july

Wow, July really flew by! Lots of fun things happened around here. I'll start with my trip to Navarre Beach in Florida. It was a blast! Unfortunately my tan is already fading. :(

On our first day we found this blue raft that someone had left on the beach. So Mike and I headed out to float and there are Wendi and Jaleen on the right floating too. Looks fun, right?

Well it was until the bottom of the raft tore and we fell out. It was hilarious. No wonder someone left it on the beach!

The next day Jaleen and I ventured out in one of those orange kayaks. It reminded me of canoeing at Cho-Yeh. :) The jellyfish and algae showed up our third day there. Needless to say, I didn't get in the ocean after that! Here's a blob of jellyfish that some kids had collected from the water and dumped onto the beach. We watched several people come in from the water after getting stung. Luckily no one in our group did. But we decided we liked the sand and pool just fine.

We drove to Pensacola 2 different nights. Isn't the sky beautiful?!

Here are the tan girls after a couple of days in the sun. We're waiting for our table at Flounders.

Here's a cool sandcastle. I told them I was going to blog and say we made it. But we didn't really. :)

Our condo was on the 10th floor in the 2nd building from the left. What a pretty view! I could sit and listen to the waves forever!

Here are Wendi and I in our opposite outfits ready for a night out close to Destin.

On our way home Mike wanted to take a little detour and have beignets for breakfast at Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans. Notice the powdered sugar on my pants. :) I swear there must be a pound of sugar on your plate! We decided we wanted to get home in the afternoon instead of late at night so we left Florida around 2:00 a.m. and got to New Orleans around 5:30. There are some interesting folks out at that time of the morning. I think most of them were still up from the day before. Here are Melissa and I after breakfast, so anxious to get back in the car for the rest of the drive.


It was a great trip and was so relaxing! The day after I got back, my mom and 2 nieces came for a visit. I'll blog about that next. :)

off to the beach

I made a spur of the moment trip to Ruston this past weekend. Since I've moved to Texas, I haven't been back for the July 4th program at Temple. I drove in right in time to go. It was very good. I always get emotional when men are in uniforms. ;) jk! I even bumped into Jeff Lewis and Sue Ellen. It's always fun to see people I haven't seen in a while. I can't get over all the changes around town and campus. I think in a previous post I mentioned how Ruston was getting another I-20 exit but I was wrong. It's not an exit, just a bridge by Wal-Mart. I got to enjoy some of my Ruston favorites while I was there--a peach icee, a Johnny's pizza, and some Hot Rod's BBQ (although it's still Cowboys to me). And of course time with my family is always great. My nieces are growing up so fast!

Some friends and I are heading to Navarre Beach in Florida on Saturday to spend a week. I haven't been to the beach in a long time! It reminds me of some Gulf Shore trips back in college. Those were good times! Ashley, I wish you were here to help me pack and make sure I don't forget anything. You were a pro at getting ready for the beach and getting us there! :)

who's got a boat???

This past weekend some friends and I went to a restaurant on Lake Grapevine called Little Pete's. Ohhhh, it made me want to go out on a boat so badly! Anybody have one and need an extra passenger every weekend? :)

the birthday boy Tim and his wife Krista

Mike and Wendi

the girls

Woo hoo, only 2 more days of teaching summer school. Next Tuesday is the TAKS Math test. I hope my kiddos do ok! I know they're going to miss me terribly after that. I'll think of them when I'm sleeping past 6:30! And I'm sure they'll do the same. :)

lazy summer days

Ahhh, I love Fridays! I've been teaching summer school Monday through Thursdays and it's really not too bad. I have a couple of kids that have a bad attitude about being there (who can blame them!), but other than that, it's been ok. One day last week we were working on decimals so I had found 2 really good websites that had a ton of fun decimal games. Right after I started them on the computers, a district coordinator walked in. I could tell she wasn't happy to see them on the computers. But I figured we have 3 1/2 hours to work on one concept then by golly I can use some of that time on the computer. It wasn't like they were goofing off or I was sitting at my desk. But no, that afternoon she told my summer school supervisor that computers weren't allowed. Hello?!?! All year my district brags and brags about how computer savvy we are and ahead of other districts, blah blah blah, but apparently when it comes to getting ready for the TAKS test, computers don't help. I was just a little frustrated, can you tell? Anyway...sorry to go off about that. :)

