5...4...3...2...1...

This is the last week of this term. Yea! The term has gone by so fast. It's hard to believe a quarter of the school year is over. Each year seems to go by faster and faster.

I have no real complaints about the 90 students I have, either. I've got some girls who are quite talkative, and the fact that they are really good friends doesn't help, but I can handle talkative. There are a few who are lazy, and that drives me crazy, especially when I know they are very capable, but they are content to make a D or a C. It drives me crazy because I have students who aren't as capable, and they have to bust their butts to make Bs or Cs.

I'll be counting down the days until Friday. Hopefully, the week won't seem too long. Misty and I have pooled our professional development money--all $64 of it--to pay for a sub on Thursday so we can revamp the research projects for English 11 and English 12. Even though it's a "day off" we'll be at the school all day long working.

John is taking off next week, too. I'm looking forward to us having a good week together. I know we will...we always do. It's so much fun to be married to my best friend. :)

Have an absolutely great week. I know I will. 5...4...3...2...1...

Who will be #1?

It may not be Alabama, but I know who it won't be! #1 USC lost Thursday night, Ole Miss beat #4 Florida today in The Swamp, and Bama beat #5 Georgia!!! The Bama Nation is ecstatic tonight. I'm really going to love going in to work on Monday wearing my red. I won't say anything (because I'm not obnoxious), but I'll just look at all those Auburn fans who told me repeatedly that Bama was going to lose, and I'll give them a really big smile.

Kristen came over at the half to watch the rest of the game with us. She and I are REALLY a LOT alike. Several times, we would say the exact same thing at the exact same time. You know what they say about great minds...The second half did have us worried. Georgia came out ready to play, and Bama had some mental mistakes, but fortunately we were able to hold them off. Two years ago, that certainly would not have happened. We would have ended up losing a heart breaker in the last minutes.

Is Bama BACK? Who knows, but I feel very good in saying that I'm sure we are on the way. The only real challenges I see ahead of us are LSU and Auburn. That isn't to say that the other games will be cakewalks. The way this year has gone in the world of college football, no game can be considered a cakewalk.

I had to go to Camp ASCCA, Dadeville Campus, for a Junior Civitan District meeting this morning, and John went over to Columbus to LensCrafters to get new glasses Dang! Glasses are expensive!! He got new lenses for his sunglasses and a completely new pair of regular classes, and it was over $600, and that was with 50% off his lenses. His last pair did last two years, though.

I didn't get to see any of Game Day since I was out at the camp. As soon as I got home and got done what I needed to get done, I fired up the laptop and saw that Corso picked Bama. Nooooo!!!!! It seems like every time Lee picks Bama, we lose. Of course, we used to hate for Game Day to be at a Bama game, but we won with Game Day at the Clemson game. There is also the SI cover curse, but after Glen Coffee was on the cover the week after the Clemson game, we still won that weekend. It looks like maybe the Corso Curse is over, too.

John didn't get home until halftime of the Auburn-Tennessee game, but he said he was listening to the first half. We were talking about this game last night, and I asked who he wanted to win. He said he really wanted to see both of them lose. (OH MY GOODNESS!! How totally obnoxious is THAT?? hahaha This will be a joke with us for the rest of our lives.) The vaunted Auburn offense under Tony Franklin has been less than stellar. We've seen just two Auburn games. Not much offense was generated in either game. Auburn has always been such a good running team--they've been called Running Back U. on more than one occasion--I really don't understand why Tuberville chose to change to the spread O. Both offenses truly stunk it up today. Auburn was actually lucky to come out with a win. Had it not been for a fumble recovery in the end zone, they would've lost again this week.

Jessi had planned on coming over this weekend, but she ended up getting tickets to the Auburn game from one of her agents, so she went to that instead. I can't blame her--I understand completely. :) I sent her a text today to see if she had fun. She said she did even though they didn't play very well.

I guess that's about it for today. I'm really exhausted and need to go to bed, but I think I'll probably have a hard time going right to sleep.

As always...
ROLL TIDE!!!

25 Tips

My niece Amy sent this to me, and I thought I'd share.

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.

3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to __________ today."

4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.

6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

7. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card. (My breakfast and lunch are more like the college kid with a maxed out charge card. lol)

9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

12. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

14. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'

17. Forgive everyone for everything.

18. What other people think of you is none of your business.

19. GOD heals almost everything.

20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.

