It's all about the blog

I found this clip to be so appropriate for my life right now (and it is down right hilarious!)
You know... with learning to date again and ... well, just watch. :)




yeah... blogging is where it's at!!!!

Rules of Dating

So... since I am "back out there", friends have been giving me some rules of dating. Like I've said before, I wasn't exactly good at this the first time around, so... I figure any advice would help.

Rule #1 - Put yourself out there
Okay... so I have been doing that.
I am on a personals site online - this is how I met the last guy I dated, but I am becoming a little cynical about them...I am finding that the guys on there don't want to make the first move - which sometimes makes me feel it is all becoming a little one-sided.
Last night, I went out with friends. I even had a pick up line...isn't that funny?? Me! With a pick up line!! I met a guy - he wants to take me out on his boat. I told him, "We'll see."

Rule #2 - Appear to be having a good time
Okay... this is an easy one!! I have a good time pretty much where ever I'm at.

Rule #3 - Allow yourself to be taken care of
(This could include paying for a meal or drink, having a door opened for you, etc.)

Now...here's the one that I am not really good at...okay, okay...let's take it a step farther - I am HORRIBLE at it!! I have always had guys in the past that don't do that - take care of me. Don't get me wrong, they were great guys but I put myself out there as not needing to be taken care of and they backed off of that role. (Even in my last relationship, the guy recognized that I was NOT used to it!)What I am learning is... that puts a "friends" connotation to a new relationship. If you are taking care of yourself, you are an independent individual, not part of a couple. (which make perfect sense as to why I make such a great friend!) Me, allowing another person to take care of me, shows that I need him as much as he needs me.
So...can I step back off of the friend's role and allow myself to be taken care of?
I guess... only time will tell.

Sleepless in B-Town

I can honestly say I have become an insomniac.

There towards the end of school when everything was due and the pressure was on, I couldn't sleep due to the fact that I couldn't turn my brain off at night.

But now... What's my excuse now?? Trust me... there is NOTHING about summer school that is stressing me out - I just can't sleep.

And it's not that I'm not tired, cause I am. I have just gotten myself into this horrible rut that I can't seem to crawl out of. My body won't sleep until I hit that point of pure exhaustion (which normally happens somewhere between midnight and 1 am). Then, the next day, when I get home I have to nap! Many of you are probably thinking, "Well there's your problem." But it's not! I, knowing that it might affect my going to bed, don't allow myself to sleep long - I'm talking 15-20 minutes here (30 tops).

I have had people give me different suggestions - read a book, drink warm milk, Count from a hundred backwards, etc. ... yet here I am...still awake.

So, if you have any suggestions... I'm up :(

You might be a Redneck if...

Okay...I'm not normally the one to tell redneck jokes, BUT let me just tell you ...a picture is worth 1,000 words - which means these are worth at least 3,000!

I couldn't have made this up if I had wanted to! I was driving home with the boys this evening and I came up upon this car and just had to take pictures!!! (And, yes, I did have to speed in order to get closer ~ Rednecks are speed demons!!!)


You MIGHT be a Redneck if...



You strap your garbage can to the top of your car to use as a luggage rack!

I LOVE summer school!

I know a lot of you are saying right now, "Yeah... right!" because you know how sarcastic I can be. But I am NOT being sarcastic right now - I do. I do LOVE summer school!

If you would have asked me 2 weeks ago when my regular school year was ending...I would have droned on and on about how I just really couldn't foresee dragging myself to school a WHOLE 'nother month. But now that I am here...it's all sunshine and daisies. (Okay - that might be pushing it a bit far, but really... it's all good!)

Let me just tell you the reasons why I LOVE summer school SO much!

1. No papers to grade!!
2. Outdoor exploratory for an hour every day. (Okay - in layman's terms this is recess...but for technicality purposes it is NOT in summer school! LOL)
3. Switching of classes = one lesson plan per day
4. No papers to grade!!
5. Opportunity to teach and learn about fun stuff that (unfortunately) we don't have time for in the regular school year.
6. Crafts
7. Having time to go the computer lab.
8. Did I mention NO papers to grade?!!!

But the reason I am loving summer school most of all this summer is the kids! These kids were 4th graders this year, which meant I never had them in class. For some...this was a blessing for me. But for many...I am so glad that I had an opportunity to get to know these kiddos before they leave my building. It actually makes me sad that now that I know their smiling faces, I won't get to see them on a daily basis after summer school is over. :(

Did I mention I love my neighbors?

