Random Thoughts...from Trina

My last first kiss

2011-12-31T13:00:00.000-06:00

Twenty years ago, on December 31, 1991, I had my last first kiss. Did I know then it would be the last first kiss I would ever have? Subconsciously, I think I did.

John and I had met about four months earlier when I was hired as a file clerk/fill-in receptionist in the radiology department. In those four months, I saw what a wonderful, kind, generous person he was, and I began to look for reasons to go back to the control room in the department. Do films need to be hung? I'll do it! We're out of film jackets. I'll go get them! Can somebody bring the film jacket for Mr. Smith? I'll take it! Even though it might mean only catching a glimpse of him, I wanted that glimpse. If it was a slow day, it might mean a couple of minutes to talk. When we were busy, I was constantly listening for his laugh.

One thing I noticed not long after I started working in the department is that John was always giving out hugs. Oh, he wasn't just walking up to women and accosting them with hugs. (That would be sexual harassment!) They were coming to him and asking for hugs. Techs, nurses, clerical...One day, after one of the other file clerks asked him for a hug, I told him that I needed to know what was so special about his hugs, so he gave me one. And I learned that when John hugs you, he gives you a REAL hug. His hugs aren't those one-arm-kinda-pulling-you-to-him hugs. He envelopes you and you can tell he is sincere.

Right after I was officially hired at the hospital, I moved out of the slum apartment I was living in and moved into a MUCH nicer (and less expensive!) apartment. It had a washer/dryer hook-up, but I didn't have a washer or a dryer. It turned out that one of the ultrasound techs had recently moved, and the house she bought had a set. She had her own and didn't need them, so I bought them. (Well, Mom bought them for me.) Somehow, John was volunteered to move them for me. I remember him standing in my kitchen with a glass of tea after he'd gotten them in and hooked up. As he stood there in his overalls, I thought to myself then that I really wanted to kiss him, but I didn't. I mean, I didn't want him to think I was this incredibly forward girl, did I? That was around the end of September/first of October.

Fast forward to New Year's Eve 1991. Vicky, the full-time receptionist, had volunteered John's house for a small gathering. (Funny how John gets volunteered for a lot of things. LOL) I started the evening with a little adult beverage before I got there, and then I indulged in a little more after I got there, so I was just a touch...tipsy. I had gone to the kitchen to refill my wine, but I ended up breaking the cork, so John came in and got the rest of the cork out. After refilling my glass, we were standing face to face, and I really wanted to kiss him. In just a matter of maybe two seconds, this is the conversation I had with myself and my good/bad consciences.

ME: I really want to kiss me.
Bad Trina: Go ahead!
Good Trina: NO! You can't do that! He'll think your being too forward.
BT: Oh, shut up! It's New Year's Eve! Nothing wrong with a little kiss!
GT: You do this, and you will REGRET it!
ME: Oh, what the heck!

So I kissed him! (And he kissed me back.) And that was my last first kiss.

It was a couple of days before we both worked at the same time. I remember being so nervous about seeing him again. How was he going to react? Was he going to ignore me? Pretend it never happened? Was he going to think I was this slush who went around kissing guys? I was afraid to even look at him, but I shouldn't have been. Over the next few weeks, I began noticing that he was making his way to the front part of the department a bit more frequently that he had been before, and he always came through before he left for the day.

About a week and a half after "the kiss", he called and asked me out. By Valentine's Day, we were "unofficially" an item. In mid-August, we were engaged, and on December 20, 1992, we were married. Sometimes I think it would have been neat to have had our wedding on New Year's Eve since that was when our love story really started.

Sometimes I still feel so amazed that out of all the people in the world, John chose me for his wife. I look at him, and I realize how very lucky I am to have such a kind, loving, and supportive man to share my life with.

Twenty years ago, our love story began. I can't wait to see what the next twenty years holds!

2011 was a difficult year

2011-12-27T14:35:00.000-06:00

As 2011 winds down, I can't say I'm sad to see it go. This has been a very difficult year for so many people who are so important to me, and I'm ready for them to have some happiness and joy.

This year has had some extremely wonderful moments. We were blessed with a new grandson. Layton is such a joy, and I thank God each and every day for bringing him to our family. Our good friends Amy and Stephen were also blessed with a sweet son. Preston is a doll, and I know they have enjoyed each and every minute of his life. Three of my co-workers welcomed new babies. So yeah, 2011 has been good, but the tears outweighed the smiles.

Our school family was hit especially hard. My precious friend Karen lost her mother, her cousin's husband (Amanda has always been like a sister to Karen, so Randy was like a brother-in-law), and her best friend, Mary...who was one of our much-loved science teachers and a dear friend of mine as well. Another dear friend, Don, lost four relatives and his girlfriend. And he had a guy break into his house and commit suicide, AND Don went in for surgery to have a cyst removed from his kidney but ended up losing the entire kidney. We lost another precious member of our school staff when our registrar, Patti, died. We had a student who was severely injured in a bizarre accident with her horse (but thankfully she survived. She has struggles, but let me tell you...she is a true inspiration!!) Another student drowned not long after school was out for summer. A former student was killed in a car accident. Several other faculty and staff members lost loved ones. It has been a year we're all happy to see in the rear view mirror.

So, as the new year approaches, my wish is for nothing but smiles and laughter, happiness and joy for my family and friends. May God bless you and your families.

Vest Family Christmas 2011

2011-12-11T19:54:00.001-06:00

We had our family Christmas yesterday in Hartselle. Danny, Linda, Allen, Will, Landon and Lance weren't able to join us for various reasons, and we missed them all, but the rest of us did have a wonderful time enjoying each other's company.

It was a fun year with all of the "little" kids. The great-grandchildren range in age from 11 years to 5 months. Of course, Gavin and Layton weren't all that interested in what was going on, and Zac is getting older so his excitement is more reserved now, but Sam and Maggie had a blast. Sam got some tools, and Maggie got make up. Sam is all boy, and Maggie is all girl. (Ask her and she'll tell you she is the princess at her house, and her daddy and Will are the Prince Charmings. LOL)

Poor Billie continues to decline. She had a hard time keeping Amy, Katy, Libby, and Jessi straight, and then add in their kiddos, and it gets even worse. I wanted to make sure I got a picture of her, John, Katy, Jessi, Sam, and Layton. I don't know if it was harder to try to get Sam or her to look at the camera and smile. Sam wanted to play and to eat his M&Ms (what 3 year old ever wants to sit still for pictures?), and she couldn't remember. Amanda (Luke's fiance) said we could easily put the pictures on Awkward Family Photos. I think I'll give you an example of what I mean...

And this is just one example.

This one cracks me up because Sam is so over sitting her, and Billie is looking away, but at least you can tell she's smiling.

After we finished, I sat down next to her and showed her the pictures. She pointed to herself and asked, "Who is that woman?" I told her it was her. She looked at the picture again, and then she looked down to see what she was wearing. Once, she said something to Katy or Jessi one about "my husband, Carl." She doesn't even remember that her husband was their grandfather. Sad, sad situation!

We're doing our Christmas here next Sunday. I've got the menu pretty much planned. I still want one other veggie, but I just can't decide what. Something will pop into my head between now and then. :)

I guess that's about it for now, but before I close out, I want to leave you with one more picture. This one is of Billie, the grandkids, and the great-grandkids.

Have a GREAT day!

2012 can't arrive soon enough

2011-12-08T12:40:00.001-06:00

I'm not wishing my life away, and I'm not even wanting what is left of this year to hurry by because of the BCS championship game. I just want 2011 to be over, and I pray that 2012 is filled with many more smiles and much fewer tears.

Our faculty, staff, and students have been hit with so much tragedy and sorrow this year. More than what one school should ever experience. Actually, the hard times go back several years. If I counted correctly, the number of deaths that our faculty/staff has experienced in about the last four years is close to 20. A spouse, parents, other relatives, friends...Sure, we have a around 75 employees in our school, but even still, that is a lot of sadness in such a short time.

In addition to that, one of our students drowned over the summer. Back in the spring, another of our students was seriously injured when her horse fell. Looking at Kathryn, although she faces some struggles, we can see the goodness of God in sparing her.

Just about a month ago, we lost our registrar. Patti had been sick, but things were beginning to turn around. It looked like she was on the mend, but then there was a setback, and we were shocked to learn she had passed away.

Today, we lost another of our family members. Mary had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer during the summer, but the prognosis looked good. Her cancer was supposed to be fairly rare and slow growing. After spending about 3 months in the hospital, she was finally released, and the plan was that she would return to work after Christmas break. She had not been home long when we went to the ER because of extreme back pain. The diagnosis was not good. The cancer had spread to her spine, and she was given two years...best case.

My phone rang at 5:45 this morning. Nobody ever calls at 5:45, so I knew. I knew when I looked at the caller ID, it would be Karen. It knew when I said hello, she wouldn't have good news. I still said a quick prayer that she was calling to tell me she'd been up sick all night and wasn't going to be at work. (Sorry for wishing illness on you, Karen, but I know you understand.)

I met Mary in January of 1993. John and I had just gotten married, and I was unemployed. Mary was a part-time rad tech who worked for John and a full-time teacher. Because of her, I learned about a special education teacher who was going to be on maternity leave in the spring of 1994. Mary put in a good word for me, even though she knew nothing about me! Talk about going out on a limb for someone, but that was Mary! For several years, Mary and I taught next door to each other. Many were the days when I'd go to her room to ask a special ed question, see if she had a copy of a form I could NOT find (she always did in her disorganized organization), or to vent. Mary had the most awesome giggle for a laugh. I loved hearing it. She had the best sense of humor. She was a wonderful person and friend, and so many people can say their lives are better for having had her in it.

Thank you, Mary, for allowing me to be your friend, and I know I'll be seeing you again. I love you!

Hi! My name is Trina...

2011-10-20T19:34:00.000-05:00

...and I used to be a regular blogger, but I've kinda gotten sidetracked. :)

I've finished 1/4 of the school year (and I'm nine weeks closer to retirement!!) This week has been our fall break, and I cannot believe how quickly it has gone by! The only day I've been home all day was Tuesday, and I cleaned house. Monday, I kept Layton. We had a great time. He talked and talked. (I know ALL of Jess and Lance's secrets. haha) The entire day was spent snuggling with him. The ONLY time he wasn't being snuggled was when I had to potty or when I ate my lunch. Yesterday, I rode down to Auburn. I had no plans to go anywhere, but I wanted to run to Talbot's. Imagine my disappointment when I pulled up and discovered that Talbot's was closed. Shut down. Moved out. I love Talbot's, but now the closest one is in Birmingham. Mom and I were going to meet in Birmingham today, but she sent me a text last night to say she was sick--coughing, fever, achy. She sent another text this morning to tell me that she just couldn't keep our plans. I hate that we had to cancel, but I hate even more that she's sick. We've rescheduled our girls' day for Veteran's Day. I decided to go on so I could go to Talbot's. I needed some new dress pants. I've got to run to Alex City tomorrow, but it shouldn't be an all day long trip--bank and lunch with a friend.

The Tide is rolling right along! We're still undefeated, and all the experts are saying the Nov. 5th game against LSU will be the de facto National Championship game. We're halfway through the season, so that means six more games, and a LOT can happen in those six games.

I found out last week that I'll be getting another intern next semester. YEA!! I have HUGE classes, so it will be nice to have an extra set of eyes, ears, and hands. Of course, once I turn the class over to her, she'll have to handle them on her own for a portion of the time.

I guess that's about it for now. I think I'm gonna call it an early night.

Have a GREAT day!

Fun fall weekend

2011-10-02T10:25:00.001-05:00

John and I have had a super busy weekend, but it has been so much fun! We started out Friday night by going with Katy, Sam, Shelley, and Jason to the Spain Park/Mountain Brook ballgame. Phillip is in his fourth year there, and we've said every season we were going to go to one of their games. In the past, we always talked about it, but this year we set a definite weekend. Sadly, Spain Park lost. Their offense just couldn't seem to get anything going. They would have a good play or two, but that would be it for the series and the defense would be back on the field. I know the defense had to be exhausted.

Sam was a ham (as always LOL). Katy had told him we'd get some popcorn at the game. From the time she said it until we got to the game and got him some, he didn't say much of anything except "popcorn!" When he did get his box, he ate pretty much the entire thing by himself. John asked him for a bite, and he moved the box away so John couldn't get any. LOL When Sam did finish with it, only a couple of bites were left. (I think the Vest DNA contains a popcorn-loving gene.)

After we got back to Katy's, we got the pups and headed to the lake. It was midnight before we got here because we decided to stop in Cullman to get our groceries for yesterday. We came in, put everything away, made up the bed, and sacked out.

Yesterday, we met Mom and Dad at Oktoberfest in Cullman. Cullman was settled when five German families moved to the area in 1873. For years German was the primary language of the town. In 1977, the city held a one-day Oktoberfest to celebrate the centennial of Sacred Heart Church. Over the years, it has grown to a week-long event. Because Cullman has been a dry county, this was the only Oktoberfest in the world to not serve beer. The city of Cullman went wet in the last election, though, so this was to be the first year beer could be bought.

We did have a German lunch, though--brats, German potato salad, some type of cucumber stuff, and brown bread. Somehow, Mom, John, and I didn't get sauerkraut, though. Dad must've looked hungrier than we did. :)

When we left Oktoberfest, we came back to the trailer to get our steaks and the salad makings and headed to Susan and Tim's for an afternoon of football. The four of us were extremely depressed over the auburn victory. We just knew South Carolina would win. Our depression didn't last long, though, because Alabama took care of business with Florida, winning 38-10. This was a game that concerned me. It was the first SEC road trip challenge, and the Florida nation takes pride in making The Swamp a hostile environment.

Florida just out to a VERY quick 7-0 lead, and then on our first drive, we were able to put only 3 points on the board. Then Florida scored again to take a 10-3 lead. Trent ran for a TD to tie the game. In the second quarter, Courtney Upshaw intercepted a pass and ran it back 45 yards for a TD. (I love to see a defensive guy score!!) AJ then had a 1 yard run for another TD. The third quarter pretty much stunk for both teams. I don't know if Bama had even one first down in the 3rd quarter. In the fourth quarter, we scored two more times. I feel really good about our team after this game. I know we still have more than half the season to go, and I know that all it takes is one bad play to turn things around, but for now, I'm going to enjoy the success that the Tide is having.

Two more weeks until fall break. I can't wait! I am so ready for a week of being lazy. On that Monday, I am going to go keep Layton. :) I may go spend the night--if they don't mind--on Sunday night so I won't have to get up quite so early. I'm super excited about getting to snuggle him and spoil him all day long.

That's it for today. I hope everyone has a GREAT day!

Research...UGH!!!

2011-09-26T15:55:00.000-05:00

Today was the due date for the second set of note cards and outlines. Because we've had some crazy, mixed-up days, I had them go ahead and turn in note cards, but I told them that we'd be in the library tomorrow, and they could get help on formatting their outlines. (FYI: I despise formatting outlines. I am sure an easier way exists than the way I do it, but no one has yet to show me in 11 semesters of teaching research.)

I probably should wait about using this cartoon until the final papers are done, but I couldn't find anything that showed somebody poking his/her eyes out. That's exactly what I want to do right now. It isn't that their note cards have been that bad. I just hate grading note cards. It's a tedious job, and the only satisfaction I get is when I've looked at the last one.

Now, when I read their rough drafts and take points off because they didn't include any parenthetical citations, or when I return their final papers and tell them I will NOT grade them until they have included parenthetical citations AND they will lose 50 points PER DAY until I get the paper back, they will look at me with the most confused looks and swear they have never heard of parenthetical citations and that I should have told them they had to have them. Never mind that I've mentioned it no less than 25 times in the last three weeks. THAT will be when I really want to dig my eyeballs out of my head. With a rusty fork. Found under a pile of cow poop. OK, so I'm a tad bit dramatic there, but seriously...if I had $5 for every time I used the words parenthetical citations, I could retire and be filthy rich.

I still have 18 sets of note cards to grade, so I better go. I was waiting for one of my students to come by for help on her outline. She came, and it was an easy fix. She's gone, so now it's back to the grindstone.

Have a GREAT day!!!!

THIS makes me proud!

2011-09-17T11:11:00.002-05:00

In my post last night, I said that one of our players had been hurt, but at the time, I didn't know what the injury was. This morning, I learned that he has a broken ankle, and that he will likely miss the rest of the season. Since the high school regular season is only 10 weeks, and we've played four games, it would highly unlikely that he would be able to return. I hate this for Bryant, but at the same time, I am SO very thankful that it is only a broken ankle. At one of our neighboring high schools, a player was seriously injured a week or so. He is home now, and from what I've heard, I think he will be okay, but when a player ends up with bleeding on his brain, it is scary!

This morning, one of my students posted the picture above from the game last night. You can see Bryant and I'm sure his father (who is our head coach, by the way) near the goal line, but what touches me so much is what you see in the foreground--our players, cheerleaders, dance team, trainers, and coaches praying for their team mate/classmate/student. As I said last night, we haven't had the best record for the past couple of years, and honestly, it even goes back farther than that. Had a player been injured three or four years ago, I don't know if this image would have been captured because I don't know if this coming together would have happened. That isn't to say that I don't think there would have been no concern, but it just seems to me that the WILDCAT PRIDE is back this year. When you have that pride, it makes a difference.

I have the privilege of being a part of many of these kids' lives, and I am so very thankful for that. They touch my life in a way that I can't explain, and I hope that I have a tiny impact on their lives.

Get well soon, Bryant! We want to see you leading our Wildcats for the next two seasons!

Everyone have a GREAT day today!

WHOA!! What happened??

2011-09-16T21:37:00.000-05:00

I've been gone almost a month, and when I come back, blogger has a new interface. I'm always willing to give new ideas a shot before I decide how I feel, so instead of reverting back to the old interface, I'll post a time or two (maybe) before declaring my feelings.

So, what's happened in our life? Not too much, and certainly nothing that is earth-shatteringly exciting or devastating. (Thank you, God, for keeping disaster out of our lives!)

Football season has gotten underway, and I am currently tied with two other people for 2nd place. Not too shabby for a chick. This is the second year that I've not been the only female, so I'll admit that I feel a tiny bit of my competitive nature coming out. Every Monday when the results come out, I first look to make sure that what I have for my results and what Andy has for me match. Next, I check my overall results, and then I compare that to everyone else's results. And when I see that I've done better than the other chick, well, yeah, I gloat a little. I really gloat, though, when I look at the guys and see that I'm doing better than some of them. I know, I know...it's all for fun, but I grew up in a family that was competitive, so it's just in my blood. And now I've probably jinxed myself and I'll do a crappy job of making picks the rest of the season. It wouldn't be the first time!

Sweet Layton is growing like a weed! He is such a happy, easy-going baby. Since school has started back, we haven't seen him (or Jessi and Lance) nearly as much. Several nights, I've been in bed asleep by 8:00. And since Jess has started back to work, it isn't like I can go to their house straight from work because she doesn't get home until 5:30ish. Barring any unforeseen problems, we're going Sunday. We won't get to visit a super long time, though, because I have note cards to grade. Oh joy...

We are FINALLY going to watch one of Phillip's games in a couple of weeks. We've said for the past three years that we were going, but we never planned it. When the high school schedules came out in the Birmngham News, I looked to see when Spain Park played at home, and when Bama was on the road. It turned out that the week they play Mountain Brook, Bama was on the road, and it's right after Katy's birthday and right before John's. I checked with Katy to see if it would be okay for us to come take her and Sam to dinner and then go to the game. She said it would be great, so we have it on our calendar. We are so bad about saying we're going to do something or go somewhere, but if we don't ever schedule it, it doesn't usually happen.

I guess that's about it for now. I was wanting to stay up to see how my CATS did tonight against Stanhope-Elmore. We were losing 17-7 (I think) at the half, but we ended up with a 21-17 victory! We're now 4-0 on the season. The last couple of years were hard--we won only one game each season--but Coach Horn has been here long enough to get his system into place and to get the guys working and playing according to his style. I know those two losing seasons were tough on him because his teams in Clay County were ALWAYS on top. The only negative for tonight is that one of our guys was hurt and taken to the emergency room. I don't know anything other than that, but I'm praying it is nothing serious.

I hope everyone has a GREAT football Saturday!

ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One down, 35 to go

2011-08-20T19:05:00.000-05:00

We officially have seven days down. That means only 173 days to go. Yeah, I think 35 weeks sounds better. LOL

The first week was pretty good. My two seniors classes have 24 and 28 students, I have 17 in my junior class, and 8 in my remedial class. Like always, I get some of those students who have reputations which precede them. Other teachers have talked about how disrespectful and unmotivated/lazy they are. I do my best to put those comments in the far recesses of my mind because I don't want to start out with negative attitudes toward them. More often than not, the students end up displaying the same behaviors I've heard about, but I still try so very hard to smile at them every day and to greet them with a smile in my voice. For some of these kids, we teachers may be the only positive voice they ever hear.

This semester, I have one student I knew nothing about, but within five minutes of her stepping into my room I had pegged her as having a AT. TI.TUDE. (This was confirmed by another faculty member.) She didn't even show up until three days AFTER the start of school because she didn't have either proof of residency or an updated blue card--BOTH of which parents knew students MUST have before students would be allowed to come to school. They've known about proof of residency since, oh, March, maybe. Of the seven days we've been in school, she's been there three and the personality of the class changes accordingly. I have a feeling the next 17 weeks will be a challenge with her.

Every evening, I've come home and crashed. Most nights I've been in bed by 7:30 or 7:45. The older I get, the harder the beginning of the year is. Fortunately, I feel like I've started to adjust. But it is Saturday, so maybe that's why. hahaha

I have nothing else to say, so I'll sign off for today. Maybe it won't take another week to post again. hahaha

Have a GREAT day!

The Help

2011-08-14T13:54:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, I finished up The Help, and I knew then that I MUST see the movie when it came out. After Susan read it, she suggested that she, her niece Kayla, and I go see it opening weekend, and I readily agreed. The three of us and Kayla's friend Jessica went yesterday, and I must say, I am so glad we did!

If you haven't read the book, I would certainly suggest reading it before seeing the movie. (I always prefer to read first, see second.) While the movie is quite true to the novel, changes have been made in order to preserve time. After the movie, we went to Macaroni Grill for dinner and to discuss. None of us were disappointed.

The casting was superb. Throughout the book, I hated Hilly. Bryce Dallas Howard played the character just the way I imagined her to be. Several times I caught myself muttering, "Bitch!" ;) Emma Stone did a fantastic job as "Skeeter" (even if she is much too pretty to be Skeeter as she is described in the book), and Octavia Spencer nailed "Minny." The cute little actresses who portrayed Mae Mobley did such a great job. At the end, when Mae Mobley says to Aibie, "You is kind. You is smart. You is important" I lost it.

I will be horribly disappointed if Ms. Spencer is overlooked for an Oscar! In fact, I will be surprised if this movie doesn't walk away with most of the awards. I may have to watch the Oscar show next year.

We laughed, we cried, we laughed some more, and then we tried really hard not to do that "ugly" cry. You know the one where you can't breathe because you're crying so hard...yeah, that one. Several times I caught myself doing the "lip suck" so that I wouldn't openly sob.

As soon as the DVD is released, I'll be buying it. This is one of those movies that you will want to see over and over, even though you know you'll cry every single time.

Grab your girlfriends and head out to your local theater. See this one on the big screen. You won't be sorry!

Have a GREAT day!

We've got to do whhhaaaaatttt???

2011-08-09T20:33:00.000-05:00

The beginning of the school year always brings changes of some sort. Some are welcomed; some aren't so drastic that they make much of a difference; some are met with groans.

This year was a year of groans.

One of the first changes was the time clock. Word had spread that we would be clocking in and out this year, so we had time to get the idea in our brains. We had to go to the central office and have our pictures made for our official name tags...my picture looks about like a mug shot. We have several locations where we can swipe, and if for some reason we have to start or end our day at the central office or at another school, we can swipe at those locations.

When I first started teaching at BRHS, we had to keep up with time cards that we wrote our times in and out on, and then we had to turn them in at the end of the pay period. I never really understood why we did those because no one verified the times we wrote, so a person could SAY he or she arrived at school at 7:00 when it was really closer of 7:30. After a few years, those went by the wayside, and we didn't have keep up with our times for a few years. Then we had a program installed on our computers. We had to clock in every morning, but we didn't have to clock out at the end of the day. That didn't even last a year. Now we have the ID badges with magnetic strips that we have to swipe every morning and every afternoon. So far I haven't forgotten to clock out, but I'm quite sure a day will come when I go to swipe in one morning after I forgot to swipe out the day before. Janice can manually override it, but I would HATE to have to ask her to do that.

Honestly, though, what would it matter? I'm a salaried employee, so even if my time shows I worked almost 24 hours, clocked out for one minute, and then clocked back in, I'm still going to make only $2.50 for the day. (Yes, I put $2.50 because everyone knows people don't choose to teach for the money.)

The second change is that we now have to call our own subs. This we didn't know, so about 70 people thought "Oh crap!" at the exact same time. In my previous 18 years, I have never had to call my own sub. I am spoiled!!!! We all are! I will pray daily that I don't ever wake up with a horrible stomach virus and have to try to call a sub. What will happen is that all of our super great subs will be booked months in advance (and if I knew I had a day I was going to have to miss six months from now, I would go ahead and get my name in one of their calendars!) Then while we're puking our guts out, we're going to have to go down the list and pray we can find someone. Fortunately, I haven't had to call in very many times over the years. Maybe 5 or 6 days total. Most of my days that I've taken have been pre-planned.

At one of the meetings we had today, one of the other teachers brought up something I hadn't thought about. Let's say that one day next month I do wake up terribly sick. Naturally, I will call the subs I like the best first. Now, let's say that we have a really nasty virus running rampant around the school, and six other people have already called those same subs. How many calls would you have to take before you were ready to scream? Yeah, I wouldn't be very happy after about the 3rd one. AND what if I have been up all night long sick. I'm going to want to call as soon as I can. How early is too early? Some people may not mind being called at 5AM, but others may not want to be called before 6.