24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

25. Please Forward this to everyone you care about.

Isn't this weather great?

I am so loving this weather! These nice, brisk fall mornings feel so good. When I leave work in the afternoon, it isn't so hot and humid that I feel like I'll melt the second I walk outside, and the evenings are just perfect.

John turned the AC off about a week ago, so we've been keeping the doors open. We would sleep with them open, but Ali and Bama have a tendency to bark at any and everything that moves outside. We could let them sleep with us to keep them from barking, but that really isn't an option. (Who would ever guess that a 15 pound rat terrier and a 6 pound rat terrier could completely disrupt our sleep?) So, if we want any sleep at all, both the bedroom door (to keep the dogs out of the bedroom) and the back door (to keep them from barking) have to be closed.

Summer is my favorite season, but I love it when the weather begins to cool down in the fall and then when it begins to warm up in the spring. I would be perfectly happy if I lived in a place where the temps never got below 50 or above 90 or 95. :)

Hey, Phillip...

Even though I typically do not root for the other team in the great state of Alabama, I will be this week. I simply cannot stand Tennessee, so Auburn gets my vote for this week. (See, I'm really NOT an obnoxious fan. Some people just don't know what they are talking about, so they should just not say anything at all. Remember the quote--it's better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.) In the event that it is necessary for Auburn to win other games in order for Bama to possibly have a shot at going to Atlanta for the SECCG, I'll be pulling for them then, too.

Of course, I'll have on my crimson and white and will be seated in front of the TV for the Bama-Georgia game Saturday night. I don't think that Bama has really been tested this year so far, so this will be our first big one. I asked Kevin yesterday how he thought the game would come out. He said, "Two teams are going in undefeated, but only one will come out undefeated." I sure hope it's the crimson version of red that stays in the W column. :)

Win or lose, I will still be wearing something red on Monday. I started doing this several years ago when Bama was really struggling. Since we are supposed to wear maroon on Fridays to support the Wildcats, I started wearing red on Mondays to show my support of the Tide. I've just continued to do this. Luckily, red is one of my best colors, and it is my favorite color, so I have plenty of it to wear.

OK--just so I can show support to my wonderful son-in-law, here goes...

WAR EAGLE
Just don't get too used to it, Phillip. :)

And naturally,

ROLL TIDE!!

What a beautiful night

I called John on my way home from work to find out what sounded good to him for dinner. We haven't done any major grocery shopping in a while, and there is nothing in the house. He said we'd just grab a bite to eat. When we started to leave, I asked him where we were going, thinking he'd probably say Oskar's or Niffer's. Instead, he said we'd go to Red Lobster since I had said over the weekend that I had been craving crab legs. We thought about going Friday night but we decided that wouldn't be good with all of the ballgame crowd in town, and then Saturday night we decided to grill pork chops so we wouldn't have to miss any of the football games. Anyway, my wonderful, sweet hubby took me on a "date" so I could get my craving satisfied.

We went in the Miata since it was a perfect evening to ride with the top down. On the way home, I leaned my head back and looked at all the stars. Most of the ride between here and Auburn is quite rural, so there wasn't anything to interfere with seeing them. I remember when I was younger--I couldn't have been but 4 or 5 because it was when we lived in Tuscaloosa--Daddy and I were standing outside on the porch one night. I asked him to help me count the stars and he told me that there were so many of them that it was impossible to count them all.

I told John that I really feel sorry for kids who grow up in huge cities like New York or Los Angeles because so many of them have almost no idea what a star-filled sky looks like. Even cities like Huntsville, Birmingham, Montgomery, or Mobile have so much light pollution that really seeing the stars can be difficult. As we drove through Dadeville, the number of visible stars dropped by, oh, a billion or so.

Growing up in the country gave me a real appreciation for nature. I loved sleeping at night with the windows open and hearing the night-time sounds--the crickets, the owls, the wind in the trees. I wouldn't take anything for being a country girl!

More new technology :)

We now have our tablet PCs to go with our new stuff, so I have something new to play with over the next few days. Since it's a MUCH better PC than the ones the English dept. got with our textbooks, I'll be moving files over to it and using it for all of my classroom stuff. I'll have the other two available for student use, though. That will be really nice, especially next term when we begin the research process. The only bad part is that there are only two laptops that will be available for students, and I have 30 students in one class, 31 in another, and 29 in the third.