Now that summer has hit, everyone in my neighborhood seems to be out and ready. "Ready for what?", you might ask.

Well... my neighbor, Tonya, was ready and willing to take my kids to play with hers on their new slip and slide and then (after I had some time to myself) asked me over for a glass of wine and some adult conversation.

I have posted in the past about my neighbor from across the street, Johnny. He seems to have taken it upon himself to make sure I am well taken care of. - No complaints from me, by any means!

Then, today, Jerry (Johnny's next door neighbor) came and asked me if he could cut down two dead trees that I have in my yard. These trees are HUGE!! They died due to a sewage leak that we had in our yard about a year and a half ago. The price to have a service come do it is astronomical - which is why they are still standing. I asked Jerry what he would charge me. He said that he just wanted the wood when it was all said and done. "Perfect! They're yours!" I told him.

God must know that I need these kinds of people in my life - 'cause heaven knows I would be a mess without them!

Good Advice...

Have you ever had one of those days that even though things weren't going terribly wrong...they weren't going terribly right either? That seemed to be my day today - Happy Friday the 13th, right?

So, I felt like I needed some advice... some words of wisdom... something that made me say, "You're right!! It's ALL good!" Problem is...I decided this at about 10:30 pm when most of my friends and family are in their cozy little beds sleeping. Trust me - not a ONE of them would guffaw if I called them up on the phone right now... I just was raised that you don't call a person's house after 9pm. Corny... I know - but somethings from your childhood stick! That and I don't know what advice I would be searching for... I guess a mental stroking is what I truly need.

So, I went searching...and I remembered this song from the nineties by Baz Luhrman -"Everybody's Free".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTJ7AzBIJoI

It reminded me of some things that I probably need to remind myself on a daily basis... or at least on those "off" days.

Enjoy the video or just reading the advice...Maybe you will find something in it that you can use for your life today...I did.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it.

The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience…I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind;

you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth

until they have faded.

But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you imagine.

Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you

Sing

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts,

don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss

Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead,

sometimes you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end,

it’s only with yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…

the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives,

some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children,maybe you won’t,

maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…

what ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.

Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it,

or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own..

Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good.

Be nice to your siblings;

they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go,

but for the precious few you should hold on.

Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle

because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard;

live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise,

politicians will philander, you too will get old,

and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable,

politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund,

maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it.

Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal,

wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen…

The perfect relationship??

What I dream about is having a relationship that people envy... one that people say,"They were meant for each other!" because they see that we have a certain glow about us - Both of us complimenting each other - making each other strong in our weaknesses. But I wonder... where does this relationship that I dream about live? Does it live just in the illusion of what I see others have? I realize that no single marriage/relationship is perfect, but I want one that is perfect for me!


I came across this Poem called "After A While" by Veronica A. Shoffstall

After a while...

you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul

and you learn that love doesn't mean leaning

and company doesn't always mean security.

And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts

and presents aren't promises

and you begin to accept your defeats with your head up

and your eyes ahead with the grace of woman, not the grief of a child

and you learn to build all your roads on today

because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans

and futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.

After a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much

so you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul

instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.

And you learn that you really can endure

you really are strong

you really do have worth

and you learn

and you learn with every goodbye,

you learn...

Take chances. Tell the truth. Date someone totally wrong for you. Say no. Spend all your cash. Say yes. Sleep an entire day. Read a book. Tell a story. Fall in love. Get to know someone random. Be random. Say I love you. Laugh at a stupid joke. Cry. Get revenge. Apologize. Tell someone how much they mean to you. Drink until the bottle's empty. Sing out loud. Tell an ***hole what you feel. Let someone know what they're missing. Laugh until your stomach hurts. Live Life. And Learn.

I remember why I DON'T have a dog

This weekend I took on the task of dog-sitting for a friend of mine. She assured me that he was a perfectly well behaved dog and pretty much does nothing but lie around the house. Early in my marriage to Robbie, we had two labs. So I thought, "Hey I've done this before...I can do it again." So I agreed...Even though I was a little hesitant. I wasn't hesitant about my children being around the dog, or my house being destroyed(even though I JUST had the carpets cleaned). I just had this uneasy feeling.


I realized what that uneasy feeling was all about today...

I let Buddy (the dog) out to use the restroom when we go home from church. Then Colby (not knowing I had already let Buddy out once) let him out again. This time, since Buddy didn't have any pressing business to get done, caught the smell of something in the woods and was off. I saw this all happen, but couldn't react fast enough.