And the final change that has had ALL of us groaning loudly is our bus duty schedule. We have to do one month of morning duty and one month of afternoon duty. Yep...I'll have morning bus duty from Nov. 1 - Nov. 30. Well, except for Saturdays and Sunday. :) One of the nice things about November is that we'll be out Nov. 11 for Veteran's Day and Nov. 23-25 for Thanksgiving. Not quite as nice as having duty during December, but not everyone can have a short month. My afternoon duty is in May. At least the weather should be nice.

We've always had several weeks of bus duty. For years, we would do three or four of morning and afternoon (same weeks for both). The last couple of years, we've had five weeks of morning and two weeks of afternoon, spread out over the year. So while we're still doing roughly the same number of days for each, just the fact that we have so many weeks consecutively is what makes it seem so bad.

I try extremely hard to be a team player, so I don't typically complain about stuff, and I'm not complaining about these changes. I'm just sharing them. It will take some time to get used to them.

Guess that's it. I'm about to call it a night. Getting up at 4:50 yesterday and today has worn me out. Sitting through meetings most all day for both days hasn't helped either, and we have the joy of sitting through even more tomorrow. Ahhh...I love professional development days. LOL

Have a GREAT day!

The final week of summer

2011-08-03T20:01:00.000-05:00

This is it. My final week of summer vacation. This time next week my fellow colleagues and I will have been thoroughly inserviced and professionally developed and will be psyching ourselves up for meeting our new kids on Thursday. When I think about what I need to do to get ready, I feel panicked.

"Uh, Trina, aren't you starting your 19th year at Benjamin Russell?"

The answer to that is YES. Yes, I am about to start my 19th year at Ben Russell. And I have 1- 1/2 years additional experience, so you'd think I wouldn't feel panicked. Every year feels like the first year, though. Next Wednesday night, I will have the hardest time sleeping because I'll keep going over what I might have overlooked. Because I have a first block class, I can't have the attitude that I can just get whatever it might be done before my second block class comes in. For the record, I've never forgotten anything that was a MUST HAVE, but I still have that fear, and there is always a first time for everything.

I have my pacing chart for my English 12 class almost complete, but I haven't even started on the one for English 11. That is what is making me feel panicked right now. We usually have a week after school starts before we have to submit them, so I've got a few more days. :)

As much as I would love to simply play the rest of the week, I can't. Dad's older brother, John, passed away Sunday night, and the funeral is Friday morning. In October, his middle daughter Elizabeth was killed in a car wreck leaving behind her husband and three young sons (the youngest turned one just a couple of weeks after she died), and now this. It seems so unfair that one family would be faced with so much tragedy in such a short time, but I know it happens, and sometimes some families are faced with even more. His youngest daughter's husband is in the Air Force, and they are stationed in England. She is supposed to be home later tonight. Two trips home in less than a year and both for funerals. And in between, she had a baby. It's sad that Kathryn will know her aunt and her grandfather only through pictures and stories.

The pups and I came to the lake today. We were going to come up yesterday, but on Monday night, I got THE email. Football tickets were going to be delivered today!! Football ticket delivery is one thing that I will change most any of my plans. :) Once the UPS guy (who was my favorite person today LOL) made the delivery, I had to run a couple of quick errands, so we didn't get on the road until about 1:15. I had just gotten in the car when I realized I hadn't gotten the extra gate key, but it was just SO hot that I didn't want to go back into the house for it. Besides, I knew where one was hidden so I didn't need ours. Or so I thought.

I got to the gate, stopped, and went to where the key is hidden. It wasn't there. HUH???? I know it was there when I left Friday because I used it. (And I'm certain I put it back.) I was going to call Marty to see if he knew what had happened to it, but I called John first. He said he thought he remembered where another one was, so I looked and YES!! There was a key!! I got in and got unloaded, and we haven't done much else. It is just SO hot! I don't know if I'll even get out on the dock tomorrow. I may hang out inside and try to finish my book since my days of reading for enjoyment are coming to an end. **sigh**

Guess that it's for tonight. I'm going to call John and then read for a while.

Have a GREAT day!

Layton meets two of his great-aunts, who just happen to be great :)

2011-08-01T19:19:00.000-05:00

Connie, aka Nonnie or Vern, got to give Layton his bottle. He ate it right up and then showed off his awesome burping skills. hahaha To be such a little guy, he can BURP with the best of them!

Linda, or Mimi, talked to him after he finished his bottle. He took in every word and gave her a cute little grin or two. He also showed that he can spit up with the best of them. OOPS!!! Sorry, Mimi!!!

Mommy looks absolutely beautiful! Can you believe she had a baby a mere three and a half weeks ago? Motherhood agrees with her 100%. I love it when Layton looks at her with a look that says, "I know you are my mommy." She is so relaxed with him. You'd never know he was a first child. Jess has had a lot of experience with babies, though, and that makes a difference.

Since Layton ate right after we got there, we decided we'd attempt lunch out at Olive Garden. The little man did so well! About the time we were finishing up, he started to get a little fussy so Jess got him out of his seat. Bless his heart...he was so hot. Once he got out and cooled off, he was great. He has been such a good baby. So far, he's so laid back. He gets fussy when his diaper is wet or when he's hungry. Once he has a dry diaper or a good bottle, he settles down. And he LOVES to snuggle! Oh my!! One of my favorite things in the world is to have a sweet baby snuggled up on my chest. Layton is a champion snuggler. :)

That's about it for now. Have a GREAT day!

Summer craft project

2011-07-31T17:39:00.001-05:00

Not long after school got out, I was looking through a magazine (Flea Market Finds, maybe???) and saw a great project that I knew I could do. I've said it many times before--I can't come up with cool ideas myself, but I can recreate them with some level of success. This was one of those I knew I could recreate.

I love jewelry. I have so many necklaces, bracelets, and earrings from Premier Designs shows, from local artists, or that I've gotten as gifts. For the longest, I've had my necklaces hanging on a "tree" but I just never loved it, and besides, it made my dresser seem cluttered to me. This project was the perfect answer!

All I needed was an old frame, some paint, batting, fabric, and some knobs. We had an old, rather ugly frame that was left in the house when we bought it. Even though it was on the ugly side, we held on to it because it did have potential. We just didn't think we wanted to tackle trying to strip off the old paint.

I went upstairs to get the frame and decided to get busy. My first step was to decide what color I wanted to paint the frame. That was difficult, and now that I've finished, I wish I had used a different color, but I'm still happy with the color I chose. Then I had to get the batting and fabric. Because I wanted the frame to have a shabby chic look, I went with a plain oatmeal color fabric. Choosing the knobs was THE most difficult! Did I want to use all the same color/style? Did I want to mix and match? Did I want door knob styles, or did I want drawer pull style? I spent maybe 45 minutes looking at knobs in Hobby Lobby, but I finally (sort of) made my decisions and got everything together.

So here is the ugly frame. In the picture, it really doesn't look so bad, but take my word. It was so bad I wouldn't have wanted to put a picture of my worst enemy in it. You'll notice that I got drawer pulls and the antique brass hooks. I couldn't make up my mind, so I got both. I knew that once the project began to come together, I'd figure it out. Also notice that I went with a burgundy red for the base coat and then a white crackle coat over that.

I decided to keep the gold, so I had to tape that off.

I kind of wish I had gone with a flat black base coat. I debated the red or black decision for about 10 minutes in Hobby Lobby, and I finally decided to go with the burgundy red.

After giving the frame a good base coat and letting it dry, I gave it a good coat of crackle paint. This gives it that shabby chic look. It was after I got the crackle coat on that I decided I think the black peeping through would have looked better.

The finished project turned out pretty good, I think! I decided to go with the knobs instead of the antique brass hooks. I had a blue knob, but I overtightened the nut and broke the knob. John remembered that we had some white knobs from some other project, so I put it on until I can get back to Hobby Lobby to get a replacement. I may replace the pink one and the clear one, too. They don't stick out quite as far as the other ones, so I can't hang as much on them.

The finished project in use!! I think it turned out pretty good. The white knob looks kinda small and is "the one that doesn't belong" but it will work until I can replace it.

The next project I want to undertake will be a frame backed with screen so I can hang my hook earrings. Since school is about to start, though, that project may have to wait. :) Whenever we decide to build at the lake, I would love to take an old window frame, replace the panes with screen for my earrings, and then hang that as "art." It would fit with the rustic style John and I are planning.

This was a fun, easy project that can easily be finished in two or three days. Well, maybe just a little longer, depending on how long it takes the paint to dry. If I were trying to paint it now, I'd probably never finish because of the humidity. ICK!!

Hope you have a GREAT day!

Senior orientation

2011-07-25T18:06:00.001-05:00

This week we have orientation for our students. The seniors, being the "big dogs", get Monday. Teachers who had senior advisements last year were asked to work today. When the alarm went off at 6:30, I wanted to throw my phone out the window. What the heck am I gonna want to do on August 11th when it goes off at 5 AM??

It was great to see the other teachers and staff who were working and to catch up with what everyone did over the summer, and it was great to see the seniors. I'd say that probably 3/4s came through today. I had a few who I had for English 11 last year who will be in one of my English 12 classes, but there were a few who will have Misty. :( Honestly, I would be excited to have any of the students I had for English 11. One of the students who I had for remediation will have me all year...for assistant and for English 12. I actually have her as an assistant for both semesters.

After we finished up for orientation, I had to run over to the central office to get my mug shot...I mean my ID picture...made. We're going to have to clock in and out this year. I wonder how many days I'll walk out without swiping out? Probably more than once.

I think I'm about to make John go start the brats. I know what he'll tell me--he just finished mowing grass, so he shouldn't have to. I wonder if I'll be able to convince him that I am just sooooo tired from getting up two hours earlier than I'm used to?? LOL

EDIT: I didn't even have to ask...he just went to start the grill. I love my man! :)

Have a GREAT day!

Baby love

2011-07-19T14:57:00.000-05:00

I came down to spend the day with Jessi and Layton today. Lance is working at the fire department, so I came to help her out and to keep my Layton level up. Can't let it drop too low. Once school starts back, it will be more difficult to come hang out with them and get my dose of love. Especially the first couple of weeks when I'm worn out and in bed before it gets good and dark.

After he woke up, I fed him a bottle and then spent about 3 1/2 hours just snuggling him and rocking him. There is nothing sweeter in the world. Right now, he's getting some Mommy love. Watching Jessi with her baby is such a beautiful thing. She is a great mommy. Both our girls are. :)

A new picture for you to enjoy. :)

Have a GREAT day!

Three weeks and counting

2011-07-17T12:47:00.001-05:00

Usually doing a countdown means you're excited about the upcoming event. In my case, it simply means the end of my summer. And as always, I'm not ready for my summer to come to an end. Teacher inservice/professional development begins three weeks from tomorrow.

I am ready to see all of my school friends and to find out how their summers have been, and honestly, I am excited about seeing my new group of students. Who will I have? What will my classes be like? Even though those things excite me, getting up at 5 AM, standing on my feet on concrete floors all day, and talking until my voice hurts do not excite me. After a couple of days, I'll be used to talking and using my "teacher voice" so my throat won't be tired, and after about a week, I'll be used to being on my feet all day, but never will I EVER get used to getting up before daylight. For the first couple of weeks after school starts back, I'll crash and be in bed by 7:30 or 8:00 every night.

We haven't gotten our official schedules yet, but one day when I was working in my classroom, I managed to catch Mr. Reyes and ask him if he had any idea what classes I'd be teaching. He told me I'd have English 11 and 12 and maybe another remediation class. (I was hoping for ALL English 12, but I don't mind English 11 or remediation.) He looked at the tentative schedule and told me it looked like I'd have three English 12s, planning, and an English 11 each semester, but until he and Todd had the classes on the master board with the student numbers, he couldn't be certain. That's where the "maybe remediation" comes in. Whatever my schedule is, I hope I have all of one course before I have to swap gears for another course. One year, I started out with English 12, swapped to English 11, and then swapped back to English 12 with only a five-minute class change between.

I need to use these next few weeks to look at my plans for this year and to look over my PowerPoint presentations to see which ones need revising. I did a lot of revising back in the spring when Ashley was teaching, so I really shouldn't have much to do, especially with the English 12 material.

Guess that's it for now. John and I need to get busy cleaning off the front porch. Yuck!

Have a GREAT day!

You know you're too involved in a book when...

2011-07-13T12:44:00.000-05:00

You have dreams about it at night. I did that with the Harry Potter series. I would even wake up and think to myself, "I'm a muggle." Yeah...a tad bit too involved, huh?

Well, I'm doing it again. Katy had to read The Hunger Games for one of her library science classes and told me I needed to read it. I was browsing on Amazon.com the other day in the Kindle store and saw that they had the trilogy, so I bought it. I started reading it last Wednesday, but I didn't finish until Monday because I was too busy welcoming Layton to the world. :) I mean, some things DO take precedence over anything else, right??

I had some stuff to do around the house Monday, so I didn't get started on book 2 until Monday evening. Yesterday, I had to run to town, but once I got home, I really got into reading. Right at midnight, I finished book 2. And then the dreams began.

Honestly, I have never been so glad to hear John's alarm go off at 4 AM as I was this morning. I was having the closest thing to a nightmare that I've had in a LONG time. In the book, the Capitol has created "muttations" (or mutts) to basically show they are powerful. The muttations have taken form of birds and dogs/wolves which were symbolic of the dead tributes.

In my dream, the mutts were the walking dead. Several of my bunco buddies were in the dream with me, and I think we were in a school somewhere. Wherever we were, everything was a grayish color (which is why I'm pretty sure it was a school. We have very light gray walls, white tiles, and white ceilings in our classrooms.) The mutts were coming after us, but when we fought back, whatever we touched fell off the mutts bodies and transformed into a new mutt. The weird thing is that I wasn't really scared in my dream or after I woke up. I think I must have been aware the whole time that it was a dream, but like I said, I was never so glad to hear John's alarm, just so I could get away from them.

I haven't started book 3 yet. I was going to, but I've spent the morning doing a little updating on my "first day of school" stuff. I have a hair appointment at 2 ('bout time to get this mess cut and colored!!) I'll take my Kindle with me and get started since there isn't much to do while I wait on the color to do it's job.

I'm glad Katy suggested I read the series because I've really gotten into it. I may make the first book an optional reading assignment for my students. If they read it and take a quiz on it, they can earn bonus points.

Guess I need to go and get a couple of things done before I have to head to AC.

Have a GREAT day!

More Layton pics!

2011-07-10T13:10:00.001-05:00

You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them. ~Desmond Tutu

The first time John held Layton--his smile lit the entire room.

I love being a Grana! I could snuggle with my little sweet pea
all day long!

Grandma will spoil him rotten!

This was a "must-capture shot" because my dad usually doesn't hold babies.
He has always said he likes them when they can sit up for themselves. I
was completely shocked when he said, "Let me see that boy." Notice the smile
on his face.

I love love LOVE this picture! Nothing better than
great-grandparents to love a child.

These two are so much alike it's scary. Good, but scary. Jessi got
her a man just like her daddy. And I can tell you that is a good thing!

Have a GREAT day!

Welcome to the world, baby boy!

2011-07-08T17:44:00.000-05:00

Thomas Layton Caldwell made his entrance into the world on July 7 at 12:35 PM. He weighed in at 8 pounds 6 ounces and was 21 inches long. Mommy is doing very well, baby is perfect in every way, and Daddy is still (24+ hours later) floating on air.

So far, Layton seems to be very laid back and easy going. When he does work up to a cry, it usually lasts only a short time, and then he settles back into his nap. I hope he stays this way. :)

LOVE LOVE LOVE this picture!!!!!!!

Gots ta be purty for dem photo ops later

Jessi's proud daddy and sister

Sweet little bundle of joy

Fun-filled, but BUSY, holiday weekend and BABY NEWS!!!

2011-07-06T18:32:00.000-05:00

We had a busy weekend at the lake, and as much fun as it was, I was glad when it was over. :) We got to the lake about 6 Friday evening. After unloading and eating a sandwich, we went to Danny and Linda's to visit for a bit, and then we went back to our place and replaced the ceiling fan. It's amazing how much better a new fan will work. The one that was in there was only who knows how old. It was loud, wonky, and didn't put out much air.

On Saturday, Misty and Mark came up, and then Jeremy, Amber, and Hunter came. We got the boat out and took the kids (Jeremy and Mark were "kids" too...) tubing. When they got worn out, we took the tube back and then just rode for a bit. Then we just floated for a couple of hours. Finally, John grilled burgers. Yum!! Jeremy and the kids left early evening.

We went to Susan and Tim's on Sunday for the day. Talk about lazy...we didn't do much of anything except float. Susan and I did take a ride on the SeaDoo, and then we came back and floated. :) It was the perfect kind of day...spending quality time with best friends, enjoying good food, and making fun memories. The thing I love about hanging out with Susan and Tim is that it can be effortless. We don't feel like we constantly have to "entertain" so we can enjoy ourselves so much more.

Misty and Mark got up Monday and left about 9. We got out in the boat about 10:15 and headed over to Roger and Amy's. I felt bad because almost literally did an eat and run, but it started looking REALLY nasty. We hauled ass and made it back to our place in about 20-25 minutes. We got into a little rain, but if we had waited five minutes more to leave, we'd have been soaked to the bone. I honestly didn't care about getting wet. I just didn't want the lightning to strike us. After the rain stopped, we loaded the boat up and took it back to Arrowhead, and then we headed home. Talk about depressing! I think I'm going to seriously start praying for a job in that area to miraculously fall into John's lap. Even if I didn't find anything for me, I could live with making the drive every weekend.

Now, BABY NEWS!!! Jess has been admitted into the hospital, and our sweet Layton will be here tomorrow!!!! For a while, we weren't sure if it would be tonight or tomorrow. The doctor wanted to check her labs before making a decision. They came back good, so it will be tomorrow around 10:30. I can't wait to see this precious new life. Our family is being blessed with this new addition.

I guess that's it for now. I'll be posting pictures of Layton as soon as possible.

Have a GREAT day!

Long time no blog

2011-07-01T14:24:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I'm still kicking. When I've had time to blog, I really haven't been in the mood to, and when I've been in the mood, I haven't had time. The pups and I are just sitting here waiting on John to get home so we can head to the lake for the weekend, so I thought I'd post something.

It's hard to believe that my summer is essentially half way over. Teachers go back August 8-10 for inservice and professional development days, and the kids start August 11. I need to do some updating for my classes, but I'm going to enjoy this last long weekend before I start anything. Well, that isn't exactly true. I'm taking an online class on using social media in the classroom this summer, and I've been thinking of ways I can incorporate Facebook and maybe Twitter into my courses. I already use Teacher Tube some, but since I've had more time to play around with it, I've discovered many other uses for it as well.

I have taken two days to go to my classroom and work. I have always made efforts to get my cleaning and reorganizing done before the end of the year, but it just didn't happen this year. It's odd that I didn't because I had an intern, so I had more "free" time that I could have gone through material and tossed or revised. Oh well. :) I have probably one more day of work, and I'll have everything--my cabinets, my shelves--back in shape. One of my former students offered to come help, and I think I'll take her up on it. With the two of us, it really won't take long. I have some books I need to move to another bookshelf, and that will free up the shelves under my counter for paper, boxes of markers/glue sticks/scissors/etc. and stuff like that. I still need to go through all my old tests and see what is what with them.

We're still waiting on Layton's arrival. Jessi went back to the doctor yesterday, but there was no change. Layton seems to be pretty content to stay right where he is for now. She was disappointed because she is so ready to not be pregnant anymore. We were going to take them to Cock of the Walk for dinner (she said Lance has been wanting to go, and we haven't been in a while ourselves.) Just about the time we were ready to leave to head to their house, she sent a text and said she just didn't think she could handle going out. She'd had a busy day with going to the doctor and doing a couple of other odd 'n end things and was swollen. We still went down (I had a card to give them from Linda and Amy), and John and Lance went to pick up barbecue. I told her that I'd debated whether to go to the lake this weekend or not, and had she been dilated anymore than she was last week we wouldn't, but since there was no change, and since we can be in Montgomery in just over three hours should she go into labor, we decided to go. I told her we were going to have to have a party to celebrate her pregnancy because she has made it farther than any of the other Vest girls did. LOL

Phillip, Katy, and Sam came to the lake last weekend. I honestly think Sam has duck or fish DNA somewhere. That kid LOVES the water! Of course, Katy always has too. We played around in the lake for a couple of hours, and then we went on a boat ride. By the time we got back, he'd worked up an appetite. Phillip couldn't get his cheese sandwich made fast enough. LOL I hope they'll be able to come back up once we're not all waiting for "the call" and stay for the weekend. Katy is scheduled to take a class this month, but it's one of her electives, and she said she just isn't "feeling" it, so she'd probably going to drop it. Besides, she's got some aunt duties (like spoiling a nephew) to take care of. :)

I guess that's about it for now. Hopefully John will be here in a bit. Other than the food and my laptop, I've gotten everything loaded and gas cans filled, so all we should have to do is put food in the truck and head out.

I hope everyone has a wonderful and SAFE 4th of July holiday!

Time spent with Mom

2011-06-17T18:22:00.000-05:00

I've been meaning to do this post for a couple of days now, but this is the first time I have even turned on my computer since last week! (THAT is quite unusual, too!)

Mom and I met Monday a little after 10 at Barnes & Noble at Patton Creek. We looked around for a bit before walking over to Panera Bread for a quick lunch. Once we finished with lunch, we headed to Ross Bridge for our spa appointments. We each had a custom facial, and they were heavenly! This was the 4th or 5th facial I've had, so I knew what to expect, but it was Mom's first one. This was actually her first visit ever to a spa. I think she enjoyed it. :)

After our treatments, we sat and relaxed for a bit before heading out to do some playing. We stopped by Home Goods and T. J. Maxx and browsed for a couple of hours. By that time, it was right at 5:00, and our salads from lunch were long gone. We took off to The Fish Market at the downtown location. Oh my! DE. LISH. US.!! I had shark steak with Greek seasonings, a baked potato, and a Greek salad. Mom had fried flounder, a baked potato, and a Greek salad. She had enough fish for both of us. I guess for a hungry man, it would have been just enough. LOL After dinner, we went back to the hotel and relaxed in our room.

Tuesday, we went over to the Shops at Grand River in Leeds just to see what was there. We each did a little shopping--Mom got shoes, and I got a purse. :) (I would be safe in saying my love of shoes comes honestly.) We also went over to Bass Pro Shops because I wanted to find a new set of wind chimes, and I knew they carry the particular brand I wanted.

By that time, it was almost 5, so we said our goodbyes and headed our separate ways, but we have decided that this will definitely be something we do again.

She and Dad are coming up to the lake tomorrow so we can cook our for Father's Day. This will be the most time she and I have spent together in a LONG time! (Yet another very good reason for moving to the lake!!)

I enjoyed our time together so very much. My mom is a wonderful person...so caring and compassionate! I'm so very thankful that God matched us up.

Have a GREAT day!

Weekend plans

2011-06-11T11:10:00.000-05:00

John and I went to the 21st Alexander City Jazz Fest last night. We went the first three years we lived here, but after that, we stopped. It was raining, we weren't interested in hearing any of the acts, or we were out of town. This year, though, Wet Willie was the headliner for the Friday night show, so we decided to go. When they first started Jazz Fest, it was held downtown on Broad Street. It was also so crowded! Quite a few years ago, the city tore down the section of buildings that were on Tallapoosa and Alabama Streets. One of the buildings was the old Strand Theater. They took the area that once held buildings and turned it into a nice green space and renamed it Strand Park. That's were Jazz Fest is held now. It's only a couple of streets over from the original location, but it is a much, much nicer location! The crowd can spread out more (but I think that the newer locale simple means more people go now, which is a good thing) and it is grassy, so you can kick you shoes off if you so desire. A lot of people will take blankets to spread out--not something anyone would've done in the original parking lot location. :)

We're about to head out to Chuck's Marina for the Lil' Calypso Art Fest in just a few minutes. This is an event that features local/regional artists showcasing their original works. Painters, jewelers, pottery, folk art...all the kinds of stuff I LOVE to browse through. (I think I'll take my purse to this one so I'll have access to the debit card. LOL) This is something we've never been to, but I've always wanted to go. We'd either be out of town or we'd forget about it. Maybe I'll find something neat to take to the lake. :) I told John we could go out and browse then order a pizza for lunch and enjoy some music while we eat. Sounds like a plan, doesn't it?

Shannon and Connie are hosting Jessi's baby shower tomorrow, so I'll be heading to Lineville after church. John gets to sit this one out. I'm sure he and the pups will nap most of the afternoon. :) They're pretty good at that.

We're about to head out for the afternoon, so that's it for now. Have a GREAT day!

Back to the real world

2011-06-07T10:42:00.000-05:00

Beach Trip 2011 is over, and I'm back to the real world of doing laundry, washing dishes, and all that fun stuff. :) The beach trip was wonderful (as usual), but it was good to be back home to my chair, my bed, my pups, and especially my husband. ;) Now I've got a year to get ready for the next girls' trip.

I don't know if it is because I was go-go-go so much right at the end of the school year and then went almost straight to the beach, or if it is because I've not been taking my Lexapro, or if it's a combination of both, but my butt has been dragging the last couple of days. When I got home Sunday, I crashed on the sofa for about an hour or so, and yesterday, other than laundry, I didn't do anything. I've not been too very active this morning, either, but that's about to change. I've got a few odd and end things I need to do, and then I need to shower. John and I are gonna run to Auburn/Opelika this afternoon. He wants to go to Academy to find some jigs, and I need to go to Target to get a shower gift for sweet Layton. Shannon (Lance's sister) and Connie are hosting a shower for Jess on Sunday, and even though I've ordered her rocker/glider, I don't want to go to the shower empty handed. :)

My plan was to go to the lake on Thursday and come home Sunday, but then I found out Connie and Shannon had planned the shower for Sunday. I was still considering going to the lake, but John convinced me (and believe me, it wasn't too hard for him to do!) that I really needed to slow down for a few days. If I did go to the lake, I would have to come home before going to Shannon's. That would be doable, but I don't know that I want to do THAT much driving! So, we're staying home this weekend. The plan is to go to Jazz Fest in Alex City Friday night to see Wet Willie, and I want to go to the Lil Calypso Art Show at Chuck's Marina on Saturday. I've always wanted to go, but I've either forgotten about it or we haven't been home. It will still be a busy weekend, but it won't involve hours of driving. :)

I guess that's about it for now. Gotta get up and get busy.