I'm really loving having all this stuff. I've started getting my notes put into PowerPoint presentations. My plan is to get the rest of this term done as I go, and then I hope to get a lot of next term done over the fall break. Over Christmas break, I'll catch up on what we've already covered this term. If I can do all that, then I'll have everything on PP for next semester. Phillip has shown me a lot of his lessons and notes he uses for history, and I've been SOOO envious. Now I get to do the same with for my English classes. Yea!!!

My seniors have a project due next Monday on a pilgrim from The Canterbury Tales. In the past, one aspect of the project has been a poster. I've told them this time that they can do either a poster or a PowerPoint. For the senior and junior research projects, they will be required to do a PowerPoint in addition to the paper.

I guess that's about it for now. I'm going to get out my new laptop and PLAY. Have a GREAT day!

Roll Tide!!! And other stuff...

What about the TIDE? Didn't they ROCK today? That's the way Alabama football is supposed to be played. There are still some areas which need improvement. Kick coverage was awful, the defense had its moments, and the offensive line didn't always protect JP like it should have. It seems like they are headed in the right direction, though.

It will be interesting to see how we play against Georgia next week. I think our guys can go between the hedges and make it a good game. I hope so anyway! I'll have to make sure I see Kevin this week. He is one of our coaches and a Georgia grad. We usually have several good conversations about football during the season. He's also the kind of person who can take good-natured ribbing about Georgia, or at least he does from me. That's probably because he knows that I can take it as well as give it, as long as it is GOOD-NATURED! If you can't take it, don't give it.

One thing that seems to surprise some people is that I do love football so much and that I can hold a pretty decent conversation about the game and the teams. I've never been a girly girl. When I was younger, I would have much preferred playing outside--riding bikes, playing ball. As a teen, my Sunday afternoons were spent playing flag football and riding four wheelers. Playing with baby dolls and toy tea sets was NOT my cup of tea. (No pun intended. haha) Give me a choice of going to a football game or going shopping, and I'll go to the game every time. Now, I can do the girly thing if necessary, but I'm just much more comfortable in my jeans and tees, and I love wearing a baseball cap.

This is kind of off the subject, but I think that one reason I'm such a fan of Sarah Palin is that she isn't necessarily a girly girl, either. She sure has the style, but not many girly, prissy females would be able to field dress a moose. LOL If I were stranded in the wilderness and there was no man around, I'd take a person like Sarah Palin any day over someone who is girly and prissy.

Florida sure took care of Tennessee today, too. I really do not like Tennessee AT ALL! John and I have had season tickets for probably 10 years now, and I can honestly say that the most obnoxious fans have been those from Tennessee. I'll take a drunk Cajun over a sober Volunteer any day.

Speaking of obnoxious fans...Apparently, I'm an obnoxious fan because I don't root for the other team in the state. If that is what it means to be obnoxious, then there are a LOT of obnoxious people in our state, both Alabama and Auburn. Heck, based on that theory, practically every one I know is an obnoxious fan.

Another thing I just learned is that I should be pulling for Auburn simply because my son-in-law is an Auburn grad and former player. Phillip and I have had numerous conversations about our teams. He knows how I feel, and I have no doubts in my mind that if the Auburn season hinged on Bama losing, he would most definitely pull against Bama. Does that make him a bad person since his step-mother-in-law is an Alabama grad? Heck, no. That's just down-right silly.

The interesting thing about all of this is that John is pulling for LSU just as hard as I am and Phillip is his son-in-law as well. Does that make John obnoxious and horrible? Hey, Deb, why don't you ask her for me? Oh never mind. I know the answer to that. It's JUST ME! Every human on the face of the earth could be pulling against Auburn tonight, but I would be the only obnoxious, horrible person. ;)

I guess I'll go for now and finish watching the game. So far, it hasn't been extremely exciting. It's certainly a defensive game, and those usually are rather blah. Oh, and JOHN thinks so too, so if you have any negative comments to make, please be sure to include him, okay?

EDIT: This game has finally turned into a good offensive battle.

Have a great one!

ROLL TIDE!!

Kicked out of my room

I've been kicked out of my room during my planning today. This is the math day for the Alabama High School Graduation Exam. We use the 9th-grade building for all of the fall testing, and since there are more students who test on the math day, more teachers in that building are displaced. There are more students taking the math portion because all 9th graders who took and passed Algebra 1 at the middle school take the test this time.

