Last Monday + Belle

Monday Fun Day!

Today was Fun Day at school. It. Was. Chaos. I wore my hot pink Fun Day shirt, braided my hair, and slathered on sunscreen. It was fun for about 10 minutes. Then it was windy. And hot. And boring. I mean, I think the kids were having fun, but the adults were not. *sigh* I actually spent 3 of the 4 Fun Day hours outside helping/chaperoning, but bailed on the last (hottest) hour to do paperwork inside with air conditioning. In all fairness, I do still have two meetings tomorrow that needed to be prepped. And I did spend an hour more outside than I signed up for!

Tomorrow is Talent Show day which is my FAVORITE day! The one bummer: I have a meeting right in the middle of the afternoon show. Boo! I have been assured it will be quick, so I'll keep my fingers crossed that that is the case. Wednesday morning I'll pack up my room, meet a friend for lunch, then shoot over to my second school to clean/pack there (and see my favorite student one last time -- yes, I have favorites, don't tell!). Thursday will be more packing and cleaning. Friday there is a faculty meeting and then I should be free! Summer, baby!

Alright, what else has been going on? We got our modem/router moved last week so our new expensive desktop computer now works like a charm! Yessss. I am now on Week 3 of my 8-week workout commitment. So far so good. I haven't seen any crazy improvement or anything, but I do notice I feel better. I don't wake up feeling bloated, my clothes are slightly more comfortable, and I'm not analyzing (as much) what I'm eating. The biggest surprise is how quickly I have adjusted to the early mornings. I wake up at 5:45 or 6:30 depending on the day. It sucks when the alarm goes off, but I'm wide awake and feeling good by the time my workout is over. One thing that helps: having my workout picked out and ready to go the night before. The less thinking I have to do at that early hour the better! And, since I'm crazy, I've even been working out on the weekends when I don't "have" to. One day I try to do a stretching/yoga routine and the other I run. I'm still slow which is discouraging, but my feet are moving!

After two years of trouble, the boat may be ready to get back out on the water. Brian has been working his butt off since we bought it and definitely since he got back last September. I swear we've replaced every part in the darn engine (no, I will not add up how much it has cost). I think he wants to take it out to the lake sometime this week and really test it out. Eek!

Finally, when I was a junior in high school, my boyfriend at the time had some puppies at his house. I convinced my parents that we needed not one, but TWO puppies. One was black and white named Chip and the other was almost white (later turned yellow) named Belle. They turned into large sweeties who lived in our backyard. They were always kinda crazy and not conducive to living inside. Belle loved to swim, Chip did not. Chip wanted attention, Belle wanted more. Belle told Chip to jump and Chip asked "how high?" They were perpetually dirty and love love loved treats. A couple years ago we said goodbye to Chip. She got sick and eventually that look came into her eyes and we knew it was time. We were afraid for Belle being without her sister, but she bounced back and has been fixture in my parents backyard ever since. She watches you pull in the driveway and always lays with her paws crossed (very lady-like). She's been getting skinnier as the months passed and would only eat on good days. We all knew what was coming. My mom warned me a couple days ago that Belle had that sad look in her eyes and it probably wouldn't be long. We let her go today. My Dad took her and I know it was devastating for him. He always does the tough stuff. He was there for me when I had to make the same decision for Tiny. I feel bad that he had to do it alone today. Pets are wonderful and I've loved every one of mine, but letting them go is never easy.

Chip and Belle

Mother's Day 2014

I am not spending this Mother's Day with my mom, but I wish I was. Instead I have spent hours stuffing 47 goody bags for my students. I broke a sweat more than once getting it all finished. Now I have to figure out the best way to get them all to school and up the stairs to my classroom. And they aren't light -- I really stuffed those suckers!!

For future reference: I used white paper lunch sacks and had my students decorate them. Most of them created acrostic poems using their first names on the front and then drew/colored the rest however they liked. Each student is getting Cheetos, pretzels, a kool-aid drink pouch, a granola bar, 2-3 pieces of candy, 1-2 pencils with an eraser, 1-2 bouncy balls, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, stickers, a glow bracelet, tattoos, a toothbrush, and travel size toothpaste. They all got additional random prizes that I've accumulated over the last two years and wanted to get rid of. Every bag also has that student's sticker book (my reward system for the year) and a summer speech/language program to use for practice over the break. One student even has some flashcards stuck in there. I sealed them shut with printed labels telling them to have a fantastic summer and that I've enjoyed spending time with them this year. I love them, love how they turned out, and hope my students and their parents love them as well. And to think, it all started with one student declaring that he did not have a toothbrush at home.