Have a GREAT day!

A precious story

2011-06-04T16:38:00.000-05:00

Not long after I went to the beach this morning, I noticed an older man and woman at the edge of the water. He was holding onto her arm, making sure she didn't fall. They waded out into the surf with him carefully guiding her the whole time. Once they got out about waist deep, she was floating on her back, but he was right there making sure the waves didn't wash over her. When she was ready to come back to shore, he again guided her the whole way until they were close enough to shore that the waves wouldn't knock her down. He walked up and spread out her towel before walking back to her. I could tell that she was insistent that she was fine and he could go back out. He did, and she made her way to the towel.

A little later, I noticed that they were once again out in the water. About that time I decided I needed to take a dip to cool off, so I waded out and found myself very near to them. I overhead her talking to him and heard her call him "son" and when he replied to her, he called her "mother" and then it hit me. This wasn't some couple; this was a mother and her son. I turned and really looked at them and realized that yes, he was quite a bit younger than she.

A few minutes later I returned to my chair, but I continued to watch them. The lump in my throat was huge. I saw a man in his late 50s or early 60s, I'm sure, taking such wonderful care of his aging mother, and it reminded me of the children's story "Love You Forever." I can so easily see this man picking up his mother and carrying her to her bed and tucking her in.

I think this memory is my favorite of this beach trip. I'm glad I was able to witness this moment in the lives of this woman and her son who loves her so much.

Have a wonderful day!

Beach trip, day 2

2011-06-03T09:05:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was a perfect beach day. It was hot, but heck, it's supposed to be hot at the beach, isn't it? We headed down and got our chairs about 9:30 or 10. I had my Kindle, my iPod, and my phone...oh, and my cooler. Can't forget the cooler. hahahaha

Linda and Connie came back up to the condo about noon, but I stayed until about 3. Jeremy (my cousin) and Tats (he was a foreign exchange student from Japan at Oakman when Jeremy was in school) walked down, and we visited for about 45 minutes.

Last night we decided to go to King Neptune for dinner (steamed Royal Reds...oh my!!) and then we went to see Bridesmaids. We laughed our butts off!!!! (But somehow, mine found its way back overnight. **sigh**)

The plan for today is more beach time, and then tonight we're going over to Pensacola to The Original Point for dinner. Since I've had crab claws (The Hangout) and steamed Royal Reds, I think I'll do a grilled fish tonight.

Gotta get ready to go bake. Have a GREAT day!

Linda and Connie

Jeremy and me

Jeremy and Tats

Parasailing

BEACH TRIP!!!

2011-06-02T08:58:00.000-05:00

Connie, Linda, and I are in Gulf Shores for the Vest Girls' Beach Trip 2011! Amy was going to come, but some things came up and she couldn't. One of these days, we're ALL going to be able to make it!

You can see from the picture that we aren't very high up, but that doesn't bother me at all. There is a yellow flag flying, too. The waves are really breaking on the shore. Again, that doesn't bother me. I don't get out in the ocean like I used to. As long as I can take a dip to cool off when it gets too hot, I'm fine.

We got here yesterday about 4, unloaded, and then went to The Hangout to eat. The food was GOOD, but dang, it was HOOOOOOTTTTTTTT!!!!! For some unknown reason, the hostess seated us at the one table that was still in the sun. WTH?? After dinner, we did our grocery shopping and then we just kicked back. I called it an early night and slept like a baby. :)

It's 9:00, so I'm about to go change and head out. Don't want to waste this gorgeous day. :)

Have a GREAT day!

Another year down

2011-05-28T15:55:00.000-05:00

I have 18 1/2 years in the book, and God willing, only 6 1/2 more to go. However, with the way the economy is and the changes that have been made in our benefits, I may have to eat those "25 years and I'm OUTTA there" words. At least in 6 1/2 more, I won't HAVE to go back if I absolutely don't want to. And believe me, I could find plenty to give up in order to retire.
Before my 3rd block class left on Wednesday, one of my precious angels came up to me and gave me a big hug. Brianna is truly one of the sweetest, most sincere young ladies I have ever known. She always has a smile on her face and a kind word on her lips. She looked at me with her big brown eyes, and I nearly lost it. I told her NOT to make me cry. (Of course, as I sit here typing this, I'm getting all teary eyed.) Not all of my students evoke such emotions. Some of them bring tears of joy to my eyes as they walk out of the room. I know, I know...I shouldn't feel that way, but admit it, you've felt that way too about a co-worker, a neighbor, a family member (hahahaha).

Sadly, not all of my seniors graduated. This frustrates me because the ones who didn't should have, but it's extremely hard to have a good grade when you are absent all the time or when you never put forth any effort in class. I have two who did not walk across the field Friday night, and it isn't just because of failing English. They both have failed one other class. I had about five others who were in danger until the absolute last minute, but they completed the credit recovery course for the last term, and that gave them a high enough average for the semester.

One of the ones who did not graduate was waiting outside my room Thursday with her mother. I saw them out there before the end of the testing period, so I sent Misty a text. She went to let an administrator know, so Coach Goggans and Mr. Haynie came and told them they had to leave. (Even with the student, they should not have been waiting outside the room.) Mr. Reyes, Mr. Burton, and I met with them, and Mr. Reyes point blank said there was nothing that could be done. This student was out at least one day EVERY week, and most weeks, she was out more than that. She would be at school for an earlier class but would leave before mine. She rarely turned in assignments. When she was absent, she never asked about make up work -- until this week. And then she wanted to make up everything she'd missed, simply because she finally realized the consequences. Last night, about 9:30, I got an email from her mother saying how she hoped I was proud of myself for not taking 5 minutes to grade her daughter's research paper so she could graduate. Well, um. the research paper alone wouldn't have given her a passing grade. Mom should be proud of herself for making an effort to be concerned about her daughter's grades at 10:40 AM on graduation day. Somehow, I managed to sleep about 8 hours last night.

I'm going to enjoy my summer. Next week is the 3rd Annual Vest Girls' Beach Trip. This year, attendees are Connie, Linda, Amy, and me. So far, Connie and I are the only ones who have been able to go every year. Hopefully we'll ALL get to go in the next couple of years or so. Part of the problem is that we have an ADULTS ONLY/FEMALE ONLY rule. It isn't that we don't love our little ones, but this is our chance to get away and to do what we want to do without having to plan around nap times, feeding times, etc.

The next week, Mom and I are doing our girls' night at Ross Bridge. Maybe we can make this a yearly event, too. I still have to call and schedule our pampering! Other than doing that, we're going to just do whatever we want. I suggested going to the new shopping outlet in Leeds, so that will probably be on the agenda.

The only other BIG event of the summer is Layton's arrival. Right now, it looks like that will happen July 11th unless Jessi has something medical come up (praying that doesn't happen!) or unless she goes into labor earlier (praying that does happen...as long as no problems are the cause of it!) We're so excited about meeting our little guy and getting to know him. And spoil him and then leave him stinkin' rotten for his mommy and daddy to handle. LOL

The rest of the summer I hope will be spent at the lake. So far, that's gotten off to a great start. hahaha

Have a GREAT Memorial Day weekend, and thank a soldier.

Can I slam on my brakes?

2011-05-22T12:10:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow will start the last week of this school year, and as much as I'm ready for summer vacation, I am so not ready for exams. I normally give a mid-semester exam and an end-of-semester exam, but I just didn't get the mid-term exam in. That means the exam will cover everything we've studied this semester. Yikes! That also means I have to write new exams for my 11th and my 12th grade classes. Double yikes! Oh, and I have to have them done by Wednesday. Triple yikes!

Of my 52 seniors, two will definitely fail, and another 16 are in danger. Of those 16, my best guess is that 3 or 4 of them won't make it. Only 4 more grades will go in before they take their exams on Wednesday, and those grades are small...two 10-point quizzes and two 15-point quizzes. Some of them are taking the 3rd term over in what is called Credit Recovery. If they successfully complete that program, the 3rd term grade will be changed to a 70, so that will help most of them. However, I don't know how many of them are actually taking CR or if they are completing the coursework successfully. I'll send out an email to the senior counselor and Mr. Reyes tomorrow.

In other news, we went to a couples' shower for Jess and Lance last night. Layton racked up! Jess had a shower at work on Friday (I couldn't go...BOO!) and she said he got tons there, too. I think there will be one more shower. This kid is going to have so much stuff. :) They may have to rent a PODS unit to keep all his stuff in. hahahaha

We won't head to the lake this weekend until Saturday because of graduation Friday night. I told John that he and the pups could go up Friday if they wanted to, but after telling him that, I realized it probably wouldn't be good for him to drive that far with the dogs and only one good arm. He's doing super well, but he still has some difficulty with certain things. And I could just see Ali or Bama jumping at something and causing him to move his arm in a way he doesn't need to just yet. He will be off Monday, so we'll still have a good weekend.

Next Tuesday is our make-up professional development day, but I think I'll be taking a sick day. I have almost twice the required number of PD hours, and I'll have all my grades in. Next Wednesday Connie, Linda, Amy, and I will be heading to the beach for the 3rd Annual Vest Girls' Beach Trip. I. CANNOT. WAIT!!!! Then the next week, Mom and I have reservations at Ross Bridge. We're gonna enjoy some one-on-one time and some pampering. I. CANNOT. WAIT!!!!! So, the first part of June is shaping up to be quite busy, but that's okay. I still see plenty of free days on my calendar for lake days. :)

I guess that's about it for now. The washer just went off, so I need to go toss that load in the dryer.

Have a GREAT day!

Let me scream!

2011-05-16T15:11:00.001-05:00

So students are beginning to see their research paper grades in iNow. Some who don't have internet access (but they post on facebook almost daily???) have asked me to show them their grades, and I have. Most of them have been satisfied with their grades, both on the paper and on their current overall grade.

But.

Yes, a "but" is always out there. (And I could say a "butt" is always out there.)

I had a couple of my students ask me today to show them their grades. One of them (I'll call him Ricky) was less than happy. He made a 116/500, bringing his average to a 51. He wanted to know why, so I pulled his paper and showed him.

1. The outline was far from correct. This was the third one to be turned in. For both of the other times, I told him specifically what was wrong and how he needed to fix it. Did he? Not at all!

2. Margins were 1-1/2 inches instead of 1 inch, so that made his paper too short. That 1/2 per line adds up. I told them from the first day that I would deduct 25 points for every page OR PORTION of a page that the paper was short. (It is ONLY a 4-6 page, double-spaced paper as it is!)

3. He used 4 sources. We require a minimum of 5, and again from day one, I told them they would lose 20 points for EVERY source fewer than 5.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea. He simply threw something together, expecting it to be acceptable, and it wasn't. It was far from acceptable.

This is a kid who is more than capable, but he is lazy, and he finds excuses for everything. It was the intern. He didn't understand anything she taught so that's why his grades were so bad last term. When I pointed out that his test on the first unit -- that I taught -- was no better than the test grades for the material she taught, he then blamed it on the fact that he didn't understand Beowulf. Well, sure, that is difficult. That's why I go over IN DETAIL everything about it. With his research paper, his excuse was that he just isn't a good writer. OK...I understand that. Not everyone is, but how many times did he seek extra help? Not once. I told him today that I was MORE than willing to have helped him with his paper...before school, after school, during my planning, during my study hall period...but he never came to get help.

Not five minutes after he left my room, I had a message from the office to call his mother. HUH???? Not once has she called me or emailed me to express concern, and now that he is supposed to graduate in just over a week, she decides to be concerned? GAH!!!!! Granted, I haven't yet called her since I have my study hall class right now (yes, I am blogging during the school day.) Maybe I'll be surprised to see that she is supportive, but I doubt it.

I love my job, but dang it! I get so blasted frustrated at the kids...AND PARENTS...who make excuses. I give every student more than enough chances to earn points so that if they don't do well on tests, they should still pass the class, so crap like this really gets under my skin. One of my study hall kids said she heard him cussing me as he went down the hall. Yeah, it's ALL my fault.

Have a GREAT day! I know I will. :)

Sleeping single in a double bed

2011-05-10T17:08:00.001-05:00

One week ago tonight was the last time John and I slept together. I haven't actually been sleeping single...most nights, Ali and/or Bama have been sleeping with me, but that just isn't the same. Neither of them slept with me last night. I have no idea where they ended up, but I don't think either of them were in their beds in the bedroom. Even though I do miss John terribly at night, it has been nice being able to sleep right in the middle of the bed and to stretch out in any direction I want. And it has been nice not listening to him snore. :) I really don't even recall hearing him snore since he's been living in the recliner.

Ali and Bama are going to be very unhappy once John does come back to the bedroom. They aren't used to getting to sleep all night in the big bed, and even since I've been letting them, they don't always stay all night. Ali will usually jump down and get into her bed at first, but about 11:00 or so, she'll jump back up. Bama has had difficulty realizing that Daddy doesn't "go night night" in the bedroom for now. He (Bama) is kind of set in his ways. Correction...he is VERY set in his ways, and his normal routine has been messed up. He's gotten adjusted a little better though.

Bama had a birthday yesterday! He is 5 years old! If he were a two-legged baby, I'd be saying that I couldn't believe my baby would be starting kindergarten in the fall. LOL Ali will be 4 Sunday. It's hard to believe that on May 25th, Elvis will have been gone 5 years. I still catch myself looking for him, and I've been known to call Bama "Elvis" more than once. Someday I would love to have another shih tzu.

I guess that's about it for now. I have a few odd and ends to do, and I need to start on grading more of these research papers. ICK!

Have a GREAT day!

Hope your Mother's Day has been wonderful!

2011-05-08T20:58:00.000-05:00

I usually post something about my mom much earlier than 8:30 on Mother's Day, but I just never got to it before now. The last few days here in the Vest household have been tough, and today has been especially so! More about that in a minute.

As I've said before, I am so fortunate to have the mom I do! She has taught me so much about compassion, forgiveness, and serving others. I often shake my head and wonder how she finds time to do all that she does, but I've very happy that she is as active and busy as she is. I hope, though, that she will slow down a little this summer so we can spend some good QT together! (hint hint!!) I feel like a really bad daughter because I haven't gotten her Mother's Day present to her yet, but I know that when I do, she will LOVE it. Or at least I hope so!

I'm also very blessed to have a wonderful mother-in-law. I wish that we could have gone to visit with her sometime this weekend because I fear that next year, she won't know who we are. The last time we saw her, she would say something about Johnny and Trina when she was actually talking about Tim and Tisha. She asked us if Jessi was Tim's child. Of course, she probably never even realized that today was Mother's Day. And even if she did, she probably didn't remember it for long. (I haven't said it lately, but I HATE Alzheimer's!!)

So, life at the Vest house...We are now four days post surgery, and John is miserable! He is so tired of being "stuck" in the recliner, but he can't sit anywhere else and be comfortable. And forget trying to lie down. His sling irritates the back of his neck. His medicine has made him feel icky, and he said today that the Toradol makes him have crazy dreams. Or at least he thinks it's the Toradol. It may be the Percoset. Either way, he's having crazy dreams. When he's awake, I can tell he feels horrible, and he isn't himself. I'm not used to him not being goofy, so I'm starting to feel on edge, and that makes me feel guilty because I know he wants to feel better! He has slept more in the last four days than he has slept since he was an infant. hahaha Because of the weird dreams, I don't know if that's a good thing or not. :-/

He is planning on going to work tomorrow long enough to do payroll. I'm not very happy about that, but he says no one else can do it. What would they do if one of the department heads was SERIOUSLY sick on the day payroll was due? Surely somebody else can do it!

I guess that's about it for now. I'm going to call it a night and head to bed. I have AM bus duty in the morning, so I HAVE to get up early. Oh joy...

Have a GREAT day!

Technology is amazing!

2011-05-05T15:39:00.000-05:00

How dependent are you on technology? For many of us, we embrace technology and are open to expanding our knowledge of it. For others, technology makes us cringe, and we run from it as much as possible. No matter what group you fall in, we are all dependent on technology. I think it really hit home for me last week after the disastrous storms.

Following the disastrous storms of last week, many people were without electricity. With no electricity, most stores were unable to open, but those that did couldn't do any transactions that weren't cash. With no electricity, ATMs couldn't dispense cash. How many of us keep CASH on hand? I know I sure don't. If I do, it's usually only a few dollars...certainly not enough to fill my car up with gas. Oh yeah...no electricity meant gas pumps wouldn't work. It seemed like every day I was hearing about another problem that those in the storm-stricken areas were facing.

In the medical field, technology has brought about tremendous changes in the care that is provided by doctors and nurses. Because of technology, John has five small punctures instead of one or more huge incisions. Dr. Hartzog did think he would have to make a small incision to get to one of the tears, but fortunately he was able to do everything with a scope. It hasn't been that many years ago that arthroscopic surgery was cutting edge. Now it is extremely common.

Another way that technology has made improvements by leaps and bounds is sonography. Jessi and Lance asked me to go today for the 4D ultrasound of Layton. All I can say is AMAZING! We were able to see his sweet face with those chubby cheeks that I cannot wait to kiss. We could count his fingers and toes. We saw him purse his lips and pucker up. We laughed and ohhhhed and ahhhhhed and decided that Lance cannot ever deny this child. :) I wish John could have gone, but he just felt like he couldn't handle another trip to Montgomery and back, so Jess sent him some pictures. :) Take a look at this cutie. He'll be here in about 10 weeks! We can't wait!

I like cheese, but pickles make me puffy

2011-05-04T19:58:00.000-05:00

Several years ago, John Boy and Billy (of The Big Show) would have callers go through the drive through at fast food places and say, "I like cheese, but pickles make me puffy." Some of the responses by the person taking the order were hilarious! Following John's surgery, he was a little puffy. On the way home, I asked him if pickles made him puffy. :)

What actually happened was he had fluid from the water they used to irrigate during his surgery, and it wasn't draining very quickly.

He went to surgery about 9:00. One of the nurses estimated that the surgery would take about two hours. After about 2 1/2 hours, I was starting to get antsy. I hadn't heard anything, AND I had to potty. I was afraid to go to the bathroom in case they called me, so I waited. Finally about hour three, I got the call from the doctor (who was very easy on the eyes!) Everything went perfectly. Dr. Hartzog was able to repair everything arthroscopically. He thought the lower tear would require an incision, but he was able to get it with the scope. He also removed some spurs, so hopefully some of the other problems he's had with his shoulder for the last 19 years (plus...only 19 that I've been around for) won't bother him anymore. Dr. H said John would be in recovery for 30-45 minutes, and then we'd be good to go.

I sat back down and sent out the necessary texts. After 30 minutes, I began listening for "Vest family" but it didn't happen. Not at 35 minutes, 40 minute, or 45 minutes. Again, I started getting antsy. All these questions started flooding my mind: Why haven't they come to get me? Has something gone wrong? Is he not coming out from the anesthesia like he needs to? Finally, after an hour and fiften minutes, the recovery nurse came to get me.

When I first saw John, I could tell he wasn't feeling great, which was to be expected. Katy had told me ask him if he wanted salad (family joke.) He said he didn't, and then this is what he said to the nurse: "This chest pain isn't getting any better." WHAT? CHEST PAIN? IS HE HAVING A HEART ATTACK? DO THEY KNOW HE HAS A FAMILY HISTORY IS HEART DISEASE AND STROKE? All of those thoughts screamed through my mind in about two seconds. MY heart began to pound. I know my eyes were huge, and I'm quite certain I lost all color in my face. The nurse looked at me and said, "Fluid." And then she showed me and had me feel the area on his chest where the fluid was accumulating. She said they had done an EKG just to make sure there was nothing going on (there wasn't.)

This seriously scared the living crap out of me. For that brief moment, I was terrified that something horrible had happened or would happen. After I realized everything was okay, I thought I was going to hit the floor, so I sat down. That didn't really help, so I laid my head on my knees, and that didn't really help. I ended up drinking most of the Pepsi they'd gotten for John and I took my cardigan (extremely light weight) off to cool down. Once I did all that, and took many deep breaths, I finally got over my "spell." Honestly, if this had been some random person, it would have never affected me like this. I can handle blood and guts with the best of them, but when it comes to the people I love...uh uh. I can't handle it at all!

We got home and I got John settled in before I went to drop off his prescriptions and to go to the grocery store, and then I had to stop back by the drug store. I fixed him something to eat since he hadn't had anything since supper last night. SO FAR he has done super well. I am making sure he is taking his meds, keeping an ice pack on as directed, and doing his breathing "treatments." He won't have to have PT until after he goes back to have his stitches taken out. I know that won't be fun at all.

It's time to get the ice pack again, and he'll be ready for a pain pill soon, so I better go.

Have a GREAT day tomorrow!

Surgery today!

2011-05-04T07:14:00.001-05:00

We got John signed in at the Jackson Surgery Center about 6:30, and he's been called back to get the IV started. I'm just waiting to be called back before he goes into surgery, and then I'll get to wait. The WiFi here stinks. The connection is excellent, but nothing other than iNow and the ALSDE pages have pulled up. Since my plan is to grade research papers while I wait, that's not a big deal. Buuuuutttt, I do like to take brain breaks and sometimes I need to check facts in the papers. Fortunately, the 3G on my phone works.

I hope John's surgery and recovery period aren't as bad as we've heard. I know OT won't be easy, but I pray that he will come through it all with flying colors. I love him, and I hate to see him in pain!

Thanks for any prayers!

Have a GREAT day!

Quick trip to the lake

2011-05-01T20:23:00.000-05:00

We got up yesterday to make a quick trip to the lake to check on things there. We knew power had been out since sometime Wednesday and had no idea how long it might be before power was restored. The problem wasn't so much the power lines from Cullman Electric Cooperative. The problem was that Brown's Ferry Nuclear Plant was down and until they got everything operational, the CEC couldn't do much to restore power.

We had left some meat in the freezer, so we knew we had to get it cleaned out. We really expected that we'd have to throw everything away, but luckily, the freezer had stayed cold. Everything was almost completely thawed, but it was still cold. John decided to fire up the grill and go ahead and grill it all. While he was doing that, I dozed in the hammock. I know...lazy!!

Since we have a generator there, we decided to go ahead and stay the night. The temps were cool enough that we weren't miserable without the AC. John opened the bedroom window before we went to bed, and it made me think of the many nights I spent at summer camp...the smells, the sounds...I love it. We got up this morning, and since we still didn't have power, we headed on home fairly early.

I "liked" the CEC page on Facebook so I could keep up the progress. I know that many people have many reasons for wondering when their power was going to be back, but I was really frustrated by the people who made comments like "When will [insert community here] get power. I want to take a hot shower." I didn't comment, but I wanted to. I wanted to tell them they needed to be happy they even HAD a shower to stand in! Enjoy the fact that you CAN take a shower, cold or hot, in your own home. I'm sure that the people in Tuscaloosa, Hackleburg, Cordova, Argo, Pleasant Grove, Cullman, and any other place I may have left out would LOVE to be able to take a cold shower in their homes instead of wondering when and where they would eventually find a place to call home once again.

I understand how it is to be without power for an extended time. When Hurricane Opal came through, we were without power for almost a week. Taking cold showers wasn't fun. Eating peanut butter sandwiches got old. Having no TV or lights to read by made for some boredom. I'm sure I complained, but I hope that if I am ever in that situation again, I will stop and say a prayer of thanks for the blessings I have.

As the days have passed since the storms, I have realized how dependent on life's conveniences I am. Without power outages, stores have had to close. Gas can't be pumped. For stores that have been able to open, they have been able to accept cash only. Because of power outages, ATMs can't operate. Cash only...no ATM access...Trina would be SOL. I rarely ever have cash. Lesson: always keep some cash hidden for emergencies. (Note to self--go by the bank tomorrow!!!)

Slowly, power to the North Alabama areas has been restored. I called the trailer because I knew if the answering machine picked up, we'd have power. It did.

I just wish that those who have faced horrible tragedies would be able to be "normal" with the flip of a switch.

Please PRAY for ALABAMA!

Disaster strikes

2011-04-29T14:17:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday, April 27, 2011, disaster struck the great state of Alabama. Numerous tornado-filled storms tore through the state, leaving behind a path of destruction and death.

Storms had already taken lives and property in states to our west before beginning to show their power in Alabama. The storms began early in the day in North Alabama. Places such as Phil Campbell, Cullman, Arab, and Hackleburg were affected. Around 5:01 PM, a large tornado began making its approach to Tuscaloosa, AL. The Weather Channel and local stations provided live streams of the tornado as it bore down on the city I once called home and still love. To hear the meteorologists describing what was happening was unbelievable.

"Krispy Kreme has been demolished."
"Full Moon Barbecue is no more."
"You can stand in the parking lot of University Mall and see Coleman Coliseum."

Words cannot describe how I felt once I was finally able to see pictures of the McFarland Blvd.,/15th Street area. It was completely unrecognizable. A poster on www.tidefans.com said his/her son saw pictures and wanted to know if they were of Japan. In the picture to the left, you can see DCH in the background.

I later found out that Rosedale Courts, a public housing neighborhood, was essentially wiped from the face of the earth. Two elementary schools---gone. Two UA students were among those who lost lives. So far, 194 deaths in Alabama have been reported.

As the storm left Tuscaloosa, it headed toward Birmingham. Again, live, streaming video was being shown, and again, I could not tear my eyes away from the screen. As the tornado traveled to the east, it grew to a massive size. The approach was to the north of Birmingham. At one time, it was believed that the airport would be hit, but the storm went just north of it.

Later, Tallapoosa county was placed under a tornado warning, so John and I got the pups and headed to the basement. I took the laptop, too, so we could continue to watch the weather. We didn't stay long because the storm was headed toward the northern part of the county, but we did end up going back down because another storm was headed toward Dadeville. The path was heading toward StillWaters, a subdivision on the lake not more than a five miles from us. About the time the meteorologist said that, our power went off, and we heard a distinctive roar. Within seconds, the power came back on and the roar was gone.