But what I really enjoy is having Fridays off! :) Unfortunately it's been cloudy or rainy the last couple of days so I haven't been able to go to the pool. But the "cooler" weather is nice. It's been nice having some down time lately. But unfortunately I start shopping when I have free time and that's not good. Last weekend I bought some closet organizer stuff. Now if only I would use them! :) This week I went to the Sam Moon area and bought a purse and jewelry I didn't really need. Who knows what I'll buy today. I've also been enjoying going to hear some live music lately. My friend Sarah went with me to hear Deryl Dodd. He's a great entertainer and such a cutie.

He didn't know I was going to be there so he was excited to see me in the crowd. We're tight like that. jk!

Last weekend I went to see one my favorites, Walt Wilkins.

His wife Tina was with him too.

Some of the gang at my friend Mike's b-day dinner at Red Hot & Blue--

he's the tall one in the middle

thank you, kristi

Saturday night Kristi and I ventured out to Dallas to listen to some live music with our sunburned selves. (We had enjoyed a little too much pool time that afternoon.) I know we'll regret it when we're old and have wrinkly leather skin, but until then...oh well. So we went to a late dinner and then to listen to one of the Texas country singers I like, Josh Grider. Kristi probably won't admit how much she loved the music (yeah right!) but she was a nice friend to go with me. I guess now I owe you one, Kristi.

Here are some of the lyrics to one of his songs "Crazy Like You" that I like...

Well people sing songs all the time

Bout fallin in love and losing their minds

But it ain't love that drives folks mad

It's livin this life day in, day out

Tryin to figure out what it's all about

The who's, the when's, the where's, the why's, and the maybe's

I looked high, I looked low, looked far, looked wide

Before I looked in a mirror and I realized

I spend my time lookin for the wrong thing

A perfect insane would be so mundane

A man like me, I'm subject to change

And I'm lookin for someone whose tracks'll fit my train

I found me a girl and she's five foot four

And I never found a girl that I dote more

We are in tune and out of touch with all the same things

And she's as wild and mean as a deep blue sea

And pure and sweet as honey from a bee

And I love her to death, cuz that girl's crazy just like me

The chorus:

I say everybody's crazy so what you need to do

You need to find somebody crazy like you

Someone you can fuss and fight with

And when you make up then you can kiss all night with

Someone who shares your particular point of view

Oh they're bound to be crazy, just make sure they're crazy like you

So I guess I've been going at it all wrong. What I should've been doing was looking for someone crazy like me. :) Now I get it!

here's Josh singing at a music festival I went to in April

Memorial Day weekend

I had a good time at home last weekend. Friday night my brother and 2 nieces came over and we grilled. I didn’t get to make those stuffed peppers for Bunco a couple of weeks ago so we tried them out Friday night instead. They were yummy!

It’s funny how some peppers were hotter than others. The hot ones would always catch you off guard, for some reason. My dad made the Pioneer Woman’s chocolate sheet cake.

It was very similar to my mom’s recipe. We have some picky eaters that don’t like walnuts, so some of the icing has nuts and some doesn’t. When I was growing up I had to learn to like them or I wouldn’t get dessert. But now for the grandchildren, we do whatever they want!

Jaisle and Ree playing with makeup

I told them when I was their age and my brother would see me playing in makeup, he would say, “I didn’t know we were playing clowns!” It used to make me so mad. I thought I was doing such a good job and then he would make fun of me.

J doing what she does best!