And now for some Mother's Day business:

This is the only place you will find this. I won't post it on FB or Instagram or anywhere else. But here, on my very own personal blog, I will post it. Everyone thinks their mom is the best and I'm not going to try to prove that mine is better than anyone else's, but Mom, you are the perfect mother to me. Your voice echoes in my head often with bits of advice or wisdom that carry me through my days. The list of inside jokes and movie quotes that have embedded themselves in our vernacular is unending and updated often. It is the language of our family and something I cherish. Interacting with others was never my forte (and still isn't, truly), but you taught me how and when I need some extra courage to say/do what I need to, I channel my inner you. You are the first person I want to share everything with (which drive Brian crazy) and you always always say exactly what I want/need to hear. You cheer every success and build me back up after every failure. You have welcomed me on many summer vacations -- including one in a couple months -- and have opened your house to me whenever necessary (aka whenever Brian deploys). We share a love for Parenthood and Friday Night Lights, our favorite Friday nights are spent at Shotwell Stadium watching Cooper play football, and we generally hate most people. We love love love cats (see above picture for proof) and can usually find a soft spot for dogs, too. I burn while you tan and I have Dad's blue eyes instead of yours, but I think I have your hair and I know I have your love for books (have you seen my bookcase lately -- geez!). Just, ya know, thanks for everything...for being you...for being MY mom. I'm glad I'm yours cause I wouldn't be me if it had been anyone else (obviously). See you soon! :)

Happy Anniversary

Don't ask me where the time went, because I have no idea.

It seems that I blinked and five years have gone by.

Five years ago today, Brian and I got married.

With a deployment on the horizon, we did it in true Army fashion: at the courthouse on a Friday afternoon.

We had been together for 15 months and engaged for less than 30 days.

It was a supremely stupid idea.

There have been days - many of them - that I have wondered if we made a mistake.

We have spent nearly half of those five years apart.

We survived two deployments.

We moved more times than I care to think about.

We have fought and cried.

We have laughed until we cried.

We were lucky enough to "parent" the sweetest Great Dane.

We had to say goodbye to him much too soon.

We've struggled through couples counseling.

We've dealt with painful family drama.

We've had many weekend adventures.

We bought a boat and almost instantly regretted it.

At some point we even managed to have a proper church wedding.

I'm not sure when it happened,

but at some point in our five years of marriage

that stupid decision to get married

has become the best decision I ever made.

9.21.07

8.1.09

6.8.12

Happy Anniversary, babe.

It's been a crazy ride, but I don't regret a minute of it.

I love you.

Loving Right Now

.1.

The weather this weekend.

Goooooodbye 100-degree weather!

.2.

Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

So so so so good. Loved it.

.3.

This new Downton Abbey promo.

I can't wait until January!!

.4.

Football season.

.5.

Some Nights by fun.

I turned this up and jammed out in my car today.

In other news, work is kicking my butt. Working all day, cooking dinner, and keeping up with the house generally takes up every waking hour. The good news is that my weeks go by relatively fast. We went home for 4 days last weekend which was much needed and super fun. I kicked off high school football season with my parents (with a win!). It's still too dang hot, but I know it'll be freezing in a couple months. This weekend we're staying in town. I need to run some errands and clean the house. Brian wants to take the boat out. Hopefully she (the boat) is cooperative. I guess that's about it. Pretty boring, but I wanted to check in.

My Summer Olympic Boyfriends

Ryan Lochte - Swimming

I mean, duh, right? Isn't he everyone's Olympic boyfriend?

Jake Dalton - Gymnastics

Now, Jake might not be as well known, but man he has pretty green eyes.

I'm sure I'll have more to add to this list before this whole thing is over, but these are my two favorites right now. I shared on FB earlier how the Olympics has taken over my life. Anyone else? Not that I mind...not at all!

I've Been On Vacation!

Last summer I went to New York with my parents. This summer I went with Brian. (We met my parents up there, though!)

On June 6th at midnight, we got in the car and drove from Fort Sill to DFW. We dropped the car off at a parking place and hopped on the shuttle to the airport. We waited around for security to open at 4AM and camped out at our gate. We got Starbucks (thanks to a giftcard from my in-laws) and read our books. Our flight took off at 6:45. Next stop: Newark, NJ.

DFW to EWR.

How I spent the flight (when I wasn't trying to sleep).

How Brian spent the flight (he's better at flying than I am!).

We had an hour-ish layover in Newark. Our flight was delayed about 30 minutes, but we didn't mind. Next stop: Burlington, VT.

I can't say no to Crumbs cupcakes in the airport!

My view from the plane.

The flight was only an hour. I was a disaster by the time we landed, though. The plane we took to Burlington was loud. What was nice white noise to Brian was like nails on a chalkboard to me. I definitely had to talk myself through that flight and will think twice about doing it again in the future.

My first view of Lake Champlain on the ferry from Vermont to New York.

After settling in at my parents' house, we ventured out for dinner.

Gotta get a Michigan at Gus'!

After dinner, my dad and Brian headed out to see a man about a canoe. Then they came home and immediately made sure she was seaworthy.

They're canoe-ers! They canoe! (Don't ask...)

The next day:

Standing where our base house used to stand. That tree was in the yard.

Soft serve with sprinkles! (Yes, I needed that scarf.)

Friday, June 8th, we ventured to Ausable Chasm. We got in for free (including a raft ride) because we know people in high places! Or...the daughter of my parents' property managers (that sounds fancier than it is) works there and hooked us up.

Elephant Head.

The Ausable River looking toward the dam (I think).

In the raft! Tony was our guide. He was funny and informative.

The boys in the big dry chasm.