When I got to work yesterday, I found out that Ed, one of my co-workers, had some damage to his place. He and his family don't live very far from us, maybe a couple of miles "as the crow flies." Huge pecan trees were uprooted. In another part of the county, million dollar homes were decimated at The Ridge subdivision. One picture shows a pick-up truck thrown on top of downed trees right on the water. (I can't post any of them but you can view them at http://kennethboone.smugmug.com/News).

I would guess that it is gong to take months for many places to even come close to being "normal" again, and some may end up with a different kind of normal. For some people--those who experienced the tornadoes first hand or who have lost family or friends--normal may never happen again. For those, please keep them in your prayers.

And the doctor says...

2011-04-26T15:10:00.000-05:00

Surgery is definitely needed for John's shoulder. It's scheduled for next Wednesday (the 4th), but we don't know what time yet. It was around this time last year that he was having his wrists operated on. I think next year, I'm going to put him in a bubble. A bubble wouldn't have helped with his wrists, though. :)

He said that the surgeon told him that he should be able to return to work in about a week and a half. Working with a sling shouldn't be too hard for him. Or at least I hope not.

What will be a challenge will be learning to use his left hand to do all the things he is used to doing with his right one. For the next few days, I should try brushing my teeth, washing my hair, or shaving my legs left handed just so I can have an idea what he'll be going through for six weeks. Oh goodness! I just thought about trying to do my hair with only my left hand. Heck, doing my hair with only my right hand would be next to impossible. No, I'm sure it would be impossible. If I were incapacitated, a visit to Lynn for a SUPER short 'do would be in order!

In other, EXCITING news...

Jess and Lance have bought a house! YEA!!!!!!!!!!!! They haven't closed yet, and the bank wanted to do it on July 1, but they are going to try to get it earlier. Jessi is just afraid July 1 is cutting it a tad too close to Mr. Layton's arrival. It would be their luck that right in the middle of the signing, her water would break. LOL

John and I haven't seen the house in person yet, but from what we've seen on the website, it looks great. It's a nice size, it looks like it has been kept up well, and it has a very nice fenced backyard. To me, that is probably one of the nicest features because they have 3 dogs AND because it will give Layton a nice place to play. Distance wise, I don't think it will be any farther away than what they are now, but it will probably be a little more convenient to swing by since we are usually in Opelika a few times a month. Hopefully, they'll get the closing done and moved in something mid- to late June.

Tonight is bunco, and honestly, I wish I had a sub. I am tired (my left eye has been twitching like crazy), and I have a headache. I just want to go home and sleep. Maybe I can nap for a while before I have to leave to meet the others.

That's it for me today. Have a GREAT day!

I guess that's about it for now.

Just stuff...

2011-04-22T20:18:00.000-05:00

I didn't realize until just now that my last post was my 500th one! Woo Hoo!!! This calls for a celebration! Ah, nah...who am I fooling? I'm too sleepy to celebrate. It's gonna be time to go nighty-night before long.

Out of my 52 students, 50 turned in rough drafts. (Now THAT is cause for celebration!) This is the first time I've ever had almost everyone turn in a paper. The two who didn't...one has quit school according to some of his friends, and the other, sad to say, probably should quit. The first guy hasn't been to school in weeks now. I want to look at him and ask, "WHY? Why give up when you are only a few weeks away from graduation??" I know some students have situations beyond their control (and far too often we aren't aware of them.) I don't think that is the case with this guy. He is simply one of those kids who doesn't realize the value of an education.

The other one had a 20something average for my class last semester. She was out two or three days a week every week (and she still is.) She rarely makes up any assignments she missed, and she only half does the ones that she is in school for. A couple of weeks or so ago, she was in an accident. Supposedly, she was trying to get into a vehicle when the driver decided to take off. She was knocked down and I think a trailer that was behind the truck ran over her or something like that. Of course, rumors were rampant that she'd been run over and was in serious condition. Not that she didn't have some injuries, but the rumors were much worse that reality. She finally showed back up this week. I saw her earlier in the day today, but by 4th block, she had left. Considering the fact that she was out of school for a couple of weeks, I will give her an extension on her paper, BUT she has to put forth some effort. Again, she is one who doesn't realize the value of an education. What does one do? Not a whole lot!

Our interns were kind of shocked at the apathy/lack of motivation/uncaring attitudes. The ones who are preparing our college students to become teachers are, too many times, out of touch with the real world. They tell them to use these cutesy ideas, but honestly, for the kids who don't care, not a whole lot will work. They tell us to try to find out exactly what does motivate these students, but who has time? I mean, we already have 25+ students per class (and we teach four classes a day), and by the time we try to cram everything we are supposed to cover, not a whole lot of time is left to get to know our kids. And usually, the ones who I'm talking about aren't the outgoing extroverts who make it easy, but I do make the effort.

Right now, I'm just counting down the days until the end of the year. I'll do what I can, but for some of the kids, that may not be enough.

Speaking of the end of the year...in exactly 5 weeks, the class of 2011 will be nearly through with their commencement ceremony. That means we have 4 full weeks of classes. The final week will be exams. Monday will be a normal day. Tuesday will be 1st and 2nd block exams for seniors and a normal day for 9th-11th grades. (It will be a completely normal day for me since I don't have seniors until 3rd and 4th blocks.) Wednesday will be exams for 3rd, 4th, and 5th blocks for everyone, and it will be a half day. Thursday will be 1st and 2nd block exams for 9th-11th grades, and it will be a half day. Friday was originally a professional development day, but we're having to use it for our weather make up..from January 10th because we didn't have ANY time built in during the 2nd semester. It will be a half day for students who come (and we are not encouraging them to be there!) We have our make up PD day on May 31. (Cough cough sniff sneeze hark...I think I'm getting sick.)

The last Friday will be ca-ra-zy!!! All seniors, all administrators, the band (I think), the counselors, the senior sponsor, and who knows who else will have to be at the Sportplex that morning for graduation rehearsal, so IF any students show up for school that day, we won't have any "official" people there.

John goes Tuesday for the consult with the orthopaedic specialist about his shoulder. The radiologist feels that surgery can't be avoided, but I guess we'll wait to see what the ortho says. I just hope he can get relief because he is miserable.

Allergies have kicked in this afternoon/evening, and I've taken Benadryl, so I'm thinking it's about time to call it a night.

Have a GREAT weekend!

Rough drafts

2011-04-22T07:05:00.047-05:00

I've seen this look quite a bit over the last 4 weeks, and I know I'll see it quite a bit more over the next week.

Senior rough drafts are due today, and the final papers are due next Friday. I have a handful who haven't had many questions. You know, the really conscientious students who usually have everything pretty close to perfect anyway, but they just want clarification. Then, I have a handful of students who have had lots of questions, but they are all good, relevant questions, and they are asking because they truly want to know so they can get things right in their papers.

And then there are the majority of the students. These are the ones who have done as little as possible and have been content to just squeak by all semester. I could probably count on one hand the number of questions they have asked (and I'd have fingers left over.) These students are the ones who make me want to scream! Most of the time, they are quite capable, but they just do not see the value of an education. For a few of them, this paper could be the difference in whether they receive their diplomas on May 27. For a couple, I honestly believe that their mommas may have written their papers. (Just for the record, if I didn't do what I was expected to do in high school, my parents wouldn't have done it for me. It would have been a lesson learned!)

Yesterday, I have a few students who were stressing out because they weren't able to access their works cited information because easybib was down. I told them to keep trying, and IF it didn't go back online so they could get their saved documents, I would make an exception and print THAT for them. I won't penalize them for something that is beyond their control. (I refuse to print anything the day the paper--rough or final--is due. Otherwise, I would spend the entire day printing papers.) Technology is wonderful, but it can be a pain when it isn't working correcting.

Let's get this day started! One week down and only FIVE to go!!!

Have a GREAT day!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just call him Dr. Vest

2011-04-21T08:35:00.000-05:00

In my other blog, I posted about John's fall at the lake and his injured shoulder. He wasn't any better by the time we got home, so I reiterated that he better have it scanned on Monday. About 2:00 Monday, I called him at work to see if he'd found anything out, and of course, he had not even had it scanned. He did say they were extremely busy and that he didn't have time to get it done, and he promised me he would have it done Tuesday.

When he got home Tuesday, he said he did get it scanned and that Dr. Turner would read the MRI on Wednesday. I started once to call him yesterday to see what the verdict was, but I decided I'd wait until I got home. When he came in, he had a folded up piece of paper in his hands. He put his keys and wallet on the TV before handing it to me. I unfolded it and read the radiologist's report. Naturally, the report used all of the "big" words that I didn't quite understand, but I did understand "full thickness tear of (insert big word here) tendon" and "partial tear and relocation of (insert big words here) tendon." So yeah, for the second spring in a row, it looks like we'll be scheduling a surgery. Hopefully, this will only take one day instead of the two days it took for both wrists last year.

He said that Dr. Turner had called and left a message for Dr. Hartzog (I googled him...Dr. Heartthrob would be more accurate!!! VERY easy on the eyes!!!!!) According to Dr.Turner, this guy is "the best." When I googled him, I learned that he graduated from Birmingham-Southern summa cum laude and was first in his class. His resume looks extremely impressive, so I feel good.

Maybe John will have an appointment for a consult soon, and then he can get the surgery scheduled fairly quickly. As Jessi said, he has a baby to hold in about 11 weeks! She sent him a message and told him not to use this to try to get out of babysitting. Like that would ever happen. LOL Pop Pop loves his boys!!

Guess that's it for now. Have a GREAT day!

Spring break coming to an end

2011-04-15T22:11:00.000-05:00

Today is the last "official" day of spring break. **sigh** With the exception of a couple pieces of sad news (Lance's Gran passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, and my dear friend Karen's mom passed away on Monday), it's been a good week. You can check my other blog for updates and pictures if you want to.

It will be back to the real world on Monday, BUT there are only 6 more Mondays to go. I think I can I think I can I think I can. No, I KNOW I can! The next five weeks will be crazy busy, so that should make them go by quickly. The last week will be spent doing exam reviews and giving semester exams. Teachers have a make up PD day on the Tuesday after Memorial Day, and then I'll be leaving on June 1 for the 3rd Annual Vest Girls' Beach Trip. Woo Hoo!!!

I plan on enjoying the day tomorrow, but I have procrastinated and HAVE to grade note cards. Today was a perfect grading day because it was stormy, but we rode to Falkville to visit with Billie, and then we made a couple of stops to browse, so it was about 3 before we got home. I was sleepy and tried to nap, but that never happened. I didn't go anything tonight either. Oh well! :)

Guess that's it for now. Have a GREAT Saturday!

I see it!!! I see the light!!!!

2011-04-07T16:28:00.000-05:00

The light at the end of the tunnel just keeps getting brighter and brighter. This time tomorrow about 70 teachers will be laughing with joy because spring break will have begun.

My seniors have note cards and outlines due tomorrow. To quote my friend Misty's son when he was about 6, "What the hell was I thinking?" (That's a story for another day.) I should have given them an incentive to turn their cards and outlines in TODAY (like an extra 15 points on top of their overall preliminary research grade.) Those who turned them in wouldn't have to worry about them tomorrow and just maaayyyybbbeeee would catch spring fever and not feel like coming to school. LOL

I did have several ask me today what they needed to do if they weren't going to be at school tomorrow. I told them they could bring their stuff by and drop it off or they could send it by someone, but I had to have it. About six or so did turn theirs in today because they aren't planning on being at school.

We're heading to the lake Sunday. The original plan (skip this if I've already blogged about it...) was for us to load everything up in the truck this afternoon, and then John would drive it to work tomorrow. When he got off, he could just head straight to the lake. I would come home and get them pups when I got off and then head up. He was going to come home Sunday, and then go back up Tuesday night. Monday is payroll, and I don't think his employees (or his wife!) would be very happy if they didn't get paid. He decided he would go ahead and take the whole week of and just go Sunday morning to do payroll. At first I was going to go on up tomorrow, but after thinking about it, I decided I'd just wait and go with him Sunday, mainly because it would be more dark than not by the time I got there tomorrow. It isn't that I would mind going in after dark (I've done it before), I would just rather not.

So, Jessi and I are going to do pedicures on Saturday! Yea!!! I need one SO badly, and she said she had told Lance she was sure she did, but she can't see her toes. LOL She is really showing! For her to be just under 27 weeks, she is "huge"...HER word, not mine. I think she looks beautiful. After we do pedis, we're gonna do a little shopping. I need a good vacuum to leave at the lake, and she said she needs some new maternity clothes. I'm sure we'll do a little eating in there, too. :)

I guess that's about it for now. I meant to blog earlier this week, but I haven't even wanted to get the computer out once I've gotten home. Since we've started research, I've been doing more of the teaching. Getting back into the swing of teaching hasn't been as hard as I thought, but it has worn me out. It's hard to believe that in 20 calendar days, Ashley will be gone! This semester has flown by!

Have a GREAT day!

A John Story

2011-03-30T20:31:00.000-05:00

After work yesterday, I had to go to Wal-Mart to get some large envelopes and baggies for my students to put their research materials in. (Yep, paid for out of my own pocket because after I ordered Grade Master forms with my teacher allocation money, I have a whopping $1.33 left over. Not a whole heck of a lot I can get with that.) Anyway, it was after 4:30 before I got home. John had gotten the grass cut and was about to do the trimming. After he did that, I heard him crank up the push mower so he could do the part of the yard that is fenced.

While he was doing that, I sorted laundry and started a load and then sat down to watch the news and read the paper. The picture on the TV began to do weird stuff, but I figured John had just bumped into the satellite dish. A few minutes later, the satellite signal was completely lost. I still didn't think anything about it and figured I'd just tell him when he came in.

A few minutes later, his cell phone rang. I saw that it was Mark, so I took it out to John. I waited while they talked, and then I told him about the satellite signal being lost. Like me, he figured he'd done something when he was mowing. So he went out to check, and I came back inside.

Weeeeeeelllllllllllllll, John actually DID do something, but it wasn't as simple as bumping the satellite.

Before I tell you what he did, let me explain our satellite experiences. When we first bought the house, we had cable, but it was horrible. Every time it rained in Roanoke (where the company was based) we would lose service. After a while, that got old, so we decided to go the satellite route. I don't remember why, but we went with Dish first. At the time, neither Dish nor Direct had local programming for our area, so we had to have an antenna to pick up the Birmingham and Montgomery channels. A couple of years later, our reception with Dish was more sporadic than our cable reception had been. We tried everything, but nothing ever worked.

John, the grump that he can be at times, got fed up and cancelled the Dish service and signed up with Direct TV. When the installer came, we learned WHY our Dish reception had been so horrible. That installer had spliced the cable and didn't water proof it, so over time, dirt got into the splice. Every time it would rain, water would get in too, and there went our signal.

Another few years go by, and for whatever reason, John got fed up with Direct, so we went BACK to Direct. By this time, Dish offered local channels out of Montgomery, anyway. The installer came and informed me that no, we wouldn't be able to get local channels because a tree was in the way. Of course, they cannot tell you to cut the tree. He said he would call the expert and have him come check it out. So, the expert came out a couple days later, and said, YES, we COULD get the local channels but the satellite needed to be mounted higher that normal so that the angle would be above the roof line. He showed me exactly where the pole needed to be so I could show the installer.

The installer returned a couple of days later and again was insistent that it would not work, even after I showed him where the expert said the pole needed to be and told him that the expert said it needed to be mounted higher. He said he would call the expert himself to find out. He did, and the next thing I know, he is installing the satellite dish in the same spot I had just shown him, and when he was finished, the satellite was about 3 feet higher than they usually install them. And we have rarely had any problems.

Until yesterday.

When John came back in, his first words were "Those idiots ran the new line to the old pole." I was confused because I didn't know which idiots he was talking about. Turns out that when the last Dish installer came (the one who said it wouldn't work), he connected the new Dish cable to the old Direct cable. The cable ran from the new dish to the old pole and from the old pole to the house. For probably five or six years now, John has been cutting grass and dealing with the cable being in his way, but yesterday, he decided to do something about it. He cut it, therefore cutting our satellite reception. (My reply to him when he said they were idiots was that maybe he should have checked for himself to see where the cable went.) He was quite ill. (I was sort of ill because I figured it would mean that I would have to miss the basketball game last night.)

We went to eat, and then he tried to fix it. It didn't work, but he tried, so I couldn't be mad. I was having an allergy attack, so I wouldn't have been able to stay awake for the game anyway.

When I got home today, I asked him if he got the cable fixed. He said he did. I asked what he had to do. His reply: "I called Dish." LOL He called them and explained what happened, and they sent someone out to fix it the right way. So now he can cut grass without having to worry about the cable being in his way.

I love this crazy man o' mine!

Have a GREAT day!

Yea!

2011-03-28T18:48:00.000-05:00

The AHSGE results came back today. Well, hard copies haven't, but Christy (our counselor who is over testing at the high school) got the results online. Of the ten students I had for the language remediation class last semester, eight of them passed!!! I am so excited for them! I am extremely disappointed for the two who did not, though. The sad thing about them is that they are seniors, and this was their last chance to take the exam. However, they both have IEPs, and even though they have been working toward a high school diploma with a technical endorsement, they will still be able to participate in graduation ceremonies. I'm not sure if they will have the requirements to receive the Alabama Occupational Diploma or if they will receive a certificate of attendance. I hope they have what it takes to get the AOD.

Of the four students I have this term for the language remediation class, all but one passed the language portion, and she was so close! I'm not sure if they will stay in my class for a study hall or if they will find another class. Or who knows...maybe they'll even get to leave school the last block of the day. (I guess that would depend on the number of credits they have.) I really hope that they don't stay in my class so I can work uninterrupted with the one student who didn't pass. Actually, I have an assistant that block, and she didn't pass, either, so I would be working with both of them. The others are great kids, but think back to when you were a 17 year old high school junior. If you didn't have something to keep you busy, you sat and talked, right? I know I did. :)

Any of the juniors who didn't pass a section will have an opportunity to take the exam again in the summer, and then they will have three chances their senior year. Some of the ones I had still have other sections to pass, mostly social studies. The crazy thing about the social studies is that the majority of the test comes from the second part of American history, which they don't take until their junior year. Some had been in American History 2 for only about 8 weeks when they had to take the AHSGE, so they hadn't covered much of the material. This year, our social studies department made some changes. Now American History 1 is taught in the 9th grade, and American History 2 is taught in the 10th grade. Juniors will take world history (except this year and next year...all of this year's juniors and sophomores already had world history), and seniors will continue to take government and economics. Doesn't that just make more sense all the way around? Hopefully, we will see improvement on the scores for social studies for sophomores.

We're one day closer to spring break. Everybody is so tired and ready to get to April 11th. Teachers who have children in the elementary schools have said that their kids are exhausted. They are having to test for one more week without having had a break since Christmas. I'll be surprised if we don't see a change for the worst in their test scores. And then that will affect our AYP. Then we'll have to listen to how we didn't do as well as we needed to. **sigh**

Guess that's it for now. :) Have a GREAT day tomorrow! I sure hope mine is better. Other than the good news about my kiddos, today has been about the crappiest of crappy Mondays.

Two weeks and counting

2011-03-27T19:44:00.000-05:00

We still have two weeks until our spring break, and it seems like forever. I know they will go by more quickly than I think they will. Or at least I hope they will.

John is taking that Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday off, and we'll go to the lake. Well, I'll stay the entire week. We've got a few things to do, so I hope I can get spend some time relaxing in the sun on Monday and Tuesday. :)

The next two weeks will be spent doing research. Oh joy. The GREAT thing is that with Ashley being there, it will be a lot easier to answer the eleventy-billion questions. And on the days when we're in the library, Lisa and Anne will be available too.

I'm exhausted, so I'm heading to bed. Have a GREAT week!

Macon, GA - March 18 & 19, 2011

2011-03-19T20:47:00.055-05:00

Pictures from our B.A.R.T 2011 trip with Susan and Tim. What is B.A.R.T. you ask. Well, let me tell you. Back during our HUGE tailgating days, we named ourselves the "Big Ass Tailgate Team" because Susan and Tim started bringing one of the ginormous Igloo coolers. Somebody (probably me since I'm the one who tends to cuss more than the others) called it a big-ass cooler. That lead to jokes about us having a big-ass Port-a-Potty, big-ass this, and big-ass that. Sooooo...we decided to name this trip our Big Ass Road Trip 2011, or B.A.R.T. 2011. :)

Cherry Blossom Festival, Macon, Georgia - cherry trees were in bloom all over the city. They were GORGEOUS!

Close up of one of the cherry branches - what a vibrant shade of pink!

The REAL reason behind our trip - a visit to The Big House Museum. The Big House was rented in January 1970 by Berry and Linda Oakley. During the time that the Allman Brothers were living and recording in Macon, the Big House became a place that was "home" to many of those who were considered family by the ABB. Of course, John was the first to spot the mushroom on the gate as we drove by. LOL

The house is beautiful, both inside and out. If they wanted to give it to me to live in, I would take it in a heartbeat. The pine floors simply gleam.

Stained glass at the front door - The pieces on either side at the top have the dates that the house was used by the ABB, and the center section has ABB. The afternoon sun coming through lit the windows up.

This shirt was given to Gregg Allman by Eric Clapton. Other interesting pieces of memorabilia were in the case...concert tickets ($1.50 for a concert!), contracts, pictures, checks...

Around 1973, Dickey Betts wrote "Blue Sky" for his new wife. (She was of native American descent, and her name translated into Blue Sky.) Across the street from the house is a beautiful church. The line "Good ole Sunday morning / Bells are ringin' everywhere" comes from the bells in that church ringing. I've always loved that line, but now that I know the story behind it, I think I love it even more. Oh yeah, "Blue Sky" is John and my song.

The shirt here was owned by Duane Allman. It's hard to tell, but he is wearing this shirt in the picture below it. Pretty cool, I think!

Yeah, this is a hookah. Don't be shocked. Most rock bands in the 60s and 70s (and even today) were known for their hard living. It was sex, drugs, and rock and roll, after all. The hookah and the table it is sitting on can be seen in the picture to the left of it.

Butch Trucks used these drums early on. This section was set up to commemorate the concert at the Fillmore. The picture behind the drums is from the last night of their first set of shows, I think...

Yeah, he doesn't know which way to go. LOL

I love this sign!

Susan and Tim outside the Big House.

John and me outside the Big House

"I was born in the back seat of a Greyhound bus rolling down Highway 41." Highway 41 runs right in front of the Big House.

We asked a local for a recommendation for dinner. The Rookery was his recommendation. It would now be mine too. Deeee-lish!

Awww...they are so sweet!

We ain't all that sour ourselves. :)

This was taken in the alley beside The Rookery. We decided this would be our "album cover" picture if we were to ever need one. hahaha

Wiggle at The Big House told us we needed to go to The Hummingbird for some good music. We took his word and went. Not too bad. Apparently this is the place to go if you hope to maybe spot somebody famous. We didn't see anyone currently famous, but if the Scott Little Band makes it big, we can say we saw them them. We decided that places like this need to have a time for the "older" crowd who still wants to go listen to good music but we just can't swing with the younger crowd who doesn't get rolling until 10:30 or 11:00. PM.

The next day we did a little more exploring. This is a Catholic church in Macon. They were having a funeral, so we didn't have an opportunity to see the inside, but I'm sure it was breathtaking.

Historical marker outside the church

A great picture of Susan and me, if I do say so myself.

We went to the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. It was AWESOME! But I'm not posting any pictures from it. We couldn't use flash, so they aren't that great. The lady in the gift shop told us that the Georgia legislature isn't going to continue to fund it, though. What a shame! So much history and information!

After we finished our Hall of Fame visit, Tim asked the gift shop lady for a recommendation for lunch. She said The Rookery. (See, it really is good!) Since we ate there already, we decided to try Market City Cafe. Another great choice. We didn't have a bad meal or experience the whole time.

Macon was a truly wonderful city. Everything was so clean, and everyone was so friendly. The city is large enough to offer a variety of things to do, yet it was so large that you lost that Southern charm. It was the kind of city I could see myself living in.

It is also a very pet friendly city. Everywhere we went, people had their dogs with them. Big dogs, little dogs, medium size dogs. Even pink dogs. Yes, we did see a standard Poodle died pink. I'm quite sure it was for the festival since everywhere you might look you'd see pink.

I would love to go back to Macon for another visit. There are some other ABB-related places I'd like to see, and I would love to do a tour of all of the gorgeous old historic homes. Oh my!

I know I posted a TON of pictures in this post, but I hope you enjoyed them. Maybe they will encourage you to take a trip to Macon.

Have a GREAT day!

Cherry Blossom Festival, here we come!

2011-03-17T16:13:00.000-05:00

Susan, Tim, John, and I are leaving tomorrow about 10 or so to go to Macon, GA, for the Cherry Blossom Festival. I. Cannot. Wait. The idea for a trip to Macon happened a couple of months ago. Susan said they'd seen a segment on the Allman Brothers Museum on CBS Sunday (or whatever it's called) and thought it would be a fun trip. John and I agreed, so we started making plans. I'm not sure if Susan and Tim already knew about the Cherry Blossom Festival, or if they found out about it after looking up the museum, but we decided we'd make our trip this weekend, which is the opening weekend of the festival.

We're getting up in the morning and taking the pups to Southern Star Farms for their vacaction (which they won't like, especially on Monday when they get baths and toenails cut...) and then Susan and Tim are swinging by the house to pick us up.

We really don't have a set agenda, except to go to the Allman Brothers Museum. That was the whole reason behind the trip anyway. Tomorrow night will be a concert by the ABB tribute band, so I know we'll go to that, and Saturday is a bike show at the park, and I'm sure we'll go to that. Even though we no longer have Harleys, we'll always be bikers at heart. :) I've seen a couple of other things I'd like to do and see, but honestly, I'm looking forward to the time spent with Susan and Tim as much as anything.

