figure out what gifts are before I open them - or someone else opens them (depending on who said gift belongs to). I mean some are really easy, especially when no trickery is involved. When you wrap a book or DVD on it's own the most guessing that comes into play is down to specifics. But when I got home and saw this gigantic thing (the blue one) - with no name tag on it - naturally my mind got to working and I secretly hoped it was mine.


It didn't take much cajoling - "Hey Mom...who's is that?" - to figure out who it would soon belong to - "Oh, that big one? Yours." - Yippee! Now the guessing begins. Not out loud, just to myself so my pride won't be hurt when I don't get it right. Some kind of put-it-together-yourself furniture? I do need a new/bigger dresser or bookcase (I think I always need a new one of those. Some sort of DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) esq. game for the Wii? Some kind of wall art to make my room decor a bit more mature? The last option ended up being the closet to the truth. And look how excited I am when I finally opened it up and found out!


FINALLY!!! My diploma frame that I was supposed to get last year - when my mom "forgot". Because it really is every year that one of your children graduate from the best university in the world. NOT! Anyway, I was really excited I mean look at that face. Now I just have to put it on the wall, which may be a while because Christina has had her frame since right after graduation and she still hasn't put her diploma in it, let alone hung it on the wall. Besides, I don't want to put any more holes in the wall.

Christmas Movie Weekend Extravaganza!!!

OH yeah...it happened!!

Laura and I planned this long weekend where we would eat junk food and watch cheeeeeezzzzyy Christmas movies. You can find out more of the planning here but let me just tell you it was a success!

I'm am pretty sure we didn't get through even half of the movies that we wanted but there was A LOT of junk food consumed and 3 full days of movies. We had a blast and I'm thinking that we should make this an annual weekend so anyone that wants to join us next year, claim your seat today!

Food that was eaten:
cookies from students
sausage,cheese, and crackers from one of those Christmas package thingys
hot apple cider
sparkling cider
cinnamon rolls
chips and french onion dip
lentil stew - that was all Laura; I chose not to be adventurous
leftovers

Be jealous!

What were some lessons learned from this weekend?
- Fun romantic things happen around Christmas time.
- Crazy supernatural things happen that bring joy to the world around Christmas.
- All I need to classify a movie as a Christmas movie is for it to be set on or around Christmas whether the time of the year has anything to do with the story or not (ie Sleepless in Seattle).
- I love Christmas!!! (I didn't just learn this now but reaffirmed it.)

I will admit that we did have to take a short but much needed break from the cheezyness. I hope Laura kept track of the movies we watched so we don't repeat.

What an awesome way to start off my two weeks of vacation!

Christmas Quilt

That is the title of this new Christmasy background. I wanted something Christmas-like that didn't also JUMP out and scare you! One day I really want a fun quilt like this that looks hand sewn and traditional. I guess that style is sometimes classified as "country" or "old-fashioned" but I think that is kind of how you would describe my overall style as well.

I am in the process of prepping my apartment for Christmas but with 13 school days left until break and 25 days until Christmas, I find myself wanting to prepare my heart & mind for Christmas. As I get older, and now have my own job, I really don't make a Christmas list of things that I want - fun things like movies and toys. Now, I ask for help paying a bill or clothes that I can wear for work - you know, boring things.

Thanksgiving is generally like a trial run for how Christmas is going to go in my family. With 2 separate parts of my family to juggle, I find that the planning for the holidays is stressful. I don't want to let anyone down and I don't want to leave anyone out and I don't ever end up with a completely "fair" division of my time. Like the quilt in the background, I want to stitch together my holidays and my families to make a beautiful experience but unfortunately it doesn't always go as planned.

Back to Thanksgiving though... It went really well. I generally struggle to have a civilized conversation for any length of time with my older brother but this trip was so much easier! My mom even made a comment "You two were out there in the living room for hours, having conversations, watching TV, and I didn't hear any yelling or fighting." I KNOW!!! It is like a miracle. I am hoping that this is going to last. As far as juggling my time, I think I did a good job although I did have to weasel out of a few 'commitments' but I just need to stop overbooking myself.