I'm having to supervise a class for one of the other teachers. Those teachers who have first block planning have the distinct honor of either administrating or proctoring the exam. (Please note that there is a ton of sarcasm in that previous statement.) I have it SO hard right now. I'm covering the ACT Prep class. These are, without a doubt, some of the WORST kids in the school. (Again, tons of sarcasm.) If I have to lose my planning, at least I have a great group of kids to supervise.

I brought my laptop down with me, so I have been productive. I did a PowerPoint for the next author and story that we'll be reading in English 11. I'm about to go to wikispaces and work on creating a wiki for my classes. Laura G., our AWESOME Media Arts teacher, is going to help me really get it going--whenever we don't have something taking us away from our planning. (Thanks, Laura!! And, I'll try to get the bookcase cleaned off for you by Monday.)

We've decided not to go to the lake this weekend. John said that with the Bama game being at 11:30 and the Auburn game being at 6:45, we'd end up being a lot less productive than we planned. He suggested just going next weekend, but I have a Junior Civitan district meeting to go to, and I really hate to not go to it.

Since we aren't going north, I may suggest Red Lobster this weekend. I've got a craving for crab legs. YUM! We could go to Auburn tomorrow night about 6:30 and probably be seated right away and we should have excellent service since many people will be at the game or at home watching it. We'd still be home in time to see at least the second half.

That's about it for now. Sharon just popped by about a form for BBSST. We want to make some corrections to it, and she asked if I would make sure all the grammatical parts were correct. I can whip this out in just a bit. Have a GREAT weekend! I hope I've given you something to smile or laugh about. ;)

ROLL TIDE!!!! And I also have to say GEAUX TIGERS!!!!

I love making people laugh

I'll see what else I can do for you, Deb. :)

Have a great day.

You've GOT to watch the clip below!

You may have already seen the You Tube clip below of the 5 young girls singing the national anthem. If you haven't, you definitely need to! You would never guess that these young ladies aren't older than they are. It is absolutely amazing. If it doesn't give you chills, you have no national pride at all.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDU8jR06hmA

An update about Jessi :(

Jessi sent me a text message today to tell us that she and Randy have decided to file the papers for their divorce. They've been separated for quite a while now, but they just now decided to file. Finding out they were separated made John and me so sad for her because we really and truly thought she and Randy were a perfect match, but there was a side of Randy that we never saw.

Jess is a very strong, resilient young lady (just like her dad.) Although I've never experienced divorce myself, I have many friends who have. I know that just having friends who are divorced doesn't make me an expert, but I know that all of them who are strong and resilient, like Jessi, have ended up much happier than they ever thought possible. The same is true for Jessi. She is going to find that person who truly is a perfect match for her, and she will experience happiness like she has never known.

Jess, I'm not sure you'll see this, but just know that your dad and I love you bunches and we're here anytime you need anything!

Technology!

Last Wednesday when I got to work, they had installed the new technology in my classrooms. Unfortunately, only the core teachers got them this year. Once the foundation funding this system-wide project realized just how expensive it was going to be to install it in every classroom, they decided to put it only in core classes. I really hate it for my colleagues who don't teach core classes because some of them are much more technologically savvy than I am, BUT I am really excited about having it.

I started using the ELMO, or the document reader, yesterday with my English 11 classes. That was the easiest to begin with. Those are SO neat! During my planning today, I decided I was going to try to figure out how to use the LCD with my laptop so I could do a PowerPoint presentation with my English 12 today. I have absolutely no clue how I did it, but I got it to work. Ask me tomorrow if I was able to do it again. lol

Getting all this stuff has meant having to do some rearranging in my room because the screen is on a different wall than the board I was using. It's actually worked out pretty well, though. I have more room at the front than I did before. The only thing I don't like is that my desktop computer, which has STI on it, is at the back of the room. It would be more convenient to have that computer at the front of the room for posting attendance, but I'll get used to it. I still have a couple of things I need to do. There is a bookcase that I really want to get rid of. I THINK Noah had on the ark with him. My plans for tomorrow include trashing some of the stuff that is on it and having a couple of my guys take it to the dumpster. Once I get that done, I'll probably bring some old clothes and change after work and do the rest all in one afternoon.