Mom with the ferns. So green!

At some point the boys began demolition of the old shed. It was falling down and rotting. It took all four of us a few hours to clean it out. The previous owners saved all kinds of weird things.

Brian removing the cedar siding.

The dangers of carpenter ants.

We liked it better without the siding. Too bad it was totally unsafe and unsalvageable.

Brian had fun swinging the sledgehammer.

After an afternoon of rain we were rewarded with a gorgeous rainbow. It was crazy intense and stuck around for a looong time.

If you look closely, you can see another really faint rainbow to the left of the bright one.

One night we left the shades up in the living room after the sun went down. I glanced up and noticed a big giant bug on the window (attracted to our light, no doubt). It was the biggest and weirdest "butterfly" I had ever seen. This picture doesn't do it justice. It's antennae looked like leaves. So creepy!

We spent the majority of two day scraping (that's how we found carpenter ants in the house - yikes!) and painting the windows. We didn't even finish it all. The sides will need to be done next summer.

Brian hard at work.

Sometimes I would stop and look out at the lake and wonder how I got so lucky to be able to spend almost a week looking at this view and spending time with my favorite people.

I mean, really, how gorgeous is this??

My favorite reading spot.

Mom and me in the living room.

Mom took this. She said I looked like Mona Lisa. Hmm.

The morning we left. Please note the shutters and fresh paint. Looking spiffy!

Til next time, Lake Champlain!

On June 12th, we made the trek down to "the rock" aka Staten Island, NY. We fought rain and horrendous traffic, but arrived with plenty of time to spare before my cousin Kevin's Eagle Scout ceremony. My entire family (on my mom's side) somehow managed to come together for this event. Keith (my brother) was the only one not there. He was off having a European adventure instead! Kevin's ceremony was wonderful. I almost cried listening to everyone speak about what a wonderful young man he has become. I was just so dang proud of him!

The next day we had no real plans or places to be. We took a final walk through my great-grandmother's house. Remember she passed away in February 2011. Her house was finally sold and this was our last chance to see it and claim any items we wanted. I snagged a Lenox pitcher and little swan plus six crystal wine glasses (I managed to lose my cheap wine glasses in our move). After that we went to South Beach on Staten Island for a walk. We walked to the Verrazano Bridge past Fort Wadsworth and back. Then we walked along the boardwalk and I put my feet in the salt water.

Mom and me before walking out to the water.

That is a condom on the ground. Thank you to Brian for capturing it and my laugh. Keeping it classy, Staten Island!

After walking around we ate New York pizza at Denino's and walked across the street for some Ralph's Ices (omigod so good!). On June 14th we (me, Brian, Uncle John, Matthew, Mom, Dad, Nanny, and  Grandpa) went to the diner for breakfast. I had the worst french toast ever. It was really a crappy little diner, but my grandparents go there almost everyday and they were treating so there we went! My cousin Ryan's high school graduation was that evening. To kill a couple hours before then we took the Staten Island Ferry to Manhattan, walked around a bit, and then went back.

In Battery Park.

I watched him propose to her. She said yes.

Funny story about those two up there... The guy came over to my uncle and asked him to take their picture. My uncle is usually super accommodating and friendly, but this time he kinda freaked out and wanted someone else to do it. My parents quickly volunteered my photography skills (cause I'm so good, y'all - ha!). Only then did my uncle whisper to me that the guys whose camera I had was going to propose and it was now my job to capture it. So I take a picture and the guy said, "ok, one more." That's when he got down on one knee. I have no idea what he said, but I just kept snapping. I heard her say yes and they hugged and kissed. I captured it all. It was one of the coolest things and I was so happy to be a part of it. I had to sneak that picture of them on my phone so I'd have a record of it.

After a quick change and an hour-long drive, we arrived at my aunt/uncle's house in New Jersey.

My cousin, Ryan (the graduate), is freakishly tall. Also: that plant in the background? It's mine from a science experiment in 5th grade. It's 16 years old.

Me with my cousin Alex. Love him to pieces.

I have no good pictures from the graduation and no pictures with any of my aunts, uncles, or other cousins. I know some are floating out there with various family members and maybe I'll eventually see them. It was quite the whirlwind trip. I am beyond glad that Brian was able to come with me and that we could attend two big ceremonies for my beloved cousins. I remember when they were babies. I cannot believe they're all so old (which means I'm old!).

The morning after Ryan's graduation, Mom and Dad dropped Brian and me off at Newark Liberty Airport for our flight home. Our flight was delayed taking off thanks to a water leak in one of the bathrooms, but we landed on time. They actually showed a movie on the flight - for free! (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island) The movie totally made the flight for me. I had something to focus on so I wouldn't freak out as much. Once back in DFW we caught our shuttle back to the parking place. The shuttle was full of super happy people returning from tropical beach vacations. They were annoying. I was tired. Our car was still there in one piece and we quickly paid and hit the road. Traffic was terrible getting out of the DFW area, but was smooth sailing after that. We stopped for gas and Popeye's and made it home at 7PM.

Brian returns to work on Wednesday and I need to get on the fitness/dieting band wagon. Back to real life.

He Won!