Chad and his girls

Saturday night I met Tina and Cynthia, a couple of friends from high school, at Ponchatoula's for supper. We ran into Andrew and Ashley James there. I hadn't seen them in years! It's funny how when I'm in Ruston, I feel like I'm supposed to know almost everyone I see, but it's getting less and less like that. But sometimes I like knowing that I can run to Wal-Mart here and most likely not bump into anyone I know. Depends on how bad I look and if I'm in a hurry. For those of you that haven't been back to Ruston in a while, you would be amazed at all the changes, especially on Tech's campus. Be careful on the new one way street in front of Wal-Mart. :) And there's a new exit off I-20. They are moving on up...now there are FOUR exits.

On another note, please pray for my Bunco friend Melinda. She was put into ICU last weekend with viral spinal meningitis. She is out of ICU and hopes to go home today. Doctor's orders are to rest and she is going to have a hard time doing that. Thanks for your prayers for her!

one last pic of Aunt Mandy and her girls

graduation and puppies

It's 95 degrees outside right now at 6:00 in the evening!!! I hope that doesn't mean we're going to have a miserably hot summer! Ugh!

Last week I went to see my friend Karen get her masters degree at DBU. We taught across the hall from each other in 2nd grade for 6 years. Her family was not fond of the "behave yourselves" rules about no cheering for the graduates until the end. It was quite funny. All you could do was quietly stand and show your support as they walked across the stage. Her dad was frustrated at this rule. I sat next to her son who is in the 4th grade. He had quite a short attention span so we entertained each other. After it was all over, I thought I was going to have to call for help to find my car. A good sense of direction is something I was definitely not born with! But luckily I remembered my way back. :)

Congrats, Karen!!! You're going to make a great principal!

This past weekend I went with a friend to pick up his new puppy. Isn't she adorable?!?! It makes me want one sooooo badly. But I don't think I'm quite ready for the responsibility and expense of having a dog. I'd have to leave it in its crate a lot and I would feel bad about that. And I'd also hate having to take it out if I got home late at night. Plus it wouldn't have a yard to play in. See? I'm just not ready. But the summertime sure would be a good time to get a puppy because I'd have time to train it. No, I better not! :)

She likes to sleep as much as I do!

I think I'm going to go home for Memorial Day weekend. We're off on Friday because it's a bad weather day we never had to use. So I think I'll take advantage of my 4 day weekend to go see my nieces. I bought Reanne some books at the Book Fair last week. I guess now I need to find something for Jaisle.

Mother's Day and The Pioneer Woman

My mom came to visit me for Mother's Day last weekend. A little backwards, I know. But she hadn't been to Dallas in a while so we decided it would be a good weekend for her to come here. She's a good sport like that. :) If you've never been to the Dallas Farmers Market, I would highly recommend it! We went there on Saturday morning and bought some vegetables. The flowers were gorgeous too but with living in an apartment, I have no place for them. My one pot of petunias is all I have room for.


We also went to see Made of Honor. It was such a cute movie! Michelle Monaghan's red highlights made me want some. We did some shopping after church on Sunday. I can always trust my mom's judgment when I try on clothes! Then I took her down to the Ft. Worth Stockyards for dinner. We had fun. Thanks for coming to visit, Mom!


The Pioneer Woman

A few months ago I came across http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/. It is my new favorite website. It's this lady that lives on a ranch in Oklahoma and she blogs alomost everyday. My favorite part is her recipes she puts on there. She puts a picture of EVERY step to the recipe as she's making it. It's quite helpful for people like me!

Every now and then she has giveaways of really cool stuff. Today it's a kitchen aid mixer. http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/ All you have to do is leave a comment answering the question she asks. Then she uses a generator that picks a comment randomly and that's the winner. She loves photography, obviously from her great photos, so she's given away a camera and a printer before too. So I was looking at her blog this morning and she already has over 5,000 comments after posting just this morning!

She writes all about her life on a ranch, how she met her husband after moving back from California, cooking, etc. She hass a great sense of humor! She's even thinking about hosting a ranch version of the Bachelor to help find a girlfriend for her husband's cousin. (http://thepioneerwoman.com/2008/05/heels_to_wheels_part_deux.html)


I'm going to make her stuffed jalapeno recipe (http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/07/bacon-wrapped_j/) for Bunco Friday night. I've made them on a campfire and a grill before but never in the oven. Yummy! Just reading her cooking site makes me hungry! Next I want to try her chocolate sheet cake but I'm afraid I'll eat too much of it.