I guess that about does it for today. I need to get home and do some housecleaning. We're going to the lake this weekend, and I don't want to end up having to clean house Thursday night. (I really don't ever want to have to clean house, but I've never found a cleaning person who cleans to my satisfaction. Thanks, Mom, for making me so picky!! lol)

HOOOOONNNNNNKKKKKKKK

That is supposed to be the sound of students blowing noses. That has been pretty much the sound of the day. No wonder I'm sick. Yea for GermX. :)

"It brings tears to my eyes"

Denny Chimes

At the game last night, there was an older gentleman sitting next to me. When the Million Dollar Band played the national anthem during the pre-game, I almost stopped singing just so I could listen to him. He had one of the most gorgeous voices I have ever heard. Once the anthem was over, I told him so.

We began talking and he told me that he has been following Alabama football since the 40s, but this was the first game he's been to since 1992. He then said something that many people don't "get." He said, "I just can't help it, but every time I hear 'Yea Alabama' I get tears in my eyes." Right then, I knew that this was a man who loves the University of Alabama and everything about it. It's more than just football. It is the rich history and tradition of Alabama that goes back to 1831. It is the hundreds of thousands of alumni who have made huge contributions throughout our state, our country, and our world. It is the hundreds of thousands of future alumni who will do the same. So many people think "Alabama" and they think football, but UA is more than that--much more. To use a Harley-Davidson quote: "If I have to explain it, you wouldn't understand."

Now, about the game...THAT is the way an Alabama team is supposed to beat a team like WKU. Hopefully, Coach Saban's comments about those who don't put forth effort will be demoted to the scout team and then they'll be out the door opened some eyes. There was no reason for us to have played so poorly against Tulane. We were lucky to come out of that with a win. It will be interesting to see how we do this weekend against Arkansas. With their game against Texas being postponed, they will have had extra time to prepare. A good thing? A bad thing? I guess we'll see on Saturday.

This is kind of off the subject, but what about that auburn score? 3 - 2 is a baseball score. It doesn't appear as if the much-anticipated new offense is doing so well. It is still early in the season, and the Tigers still have time to make improvements, but based on the stats I saw from last night, I'm going to predict a Tiger win Saturday--an LSU Tiger win. For the last few years, the winner of this game has been the SEC Western division winner, and the game this year was supposed to be the same. Again, I guess we'll see on Saturday.

I hope everybody has a great week. We're all on the countdown at work--only three weeks until fall break. Yea!

Going to the game after all

Since we didn't find anyone who wanted the tickets, we're going to the game tonight. After last week, I ordered us a parking pass for the reserved lot at the soccer fields, so we won't have to leave as early to try to find a spot. There are shuttles that run from the lot to the library, so we won't have a long hike over to the stadium or back after the game.

I still feel like crap, but I've been dosing up on Tylenol Head Congestion or something. I think I'm going to get John to stop at Rite Aid as we start out so I can get some severe sinus medicine. I feel like someone has stuffed my head with cotton, has belted me between the eyes with a 2 x 4, and scrubbed my throat with sandpaper. Otherwise, I feel GREAT. hahahaha Maybe some sinus medicine will help a little more.

There are a few things I need to do around here before I start getting ready to roll. Have a great Saturday!

ROLL TIDE!

Well I feel like crap

I got up this morning, and everything was great. I got ready for work, got here, and copied my tests for today. So far, so good.

During 2nd block, we had the first BBSST (that's Building Based Student Support Team) meeting for the seniors. Lisa was excited because we got through more BBSST referrals than any other grade. Woo Hoo us! :)

During the meeting, my head started stopping up. OK--not fun. By the time the middle of 3rd block had gotten here, I was sneezing, I couldn't breathe, and my head was hurting. It's just gotten worse as 4th block has dragged on. Now, I would really like it if someone would just knock me out. Thank goodness the bell will be ringing in about 10 minutes. :)

Yes, I'm blogging during the school day. All of my classes were testing today, so I've been working on Power Point presentations. They got our ceiling-mounted LCD projectors, the screens, the ELMOs, and the DVD/VCR players installed, so now I can actually use the presentations I've done. Yea!

Since it is so close to time for the bell, I'm going to stop blogging, pack up my laptop, and shut down my desktop because when the bell rings, I'm not going to be far behind the kids!

It's Friday eve!