We spent the next half hour screaming Buddy's name to no avail. My mind was spinning with what I was going to tell my friend when she came to retrieve her dog. My stomach was sick as I remembered the times (yes, that is plural - TIMES) we lost our dogs due to some interesting smell in the woods. This is when I also remembered why I currently do NOT have a dog. It is stressful enough for me to keep up with my children and their every move, much less to have to do it with an animal also.

After several prayers and some time to think, I remembered what we would do when our dogs ran off in the woods. We would go driving down the road and call out their names until we found them. So, I loaded the boys up and the three of us shouted Buddy's name. We found him! Not more than 100 feet from my house. He was laying in a stream too hot and tired to even come to me. (Obviously more excitement than this city dog normally gets in a day.) I hesitantly allowed his muddy body to get into my car. (Cause heaven knows, I wasn't going to trust him to get back to my house on his own!)

Buddy is now securely attached to his cable out back...and don't expect me to dog-sit for anyone else ANYTIME soon...because I remember why I don't have a dog!

Ants...Ants EVERYWHERE

This week we started summer school and our theme is insects. I decided to start off with the topic of ants. On Monday, we put out plates that had: honey, cake with icing, and Doritos. We wanted to see what would attract ants the most. In the beginning the honey attracted the most - but just little small ants. By later in the day, the cake was covered with larger ants. No ants ever decided to touch the Doritos. (makes you wonder why???)

My experiments are NOT why I am making this post...this post has to do with my ant farm I had INTENDED to have. Last weekend I purchased a gel "space-aged" ant farm. The advantage is that you are able to see all of the tunnels and the ants inside the tunnels. My next intention was to catch some of the ants from my Monday experiment.

With the help of my students, we started licking our fingers to pick up the ants (as suggested on the gel ant farm pamphlet - I know, I know...just shake your head, cause I am now- lol). This worked great to pick up the ants. The problem was every time we opened the ant farm to put one in, 2 more would crawl out. In the end, we had caught and KEPT about 6 ants. I sent my students home with the task of catching and bringing in more ants.

On Tuesday, I had one boy bring in ants. These ants were much bigger and what I always call "tree ants" because that is where I see them. I told him I didn't think these ants would tunnel, BUT since only three of our ants from Monday were still alive and kicking. I decided to place them in. BIG mistake!! The small ants, I guess, had decided that this was now their home and did NOT like the tree ants invading their space. A lovely war went down between the two sets and in the end only 2 tree ants survived. A great lesson learned, I guess... just not the one I was hoping for.

Wednesday... we mourned the lives given in battle - Just kidding - it was rainy and so we couldn't collect any more ants that day. I also let the two reigning champions loose. :)

By Thursday, I was pretty desperate to have some ant specimen. So, once again, we put out cake and icing to attract the bigger ants. This time we just picked up the whole plate and put ants, cake, and all into a bucket with a lid. The trick then came down to how to get them out of the bucket and into the gel farm. After school, my friend, Laura had the suggestion of freezing them. We placed them into the freezer for 2 minutes. This worked perfectly!! We easily took out the plate and the cake and poured the ants (about a dozen of them) into the gel farm. It was exciting to see them "unthaw" and begin exploring their new home.

On Friday morning, I was excited for my students to come and see the dozen ants we had collected. All of the ants were balled together. (I guess the air conditioner was set a little low :{ ) I placed them in the window sill to warm them up. Within a half hour, we could see movement. We were SO excited!!! That is until we noticed the movement was on the OUTSIDE of the ant farm. Those smart little ants had found the air holes and had crawled right out!

Who said I wanted to have an ant farm anyways!!???

SDC with no scenes - at least..none from me :)

I am happy to report that we (Spencer and his kids came up and went with the boys and me) went to Silver Dollar City yesterday and had a most enjoyable time...

I, of course, brought my own plastic bag :)

The kids had a great time: trying on funky hats!!!

Shooting water guns!

...and playing dead!

We did eventually make it to the Lost River. The person working at the Lost River (happened to be male this time) even gave me a smile and assisted us onto the boat. :) Guess... I shouldn't judge by one instance, huh?

I managed to stay almost completely dry on the Lost River (which is an amazing feat) UNTIL the last bend... where they have ADDED an extra "shot" of water. It hit me dead on and I was instantly drenched. Spencer said he wished there was video of it because he said I sucked all the surrounding air in. (because I was caught of guard completely!!!)

Still haven't managed to redeem that funnel cake certificate...just give me time. :)