Anyway...just thought I'd share this website with you in case you needed some good recipes with easy to follow directions and pictures. :) Enjoy!

my sweet teeth

Yesterday after work I headed to Kroger's to buy stuff to make dinner last night. The frozen dinner I had eaten for lunch was long gone and I was hungry. I know better than to go grocery shopping when I'm hungry, but I didn't really have a choice. So what did I buy while shopping...Hostess Donettes!!! Thanks to Angie's recent post, I've been craving them for several days now. Thanks, Angie! :)

Almost everything else in my cart was pretty healthy except for these yummy donuts. As soon as I got home I ate a few while I cooked dinner. Then once we sat down to eat, I wasn't as hungry. Oops! :) On my way to work this morning, I remembered the donuts and was sad that I had forgotten to get some for breakfast. I guess I know what my snack will be this afternoon. :)

When I googled for a picture of hostess donettes, this cake came up. Now that's my kind of dessert right there! :)

Spring has sprung

I sure did enjoy my Spring Break! Sad thing is that it just makes me more ready for summer break. Pitiful, I know! :) Zane was in town for several days. We went to dinner and a concert in the Fort Worth Stockyards one night. Sunday afternoon we (ok, mostly he) planted a pot of red and white petunias at my front door. If only I could keep my upstairs neighbors from dropping their cigarette butts down onto my new Spring mat and into my flower pot! Does anyone have some extra money they'd like to invest? I have a suggestion. :) Buy a house in Euless and let me rent it from you. Pleeeease! :) I'm sooooo tired of my noisy neighbors and they don't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. :(

Last night my friend Karen and her family were going to the High School Musical on Ice show. Honestly, I've never even seen that movie all the way through. I've only seen some of Part 2 with my nieces. Karen's mom was sick and couldn't go, so she asked me to use their extra ticket. I was really wishing my nieces could be there. They would have loved it! I kind of compare it to us watching Grease and Grease 2 when we were young. But High School Musical is squeaky clean, but just as cheesy. :)

My 2 week observation window opens tomorrow where my principal will come to watch me teach. I don't know why but I always get nervous for that! She's going to watch me do Read Right and a special ed inclusion group. I can't wait to get it over with. Instead of working on my plans right now, I'm blogging instead. :) I guess I better get busy. Have a great week!

Brandon Rhyder

I'm all into Texas music lately, thanks to Zane, so tonight I went to Ft. Worth to hear Brandon Rhyder. I've learned a lot of his songs over the last few months and thought, what the heck, it's Spring Break, so I can stay out late on a Sunday night for once. :) Since Zane's in Austin right now, I asked my friend Sarah to go with me. She had never heard any of Brandon's songs but she became a fan quickly. It was just him playing his guitar without a band so you can really focus more on the words and get a sense of his personality. I made a little video clip of one of my favorite songs "Freeze Frame Time." How cool to write a song and have 150 people sit there and sing it with you. That's got to be a neat feeling. If only I could sing and write songs! :) I like the sign behind him. It says Sit Down, Shut Up, and Listen.

Don't forget to wear green for St. Patrick's Day tomorrow!

Wanted...

Tonight was Open House at my school. It was nice not having to get a classroom ready for parents. :) The program I teach is called Read Right. Every time they read outloud to me, they have to decide if it was "excellent" or not. And on Fridays we read a story then discuss and prove our answers and it's called "critical thinking." So I made this bulletin board about rounding up excellent readers and critical thinkers. I googled "wanted posters" and found a website that you could make them on. The posters say "Wanted for excellent reading" and the reward price. Pretty cute, huh? :) I found the plastic hats at Gardenridge last night. And you can't really tell, but the bandana is a real one stapled up there. My friend Sarah found the bandana border for me. Anyway...that's what I did this afternoon. Only 1 more day of school till Spring Break. WOO HOO!!!!!!!!

lots and lots of birthdays

Even though I haven't seen her yet, Kristi celebrated a birthday this past week. We were going to go to dinner Thursday night, but with the snow we decided to wait till this week.