I have my camera on my list of things to pack, so hopefully I can get some good pictures to post next week. Right now, though, I need to close this post and head to Wal-Mart. Then I need to go pack! Woo Hoo!

Road Trip!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a GREAT weekend! I know I will! :)

Isn't it spring break yet?

2011-03-07T19:31:00.000-06:00

The answer is a big, resounding NO.
And I'm exhausted.

Last year, the school board approved the school calendar with spring break falling next week. Just like it always was. Buuuuttttt.....then we got a revised calendar with spring break falling the week of April 11. Wha????? The state testing dates for the ARMT and the SAT begin March 21 and last until April 8, and the elementary teachers didn't want to return from break and begin testing the same week. Granted, that would be difficult, but couldn't we have done something a little different? We had the AHSGE last week, so why not just cut this term short by one week and have spring break this week? True, the weather will be much nicer (hopefully) in April, but dang it, I. AM. TIRED. My co-workers are tired, and my students are tired! We have had TWO, count 'em TWO, days off since we returned from Christmas on January 3, and one of them wasn't even a planned day. It was an inclement weather day that will have to be made up. And we won't have spring break for 24 more days.

I will be off on Wednesday, but I'll still have to get up about 6:30 because I have a doctor's appointment. So not really a day off. Next week on Friday, I'm taking off, and Susan, Tim, John, and I are going to Macon, GA, for the Cherry Blossom Festival and to go to the Allman Brothers Museum. Do I feel guilty about taking off? Nope. Not one tiny bit. Why? Because I am tired.

OK...yes, I know that those of you who have careers in areas outside of education get only two weeks of vacation a year, but let me ask you this: When you go home from work, do you leave your work at work? How many nights and weekends do you spend doing work-related tasks outside of your 40-hour week? Guess how I will spend EVERY WEEKEND for four entire weeks once research starts. I will sit at the table from the time I get up grading. About every two hours I'll take a break for about 15 minutes until I finish. All day Saturday and all day Sunday. And then I'll have the actual papers to grade while I'm still carrying on everything else that I have to do.

I know it sounds like I am complaining about my job. I love my job. I really do, but I am wiped out. The sure fire way to know that I am is that my left eye begins to twitch, and it doesn't stop until I get rested.. It's been twitching for about three weeks now. It's time for a break.

On a happy note, we just e-filed our taxes, and we're getting a nice refund. New tires for John's truck, and a beach trip for me with the Vest girls! Woo Hoo!!!!!

Valentine's date

2011-03-06T12:02:00.000-06:00

No, I haven't lost track of time. It's just that the John Prine/Emmylou Harris concert was Friday night. John got tickets for us as our Valentine's gift, so we didn't have our date until Friday. :)

We met at the hospital parking lot in Alex City so we could get a jump on traffic, and it's probably a good thing. We beat the majority of the Friday rush hour traffic, so we had time for a nice dinner and didn't have to rush to make it to the BJCC Concert Hall.

As we passed The Fish Market on 280, I suggested that we go to the one downtown for dinner since it is close to the BJCC and it would put us through the traffic. I had the grilled tuna with Greek seasonings, a Greek salad, and a glass of Riesling. John had the West Indies Salad and tea. Oh my! The Fish Market is one of my favorite places to eat, but we don't go that often. This was the first time I've been to the downtown location since they moved from the original building. They moved into an old storage warehouse behind the original location. It is neat because they left the concrete floors and the exposed brick. I love it when business revitalize an old buidling.

We got to the Concert Hall about an hour before the show, so we had time to sit and people watch. Most of the people we saw early on were of the older generation...lots of gray hair and bald heads. LOL After the concert was over, we did see quite a few youngsters, but they were still outnumbered.

This was the first time we'd ever seen Emmylou. We had tickets years ago, but they had to cancel the show, so we were excited about this opportunity. She has such a beautiful voice, and she put on a wonderful performance. I would definitely spend the money to see her again.

John Prine, as always, was entertaining. He is a storyteller-songwriter. Most of his songs tell some type of story...some are funny, some are serious, some are a combination. One of my favorites of his, though, is "Angel from Montgomery." I was so hoping to hear that one, and he didn't disappoint. Actually, he and Emmylou did it as a duet, so that made it even better.

After having bus duty all week and suffering through the graduation exam, I was dead tired, so even though I tried so very hard to stay awake on the way home, I just couldn't. I dreaded having to get out at the hospital to get my car, but I didn't think John would agree to leaving it over night and going back yesterday to get it. Once we got home, I did all of my nighttime rituals and crawled in bed. My head had barely hit the pillow before I was sound asleep, and I didn't wake up until almost 10 yesterday morning. Ahhhh...

I'm going to leave you with a couple of videos. The first is one of Emmylou's song "Big Black Dog" which will be on her new CD coming out in April. The next one is John Prine's "Hello In There" which serves as a reminder that we should all take time out of our busy lives to stop and say hello to those older people who have often been forgotten. Both are kind of long, but I think you'll enjoy them. I hope so anyway!

As always, have a GREAT day!

Facelift

2011-02-28T10:28:00.000-06:00

I decided to give my blog a facelift. I've had the houndstooth for quite a while now, and while I love it (I am a Bama fan, after all), I was just ready for something new. And since I'm a country girl at heart, I thought the barnwood and sunflowers would be a perfect fit. What do you think? I cannot, though, for the LIFE of me figure out how to get the black/white border to go away. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have checked everything I can think of, and it is still showing up. Oh well!

This has been a quiet morning since testing has been going on. For the first time in forever, we aren't using the section of the building my room is in, so I haven't had to find a place to hide out. Do you know how wonderful it has been to be able to stay "home"? Of course I'll be testing tomorrow and Thursday, but hopefully by the time the first 90 minute session is over, all of the students Charmaine and I have will be finished.

I'm really excited about tomorrow and Thursday, even though I do have to test. Since some of our seniors don't come in until 2nd block, we are doing the classes in reverse--3rd, 2nd, 1st. I have 1st block planning, so I'll be through around 2:00. (It really takes so little to excite me. LOL)

Ashley isn't here today. Auburn is having their interview day for the students in the school of education. That means I'll have to teach this afternoon, for the first time in about three weeks. Fortunately, the seniors are finishing up their pilgrim analysis, so they'll be working in groups. Fifth block is the remediation class for language, and since tomorrow is the language test, we'll just go over some last minute stuff...test taking skills mainly.

I am so nervous for those kids in remediation! All but two of them are juniors, so this isn't a "do or die" test for them, but I REALLY want ALL of them to pass. Most of them were extremely close last time, so maybe they will get it this time. My two seniors, though, are students who have learning disabilities and haven't passed a section yet, so this is "do or die" for them. It BREAKS my heart because I just don't see either of them passing it this time, either. And to have to see their faces when they get the results...I don't care what anyone says about prayer in schools; I will be praying very hard tomorrow!

I guess I should go now. I need to take care of a couple of things before my darlings arrive. I hope you have a GREAT day!

Could you please spell that?

2011-02-25T10:14:00.001-06:00

I am a teacher. Every semester when I get a new group of kids, I always preface my first roll call with a statement similar to the following: "As I call roll, I will call your first name. If you go by your middle name or a shortened version of your first name, please let me know. If I mispronounce your name, please correct me. I want to make sure I get it right." In every class, there is a child who goes by his or her middle name or is called Nate instead of Nathaniel. And in almost every class, there is a child whose name is so uncommon that I must write it out phonetically on my roster just so I can make sure I learn to pronounce it correctly. I have even had kids go by a name that is in no way related to their given name, simply because their given names are so...weird. My question for all of the parents/parents-to-be out there, WHY saddle your child with a name that is going to have people asking how to spell it or constantly mispronouncing it?

Sure, we all know about the celebrity babies...Gwyneth Paltrow has Apple, Julia Roberts has Phinnaeus and Hazel, and George Foreman has George Jr., George III, George IV, George V, George VI, Freeda George, and Georgetta. We've all heard the stories about somebody's best friend's kid's cousin's classmate being named Shithead (pronounced Shi-the-ahd) or Lemonjello or Orangejello. Don't forget Precious, who is everything but precious! And we probably all know someone who had the fortune of marrying a man who gave her a funny name. I know Fonda Tubbs and years ago, I knew Sherry Wood who married James Carver. She became Sherry Wood Carver.

BUT again, I must ask, WHY would you intentionally saddle your child with some weird name? We will be giving the AHSGE next week, so we've gotten the lists of students who will be testing. The following are some honest-to-God names of students at my school.

Quametrius
Briquez
Gerecka
Shakeithia (wonder if her daddy's name is Keith??)
Gyovantaye
Adjonski
Yomira
Sekwondria
Antriunna (hmmm...sort of sounds like Aunt Trina)
QuienGashaious
Alaksian (he goes by Cat, which is in no way related to his name)
Wymeka
Dytazia

On the other hand, there are the names that are just a little too common. Over the past five years, I have taught no fewer than 11 girls named Megan/Meghan/Maegan/Magan or some other variation, at least 10 girls named Brittany/Brittney, several Gabrielles, and a few Katelyns. For whatever reason, it doesn't seem like boys have the same problem. Sure, names like Michael or Joshua tend to be common, but I don't usually have as many boys with duplicate names.

Call me an old-fashioned fuddy duddy if you want. I just see no reason to get all weird. Personally, I truly love the old-fashioned, classic names...Olivia, Claudia, Lila, Emma, Claire for girls; Alexander, Jameson, Owen, Nathan, Hudson for boys. And of course, I love my name...Trina Marie...because Grannie chose it for me, and that makes it very special!

Now I need to go. Quasimonitretiunasha Raymonicalamichaelasinga has a question for me. She goes by Peachy. :)

Have a GREAT day!

Teachers' Lounge, Day 2

2011-02-24T10:13:00.001-06:00

<---- This is where I am. Isn't this the most lovely teachers' lounge ever? I mean, what isn't to love? The walls are a gorgeous institutional gray, and the wall outlet...oh my! I'm surprised the folks on HGTV aren't all over this style! The sofa and the rug have that lived-in look that says, "Don't worry about us! Put your feet up and relax!" The tables did have a delightful coating of dust until yesterday. As much as I hated to rid the lounge of such an eye-catching feature, I knew my allergies wouldn't be able to handle it. I hope I didn't offend anyone by doing so. (Where is that danged sarcasm font????)

This ------> is where I want to be. Seriously, isn't that such a calming, soothing view? Close your eyes and imagine a soft breeze gently kissing your skin as the sun warms you. The birds sweetly sing their songs of life. As the hammock sways, your mind drifts away, taking you on a journey to that place where you aren't quite awake, nor are you quite asleep. When you must rouse yourself, you feel refreshed and ready to take on the world.

I'm spending my second day in the teachers' "lounge" so that Ashley can get a true feel of what it is like to be completely in charge of a classroom. (From my picture, you can tell it really isn't much of a lounge.) When I'm in there, the kids are good, but they know that I will give them the evil "teacher look" if they aren't. And many times they will come to me to ask questions. When they do that, I point to Ashley and tell them they need to see Ms. Smith because she is their teacher right now.

Even though days like this can be downright boring, they have given me a chance to redo many of my presentations and handouts. I have written a proposal for a reseach class I would like to teach, researched some new (and hopefully exciting) activities to add to my curriculum, and completed the assigned sessions for the online class I'm taking done. Oh, and I've had time to blog. LOL

Next week, students will take the Alabama High School Graduation Exam. Oh joy! Those students who have already passed and have alternate transportation do not have to come to school until 11:00. Those who have to ride the bus will have to stay in the auditorium. (So glad I didn't get selected for that fantastically fun adventure. HA!) Our class schedule will be all goofed up next week. We will have our 3rd block classes every day since that is when we take our daily attendance. Then, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, we will have our 4th and 5th block classes. On Tuesday and Thursday, we will have our 1st and 2nd block classes, BUT we will be doing those days reversed as well. Students will go to 3rd block at 11:00. Following 3rd block, we will have our 2nd block class and then our 1st block class. The reason we're doing those days this way is because many of our seniors do not have to come for 1st block. Can you imagine the headache we would have if we did 3rd/1st/2nd blocks? Where would those kids who don't have a first block go? Who would supervise? NIGHT. MARE. The best part is that Ashley and I will be finished with our day around 2:00 on Tuesday and Thursday. Woo Hoo!!!

I have to test on Tuesday and Thursday, so that will be a bummer, but at least it is only those two days. I remember very well the days of having to test every day AND losing my planning. Talk about rotten! Of course, during those days, teachers weren't held to the the strict guidelines that we are these days. Way back in the day, we could grade papers, make out tests, read, work crossword puzzles...Now, we can't do anything except sit and stare at our students as they test. For 90 minutes. Have you ever done absolutely NOTHING for 90 minutes? Try it. You won't like it.

Another change for this year (not sure if this is local or state), but even teachers are having to put our cell phones in our test boxes. We've had our students do this for a few years now, but this go round, we're having to as well. It really doesn't bother me. I would much rather put my phone in the box and know that I have nothing to worry about than to have some disgruntled person make an allegation about me. My job is way too important to me for me to do anything to risk it. I have a hard time imagining anyone doing anything to jeopardize the years of schooling and the years of teaching over a test. Not to mention the loss of a reputation.

It's almost time for our advisement, so I need to go. And then I need to work on my Shakespeare stuff. Actually, ole Will may have to wait. I think I might just read for a bit. :)

Have a GREAT day!

I'm sick. I have spring fever.

2011-02-23T11:23:00.000-06:00

Yep. I have it, and I have it baaaaadddddd! The last few days haven't helped, either. And having an intern isn't helping. No, don't read that wrong. I am loving having an intern, and Ashley is doing a fantastic job, but while she's teaching, my mind is wandering. It's thinking about how gorgeous it is outside and how much it wishes it could be outside. It's bad enough to have spring fever when I am teaching, but at least my mind is fairly occupied with the lesson. **sigh**

When I was in high school, I never skipped school. It was kind of hard since my mom worked at the elementary school and we rode together every day. And being in a small school meant you didn't have the "opportunities" to leave school once you got there, if you know what I mean. So my absences were always legitimate. Until my senior year. I decided (and Mom allowed me to) I needed to take a day off and go to the lake. When I returned, I had her write me a note saying I was out the previous day with a bad case of spring fever. I knew it wouldn't be excused, but I wanted to see what Mr. Woods would say. I handed the note to him, he read it, looked over the top of his glasses at me, shook his head, and wrote "UNEX" on my admit slip. hahaha

Today, parents write their kids notes with the intention of getting the day(s) excused, even though they know the kid wasn't sick at all. Even worse, some parents who have "connections" get doctor's notes. It floors me that a parent would lie about that. **double sigh**

Monday, I had to take my car back to the dealership because the check engine light came on two days after I had it serviced. I didn't figure it was anything major (it wasn't), but I certainly didn't want to take any chances. As a matter of fact, it took only about 5 minutes to discover the problem. I had sent Susan a text to see if she would have time for coffee. She did, so we were going to meet after she got off work. Since I ended up taking 4th and 5th blocks off so I could get a jump on the traffic, and since it took no time at all at the dealership, I had about an hour or so to waste. Hmmm...what to do, what to do. I decided a pedicure would be nice (and one was desperately needed) so I found a walk-in place and got one. The timing was perfect because just as I finished, Susan texted me to tell me she was on her way to Starbuck's.

We decided to sit out on the patio because it was so nice. The sun was warm on my face, and the breeze was just the perfect temperature. And the company was awesome as well! :) I've said it before, but it bares repeating. God truly blessed me when He put us both at Ben Russell. I still think it's funny that He had our paths cross in so many other ways but never in a way that would lead to a lasting friendship until we were in our mid-20s. It JUST dawned on me that our friendship is nearing twenty years! Wow!! It does not seem like it has been that long.

After getting my toes "did", I decided that I needed to wear shoes to show them off, so yesterday I wore my "dressy" Yellow Box wedge flip flops, and today I have on my black Born flip flops. Karen has on a pair of Yellow Box ones today, too. We were saying this morning that we know it's just the end of February, and we know that we'll have another cold snap, but it's just a flip flop day. It would be fine with me if we started the REAL spring warm up now. I could live with temps in the upper 60s to mid 70s from now until June.

Ashley is completely taking over the classes today, so I'm hiding out in the upstairs lounge. How easy would it be for me to slip out and enjoy some of this gorgeous sun? I am SO tempted, but I know I need to be readily available IF anything were to go wrong. **triple sigh**

I have used this morning to write a course proposal and sent it to Mr. Reyes, and I've gotten started on this week's assignment for my online class. I need to finish that up so I'll be done for the week, so I guess I'll go for now.

Have a GREAT day and enjoy this sunshine!

First lake weekend of the year!

2011-02-18T13:24:00.000-06:00

And I cannot wait!!!

Well, this is not the first weekend we've spent at the lake this year. We were there New Year's weekend, but this is the first weekend that counts. Or as far as I'm concerned, anyway. :)

The only crummy part is that even though the weather is supposed to be gorgeous here in Dadeville (low 70s and sunny), weather.com is showing tomorrow's weather in Logan as upper 50s and cloudy. **sigh** I was so hoping to sit out on the swim deck with my Kindle to soak up some sun and read. I can still sit on the porch and read. And the view, even if it is cloudy, will be nice.

I guess we'll find out this weekend how well our plumbing held up over the frigid winter. If there are no breaks, it will be a first. At least if there are any breaks, we'll have access to Danny and Linda's. Last year, they had already taken the trailer out, so we were SOL. LOL

Guess that's it for now. I just had to take a break from grading tests, so I thought I'd update.

Have a GREAT weekend!

How do you feel today?

2011-02-16T14:59:00.000-06:00

Aaaahhhhh....chooooooo!!!!!!

That has been the sound of the week. It seems like everyone is sniffling, sneezing, or coughing. Facebook friends are posting that they don't feel well. Ah, the joys of cold and flu season.

When we were at Jessi and Lance's on Sunday, Lance and Katy were stopped up, and Sam was snotty and coughing. On Monday, Jess posted on facebook that Lance had shared his cold with her. As I headed to Birmingham to take my car for service Monday afternoon, my throat started with that scratchy feeling. By the time I got home, I was starting to sneeze. By yesterday, a full-fledged cold had struck. I'm not sure if I should be mad at Lance, Katy, or Sam. LOL

When I got home from going BACK to Birmingham yesterday, I brushed my teeth, took off my make up, put on jammies, checked John's voicemail (and made him do it himself so he'll know how from now on), and took two NyQuil and crawled into bed. Before 7 PM. I was asleep by about 8.

I truly try not to whine when I don't feel well, but this go round, that is ALL I've done. And it's only day two of crud. You have no idea how glad I am to have an intern who is teaching right now.

Thankfully, this day is almost over. I'm skipping yoga today because I just don't think I can handle downward dog and sneezing at the same time. Supper is going to be a big bowl of John's delicious chicken stew. What could be better for a cold?

Have a GREAT day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T11:00:00.001-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

I get to go to Jarod!!!

What? Oh, no...I'm not going to the jewelry store. I've got to take my CAR to Jarod, the service manager, for its BIG "checkup". Sorry. I didn't mean to confuse you. (Just a little bit of my goofy humor, which has gotten much worse since I married John. LOL)

Today is a professional development day at work, but we don't have any assignED professional development meetings here at the high school. All we've had was a faculty meeting that lasted about 20 minutes, and then I dug into my classroom to CLEAN. Whew...talk about DUSTY. I'm almost finished with that, and then I guess I'll work on updating the rest of my Chaucer/The Canterbury Tales presentations. Or I may go ahead and get a jump start on my online class for this week. I think that is what I'll do.

Mr. Reyes told me I could leave work about 2:30 so I can get an earlier start to Birmingham and get back before it's very late. I told John last week that I wanted him to grill me a steak for Valentine's Day, but after I scheduled the time to drop my car off, I told him he could wait and do steaks later this week if he wanted to. He never told me what he plans, so who knows. I really do hope he does them tonight because I really want a steak. I figure I should be able to be home by 6.

I'll have to go back to Birmingham tomorrow to pick my car up, but I won't be able to leave until about 3:30, and that means I'll get in the early part of rush hour. I'm seeing a McDonald's hamburger or something similar for tomorrow night. : /

John has already given me my Valentine's gift...he did that a couple of weeks ago. He handed me a regular mailing envelope with "Happy late Valentine's Day" written on it. I looked at him with a quizzical look and reminded him that Valentine's Day hadn't arrived yet. He said he knew, but if he waited, the gift would be late. I opened the envelope and pulled out a receipt for tickets to see John Prine and Emmylou Harris at the BJCC Concert Hall on March 4! So yeah, if he'd waited until then to give it to me, he would have been late for Valentine's Day. I guess he could have waited and given it to me today, but the timing really doesn't matter to me. (I have a friend who was furious at her husband because one of her Christmas gifts wasn't able to be delivered until AFTER Christmas one year. And then it wasn't exactly what she wanted, so she told him to send it back. Talk about ungrateful!)

Don't get me wrong. I love holidays, but sometimes I think too much emphasis is placed on THE DAY. Shouldn't we show our husbands or wives we love them EVERY day? Why do we HAVE to have a special day to go all out? I would just as soon have a $10 bouquet of flowers from Winn-Dixie or Wal-Mart on Wednesday, May 18th as I had have a $75 bouquet of roses from the florist on Monday, February 14th. (And remember, those same roses will be $25 tomorrow...)

I need to get myself busy again. Like I said, I'm almost finished. Another 30 minutes or so and I will be done! The question will be how long will it last? **sigh**

Have a GREAT VALENTINE'S DAY!

Family time!

2011-02-13T17:11:00.000-06:00

What a great day! John and I took the nursery furniture over to Jess and Lance's today, and with Katy's help (she, Phillip, Sam, Molly, and Alex came down), Pop Pop and Lance got the baby bed put together, and then we arranged the furniture. Jess is trying to get in touch with a lady in Birmingham who does custom bedding, but so far she hasn't gotten a response from her. Once Jess can get the bedding picked out, I told her I would be more than happy to come over and paint the nursery. I love to paint, and she said Kay does, too, so between the two of us, we could knock the nursery out in a day, maybe two.

Before we went to Jessi and Lance's and did the furniture, we ate lunch at Wayne and Kay's. Wayne did his world-famous chicken. YUM-O!!! I enjoy spending time with them so much. They remind me so much of my own family--just down-to-earth, nothing pretentious. And they adore Jessi!

Sam was having a blast riding the Gator with Molly and Alex. Once they started riding him around, there was no getting him off. I'm sure he wasn't a happy camper when it was time for them to leave. That kid loves being outside more than anything.

Now we're back home, and I'm still stuffed. I don't think I'll need supper tonight. If I have anything, it will be popcorn.

I think it's time to do some snuggling with my babies, so that's it for now.

Have a GREAT week!

Quiet Saturday at home

2011-02-12T14:41:00.000-06:00

It's just been the pups and me at home today. John went to take Sam a big boy bedroom suite, and he hasn't gotten home yet.

It is so very hard to believe that our sweet baby Sam is almost 3...March 10th will be his big day. The other day we were looking through the 2010 calendar Katy and Phillip had given us and were commenting on how much he has changed but how much he is still the same. His face hasn't changed much, except to go from a baby's face to one of a little boy. His smile, his sparkling blue eyes, his blond hair...Wow! Where has the time gone?

I had planned on going with John to Katy and Phillip's, but after I looked at the HUGE pile of laundry, I decided it would be best for me to stay home and try to get it all done. I hate laundry. The pile has gone from huge to just large, but at least I'm seeing some progress. How two people can dirty so many clothes in such a short time is beyond me. One reason it piles up so much is because I am the worst about not doing a load every day or so. If I would do that, it wouldn't pile up so badly. But I hate laundry. (Oh, have I already said that? It's true though...I hate laundry. Ok, ok...I've driven to point home. I hate laundry. Just had to say it one more time to make sure you know.)

We're going over to Jessi and Lance's tomorrow to take Sam's, now Layton's, nursery furniture. Just like I can't believe that Sam will be three next month, I still can't believe Jess and Lance are giving us another precious baby boy in July. Well, I can, but it still seems so unreal. I, for one, cannot wait to meet this beautiful life God has graciously sent to our family. Like Sam, this child will have more love than he will know what to do with. I can't wait to spoil him, and I know Pop Pop will make him ROTTEN. Poor Jessi and Lance will have such a rotten kiddo between Wayne, Kay, John, and me. :) I ordered Layton a pair of overalls so he and Pop Pop can be twins. Jessi got them today. Once Layton has gotten big enough to wear his (the smallest size I found was 9 months), I'll need to get Sam a pair, and then we'll have to get a picture with John and his two little buddies wearing their overalls.

I was thinking earlier about how much I wish Carl were still alive to see all of his precious great grandchildren. Zac was born before he died, but none of the others were. Zac was just a tiny thing (well, Zac was never tiny, but he wasn't quite a year old) when Carl died, but Carl doted on him. He called Zac "Fuzz" because his hair stood out all over his head. He would have doted over Will, Maggie, Landon, Gavin, and Sam (and soon Layton) just as much. Maggie especially, being the only girl, would have had Paw Paw wrapped around her little finger! :)

I guess that's about it for now. In between doing loads of laundry, I've been reading, so I think I'll get back to my book. Today has been SO gorgeous, but it hasn't been quite warm enough for me to get out. The forecast for next week has us having temps in the 70s! Oh, wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to get out and enjoy the spring-like weather? Sadly, my students, Ashley (my intern), and I will be stuck inside. **sigh** At least with us having a late spring break, I should be able to enjoy a week of gloriously warm weather at the lake! :)

In case you've forgotten, I hate laundry. :)

Have a GREAT day!

Baby Caldwell...

2011-02-10T10:29:00.000-06:00

Jess and Lance will be giving us a GRANDSON sometime around July 10th!!!!!!!!!!!! They found out yesterday, and we are SOOOOO excited! When I got home, I told John I had some good news. (I knew Jessi had tried to call her daddy, but she said she hadn't gotten him, so I figured he knew. I wasn't going to tell him if he didn't. I did have more "fun" news, though...I didn't have to be at work until 9:30 because of snow. LOL)

Anyway, John did know. I asked him what Jess had said. This was the conversation (according to John.)