And boy am I glad. :) Because of Open House Tuesday night, this week has seemed forever long. I had a pretty good turn out for my classes. The sad thing is that most of the parents who were there are the parents of the GOOD kids. I mean, that's a good thing because it shows that those parents really care about their children and their education, but it's sad that there aren't more parents who care. A lot of the problems in education would go away if more parents showed an active interest in their children. I do realize that some parents aren't able to come for a variety of reasons, but there are some who NEVER come for anything, and that is sad.

Wednesday afternoon, I stayed after school until about 6 so that Samantha could bounce some ideas off of me. I try to make her feel better by telling her that I remember all of those first year frustrations and that I still feel them sometimes, but when you're overwhelmed, there is very little that anyone can say to ease those feelings. She did feel much better after she got the rest of this term planned out. I think having a week off soon will help. It will me, anyway. :)

I didn't leave work until 5:30 today because I had to type the test for my seniors tomorrow. Having new books is great, but it's also a pain. I always have a class set of tests instead of having students write on the test itself. Saves on paper and easier to grade without having to flip page after page after page. Even though our new books are by the same company as the old ones, there is some new information in them, so the old tests won't work. One of our goodies was a test generator, which is GREAT, but there are questions that I add myself.

So, 8:00 Tuesday night, 6:00 last night, and 5:30 tonight and getting there by 6:45-6:50 every morning...I'm ready for the weekend.

We aren't going to the game Saturday. Or at least that's the plan right now. John thought he had someone who wanted the tickets, but it turns out they didn't want them or they couldn't go or something. From what I've heard about the pay-per-view broadcast of last week's game, I don't think we'll even get it. I'd rather listen to Eli and Tom anyway. :)

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

What a "guggy" win and other stuff

OK--let me explain my use of the word guggy. When John and I first moved to Dadeville, Becky, Jeff, and Jessica were our neighbors. In October of '94, Becky had Ben. Yep, he's almost 14! When he started talking and putting together sentences, when he would say "ugly" it came out sounding like "guggy" so anytime John and I talked about something being really ugly, we say it's guggy. And the win yesterday was definitely guggy!

What happened to the team who dominated Clemson just a week ago? Was it the hang-over effect from all of the hype surrounding that win? Was it the fact that we were missing Andre Smith and Marlon Davis from the offensive line and Earl Alexander as a receiver? Was last week just a fluke? I don't know, but I'm sure the coaches and the team will try to find out what it was in the week to come.

Thank goodness for special teams because without them, the score would've been 7 to 6. Personally, I don't care if we win by just one point as long as we win, but I much prefer those wins that are decided early on and don't leave us all holding our breath until the last second has ticked off the clock.

Javi looked awesome all night long, so when he took his hit and was out for the rest of the night, we were all worried. Coach Saban said he should be back for next week, so hopefully it wasn't anything that will have long-term effects I hate to see outstanding players who have to give up their football careers due to concussions, but health definitely comes before football. Leigh going into the locker room before the end of the first quarter was scary, too, especially since Corey Smith, the backup kicker, is a freshman and that showed. I have faith that he will improve. No doubt he was experiencing loads of nerves as he went out for his first kick. Thank goodness, too, for the defense who were able to do enough to prevent Tulane from scoring.

We had most of the "regulars" in our section back, and it was great to see them. Janie and Mike were there with their son Wade. He's 6, and this was his first Bama game to see in person. He is an absolute cutie patootie! No way can Mike deny this child is his. :)

The rest of this post is off the subject of football.

Tim called earlier today to see if we wanted to go out with them on their boat. Uh, heck yeah! We met them at Blue Creek about lunch time. We were out for about 4 hours, and I'm just a touch red, but I really don't care. Almost all of my tan has faded. We had a great time with them, as we always do. We are so blessed and so fortunate to have such wonderful friends.

Speaking of being blessed...On the way to the game yesterday, John and I were talking about how blessed we have been in our life together. In addition to having wonderful family and friends who provide so many blessings to us and having good health, we both have good jobs that we enjoy, we have a home that is almost paid for, we have been able to fulfill our dream of buying a place at the lake, and we are able to do most of the things that we want to do. Shortly after I posted about his "new" car (which is 9 years old by the way) I saw a comment about how people who aren't happy just go buy more "things" to try to make themselves happy. I was telling him about this comment, and he laughed. He told me that the next time I posted on here, I should quote him on this, so I am. John said, "I am so damn happy, I think I'm going to go buy more things."