My little buddy DeWayne turned 3 last week. He had a party at Pump It Up. A couple of weeks ago we worked on holding up 3 fingers. It took him a while, but finally he can do it.

And my friend Audra has a birthday tomorrow. We went to PF Chang's. They gave her a little tiramisu. It was so cute. She brought us Sprinkles cupcakes. It was my first time to try them...yum!

Friday night Sarah and I went to see Wade Bowen in Fort Worth. We had a lot of fun!

Only 1 more week till Spring Break...woo hoo!!! :)

This past weekend several of us got to “shower” Meg with baby gifts. There was lots of going on! :) Look at these adorable shoes Ashley P. gave her…

I didn’t end up with many pictures but Jessica and Jill had their cameras too. I’m sure their blogs will have some pics ssoon too. :)

My friend Gina turned 40 this weekend. We had a birthday dinner for her at Palomino’s in the Cresent Hotel in Dallas. I had never been but it was very nice. Her cake looked like it was straight from Ace of Cakes on the Food Network. There were even cookies shaped like the #40 at each place setting. Happy Birthday, Gina!!!

lights, CAMERA, action!!!

For about 5 months my camera has been broken. If you know me very well, you know that I've been lost without it. But finally...I have a new one!!! I found one on sale the other day that had all the features I was looking for. I've played with it a little but haven't had time to do much more yet. The other night I went to dinner with Karen, a 2nd grade team member of mine from my 1st school, and her son. Isn't he adorable?!?! He says some of the funniest things! He was quite entertaining at dinner. He's got me, along with everybody else in his life, wrapped around his little finger. But who could resist a smile like that? I sure can't!

addicted...

So, I'll admit...I'm addicted to my DVR. It can happen so fast! There really aren't that many shows I keep up with anymore but the few that I like, I record. Well, last weekend I was trying to catch up on some shows I'd recorded back before Christmas when things were so busy. I had saved several weeks worth of shows and wanted to watch some. I could see the list of shows but when I would push play, a black screen would pop up and nothing would happen. At first I thought I had messed something up so I pushed every button possible trying to get it to work. My DVR kept recording stuff but wouldn't let me watch it. Finally on Tuesday night I had had enough so I called Time Warner. She said they would have to send a technician out. Luckily they're open on Saturdays so he could come between 2:00-5:00. He just came and guess what...he TOOK my DVR, said it was frozen, that happens sometimes, and gave me a new one. Do you know what that means?!?!? He took all of my recorded shows with him!!! And now it just dawned on me that I have to start from scratch with all my settings. I think I'm gonna cry...

The other day Kristi suggested that I call Time Warner and see if they would credit my account. So I just called and she said she could credit me for the day I called (Wed.) until today. The DVR only costs $5 a month so the grand total is 66 cents! To me, it's more like the mastercard commercial:

my old DVR with all the shows on it....priceless!!!

Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

but the fire is so delightful!
I can count on 1 hand my Christmas decorations this year. That's not usually like me! I've had to make myself not walk down the Christmas aisles at stores because I have an addiction with buying more stuff every year. I got out all the boxes from my storage room after Thanksgiving, but then decided that I didn't want to have to put it all away in a few weeks. Pretty pitiful, huh? But this little Santa made the cut. And I hung a lighted wreath on my door...that way all the neighbors can just assume that the inside of my apartment is decorated as well. I'm using a poinsettia that was given to me as my "tree."

A couple of weeks ago Zane and I went to the Gaylord Texan Hotel in Grapevine to the ICE sculpture exhibit. It's 2 million pounds of ice hand-carved into 3 slides, the nativity, toys, gingerbread people, etc. They keep it at a chilly 9 degrees so they give you a lovely parka to wear. Cute, huh?


I used to teach a penguin story to my 2nd graders so now I love penguins!


the nativity...
and the disposable camera wasn't so great, but this is me coming down the slide...

Merry Christmas!!!