Jess: You're going to be a grandpa again.
John: Well, I kind of figured that.
Jess: But you're going to have another fishing partner.

I laughed and told him that even if the baby were a girl, with Lance as a daddy, she would probably be a fishing partner anyway. That boy LOVES to fish!

I am so excited to be able to buy some gender specific things now. She hasn't decided how she wants to decorate the nursery, so I won't do anything like just yet. But I will start buying up cute outfits!

Fortunately, she is doing EXTREMELY well right now with her pregnancy. She said she still has days that aren't so great, but they have been manageable. I don't think she has been nearly as sick as Katy was, and for that, we are so very thankful! I hope I don't jinx her by having said this. :)

Now, Grana is going to go see what kind of cute stuff she can order for Layton (or at least that was the last name they were thinking of for a boy. Isn't it a terrific name?) I have an intern this semester, so I have some "free" time. (Don't get me wrong...I have already redone all but one of my PowerPoint presentations for The Canterbury Tales, and I have started planning a virtual field trip to Canterbury for my seniors.)

Have a GREAT day!

Test correction afternoon

2011-02-08T15:51:00.001-06:00

How to fail a test with dignity
(And yep, this would be my answer
on a math test. hahahaha)

My seniors had their first BIG test last week. For several of them, the grades weren't that great, so I offered to let anyone who had 130/200 (65%) or less come in this afternoon to make corrections for half credit. Some of them have never had a test that covered SO much material, and none of them really knew what to expect in terms of HOW my tests are made out (even though I explain that there will always be multiple choice, usually matching, sometimes true/false, and ALWAYS a written section that MUST be answered in complete sentences.)

I had a few who asked if they could come in at a different time because of jobs, and being the nice person that I am, I agreed. True, I could have told them they had to make arrangements with their bosses to either be late or to change their schedule, but I'm just not that kind of person. I had three come in this morning during my planning, and two more are coming in tomorrow and Thursday. This afternoon...TWO. TWO students showed up! No one else bothered. So now my "dilemma" is do I allow those who didn't see me about coming at a different time to just show up whenever it's convenient for them? I think not. If it was not important enough to see me to make other plans, their grades apparently don't matter that much. GRRRRR!!! I do understand that they are teenagers and they have lives, but come on!

What really makes me want to scream is that some of the very ones who NEED to be here right now will be the ones who are begging for me to give them "just 2 points" at the end of the semester. What they don't realize is that "just 2 points" in the overall average is WAY more than "just 2 points." Oh well! I can only do so much. Progress reports go out tomorrow. Maybe that will help some of them see the light.

The two who stayed are gone, so I think I'm going to pack up and head home myself, and I cannot worry about anyone who consciously refuses to accept my offers of extra help. They will be expecting this same offer every time, but I don't make it every time. I feel like the first test is an exception because it is the FIRST test.

Oh, I am STILL enjoying my Kindle immensely, but I would REALLY love to know who sent it. John asked me again last night where it came from. I think he thought I ordered it and was just telling him it was a mystery gift. I told him I swore on all that I love and hold dear that I did NOT know where it came from. :)

Have a GREAT day!

Don't cha just hate it when...

2011-02-06T12:55:00.000-06:00

As I was tossing and turning the other night, I had a great idea for a blog post. And now that I have time to write it, the great idea is long gone. I should keep a note pad beside the bed so I can write down all of my weird dreams and great ideas. :)

Today is an absolutely GORGEOUS day! After a week of cloudy, rainy days, this one is such a welcome change. But what are we doing? Well, since I'm blogging, I'm obviously sitting inside. LOL Ali is snuggled up in my lap under the blanket, and Bama is snuggled up on the blanket next to me. John is kicked back in the recliner. In other words, we are being lazy on this Sunday afternoon. That's pretty typical for us, though. I think I'm about to shift these spoiled pups around and catch a quick nap before the Super Bowl later!

Have a GREAT day! And GO PACK!!!

Can you solve my mystery?

2011-02-01T07:16:00.000-06:00

I have a Kindle.

I did not order a Kindle.

Yesterday, I got home and found a box from Amazon on the steps. On Friday, I had ordered some videos for school, so I thought that maybe I had selected the wrong shipping address and they had been sent to the house instead of to the school. I picked the box up to open it and noticed that the shipping label had a "warning" that a lithium ion battery was enclosed. Huh? My videos didn't have batteries with them!

When I opened the box, another box...a Kindle box...was inside! OK...wait a minute...in all of my comparing Kindles on Amazon, did I accidentally order one? No packing slip, so I'm quite sure I didn't. I took it to the den, held it up for John to see, and said, "Did you order this?" He was totally clueless. He didn't even know what I had in my hands. He swore he didn't order it. So...who did?

Mom? No. She was my first thought, after John, but she says she didn't.

Dad? Ha! He wouldn't know a Kindle if it slapped him upside the head. (Remember, he JUST made his first call on a cell phone in December. hahahaha)

??? I am bumfuzzled!

BUT whoever you are, I want to say THANK YOU!!!! I was (still am) super stoked and excited! I put The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest over on to it, and I downloaded another Greg Iles book. I couldn't put it down last night. I'm going to order a cover for it today (one with a light so I can read in the car at night.)

Yesterday had been one of "those" days...just a yucky, dreary, tired Monday...but once I got home and found my surprise, all of the yucky Monday blues went away. Again, THANK YOU!

I hope EVERYONE has a GREAT day!

Family heirlooms

2011-01-30T12:49:00.087-06:00

**Sorry about the quality of the pictures. I did them very quickly with my phone.

Hull pottery -- Billie gave me the
center piece several years ago.

These lamps belonged to
Billie's Aunt Joyce. She loved
Aunt Joyce just as much as
she loved her own mother.

The dressing table that went
with the bedroom suite. It
belonged to Aunt Joyce, too.

The chest of drawers to the bedroom suite.

We made a quick trip to Hartselle this weekend to help get the rest of Billie's house done. Quite a bit had already been done, but there were still things to box up for the Salvation Army and/or thrift store, and there was a ton that was to be hauled to the dump. Poor Jay still has to go back Monday and finish taking a truck load.

John hadn't planned on getting anything. He said there was really nothing we need, and other than upstairs, we don't have room for anything. Connie had planned on getting the bedroom suite that Billie used, but she decided she didn't have room for it in her extra bedroom, so she was going to take just the bed. John then said that if no one else wanted the dresser and chest of drawers, we would bring it here and put it upstairs. They are antique pieces and he didn't want them to just be given away or sold to some random person. It ended up that Connie didn't think she could make the bed fit, either, so Linda and Danny are taking it to the lake. So all the pieces are still in the family, and who knows...someday, they may be "reunited."

Since Connie wasn't taking the bedroom suite, she decided not to take the lamps, either, so we said we'd bring them home too. I'm going to use them in the living room. I haven't quite decided exactly where their new "home" will be, yet, but I'm thinking about putting them on either end of the mantle. I'll just have to get in there and play around to see where they belong.

Like I said earlier, Billie had given me one of the Hull vases years ago. I didn't even know the other two existed until about three years ago. Of course, I never said anything about wanting them, too, but I was sure hoping I could get them. (Being the in-law [even though Billie introduces me as her daughter], I didn't feel like it was my right to lay claim to something until Danny, Tim, or Connie said they didn't want it.)

It felt odd to be going through her belongings. I've never gone through breaking up a home when the person was still living, but as much as we would love it, Billie will never be able to come home. The only way it could happen would be to provide 24 hour care. That costs a small fortune, and Billie doesn't have a small fortune.

There are still two outbuildings that need to be gone through. Most of the stuff in them will probably end up going to the Salvation Army or to the dump. John has said he would like to take the metal building to the lake to use for his tools and lawn equipment. The problem will be getting it there. :)

On the way home yesterday, I began thinking about our house. If something were to happen to John and me, would Katy and Jessi have the piles and piles and piles of stuff to go through? I know there would be clothes, shoes...stuff like that, but will they shake their heads and wonder why Daddy and Trina kept this or that? I know we have "stuff" but I really try not to save something just to save it. (Of course, I don't have Alzheimer's either...)

Guess that's it for now. :) Have a GREAT day!

Ruh Roh!!!

2011-01-27T18:29:00.002-06:00

I love books.

I don't remember when I really started reading. Like drinking coffee, reading is something I remember doing forever. Now, obviously, I was not a genius baby who was reading at 18 months old, but I do know that my mom read to me. I guess the transition from her reading to me to my reading on my own was flawless. :)

I do remember the first time I ever got to check a book out from the library. It was The Pony Express, and it was from the Parrish library. We had gone to visit Grannie's sister, and I guess her daughter was taking her kids to the library. I remember wanting to go so badly, but Mom had said I couldn't. I don't remember what got her to change her mind, but she did. I didn't put the book down until I finished it.

As I got older, my love of reading and of books increased. Oh, the times I got in trouble because I didn't do something Mom told me to do! I would be so involved in my book that when she would tell me to get clothes off the line and fold them/wash dishes/clean my room/whatever I wouldn't hear her. I would tell her okay, but I honestly never heard her.

In the summer, I can read several books a week, depending on how thick and intense they are and depending on what I have to do. Light-hearted, easy books...a day. A deep, thought-provoking book...a couple of days. During the school year, I still read, but I don't get to read as much, so it might take me a week to finish a light-hearted, easy read, and longer on something thicker and deeper. If I don't have a book to read, I feel lost.

Now I'm considering buying a Kindle. The only problem is that I'm a book "purist." I want to HOLD a book in my hands. I want to TURN the pages. I love the SMELL of a book. A Kindle just won't be the same. BUT I can see the benefit. I can download LOTS of books, which means I can always have something on hand to read. They will be electronic, so that means I won't have stacks of books lying around waiting to be read or shared. The e-books cost LESS than a paper and ink book, which means I can save John some money. :)

Kindle has an app for BlackBerry, so I downloaded it, and I've purchased my first book on it. I bought The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, the third book in the The Girl Who trilogy by Steig Larrson. I've been waiting on this one to go into paperback, but I really want to go ahead and read it while the others are still "fresh" on my mind. Since it was only $9.99 at amazon.com, I decided to go for it. I haven't really gotten into it yet, but what I have read hasn't been too bad on the eyes. I thought the font might be too small on my BlackBerry, but it really isn't.

If I do decide I can learn to love using an e-reader, I just have to decide if I want to drop the money on one. Almost $200 is a little more than I would want to spend. (I would want the 3G + WiFi.) Decisions, decisions! I'm sure I'll make one before summer gets here.

If you have any input, I would really appreciate it!

Now, I'm gonna go start reading. Have a GREAT day!

Yoga

2011-01-26T19:33:00.000-06:00

I've started taking a yoga class.

So far, I am loving it! Of course, today was only the second class, so it's still early, but I honestly felt like I could tell a difference from Monday. I'm still not getting into the poses perfectly the first time, and I still don't have enough strength to hold them for an extended length of time, but I felt more comfortable with what I'm doing.

The classes are at the school, right after school, so I don't have any excuse for not going. Our teacher, Whitney, is a former BRHS student. She's been doing yoga since her sophomore year in college, but a couple of years ago she decided to "dive head first" (her words) into her practice and started teaching. Emily (one of the science teachers) asked her about doing classes at the school if there was enough interest. We've had only five people for each of the classes, but several others are planning on starting next week.

I'll admit that I was hesitant. I've never done anything yoga related before, and my knowledge of it was practically nil. Anytime I've ever thought about yoga, I've thought about those people who sit around Indian style (ooops...so not PC) and go "oooohhhhhmmmmm." You know...those hippie people from the 70s who were trying to get in touch with themselves. LOL Over the last few years, I've had friends who have done yoga and have talked about it. I still didn't know much, but I did learn that there is more to it that sitting around Ind...I mean "criss cross applesauce" and chanting. BUT I still didn't know jack squat about it. And I still don't. Much to my dismay, two classes does not an expert make. hahahahaha

After class Monday, I came home and got nice and comfy on the couch so I could get some school work done. An hour or so later I stood up. Ow! I could really tell that I had done something. My legs, my shoulders, and my abs were sore. Yesterday wasn't much better, but today was. Until now. Hopefully, I'll begin to tone up some. :)

So that's it for today! I hope you have a GREAT day!

Stuff, just random stuff

2011-01-23T19:39:00.000-06:00

The new semester has gotten started, and so far, so good! I have three preps this semester which is a lot, but I didn't have to take one of them. I was already going to have one class of English 11 and the rest were English 12, but we needed another remediation class for the language arts part of the graduation exam. Because of some changes last semester, Misty was only scheduled for two classes this semester, so Mr. Reyes asked her about teaching the remediation class. She told him she would but she offered to let me take it if I wanted to so that I could cut down on the number of research papers to grade this spring. I jumped on it! My last block class was only going to have about 16 students, but having 16 fewer papers to grade was enough for me to take the remediation!

My English 11 class only has 18 students, and I am LOVING them! I think they might end up being my favorite class, personality wise. My English 12 classes have 28 and 29 in them. I am enjoying them, too, but they haven't shown a real personality yet. My remediation class has 11 students, and I am having a great time with them, too. I am TERRIFIED though because the AHSGE exam will be giving Feb. 28-Mar. 4. I really hope to get these kids skills up by then! I feel more responsibility with them than I do my English classes. I have 16 more weeks to cover everything that needs to be done in English, but if these kids don't get it by Feb. 28, those who are seniors won't graduate. Wow! Maybe doing those extra 16 research papers wouldn't have been so bad. :)

I have an intern this semester, too! So far, so good there, too! She started doing the bell ringers and taking attendance last week. The kids are beginning to respond to her, and she seems to be feeling comfortable with making decisions. This week, she will watch me teach the second part of Beowulf to our 3rd block class, and then she will teach it to our 4th block class. And then next week, she's going to take both English 12 classes and do the Iliad. It feels kind of weird to sit at the back table and watch.

We have a former student who is a yoga instructor who is starting classes at the school tomorrow. I'm going to give it a shot! My energy level is at rock bottom, so I hope that this will be something that will give me a boost. I know I need to exercise and lose some of this weight. Since this is AT the school, right AFTER school, and other TEACHERS will be there, I won't have an excuse for not going. John and I went to Opelika today so I could get a mat and blocks. Since I invested $$$, I will be more likely to stick with it. I did buy a couple of pairs of yoga pants and a couple tops, too. Even if I didn't stick with the classes, I will wear the pants and tops. The Wellness Center at the hospital here in Dadeville offers zumba classes. I want to do those, too. I think they are Tuesdays and Thursdays, so if I did that PLUS yoga on Mondays and Wednesdays, I should begin to see a difference.

Jess is still having some pregnancy sickness, but we're hoping she is finished with hospital stays until July. :) If she can keep her sodium and potassium levels up, she can handle the nausea with meds at home. Her home health nurse worked it out so that she can take her supplies home with her and only go see the nurse when supplies are getting low. Her insurance will cover home health in the tri-county area only, and Chambers Co. is not in the tri-county area, so it was great that they are able to work it out for her. We should find out if our little Peanut is a he-nut or a she-nut in the next two or three weeks...I think! I keep trying to make her a week farther along than she really is. :)

We've had plenty of cold weather, and I'm ready to tell it good-bye! I am not a cold-weather person at all! I love summer and everything that goes along with it, and it can't get here soon enough. If I were in control of our weather, it would stay between 70-95 year round. I would keep night temps in the lower to mid-60s. Or maybe I should convince John we just need to move to a nice tropical isle. Hmmm...nah. That would be too far from my family and friends!

My friend Mary is getting a sweet baby rattie! Nichole sent me a FB message saying they had 9 new babies who needed homes. The momma had to have a c-section, and they really needed to sell the babies to pay the vet bill. I knew Bill had been wanting a pup, so I mentioned it to Mary. They went to look and bought Claire. She is too stinkin' cute! AND she is Ali's niece!! I told Mary that I would love to plan a play date for the girls. Bama is too set in his ways to play with a baby. Ali will be okay if it's just her, but she usually takes big brother's lead.

I'm going to be taking an online class this spring. Amy is taking the same one, too, so maybe she and I can bounce ideas off one another. It's on designing a virtual field trip. Karen assures me that it won't be too difficult and that I'll enjoy it. The best thing is that by taking this one class, I will have all of my PD hours and then some. Actually, the best thing is that it's FREE! But I am scared that I'll do a crappy job. I haven't taken a formal class in 15 years! Sheesh! I honestly didn't realize it had been that long since I finished my master's.

I guess that's about it for my random stuff. I hope it isn't as long before I post again. For the last two weeks, I've been coming in and crashing. I haven't even read anybody else's blogs! I've got to get on that!

Have a GREAT day!

Weather day!

2011-01-10T13:06:00.000-06:00

On Friday before we left school, Mr. Reyes announced that we should watch the weather over the weekend. While the plans were that school WOULD be in session, the possibility of a cancellation was there. On Saturday, John and I went to Opelika so I could get stuff to do a WELCOME box for my intern. I had on a light-weight long-sleeve knit top and a short-sleeve sweater, and while it was cool, I wasn't miserably uncomfortable. Cue Sunday...

I got up to let the pups out fairly early, and it was COOOLLLDDD! And it stayed cold all day long! About 1:00 or so, John decided to get some stuff together and head on to the hospital because he was afraid he wouldn't be able to make it if he waited until this morning. (Even though I missed him last night, it was a good thing he did because the bridge at the dam was completely covered with ice early this morning.) After he left, the pups and I settled in and kept warm. And prayed that the power didn't go off.

When I woke up this morning, I was hoping we would have some snow, but we didn't. We did have ice, so closing schools was a good thing. The pups and I settled in again and have stayed warm. I got a couple of packs of homemade soup out of the freezer and have it simmering. I love the smell of soup on a cold winter day! I thought it would be nice to have something warm and filling for John when he gets home. I hope he does get to come home tonight! He should...most roads have opened and temps have gone above freezing.

As far as I know, we will have school tomorrow. The radar doesn't show any more precipitation coming this way, so we should be good to go. I hope so anyway since we don't have any weather days built in. grrrrr!!!

I just heard the washer buzz, so I better take care of that. Have a GREAT day and STAY WARM!

Praying so very hard

2011-01-08T20:55:00.000-06:00

My mom was born and grew up on "the hill." At some point, Grannie and Granddaddy built a house on the highway, only about a mile away, and that's were we lived from the time I was born in 1966 until Mom and I joined Dad in Virginia in 1969. My great-grandmother lived in the old homeplace until she died around 1971 (maybe '72??) so I have some vague memories of times spent there. I can close my eyes and still see the inside of Grandmother's house.

When I was 11 or 12, Mom and Dad built their house on the hill just a stone's throw away from where Mom was born. Our house was up on a small hill, and the house just down the hill belonged to Jo and Ed Stover. Jo and Ed had three daughters: Donna, who was a couple of years older than I was; Debbie, who is my age; and Stacy, who is about 6 years younger than I am. Debbie and I had known each other and been friends for years. Being from a small town and attending a small school, it would have been hard NOT to know her.

Once we moved to the hill, Debbie and I began hanging around each other more often. Before long, we became best friends and were inseparable. We spent so much time going between each other's houses that we wore a path between the two. It was nothing for me to get home from school and call her. This was after having spent most of the day in classes together and spending another couple of hours together at band practice. Like all best friends, we swore life-long allegiance to one another, but like many best friends, we each went our different ways and eventually lost touch.

Funny story...the summer between our 8th and 9th grade years, Mom had a hysterectomy. Even though Dad was home at night, I spent every night that she was in the hospital at Debbie's. Ed was fussing one day about the house not being cleaned up. As he was fussing, he made a comment that went something like this: "There are five women who live in this house." I stopped for a minute and counted. 1) Jo. 2) Donna. 3) Debbie. 4) Stacy. 5)??? Ohhhhh....he is counting me, too! LOL

After high school, I moved to Tuscaloosa to attend the university, and she stayed home to attend the local junior college. We still hung out when I came home on weekends, but once I began dating Tony (big mistake!) I didn't go home as much, and we began growing apart. She married and moved to Columbus, MS. (Her husband was in the Air Force.) That wasn't very far from Tuscaloosa, so I went to visit for a weekend, and then they ended up in Germany for a while. Once they were sent overseas, our communications became even more infrequent. Even after they returned Stateside, we didn't pick up where we left off.

In October of 2009, I got a friend request from her on Facebook. Immediately, I accepted! And since that time, we've been rebuilding our friendship. She had moved to Bradenton, FL, so we still haven't seen each other in years, but we have been in touch through FB and through text. We've talked about getting together when she comes home, but she's like me...she doesn't get "home" as much anymore, and when she has, it was at times when I couldn't go myself. I've even tossed around the idea of going to Florida for a weekend, but I've never acted on those thoughts.

The day after Christmas, she posted a picture of her and a very handsome man on Facebook. (She and Charlie had divorced many years ago.) I commented that she looked happy, and her mom commented back, saying she was very happy. That made me happy! On Wednesday after Christmas, I sent her a text telling her I wanted DETAILS about this handsome guy she was pictured with as soon as she had time.. It was in the middle of the day, so I knew she may be at work and not have time to give me all the details. She sent a text right back saying she would fill me in later. The next day, I realized I hadn't heard from her, but again it was the middle of the day, and we were on our way to the lake, so I decided I'd not bother her.

Thursday night John and I were sitting at Danny and Linda's watching football when I checked my phone. I had a missed call, so I checked it. (Took forever to find the right spot so I could get in to my voice mail.) It was Mom saying that Debbie had taken an overdose and was in the hospital. It didn't look good. Since it was nearly 10 PM, I decided not to call Mom back. I had the hardest time sleeping that night. Ali and Bama walking all night long (they were uncomfortable since this was the first time we'd stayed at D & L's new house), not being able to breath from my cold, and being worried about Debbie made for a really long night.

As soon as I got up the next morning, I called Mom to find out more. She really had no details at that time, but she promised to call whenever she knew something. When she called back later, she had talked to Debbie's aunt, who had talked to her dad, and the news then was that her condition was not insurmountable, but it was going to be a long road back. She again promised to call if she heard anything else. Fortunately, she never called back, and I am one of those who believes no news is good news!

Stacy began posting updates on Facebook, so several times during the day, I was checking for ANY news. (Stacy is now texting me the many of the updates she puts on Facebook, so I'm getting them right away.) Every single update has had positive news! Even though her progress has been slow, it has been progress, and that is what we all want to hear! I would love for her to make huge steps toward recovery, but baby steps are just as good, especially since doctors are now saying they expect a full recovery! Praise can be given only to God! He is showing his power through the doctors and caregivers!

Debbie came off the vent yesterday, and was still breathing on her own today. She was following their voices with her eyes and her head, but she was not responding to any commands. While that frightens me, I am also keeping in mind that she has been under fairly heavy sedation for over a week now, and when she was taken in, they weren't positive. Stacy said she was responding to pain by wincing as the sitter was combing through her hair with dry shampoo. (Doctors wanted a sitter with her to watch for any problems.)

I decided today that I would check on a plane ticket to Sarasota. Now that she is coming around, I thought I could fly down for a quick visit (as long as her doctors and her family felt it would be okay.) Boy! I knew airfare wasn't cheap, but I wasn't expecting almost $400. Unfortunately, I can't swing that right now, so that plan will have to be nixed. I did go by Hallmark to get some cards to send her. I need to put one in the mail. I'm also going to go through my high school pictures to find some of us together to copy and send to her.

I'll be the first to admit that my prayer life has not been what it should be, but since Dec. 30, 2010, I have prayed more and harder than I have in a long time. I know that God is answering those prayers, too. Every time I see an update, I send God a thank you, and I ask that He continue to heal her. And I know that if it is His will, she will make a full recovery with no adverse side effects! Nothing is too big for MY GOD!

And with that, I leave you! Have a GREAT day, and try to stay warm with this winter storm that is being forecast!

I am so not ready!

2011-01-07T18:24:00.000-06:00

Today was a professional development/work day. It seems strange that we just got back from Christmas break and the kids already get a day out, but the semester didn't end until yesterday. For grades K-8, it isn't a big deal because they have the same students all year, but at the high school we're on a block schedule, so we will get a brand new group of kids Monday. Last year, our PD/work day was the Monday after Christmas break, but that didn't help us at the high school at all. Sure we could make copies and do all that stuff, but it sure made it hectic to not have a day in between the two semesters.

The grading program we have is called iNow (Information Now), but it gets called iNot or iNever (or other things that aren't blog friendly) more often than it gets called iNow. This is the second year the state has used this program, and I HATE it. I'm glad we weren't one of the systems that piloted it last year. Two years into the system, and they still don't have all the bugs worked out. We run into glitches on a regular basis, and today was no exception. The old program we used, called STI, had it problems, but I would take it over iNow any day!

Once I finally got my grades entered and printed out my gradebook and verification sheets and turned them in, Kristen and I went to grab a bite for lunch, and then I came back and made copies. I think I have everything copied, but if I don't, I don't think it is anything that I couldn't get done Monday morning. The one thing I did that made me growl was to forget to print one handout front and back, so now I have to staple them. grrrrrr!!!

My room is a total wreck, and THAT makes me nuts. I finally just left work about 4:30, but I'm thinking about going to the school for a couple of hours Sunday afternoon to get it in shape. (And to staple those pages!) IF there isn't wintry precipitation that keeps me stuck at the house...

I'm going to have an intern this semester! I'm really excited, but I'm nervous, too. I haven't had an intern since I've been back in the general ed classroom, and I am TERRIFIED of doing a horrible job! I'm going tomorrow to get some "teacher stuff" and put together a goodie basket for her. It certainly isn't that I mind her using my stuff, but I just want to do something to welcome her. And besides, many college students don't have the extra money to go out and buy staplers, scissors, pens, notepads, Post-It notes...Plus, it will be fun to get stuff for her!

I guess that's it for today. Have a GREAT day!

Gobnut!

2011-01-02T19:52:00.000-06:00

My great-niece Maggie is the cutest kid--BLOND hair, big blue eyes, the sweetest smile. And she is an absolute riot.