Well, I am sorry for the long post and I am not sure I made a point - except that my dysfunctional family is finding a way (slowly but surely) to coexist and enjoy it. I love quilts - real quilts and would one day love bunches of them for each season to put on my bed! Christmas cards will be sent out by the weekend. That is all...

Things that I am thankful for...

This is in no way meant to be an extensive list but I think its a good start!

1) Books - lots and lots of them. Basically how I spend a lot of my free, quiet time. I like all kinds of books but mainly ficiton - rom/coms. One day I hope to have a "study" or full-on library. Future-husband...be prepared!

2) Fairy tales - book and movie versions. These give me hope that "one day my prince will come" (Snow White) and that friendships can sometimes grow into something more "there's something there that wasn't there before" (Beauty & the Beast) and that some times you just need to relax "Hakunna Matata" - "it means no worries" (Lion King). I think there is a little truth to all of them and I like to think that my life will include some bit of a fairy tale and one of its happily ever afters!

3) Traveling - whether it is a road trip or a trip across an ocean I LOVE IT! As I was growing up my family took cross-country vacations to visit relatives and see the wonderful things America has to offer. I got a bit older and had a great opportunity to fly over the pond to tour the British Isles for a few weeks. I just submitted an application to hopefully travel to Russia - not only as an opportunity to gain more knowledge for the classroom but to also put a few more stamps on my passport and take awesome pictures and do something that no one in my family has done before and expand my travels of the world and because it would be REALLY fun!

4) My Job - although I complain about it a lot I am happy to have a job. I am thankful for the paycheck - however small it is. I am thankful for the 5 AWESOME minutes out of a dreaded 7 hr Monday. I am thankful for many of my coworkers that keep me sane and for those that irritate the mess out of me so I have snother thing to complain about. I am thankful for all of my students even though I don't act like it all the time.

5) My friends - those near and far. I have two close friends here in town that are basically all I have most of the time. They are here when I need them and away when I need alone time. We go to movies, or stay home and watch movies, go to hockey or baseball games, go on spontaneous (and sometimes planned) trips, etc etc. My far away friends - I am still thankful for you even though I don't see your wonderful faces very often, I stay up with your lives via Facebook or Twitter or your blog (when you decide to update it), little things that happen throughout the day remind me of you and brighten my day.

6) My family - even though we don't talk often or at all really. I have lots of family - by blood and by marriage - and although sometimes it is tough to get along or even acknowledge that we are any kind of relation, I am SUPER thankful to have you around - every once in a while :)

7) My God - because He has provided me with all of the above and sooooooo much more! I don't even really know how to elaborate on this one - it just is what it is - and that is something to be truly grateful for!

I think this list is in the opposite direction of importance but I think that is just a build up to make it great! There are lots more things that I am thankful and grateful for but I don't really know that you care.

I hope to always remember the things that I have and always be grateful for them - even when I don't feel like it. Maybe you will be inspired to make a list of your own!

Ooooooooo

Check out my updated blog on my vacation below. I taught myself how to include pictures in a post. My hunting pic...AWESOME!

Oh Addison

Well...this isn't a new story but something made me think about it today and make me smile so I thought I'd share.

My niece is 2 and does all kinds of little kid "tricks." One trick is making animal sounds. My dad will say "what sound does a ... make?" And she answers with the sound. Here is what a "conversation" like this sounds like.

D: Addison, what sound does a dog make?
A: rooof rooof
D: What sound does a horse make?
A: naaaaaay naaaaaay
D: What sound does a duck make?
A: Aflac Aflac

NO JOKE!!! That is what she thinks a duck sounds like!!!

HAHAHAHA! I saw an Aflac sign and it made me think of that. Enjoy!