See, anyone who thinks John and I are unhappy has no idea about our life and he or she should really just keep any thoughts about our life to himself or herself. There isn't a day that goes by that we aren't laughing about something. We find joy and happiness in the simple things of life. If we felt that we needed "things" to make us happy, we wouldn't have bought a semi-run down trailer at the lake. We would have spent two or three hundred thousand to buy something much nicer. Instead of him buying a car that is almost 10 years old (to replace the one with over 200,000 miles on it), he would've gone out and bought a brand-new car.

This is going to be a long week. I'm planning on going to get a pedicure tomorrow (yeah, that's sounds REAL hard) but we have Open House Tuesday night. By the time Wednesday gets here, I'll feel like I've spent an entire week at the school. I have meetings during my planning both Thursday and Friday, so that means spending longer at work after work to make up for the time I'll miss during planning. The meeting Thursday probably won't take long, but the one Friday probably will. I'm on the BBSST committee for the seniors, and that's the day of the first meeting about the senior referrals.

I'm seeing a day off REALLY soon, but between meetings and just not feeling like I can find a good day to miss my classes, I cannot find a good time. Anytime I have a good time to miss English 11, it isn't a good time to miss English 12, and vice versa. I guess I'll just have to take one no matter what. We're getting close to fall break, but I've got a couple of things that I really need to take care of before October.

People who aren't in education often don't realize how hard it is to take off. When John needs a day off, he takes one. He doesn't have to write out detailed plans for someone to follow so that they can make sure his employees are doing their jobs. Sure, there are things he has to take care of before taking off, and there are things to follow up on after he gets back, but no one can make me believe it is as much of a hassle to miss for him as it is for me! TEACHING isn't a hassle, but planning for a sub certainly is! Ask any teacher and he or she will say it's usually easier to just go to work than to be out.

OK--I guess that's enough of my rant. hahaha I'm about to make a sammich 'cause being out on the lake has made me hungry! Have a GREAT week. :)

Can't wait until tomorrow!

Tomorrow is the home opener for Bama football, and I cannot wait! John and I aren't doing all the tailgating this year. I know I'll miss that, but it had gotten to be so tiring. We would get up between 4:30 and 5:00, leave for Tuscaloosa by 6, set everything up, and then hang out all day. Following the game, we'd always wait a couple of hours so that traffic could clear out. Then we'd have to break everything down and load it back up. Many times it would be 1:30 or 2:00 on Sunday morning before we'd get home. It was always so much fun, and we LOVE all the people we tailgated with, but we just can't keep up that pace week after week. We're getting too old. lol

The game doesn't start until 6, but we're planning on getting to campus around 3. We're going to park at McFarland Mall and ride the shuttle over. It will drop us off right behind the library, so we'll be able to walk around the quad and see all the stuff there.

Bama should beat Tulane quite handily based on the way we played against Clemson. One thing I never have done and never will do is proclaim a W before the last second has ticked off the clock, especially with those teams we should beat quite handily. ;) We've lost too many of those games in the past few years.

I do think that we are headed in the right direction with Coach Saban. I'll be the first to admit that when the rumors started flying about him being the next coach I wasn't too thrilled, and when he was hired, I said that if the right team offered the right money, he'd be gone tomorrow. I still believe that. Rarely do coaches stay at the same school for years the way Coach Bryant did and the way Coach Paterno and Coach Bobby Bowden still are. (I don't think Paterno or Bowden will retire as long as the other is still coaching because I think both really want to have the "winningest coach" title. By retiring, one would be giving up that opportunity.)

I'm really looking forward to seeing all the people who sit around us, too. Over the years we've gotten really friendly with all of them. It will be fun to catch up with everyone.

It's getting late, and even though we aren't getting up and leaving at the crack of dawn, I still need to catch some zzzz's.

ROLL TIDE!!

New option

For my readers out there, you can now show that you are a follower of my blog. I really don't anticipate any followers, though, because I've been told that no one ever reads my blog. (I still cannot for the life of me figure out how my comments from my blog end up in other people's blogs. It's still happening, too, because I saw one this morning about "men and short hair" which is almost exactly what I said in July about "men and long hair." Go figure...)

Anyway, I would love to know who out there keeps up and have you posted on my blog page. If you will scroll about half-way down, you will see "Followers." You can click on "Follow this blog" and you'll be able to add yourself.