John and I spent the weekend with Danny, Linda, Amy, Allen, Will, and Maggie at the lake. (Allen didn't get to come out until yesterday.) Amy made a huge pot of taco soup for dinner Friday night (yummm!!!) We were sitting at the table when Maggie turns around, looks at Will, and says, "Gobnut." John and I nearly fell out of our seats laughing. She kept us laughing the entire weekend, too. She is always coming up with something funny. I think Gobnut is going to be my new favorite pet name for people who irritate me. It will be replacing Goober. I think Gobnut is much cuter. LOL

John and I went to the lake on Thursday. He had planned on doing a few things at our place, but he didn't get much done. Friday was a really nice day, but it ended up storming Friday night and Saturday was cold and icky. It rained so much that the lake has come up about 5 feet since we got there.

We watched the Alabama-Michigan State game Saturday. What a great game! It was a fantastic way for our seniors to end their careers. Our underclassmen were able to get some playing time, so that's good for next year. Now we're in a waiting game to see which of the juniors stay and which ones go. And then we get to start gearing up for signing day.

I am so dreading the early alarm tomorrow, but I am looking forward to seeing my students again. At least I'll have them for the next four days before I have to break in a new group. I'll have an intern starting the 10th. This will be the first intern I've had since I've been in the general education setting, so I'm excited!

Since tomorrow will be an early day, I'm going to say goodnight. Hope you have a GREAT week!

Post-Christmas post

2010-12-28T18:18:00.000-06:00

I'm finally getting around to posting a Christmas post. I started one on Sunday, but I decided to delete it because I was about half-way through it when Mom and Dad got here, and I didn't want to have my nose stuck in the computer when I could be visiting with them.

Christmas Day here at the Vest house was very low key. It was just John, me, and the pups. John had gotten some DVDs of old westerns at Books-A-Million, so he watched some of them, and I read/watched. (More read than watched...) All day long it looked like it would snow, and I saw several friends posting on facebook that it was snowing in North Alabama. Every so often I would look out, hoping to see a few flakes, but I never did until about 5:30. It was so pretty, and it didn't take long to get a nice dusting. I can now say I have seen a white Christmas. :)

We did our immediate family Christmas on Sunday. Mom and Dad got here about 10:30 after driving through some fairly heavy snow showers. Jessi, Lance, and Peanut got here about 11:15. Jess had gotten up Sunday morning not feeling so great, so we weren't sure she would be able to make it. I told her that even though we would LOVE to see them, if she couldn't make it, we certainly understood. Her health, and the health of our grandbaby, is much more important than coming here. She said she thought she would be able to make it, and they did! And her bump is so bloomin' cute! Katy, Phillip, and Sam got here about 12:30.

After lunch (ham, green bean casserole, potato salad, corn, peas, rolls, frozen cranberry salad), we did gifts. It was so much fun watching Sam this year! Grana and Poppa got Sam a Tag Junior and some books to go with it. (I think his mommy was more excited about them than he was. LOL) Papa Joe and Grandma got him trucks...a HUGE metal Tonka truck and a couple of other ones that make noise. (I think Sam's daddy liked them more than anybody. LOL)

I didn't get to hang out long with everyone because Connie and I had planned weeks ago to do a "sister trip" to Ross Bridge Resort and Spa for some pampering, so I left about 3 headed to Birmingham. Connie rarely ever does anything for herself (she is always putting the needs of others WAY ahead of her own needs) so this was a treat for her. Because the Retirement Systems of Alabama (of which I am a member) owns the Renaissance hotels in Alabama, I was able to get a special rate for the room. (And believe me, it is an AWESOME rate!!) Yesterday, we did some R&R at the spa. I had a warm stone massage and a pedicure, and Connie had a deep tissue massage and a pedicure. While I cannot speak for Connie, I can tell you that my massage was heavenly. I've never had a warm stone massage (other than the hot stone pedicure I get at the walk-in nail salon I go to) but I can promise you that I will have another one!

Our original plans were for us to do some shopping (or looking in my case) today, but Connie had a doctor's appointment, so she had to leave yesterday afternoon. She tried to reschedule but they were unable to. If she'd known then what she knows now, she probably could have spent the night and gotten up this morning and driven to Huntsville.

After she left, I decided to run to Barnes and Nobel to look. I ended up getting a few books. I got a copy of Beowulf, and I got two No Fear titles from Sparknotes: one for Shakespeare's sonnets and one for Macbeth. I use the online version of Macbeth, but this way I can jot down notes and if a student needs to use it, I can "loan" it out. I also got two daily warmup books: one for writing, and one for spelling and grammar. Only a teacher would go into B&N and walk out with five books that were useful only in a classroom. LOL I did get Mennonite in a Little Black Dress to read before I went to sleep.

I got up this morning and headed home. Boy, was it nice to walk in to a couple of happy pups! Neither of them has left my side for long all afternoon long. Sadly for them, I'll have to leave them tomorrow because I have my yearly checkup. Oh joy...

Unless something changes, we're heading to the lake to stay at Danny and Linda's for the weekend. They invited us up to watch the ballgame and to celebrate New Year's. If this year is like the last several, John and I will be asleep before midnight. No wild parties for us. hahahaha

I guess that's about it for now. I think I'm going to get my book out and do some reading.

Have a GREAT day!

We have a baby bump!

2010-12-23T09:49:00.000-06:00

No, NOT me! At my age, if I had a baby bump, I would crawl into a hole and never come out.

Jessi has a baby bump, and it is too stinkin' cute! She will be 12 weeks prego on Sunday, and bless her heart, she has been soooo sick for the last 7 weeks. Between weeks 5 and 8, she was in the ER twice for fluids, and then right at week 8, her doc admitted her for a couple of days to get her re-hydrated. Once she was discharged, they were able to get her on home health, and that has helped a lot! She has still had some really rough days, but she has also had some really good days. I'm still praying that she won't get as bad as Katy got! We are ALL praying that she's going to hit that 12 week point and it's all going to go away for good. Hey, I believe in prayer!!!

John and I went over to see her yesterday after he got home from work. It's the first time I've seen her since the night she called to tell us they were expecting. When I've had time, she has been really sick, and I just didn't want her to feel like she had to "visit" when I knew she really needed rest, and when she's felt good, I haven't had time. Luckily, everything came together yesterday--she was feeling really good, and we had time. :)

She's staying at Wayne and Kay's during the day, so they are making sure she has anything and everything she needs. (Our girls got some of the BEST in-laws ever! I know how wonderful it is to be welcomed totally and completely into a family!) I told John that I feel bad for not having done more (and we have told both Jessi and Lance to call ANY TIME they need us and we will be there!) When we got there yesterday, Wayne and Kay were gone, but Jess had made her a grilled cheese sandwich and was eating it. You have no idea how happy John and I are to see her eating and drinking! She said the only thing she can handle as far as drinks are concerned is sweet tea. I told her that Peanut is going to be bouncing off the walls, but heck, if she can drink sweet tea and keep her fluid intake up, I say go for it!

She still has her IV, but her nurse is hoping that in the next week or so, they can reduce her fluids and then completely wean her from them. She said Lance wasn't so sure (after all, the poor guy has watched his love be so sick she could barely get out of bed, so his concern is understandable!) but the only way to know if she is over the worst part is to take her off. I would guess that once they cut her fluids back, if she can't handle it, they will know before they got her completely off.

Like I said, we're all praying that she's over the ickiness once that magic 12-week mark gets here. Wayne told her yesterday while we were there that he will take care of her until then, but then she is on her own. LOL Of course, we all laughed because we know he would walk to the moon and back for her. Like I said, she is a very lucky girl!

That's it for me for now. The pups have been begging for some play time, so I need to give it to them. Have a GREAT day!

What a happy birthday to me!

2010-12-22T09:34:00.001-06:00

I celebrated my 44th birthday yesterday. I was just sitting here thinking about what I was doing this time half my life ago. I was living in Tuscaloosa, attending the University of Alabama, thinking I was in love with someone. When I think about what has transpired in my life in the last 22 years, I'm kind of amazed.

I completed my degree in secondary education, met and married the love of my life, became a (step)mom, began a career I love, and made some of the best friends a person could ever hope to have. This is in no way the complete list, but these are the highlights.

One day last week, Susan sent me a text to see if I was busy yesterday, and if I wasn't, she wanted to treat me to lunch for my birthday. I had no plans, so I took her up on it. I got up early yesterday (6:30), got ready, renewed my driver's license (ick! At least my picture isn't so bad I'll be embarrassed to show my ID ), and headed to Birmingham. Susan and I sat and talked for a bit before we headed to Chuy's for lunch. YUM! This was my first trip to Chuy's, but it won't be my last. After lunch (and sitting there for, oh, a couple of hours just talking...) we went to Coldwater Creek. And EVERYTHING in the store was 50% off...on sale stuff, too! Happy birthday to meeeee! LOL I did get a top that I have been wanting but I wasn't willing to pay full price. We made a couple of other stops before grabbing some Starbucks and heading back to Susan's. We talked for another hour or so, and then I headed home.

I did get a huge surprise during the day. After we got back to Susan's, my phone rang. I didn't recognize the number, but I answered it. It was my dad...calling me from his cell phone!!!!!!!!! Mom added him to her plan a few months back, but he never even showed any interest in learning how to use it, so it ended up in his drawer. So imagine my surprise when I discovered the call was from him. He decided he needed to keep it with him after he fell a couple of times lately.

He has some nerve damage in his legs and feet (quite certain it is from his exposure to Agent Orange during one...or both...of his tours to 'Nam.) He said that a couple of times lately his feet don't "keep up" with the rest of his body and he falls. So he will be going to Princeton tomorrow for a nerve conduction study. He also has to have an MRI on his head, AND he is going to see an oncologist because something isn't right with his blood work. Please keep him in your prayers. For now, I'm trying not to worry. Easier said than done, though!

I need to get myself busy this morning. I need to wash dishes, grade some papers, and shower. I think we're going to ride over to see Jess this afternoon if she feels up to having company. I've got a few goodies to take to her, so maybe she'll feel up to visitors for a little while.

That's it for me for now. Have a GREAT day!

18 and counting

2010-12-20T14:51:00.000-06:00

John and I have been married 18 years today. The "official" time that we became husband and wife will be approximately 4:15 PM. One thing we were set on was a short and sweet ceremony. The fact that our ceremony was at 4:00 on a Sunday afternoon meant it needed to be short and sweet, too, so attendees could go back for evening worship services.

Why a Sunday afternoon wedding you ask? At first, we were going to have it on Saturday, but it didn't take long to realize how hard that would be. First of all, John was working in Alex City and living in Eclectic. Because he was taking the entire week off the very next week, he wanted to work a full day on Friday. Plus, he wouldn't be picking Katy and Jessi up until 6 on Friday. Add to that a 3-hour drive, and you can see that having a rehearsal on Friday night was out of the question. I wanted to do things the traditional way and not have us see each other before I began down the aisle, so that ruled out a Saturday morning rehearsal. The next weekend would have meant Christmas night rehearsal, and we didn't want to do that, either. So, we decided to begin our life together on Sunday, December 20, 1992. And I have never regretted that at all.

When I sit here and think about the last 18 years, my first thought is about how quickly the years have flown by. It truly seems like it was just a couple of years ago, but the creaks this body makes now tells it was definitely more than just a couple of years ago. :) When I try to think of all of the memories we have made, I become overwhelmed. Whether it was time spent with family, friends, or alone, we have made thousands and thousands of wonderful memories, and I can't even begin to list them all. I also wonder what our future holds for us. We have been so very blessed, and I pray that God continues to bless us as we face the next year and every year that follows.

I am truly the most fortunate woman alive. I have the love of my life, my best friend, my confidante, my biggest supporter...and I thank God each and every day for him!

I love you, John, and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you. Happy anniversary!

Happy anniversary!

2010-12-18T20:34:00.000-06:00

At precisely 4:00 PM on Sunday, December 20, 1992, I began the journey down the aisle of First Christian Church in Jasper, Alabama, to the man with whom I will spend the rest of my life loving. I can hardly believe that in fewer than 48 hours, we will be celebrating our 18th anniversary! The years have flown.

Even though our anniversary isn't officially until Monday, we decided to go out to dinner tonight. I had suggested a couple of places that are in Opelika, but neither of them are open on Mondays, so we thought about going Tuesday to make it a combo anniversary/my birthday dinner. (Combining the two was my suggestion. I'm perfectly fine with killing two birds with one stone.) We were on our way to Auburn about a week ago and saw the sign for The Yellow Hammer Restaurant. I told John that we should think about going there, too.

Wednesday, I asked him if he had decided where we were going, and he said he wanted to go to The Yellow Hammer. I looked it up to give him the phone number so he could call to make reservations. They are open Wednesday-Saturday, so we decided we'd go tonight.

Oh. My. Goodness. I now have a new favorite restaurant for special occasions. The building which houses The Yellow Hammer was built around 1912 and was a Ford dealership. (They sold the Model T here.) The walls are the original brick, the floor is the original concrete, and the bay doors are still in place. Needless to say, this place has a neat ambiance.

We had looked at the menu online, so we had a pretty good idea what we wanted, or at least I did. I was going to have Tiger Shrimp Alfredo. BUT when I looked at the menu, the first thing I noticed was Blackened Tuna Nicoise. DING DING DING! Winner!!! I love tuna, so it didn't take much to change my mind. I have had tuna at a lot of restaurants, and I have had tuna that John has grilled, but NONE of them even come close to the tuna I had tonight. It was FAB. U. LOUS. John had the Australian Filet Mignon, and while it was good (we shared bites) I much preferred my tuna. He said that the next time we go, he'll have the tuna. (Of course, because this is a special occasion place, we won't be going back anytime in the real near future. LOL) Following our meal, we decided to share bread pudding for dessert. Again, we've had bread pudding at a lot of places, but again, this was the best. (John has had it at Commander's Palace, and he said what we had tonight didn't even compare.)

Now we're home, and I'm in my comfy jammies. Bama is snuggled up next to John in the recliner, and Ali is snuggled up (under a blanket) with me in the chair. Not much could make this evening any better!

I hope you have a GREAT Sunday!

Family Christmas

2010-12-15T17:39:00.000-06:00

Vest Family Christmas 2010

We got together this past Saturday for our family Christmas. Not everyone got to join us for lunch. Jess and Lance didn't come because SHE IS PREGNANT!!! And she is feeling really, really sick. It looks like she's going to have to go through her pregnancy with hyperemesis like Katy did, but I will keep on praying that she manages to overcome it. Libby, Jay, and Gavin didn't get to come. Libby is still recovering from her surgery, and sweet Gavin is still just sooooo tiny and didn't need to get out in the blustery cold. Luke and Amanda were at her grandmother's. After we had lunch, we all went over to Tim and Tisha's for dessert and so the kids could open gifts. Billie also didn't have lunch with us, but Tisha picked her up and took her to their house, so she got to see everybody.

It was a very relaxing day. Nobody was rushing around fixing casseroles or making sure that all of the dishes had spoons. Nobody had to clean anything up after we all finished eating. (Well, Tisha probably had a few odds and ends to wash up.) I vote that we do it this way every year. Hopefully, next year we can all meet at the restaurant and just do everything there.

As the holiday season continues, I pray that you and yours have many opportunities to share past memories while making new ones.

Merry Christmas!

An answered prayer

2010-12-13T20:06:00.000-06:00

My dad just turned 73 on November 27. Growing up, I never saw him darken the door of a church unless it was for a wedding or a funeral he HAD to attend. My memories of Pawpaw are slim, at best, so I don't know if he attended church regularly or not, but I know Mawmaw did, so I know Daddy was exposed to religion.

Mom approached him about attending worship with us, but he basically said no, and he wouldn't change his mind, so after a while, she stopped. She never stopped praying though.

Not long after John and I got married, Eddy (my brother) began having problems with substance abuse. He literally put my parents through hell. Finally, Daddy decided to give church a try. Do you have ANY idea how weird it was the first time John and I went home for the weekend and Daddy got up and went to church with us? That was about 15 or 16 years ago, and for the most part, he has gone faithfully and participated in various activities.

After one particularly hellish episode with Eddy, Daddy decided he was going to stop going to church. He was angry that prayers had not been answered, and he blamed God, so he quit attending for a while. For those of us who have been in church since infancy, we know that God does not always answer our prayers the way we want, and sometimes, it seems our prayers are never answered. What we have to remember, though, is that while God DOES have the power to completely turn our lives around, He has given us free will to make our own decisions, so even though thousands of prayers were made on Eddy's behalf, it was ultimately up to him to change his life.

Once Daddy began attending church, the prayers for him changed. Instead of praying for him to start going to church, the prayers were for him to be baptized. Mom and I have had numerous conversations about the subject. I told her several times that I just didn't see Daddy ever taking that step out into the aisle during worship service. I thought that if he ever did decide to take the plunge (literally), he would do so without a huge crowd around...maybe during the week or after church services were over and not a lot of people were around.

Imagine my joy when I read the text from Mom today saying that Daddy was baptized this morning at 11:00! I had tears of joy, and my first thought was "I have to share this with Karen." So across the hall I went. She was at her desk, so I had to walk across the room. When she looked up and saw me with tears in my eyes, so was immediately concerned, but the huge smile on my face let her know that nothing was wrong.

One of my biggest prayers was finally answered, and all I can say is THANK YOU, GOD, for helping Daddy realize the importance of this decision.

Have a WONDERFUL day! I know I will!

Stille Nacht

2010-12-08T19:38:00.000-06:00

"Silent Night" has always been one of my favorite Christmas songs. I found this version by the St. Thomas Boys Choir. Simply beautiful! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Playing catch up

2010-12-04T18:40:00.000-06:00

I've gotten so far behind on reading blogs that I'm not even going to try to go back and catch up. I'll just start at the current post and go from there. This is what happens when life gets busy! Between football, going to the lake, going to John's mom's, work...

Hopefully things will slow down for a while. With football season essentially being over (except for bowl games, but they won't start for a couple more weeks or so), lake season being over (until about March), and John's mom being in the nursing home (we will still go visit, but we won't necessarily be tied to a particular weekend), I should have more blog time. But there is still work. And I still have research papers to grade. ICK!

From what Connie has said, Billie has settled in fairly well at the nursing home. Connie said she still says she wants to go home, but it's easy to change the subject with her. We haven't been up since she's been there, but our family holiday gathering is next weekend, so we'll see her then.

We decided back in the summer to do the family gatherings different this year. Normally, we have a HUGE traditional meal for Thanksgiving, and then we turn around and have a HUGE meal the Sunday before Christmas. I don't remember who made the suggestion to combine the two into one celebration this year, but I'm really glad she did. I know it was a she because I don't know if any of the men honestly care one way or the other. I know John doesn't. I did run the idea by him before I gave my input, and he was actually very much in favor of combining the two into one. For most everyone else, it isn't a big deal because everyone else lives right there in Hartselle. For us, they always ended up being crazy, busy weekends, and when they were over, we were exhausted, and we didn't get to go home and put our feet up afterwards. We had a three-hour drive home.

So this year, we are combining our Thanksgiving/Christmas celebrations into one family dinner next Saturday. Another thing we are doing that John and I really like is that we are having our dinner at a restaurant, SO that means no having to rush around the morning of to cook and make sure everything is done. In the past, we (well, the females) have busted our butts getting everything set out...What tray does this need to go on? Does this need to be heated? Where are the spoons?...while the men sat around and talked. Then we eat, and then the women rush around clearing everything...Are you taking this with you? Toss that because I'm not taking it home! Where is the Saran Wrap?...while the men sat around and talked. And then we do the gift exchange, clean up, and head our separate ways. Very little relaxation, or even visiting--unless you are a man---was done. I think this year will be better. If not, we can go back to the old way.

Only two weeks of work until Christmas break. Where does the time go? I have so much to get done. I desperately need a clone!

Guess that's it for now. Have a GREAT day!

"Iron Bowl" eve

2010-11-25T17:47:00.000-06:00

In just over 19 hours, Alabama and Auburn will kick off the 75th Iron Bowl. I personally refer to this game as the Alabama-Auburn game simply because I associate the title "Iron Bowl" with the years that the game was played in Birmingham. Once it was moved from Legion Field to the campuses, it ceased being the Iron Bowl. It was called the Iron Bowl because at one time Birmingham was known for its iron and steel production.

Tomorrow's game will be at the beautiful Bryant-Denny Stadium, and John and I will be there along with 101,819+ other screaming, rowdy fans. Since we've been lazy today, I've been reading message boards and seen all of the reasons Bama should win as well as the reasons Auburn should win. I'll admit it...I'm nervous! I want Bama to win. Desperately. I will also admit it...I hate Auburn. HATE it. Now, that does NOT mean that I hate the people who are associated with Auburn. After all, both of our sons-in-law are Auburn grads, and I have many friends whom I cherish who are grads. OK...so yeah, maybe I have a problem, but after the last couple of weeks, I have come to realize that I am not alone.

What has happened in the last couple of weeks? Oh, just the NCAA snooping around in regards to the recruitment of one Cameron Newton, Auburn's QB (who has done an awesome job, BTW. See, I can say something nice!) In addition to the NCAA, the FBI has also started poking around looking at the involvement of potential illegal acts of several of the Board of Trustee members who are associated with gambling interests as well as a failed bank. I have read numerous message board posts and newspaper articles and listened to numerous talking heads from various media outlets discussing this, and I just don't see how Auburn gets out of this without some penalty. However, some of the Auburn fans who are posting on message boards can't even respond without saying "It's all a lie." "Bammers have made all this up because we're doing so well this year." "We haven't done anything wrong. Besides, everybody else does it." (Um, isn't that somewhat of a contradiction?) THIS is why I hate Auburn.

Bama may lose tomorrow. We have gotten burned more than once, but I have to believe that we will be ready for anything. We haven't lost at home in the last 20 games. We have a stadium that holds over 101,000 people, and I know the crowd will be into the game. We have a coach who will make sure the players are focused and ready to take on the opponents. We have players who want to prove that, even though we have lost two games this season, we are still a top-tier team. Because of those things, I believe we will win. IF we don't, we will know that we lost to a team that felt they had to participate in a pay-for-play scheme in order to win.

I've got everything laid out and ready to go. My crimson funnel neck sweater, my black/charcoal houndstooth peacoat, my black with crimson trim leather gloves, my red undies, and my houndstooth tights (which no one will be able to see unless they go to the potty with me, but still...) We're leaving about 7 or so because we're meeting Susan and Tim at Baumhower's at 10:30 for wings. Yeah, wings at 10:30, but if we don't go early, we'd never get in and out by game time. :) I seriously think I will have a hard time sleeping tonight. This is like Christmas eve when I was a kid.

I guess that's it for now. I hope you have a GREAT day tomorrow, and

ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!!!

Thankful

2010-11-24T21:02:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, so I wanted to take a minute to reflect on the things I am truly thankful for.

First of all, I have to mention that in addition to Thanksgiving, it is my mom's birthday, so I get to do a combined happy birthday/thankful for. Mom is a truly beautiful person, both inside and out. She is always thinking about other people and doing so much for those who are in need, whether it is physical, financial, emotional, or most importantly, spiritually. She stays busy with her Tuesday morning Bible study, working/volunteering at the hospital, preparing meals for the local hospice...I could go on and on. She has been such an inspiration to me, and I hope that when I grow up, I can be just like her. :) Happy birthday, Mom! I love you!

Next, Dad's birthday is Saturday, so let me do the same for him. Growing up, Dad wasn't the most affectionate person, but that goes back to his upbringing. When you grow up in a family that doesn't express love, it's kind of hard to be all mushy. There is no doubt in my mind at all that he loves me, though, and I know that at any time, all I would have to do is pick up the phone and he'd be there for me. He provided a great home for us, and he set high expectations for us. I know that much of my stubbornness comes from him, and I'm glad I have that streak in me. :) Happy birthday to you, too, Dad! I love you!

I am so thankful for my wonderful husband and our beautiful children and grandson. God knew what I needed to make my life complete. Even though I thought I knew what I needed, He guided me to what I really needed. I thank Him each and every day for John, Katy, Phillip, Sam, Jessi, and Lance. These are the people who make my life complete. I cannot wait for the day that He adds to our wonderful family!

God has also blessed me by giving me some of the best friends a person could ever dream of having. It would be impossible for me to name them all because I know that I would leave someone out. (That sounds sort of like an acceptance speech, doesn't it?) I would feel horrible if I overlooked someone and caused hurt feelings. So, let me just say that if you consider yourself my friend, I am extremely thankful for you, and I love you!

John and I both have good jobs, which is not something far too many people have in today's economy. Not only do we have good jobs, but we both love our jobs and the people we work with. I talk about how ready I am to retire, but honestly, I will miss my kids and my colleagues. (I will NOT miss the grading though! LOL)

We also have a beautiful home which is filled with love and laughter. Our bellies have plenty (as anyone who sees us can tell...) We have all of our needs met, and we can even have many of our wants fulfilled.

I know I could go on and on, but I think I'm about to call it a night.

I hope each of you has a wonderful Thanksgiving, one filled with laughter and love.

I'm still here!

2010-11-17T20:54:00.000-06:00

The last few weeks have been..., yeah, they've been. Busy, tiring, slightly stressful. But that's normal for this time of year. I've been neck deep in research (final papers are due Monday), and it's nearly the holidays. Am I ready? In a word...no.

One of my friends from work posted pictures of her CHRISTMAS trees on Facebook the other day. I posted a comment saying that I hated her because I wasn't even ready for Halloween. THAT'S how behind I feel. Not one Christmas gift has even been thought about, much less bought. Decorating? Haven't given it a thought. Heck, it just dawned on me earlier this week that NEXT week is Thanksgiving! Where has this year gone???

For years John would hunt Thanksgiving weekend, so we would come home from Hartselle on Thursday night or Friday morning. I would decorate everything except for putting up the tree. We would go, usually on Sunday afternoon, to cut our tree, and then I would decorate it Sunday evening/Monday. After he stopped hunting, we would usually stay in Hartselle for the entire weekend, and that's when my decorating began to not happen until mid-December. Since we're not doing a Hartselle Thanksgiving this year, maybe I can get some decorating done next weekend.

This will be the first year in almost forever that we haven't gone to Hartselle for Thanksgiving. We, as a family, decided to do only one holiday celebration this year halfway between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The holidays are so, so busy (and they just seem to get busier every year) that we decided to try this to alleviate some of the stress. Honestly, I'm glad we're doing it this way because it will cut down on the traveling John and I will do. For months, we've been on the road most every weekend, either to the lake or to his mom's, and I think I will enjoy a couple of days of just hanging around the house. And even then, we'll still be on the road the day after Thanksgiving because that's when the Alabama-Auburn game is. BUT we will be home all day Saturday and after church on Sunday. Even I hope to decorate, I also plan on getting a good start on grading research papers. (Any volunteers? No?? Gee, I don't understand why...)

Guess that's it for now. I'm gonna pop over to tidefans to see what the latest news on the sCam Newton saga is. You've heard that truth is stranger than fiction? Well, this is certainly one of those cases. It is going to be interesting to see how this eventually all plays out.

Have a GREAT day! I know I will...taking a half day tomorrow so we can go to the Bama-Ga. State game tomorrow night, and then taking Friday off to recover from a late night. :)

All settled in

2010-11-11T20:23:00.000-06:00

John just talked to Connie. Billie's transfer to the nursing home went well. Thank you, God! She said the ambulance crew were friends of Luke's, and they had her laughing. She's been told she's going for rehab in order to build up her strength, and with her memory having gotten so bad, she won't remember if she's been there for a day or a month. For now, she is in the Alzheimer's unit, but Connie said that she would probably be moved into the other part once she's had time to adjust. Connie said that the lady who is her roommate right now is basically just lying there. That isn't what Billie needs. She needs to have people she can talk to and "visit" with. I would think there are some in the Alzheimer's unit who are communicative, so maybe she can meet some of them.

Today was the twelve year anniversary of Grannie's death. I still remember that phone call just like it happened this morning. And the hurt is still just as deep. Fortunately, it doesn't hurt every day. Most memories now make me smile.

I enjoyed my day off. Slept late (8ish...yeah, that's late to me now), had coffee while I read the paper and did the crossword puzzle, put the shoes that my closet had projectile vomited last week back into my closet, got a pedi, bought paint samples for the bathroom, and got my hair done. I kept the same color, but I went with a shorter cut. It isn't exactly like the picture I took in, but maybe I'll be able to make it do what I want.
Going to work tomorrow will be hard after being off today.

Today is Veteran's Day. I am so proud to be the daughter, granddaughter, niece, cousin, daughter-in-law, sister-in-law, aunt, and friend of veterans of the various wars/conflicts. (I hope I didn't leave out any connections!) I know that it is a great sacrifice to leave behind family and friends in order to carry out your commitment to our country, and it has to be extremely difficult to say those good-byes knowing that there is a chance you won't see your loved ones again. For every man and woman who has served, I thank you. I appreciate all that you have done for America.

Have a GREAT day!

The day has finally arrived

2010-11-01T20:45:00.000-05:00

I had a voice mail from my sister-in-law Connie today. Tomorrow is "the" day. The day we've all known was coming. The day we've dreaded so badly. The day John's mom begins her journey to the nursing home.

Connie has told her she has a doctor's appointment tomorrow, but she, Danny, and Linda will be taking her to the hospital for a 10-12 day stay in the geriatric psych ward, and then she will go from there to the nursing home. This is the easiest way to get her to the nursing home, and Connie said once that it is the best way to go to avoid more out-of-pocket expenses. Unless I misunderstood, having her go to the hospital and then to the nursing home under "doctor's orders" cost less than what it would cost if the family were to place her into a home.

We all know that this is what is best for Billie, but it doesn't make it easier. She doesn't always eat like she should or take her meds on a "schedule" like she should. (She takes her meds, but I know that on the weekends we're there, it might be noon before we remember to give them to her.) And if you read my post from the last time we were there, you know she doesn't shower like she should. Trying to get her to do anything other than sit and stare at the four walls is next to impossible.

I knew the plan was for her to go to the hospital first, but when Connie said she would be in the geriatric psych ward first, it felt like I'd been kicked in the stomach. (I've had that feeling two too many times in the last week.) When I think "psych ward," I think "psycho" and she isn't psycho. In a way, it helps me to know that Karen has had to go through this with her mom because I know her mom isn't psycho.

For years, Billie has said that she hoped she died before she ever got to the point of having to go to a nursing home. Of course, her memories of nursing homes are what they were 30 or 40 years ago, and while not home, they are certainly much, much better than they were then!

The next few days and weeks will be difficult!

Life can be so unfair

2010-10-30T16:30:00.000-05:00

Tragedy struck our family Thursday afternoon.

My cousin Elizabeth and her three boys, ages 8, 7, and 1, were driving from Sumiton to Jasper on Highway 78. While I don't know ALL of the details, I do know that a car apparently came out of the median, causing Elizabeth to swerve. When she did, her Cherokee went off the road, flipped down an embankment, and hit a tree. She was pronounced dead on the scene. They had to be cut out of the vehicle. The three boys were relatively okay--physically--but they were taken to the hospital. One of them was airlifted, and he will probably have significant scarring on his face. She was 37. Her birthday is coming up in the next couple of weeks. Her baby, Phillip, turned one on Monday.

The wreck could have been worse. They could have gone into the river, which probably would have taken the lives of all four of them.

The person who hit her...he didn't even stop. Thank GOD there were witnesses who were able to provide a description, and one was even able to provide the tag number. If these wonderful people had not been so aware, this person might still be out there, but because of their descriptions, he was found.

How can someone just run another person off the road and not stop? Where is the humanity?

Tonight, a husband, three little boys, a mother, a father, two sisters, three brothers, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends wonder why. Why did this happen? Why do these precious babies have to grow up without their mother? Why will Phillip's birthday forever have such an unhappy memory associated with it? It isn't fair.

All I can say is that I know that God in His infinite wisdom knows the answers. I pray that He will wrap his arms around this family and will bring the comfort that only He can.

Elizabeth's younger sister and her husband will be flying in from England where he is stationed. I pray for their safe trip, but I also hate that they are having to make the trip under such horrible circumstances.

Tonight, hug your loved ones. Tell them you love them. Bite your tongue when you want to fuss at your children for the messes they made. Throw away the five Mountain Dew cans that your husband left on the table beside his recliner. Those messes and those cans are so very unimportant. What is important is that they know you love them and that they are the most valuable possession you have. You never know when it could all be taken away.

Stars in their crowns

2010-10-24T12:23:00.001-05:00

Years ago when I was teaching special education exclusively, I would have people tell me that I must be a special person to work with special needs kids. I always brushed the thought away because I didn't (and I still don't) feel that my working with special needs kids made me any more special than the next teacher. Yes, there were challenges, but isn't that the case in every job? Since I've moved into the general ed classroom, I still have challenges...they are just different. Instead of kids who can't, I have kids who don't or won't.

However, I do believe with ALL OF MY HEART AND SOUL that those who work with geriatric patients, especially those with Alzheimer's, do deserve numerous stars in their crowns. I posted last night about the conversation between my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. Well, this morning, I kind of lost it with my mother-in-law.

My niece is having her baby shower this afternoon. At breakfast, Connie and I were talking about it, and of course, Billie didn't get invited (or so she thinks.) We told her she did but that she had just forgotten. (I've had this same conversation twice in the short time I've been writing this post.) We told her that she needed to go because Gavin is her great-grandson and Libby would be hurt if she didn't go. Then she began with her old standby: "I'm so dizzy in my head I can barely stand up."

While she was washing dishes, Connie told her to take a shower and we'd go riding later this afternoon. Oh, boy...she perked up at that. "Can we go out to the forest to Momma's and Daddy's graves?" Connie told her that she didn't know where we'd end up, but we'd go somewhere. Once she finished with dishes, I told her to go take her shower. She headed toward the bathroom, or so I thought.

A few minutes later, I went to our bedroom and there she was...GOING THROUGH MY PURSE! She said she was just moving some stuff so she could make up the bed, but she had my bottle of Lexapro in her hand looking at it, and it was IN my purse. I sent--again--her take her shower.

She went to the bathroom and I heard her moving stuff around. Then she said she just was going to bathe off and not take a shower. I told her she needed to shower, but she insisted she didn't want to. I insisted she needed to because she didn't take one yesterday.

Her: "Yes, I did."
Me: "No, you didn't, and you said last night you could smell yourself." (She says that all the time, but we don't smell her.)
Her: "Well, I do stink, but I can bathe off and get clean." (She was bathing off, but she wasn't using soap AT ALL.)
Me: "No, you don't get good and clean if you don't get in the shower and use soap."
Her: "I took a shower yesterday."
Me: "No, you didn't."
Her: "You weren't here yesterday. You don't know."
Me (using a tone of voice that I really shouldn't have): "I'VE BEEN HERE SINCE 8:00 FRIDAY NIGHT. YOU DID NOT TAKE A SHOWER YESTERDAY!!!"
Her: "Well, I'm just dizzy in my head and I don't feel like it."
Me: "Fine. Don't tell me you smell yourself. If you aren't going to take a shower, you are going to stink."

Now, let me ask you this: Who is the crazy person here? The answer to that? I am. I'm the one who, almost two hours later, is still catching myself clenching my jaws while she's over in her chair happy as a lark. I feel horrible about losing my temper because deep in my heart I know she can't help it. It's just so damn frustrating to see someone you love deteriorate so much. Have I told you lately that I HATE ALZHEIMER'S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She just said...again...that she wasn't invited to Libby's shower.

And I have a pain over my left eye.

So yeah, anyone who works with geriatric Alzheimer's patients and can go through a day without losing his/her patience deserves not just a star, but a whole galaxy, or stars. I couldn't do it. Give me a teenager any day.

Have a GREAT day, and please pray for me 'cause I need it.

Weekends...

2010-10-23T23:03:00.000-05:00

I love my weekends. I really do. Even the "groundhog weekends." We got to my mother-in-law's house last night about 8:00, and it has been a constant repetition for the last 26 hours. Just in the last three minutes, she's asked Connie probably five times about her house payment and her checkbook. This conversation is truly breaking my heart. Connie is explaining to her why she can't do things, and she--Billie--is just not comprehending that the things she USED to do she can't do anymore because of the Alzheimer's. Her short-term memory is less than a minute long. Connie gave her a list of four things: apple, blanket, table, and shoe. Just seconds later, she couldn't name even one of them. A few days ago, she lost her microwave. It was sitting in the same place that it has been forever. It is frustrating, heartbreaking, and I HATE IT!

I got grades done and put them into my gradebook and the computer today. I hope I got everything done correctly to turn my grades in on Monday. This new program, iNow, is not the best in the world. I'm sure it's not the worst, but it certainly leaves a LOT to be desired!! Our registrar has spent numerous hours trying to figure things out, and when she thinks she has it figured out, we (the teachers) find something that is a glitch. Bless her heart...this has not been a fun process.

Bama had a good game today. It took forever for them to get the ball rolling, but once they did, they ROLLED. Julio set a single-game record for 221 yards, and Trent had an average of 9.9 yards per carry, Mark had 6.3, and Greg completed 21 of 32 passes for 264 yards. Not too shabby, I don't think. We are desperate need of this bye week. This time last year our guys were tired, but they had managed to avoid the injury bug for the most part. This year, they are exhausted and the injury bug has bit big. Last year, a couple of guys had season-ending injuries, and we haven't had that this year, but we have had a lot of dinged up players.

John is going to Talladega with one of his brothers next weekend, so I'll probably head to the lake by myself. Since working bibliographies and note cards are due Friday, being alone will probably be a good thing. Too many breaks get taken when John is around. LOL

Libby's baby shower is tomorrow. I've got to run to the store in the morning to pick up a gift bag for her goodies. Well...they are really Gavin's goodies, but once he gets here, he won't care about anything except a fresh bottle (or boob), a clean diaper, and a comfy bed. So I guess it really is for Libby after all. LOL I can't wait to have a new baby in the family to love on! It didn't occur to me until Connie got here that I didn't bring "shower" clothes, so I hope it will be okay if I wear jeans. I thought about packing a nicer top and a skirt, but by the time I actually packed, I didn't think anything else about it.

I guess that's about it for tonight. It's been a LONG day, and I'm a tired lady. Have a GREAT Sunday!

ROLL TIDE!!!!

Research!

2010-10-20T18:46:00.000-05:00

The first time I taught research to my seniors was five years ago. (Remember that the first 13 years of my teaching career was spent teaching students with IEPs in a self-contained classroom. My students were classified as mentally retarded, so we focused on life skills--filling out job applications, reading bills, paying bills, going on job interviews, etc.) As I started the research process, I was terrified. I mean, I knew how to WRITE a paper myself, but I didn't have a clue about how to TEACH someone else to write one. Writing is, after all, not a process that has only one correct way. What works for you may not work for me. As a matter of fact, until I started teaching the research process, I had never actually followed an actual "process." I had always just done it my own way. And it certainly wasn't the most logical or easy way. LOL

Over the last five years, though, I have learned how to teach the process. I do tell my students that as they begin their college careers, they may develop their own style that is completely different from the style that I teach them, but at least they will have an idea of what does or doesn't work for them. One thing that I realized Monday is that I was actually looking forward to starting research. Whaaaa??????????? When the heck did THAT happen????? Now, the thing I do NOT look forward to at all is the grading. I am doing something different this year, though, that I hope will help some.

In the past, the other senior English teacher and I have gone through the process of teaching the students how to write bibliography cards. Over the last couple of semesters, I've had people question why in the world I was still teaching students how to write bib cards. And I started thinking about it. Why was I doing this? In colleges all over the place, students are using online resources, such as easybib.com, to generate working bibliographies which are then turned into the works cited page. So...if colleges were allowing students to use resources like this, why shouldn't I? After all, times have changed since 1985 when I was a college freshman. Technology has changed. I needed to change with it. So this year, I'm having my students create a working bibliography on easybib. My colleague is still doing it the "old" way, though. I think once she sees how much easier it should be to grade a working bibliography, she'll change her mind. Plus, it won't be nearly as hard to bring 85 pages of working bibliographies home as it would be to lug around a minimum of five bibliography cards for 85 students. (Do the math. That is a minimum of 425 cards!!! And those 3x5 cards do get heavy.)

I am still having them write note cards. I haven't figured out a good way to simplify that process, but I am open to suggestions!!!! They have to turn in 20 note cards the first go round (1700 cards) and then those same 20 plus 20 new ones the second go round (3400 cards...HEAVY!!) So please, send any ideas!

We're going to the Mac lab tomorrow for them to get started "playing" around to find sources and to begin building their working bibliography. I'm looking forward to a day of not having to talk all day long. My voice is tired. :)

Guess that's it for now. Have a GREAT day!

Look in the mirror, bud.

2010-10-17T09:32:00.002-05:00

So the football season here in Alabama is gearing up for the final half, so the hardest part of the schedule for both of the major college teams in the state is ahead. And it's about to start getting ugly.

After South Carolina beat Bama last week for our first loss in over two years, so many of my facebook friends were gloating about how the "mighty bammers were taken down" or something to that effect. Even though I may not have liked it, I realize that is how it is whenever intense rivalries are concerned, so I just ignored it. And I know that whenever Auburn loses, I'll be just as happy as they were last week.

Yesterday as we sat watching the Auburn-Arkansas game, I was pulling mightily for the Hogs to win, and it was obvious from my facebook posts. (So maybe some of the comments I'm going to share with you were directed at me, but if you don't like what I post, ignore me or delete me. I wear my big girl panties, so my feelings won't get hurt. Pinky swear.) But what gets under my skin more than anything is how some fans (Bama fans are just as guilty) think that their fan base never does anything wrong.

Just a few comments from some of my "saner" facebook friends (you know, the ones who are fans, win or lose...not the fans who crawl out from under the woodpile whenever their team is doing well.)

"If you hate Auburn, quit watching the game." This "friend" has actually deleted me this morning. My first reply was that the same could be said for Auburn fans who hate Bama. A couple of other replies were made, and I'm going to guess the one that made her delete me was when I said that in the last week I've deleted a couple of friends from facebook because of their use of vulgarity in their gloats over the Bama loss. Look in the mirror, bud, because Auburn fans say the same things Bama fans say. Auburn fans hate it when Bama wins just as much as Bama hates it when Auburn wins.
"Why is it necessary to use expletives when rooting for a certain crimson colored team?" My reply: "The same reason Auburn fans use 'damn' anytime they say 'War Damn Eagle'." It makes me cringe anytime I see or hear someone use the F word between Roll and Tide. Fortunately, I don't see it ALL that much (but I'm sure it's quite prevalent in some places, especially around campus.) Look in the mirror, bud, because Auburn fans say or use "WDE" or "War Damn Eagle" daily. The fans of a "crimson colored team" don't have exclusive rights to the stupid use of profanity. (This particular person completely deleted the thread from her page.)
"LOVES how everyone seems to be an Arkansas fan today" to which I replied "same way the barners were gamecock fans last week...It's the same on both sides!" Look in the mirror, bud, because facebook was crawling with Auburn fans who were South Carolina fans a week ago. And you were all Ole Miss fans last night, and you'll be Tennessee fans on Saturday.

I love how some of the Auburn faithful, now when they are doing extremely well, decide to be "classy" and to pretend like they NEVER do the things that the Bama fans are doing. It goes BOTH ways, so before making any "why do Bama fans..." comments, stop and look in the mirror, bud. YOU may not be saying it about Bama, but I guarantee you that somebody is.

For the record, the majority of the fan bases--Bama or Auburn--do NOT act this way. It's just the ones who crawl from the woodpile whenever their particular team is on top.

ROLL TIDE!!!!

Fall break, days 2-4

2010-10-14T20:44:00.000-05:00

Even though my back was still hurting a little when I got up Tuesday morning, I knew I was going to have to deal with it because the house HAD to get cleaned. Fortunately, the more I moved around, the less the old back bothered me.

Cleaning house is one of those chores I truly hate, and I probably would have put doing it off until another day, but we were leaving for the lake as soon as John got home Tuesday, and I didn't want to come home to a messy house. So, clean I did. And a couple of loads of laundry. And paid bills. And went to the grocery store. Ugh. A domestic goddess I am not.

Once John got home, we loaded up the truck and headed out about 4. We stopped by Katy and Phillip's on the way. Their microwave had stopped working, and since we had our old one, we took it to them until they can fix theirs or buy a new one. Just before we got there, Katy called to see if we would mind staying with Sam for a bit while she ran to pick up one of her friend's little boy. Naturally, we said we refused to stay with him for one tiny second. LOL

Sam managed to trick Grana (or Nana...I think that's what I'll end up) into picking him up so he could see the CD player. As I was dancing around with him, Katy called to see if it would be okay for her to run by Target while she was out. When I told her what Sam and I were doing, she said he'd conned me because he knows he isn't supposed to do that. AHHHH!!!! Of course, Grana/Nana didn't mind, but once the CD was finished, we didn't turn it back on. If I could hang out with Sam for a couple of hours every day, I'd lose some of this weight. hahaha

After Katy got home, we headed to the lake. It was about 10 when we got here, and I was sure glad we'd left the sheets on the bed Sunday. I called it a night right away.

When I woke up yesterday, my back was hurting again. After breakfast John started taking the old swim deck apart. I helped as much as I could, but other than being a go-fer, I didn't do much. About mid-morning, I said something to him about my back bothering me again, and then it dawned on me...dancing with a 30-something pound toddler. :) We worked until about 3:30 before we called it a day.

We went to Cindy and Sam's for dinner last night. Cindy and I were elementary/high school friends, but we had lost touch after high school. About a year and a half ago, we reconnected through facebook.

Sam had been to the Gulf fishing, and they wanted us to come over for fresh fish. Cindy said that Sam was going to make his specialty, but she didn't tell me anything else about it. Oh. My. Word. I can honestly say that was one of the best dishes I have EVER had! John and I haven't stopped talking about it yet. It was restaurant quality. The thing is that if I'd read the description on a restaurant menu, I probably wouldn't have ordered it. The dish consisted of fresh red snapper, spinach, red and green bell peppers, Alfredo sauce, and pasta. I wouldn't have ordered it because I wouldn't have been sure that I'd like the combination of snapper, spinach, and the peppers. And in a restaurant, it would have probably cost close to $20. I'm not going to spend that much on something I'm afraid I won't like. Let me tell you, though, it would have been worth every penny. We also had steamed asparagus, salad, bread, and cheesecake.

In addition to a wonderfully delicious meal, we enjoyed sitting around talking while Sam cooked and then after dinner. Cindy was the kid in school that we were mean to. I don't mean mean like kids are today. We never threatened to kill her and we never beat her up in the bathroom at school (like a story I heard on the Montgomery news tonight.) We were just little brats. Thankfully, Cindy has a forgiving heart.

Today, we finished up the swim deck. Correction...John finished the swim deck. I was still just the go-fer. What I did the most was to lie on the "new" swim deck in the sunshine. It was a beautiful day! The sun shined all day, and there was a wonderful breeze blowing. Sometimes the breeze was a little cool, but in the sun, it felt great. I actually got a little sun on my face. :)

John grilled ribs for dinner. FAB. U. LOUS. Now, we're just relaxing. We have a few odds and ends to do tomorrow to clean up the shoreline. I'm going to clean the trailer. Oh joy. Housecleaning twice in one week. The nice thing about cleaning the trailer is that I can be completely finished in just over an hour. Joys of a small place.

Hopefully, Mom and Dad are going to come up Saturday for a while. We haven't seen them since Jessi and Lance's wedding.

That's about it for now. Kind of rambling, I know, but that's okay. :) Have a GREAT day!

Day 1 of fall break

2010-10-11T17:27:00.000-05:00

I decided to make my first day of fall break all about ME. I got up, had breakfast, showered, and went to do a little pampering. I didn't go overboard by any stretch, but I enjoyed every second. My first stop was at Starbucks for a venti caramel machiatto. Then I headed to the nail salon for a nice, relaxing hot stone pedicure. Oh my! That felt SOOOOOO good! The massage chair was especially nice since I wrenched my back in the shower. Having back spasms probably kept me from doing more than I might have done otherwise. (Much to John's delight. LOL) After having my toesies pampered, I made a quick stop at Ulta. I've started using the Ulta brand mineral makeup, and I LOVE it. The shade I had gotten is really more of my summer color, so I got a lighter shade for the fall/winter. My last stop was at Four Paws to get Ali a new collar. It has lady bugs on it, so it's perfect for the Bug. :)

Speaking of the Bug...we were at the lake this past weekend, and she found something. We have no idea what, but she must have rolled around in it a time or twelve because she stunk. Before we left to come home yesterday, I gave her a good bath. I don't think it would have been possible to ride for three hours cooped up in the truck with her.

I had to take them to the vet this afternoon for their shots. Their appointment was for 3:30, but about 2 Amanda called and asked if I could bring them in then because they had an emergency coming in. It's so much easier when John is here to go with me, but I managed. Bama did better this go round than he usually does, but Ali was a squirmer. Everything was good for both of them. Except for Bama's weight. Dr. SanMiguel said he is a "little pudgy" and that he doesn't need to get table scraps anymore. (JOHN is the one to blame for that!)

We're going back to the lake tomorrow when John gets home and we're staying until Sunday. We have some yard work to do, but I'm hoping for a lot of time to porch sit. :)

I guess that's about it for now. Have a GREAT day, and

ROLL TIDE! What...did you think that because my guys lost on Saturday I would suddenly stop showing my love for them?? :)

Sometimes ya just gotta laugh

2010-10-05T19:26:00.001-05:00

I teach. I teach English. I specifically teach British literature. I do not teach science. I especially do not teach biological sciences. (OK...short, choppy sentences are the bane of English teachers above third grade, but sometimes I just feel the need to use them, and this is one of those times.)

We are ending the first term of the year, so for my students, that means term exams. I've given one huge comprehensive exam at the end of the semester, and I've given term exams at the end of each term. I, and my students, much prefer the end-of-term exams. They are taking my exam on Thursday, so yesterday I gave them their study guides.

When they came into class today, I told them to finish working on them, and before the end of the period, we would go over their answers. As I sat at my back table finishing the essay questions from their Chaucer test, I heard one of my precious, but somewhat dingy, girls say, "What did Chaucer say about genitalia?"

Whaaaaa???? All I could do was put my head on my table and laugh. Along with everyone else who heard her. Meanwhile, she's sitting there asking why everyone was laughing at her. Finally, I looked up and said, "That refers to body parts."

She: "No, that's gender."

Another student then, very quietly, explained to her what genitalia was, to which she said, "OHHHHH! Genitals! I get it now!"

Oh, the original question was this: "What did the old woman say about gentility in 'The Pardoner's Tale'?" Gentility, NOT genitalia.

If you've read Chaucer, you know he did make references to genitalia, but we didn't read any of those works by ole Geoff.

And no, this isn't the same girl who used the word "rememberize" last week.

I do love my job, but sometimes I wonder where these kids come from.

Tomorrow is our Medieval feast. They've all signed up for a food that relates in some way to the Medieval time period, and they're going to get to watch A Knight's Tale. The food is usually pretty good. Hopefully, everyone will bring what he/she has signed up for. I did "bribe" them by telling them that they will get participation points for bringing something. Most of them want every extra point they can get, so I think we'll have plenty.

And in other news...My husband is now the proud owner of a BlackBerry! I swapped him over to my plan so we are on a family plan now. He didn't want to go with me, so I got him a Curve. So far, he has sent an email to me, and a text message and picture to Jessi. He's so cute trying to figure out everything. He just said, "Oh, I can internet now. Let me see if I can find that." (He wants to look up the Geico commercial that has the little pig going wee-wee-wee all the way home. LOL) I may have created a monster. hahaha

Only three more days until fall break. Ahhhhh!!!! I'm planning on going to visit Katy and Sam one day. I told Katy that maybe we could take Sam to the zoo, and then John and I are going to the lake for part of the week. Poppa (Sam's gone from Pop Pop to Poppa) may want to go too. :)

That's it for tonight. Have a GREAT day tomorrow!