I've got to get back to ripping CDs and burning them to a blank one for my class next block. Have a GREAT Thursday eve!

L-O-N-G day

I sat up last night watching the Tennessee-UCLA game until after 11:00. When I went to bed, John was already sound asleep and snoring. When he is really tired, he snores so badly. I tried nudging him but that didn't work, so I tried the elbow. When that didn't work, I knew it was going to be a long night. I have no idea what time it was when I finally drifted to sleep, but it was after midnight because I remember looking at the clock and it was after 12:00. Around 4:00 this morning, I woke up. From then until the alarm went off at 4:45, I just dozed. I am so sleepy!!!

Luckily my lesson plans for the day were things I really enjoy teaching--F. Scott Fitzgerald in English 11 and the Medieval monarchs in English 12. I love discussing the monarchs. I tell the students that no soap opera can ever be as good as the drama behind the monarchs. AND all the history of the monarchs is actually true and not just some goofy crap a bad writer dreamed up. lol

I started this post not long after the bell rang--just to give the traffic time to clear out before I left, but Samantha, one of our new teachers, had some questions and concerns, so she and I have been talking for probably an hour now. She's a new teacher with some new teacher frustrations. Boy, do I remember those days! Sometimes I forget that I'm a "veteran" teacher until a new teacher comes to me for advice. It's an honor to me for them to see me as someone who has something valuable to share with them.

I'm about to take myself to the house, put on some comfy jammies, watch a little TV, and go to bed! My goal is to be in bed and asleep before John is tonight. Otherwise, I may have another long, sleepless night in Dadeville. :)

Just gotta say...

ROLL TIDE!

A picture says a thousand words.

(Picture from the AJC.)

I'll be talking football in a bit, but first I have to talk about my BEAUTIFUL great-niece, Maggie Beth. :)

We didn't go north Friday like we'd planned because John was tired when he got home from work, and he just didn't want to drive 3 hours. We got up EARLY Saturday instead. As soon as we got to Danny and Linda's, I washed my hands and grabbed Maggie Beth away from her Uncle John (he got to hold her for maybe 5 minutes), and I didn't give her up until she was ready for her lunchtime bottle. She is an absolutely beautiful baby, and she was so good. Amy said she's been sleeping very well--from around 11:00 or so until about 3:30 and then until about 6:30. She snoozed the whole time we were there. She was so relaxed, she was like a rag-doll. Oh, to be that relaxed! I was going to lay her on my lap once, but she was all stretched out and she wouldn't fit. It looks like she's gonna be a tall young lady. Will is such a great big brother. He loves to kiss her and hold her. She's one lucky little girl. I can't wait to get back up to see her again! It's going to be so much fun to do girl stuff with her. :) Amy looked great, too. She certainly didn't look like she'd had a C-section just 8 days earlier.

We got out to the lake about 3. With it being game day, we did Rotel dip and brats for dinner. Talk about good! YUM!

The game was awesome. We were so impressed with the way the team played and with the poise they showed. John Parker looked like a different quarterback from the last couple of years; our freshmen didn't seem fazed by playing in front of almost 71,000 people, not to mention the millions who were watching on TV; our defense, which is brand new for the most part, shut down "thunder and lightning". I HOPE that game is a sign of things to come.

Am I saying that Bama will go undefeated and play in the (mythical) national championship game? No. Do I WISH that would be so? Sure! Any real fan wishes that, no matter how bad the team may be. I do anticipate a good season, but I know that we have a challenging schedule ahead of us--going between the hedges, to Tiger Stadium, and to Neyland won't be easy. No matter what the outcome is at the end of the season, I will still be yelling ROLL TIDE!

Susan and Tim came up to the lake yesterday. It was the first time they'd gotten to come see our place. We grilled out, talked about how great the game was, and watched part of the Kentucky-Louisville game. While they were there, Ron and Cindy came by, so they all finally got to put faces with the names.

We just kind of lazed around today until we HAD to get ready to come home. We've picked out a house plan, but since it will probably be at least a couple of years before we seriously begin anything permanent up there, who knows if we'll still want the same plan. lol We just can't wait until that is HOME. :)

It's going to be a short week for John and me, but when my weeks are shortened on the front part, they seem twice as long. I'd much rather have a Friday off. We'll be getting ready to head to Tuscaloosa Saturday for the Tulane game.

Have a great week!