Life as I Live It

Don't Get Excited

2008-02-05T18:21:00.000-06:00

Well my computer is still dead and a new one is not on the immediate horizon so I'm still bumming computer time from Deanna. But there are blogworthy moments happening all around and I can't neglect them all just because my computer is being a brat. The biggest news happening in my life right now is that I'm about to make a major life change and am moving out of my apartment. Deanna and I were both realizing how tired we were of living in an apartment like we were still college students and have been looking for other things. But I didn't quite expect Deanna to find a house she wanted to buy and us to be moving out of our apartment at the end of the month. Yes, in 3 weeks I have to have all of my stuff cleaned out of this apartment that I have lived in for over 2 years and move back into my parents' house (hopefully for only a very short time) I'm going to be moving into my grandmother's house but it needs some major updates so back to mama's I go. Keep me in your prayers! To add to my stress, today I'm leaving school heading to Lowe's to meet my mom and I have a major blowout. The sound was horrible and I was scared I wasn't going to be able to get control to pull off the road. But thankfully no major damage was done and after sitting on the side of the road for a little bit, my dad came and changed my tire and took care of it for me. Thanks daddy! I so need to learn how to do things like that. I'm terrible with anything related to cars. It wasn't too bad today but I didn't get anything done today that I needed to. On a more positive note, we had a Mardi Gras parade today with my students. This morning we made masks to wear and this afternoon we got all dolled up in our beads and masks and went around to several classes giving out beads and sending out Mardi Gras wishes. Afterwards we made our way back to our room for king cake. The kids loved it and had so much fun. It was a great afternoon for a parade through campus. Here is a picture of us before heading out on our adventure.
Congratulations are also in order to my sweet friend Patti who just had her third baby, Elizabeth "Ellie" Claire. This is Patti and Dusty's only little girl after having two very precious boys. I don't know how I would have made it through graduate school without Patti. She is such an amazing woman who taught me so much about strength and courage. I miss her tons and am so happy for her, Dusty, John Patrick, and Liam.

What Am I To Do?

2008-01-29T17:13:00.000-06:00

If you have been wondering if I had fallen off the face of the earth in the absence of my blogging, rest easy. I am still here doing what I do but I have had a tragedy of sorts. My computer is dead. I think completely gone this time. It has played possum on me a couple of times before but after letting it rest or playing around with it, I could revive it. But I really think this time our life together is over. So that is the reason for my long lapse in keeping you updated on my oh so exciting (haha) life. I know I have missed events that were worthy of blogging about (Happy Late Birthday Jenifer and Michael) but it's hard to find the joy in blogging when you have to beg, borrow, and steal a computer to do it on. Unlike Heather and Laura, my work computer blocks my blog so no luck there. I'm coping as well as I can and I hope you will be patient with me until I am back in the blogging world going strong.

Let it Snow

2008-01-19T15:21:00.000-06:00

When I left Chicago a few weeks ago, I thought I had received my allotment of snow for 2008. I actually thought I had seen the only snow I would see for several years. I had no idea that in less than a month, I would wake up on a Saturday morning at my apartment to discover a world of white in Meridian. My mom called me at 8:30 this morning just to tell me that I needed to get up and go play in the snow before it melted. Even though it is almost melted by this time, it was so pretty this morning. I sat in my living room for a while just watching it fall and then got dressed to go play and take pictures. Here are a few from the morning. My only wish is that this would have happened on a week day so that school would have been cancelled!

Is it Friday Yet?

2008-01-17T18:27:00.001-06:00

The terrible Thursdays strike again. Last semester, if there was ever a day at school that my students were all going to misbehave at the same time, it was almost always a Thursday. Last Thursday, the first one of the semester, was great giving me hope that 2008 would bring about a world where Thursdays are what they should be...days to breeze through until Friday, days where making sure you catch Grey's Anatomy is the only concern, days that give you hope that the weekend is almost here. But the curse of the Thursdays has reared its ugly head once again. Today was by far the worst day we've had since coming back from Christmas. It didn't quite rival some of the worst days of last semester (primarily because no seizures were involved) but a Thursday terror yes it was. I won't even begin to elaborate on the activities of my students today because I wouldn't want you to be appalled but just pray that tomorrow will be a better day. And if my day wasn't long and stressful enough, tonight when I pulled on my favorite pair of old jeans to go grab something to eat, I realized that they have gotten so thin from the countless times I've washed them that there is now a hole in a very precarious spot. This was probably more devastating than the events of the day because I love these jeans so much, even though they are so ragged and worn out. They are those jeans that can make you feel comfortable no matter when you put them on. I know I will recover from my day with my students but the loss of my jeans may be the worst thing the Thursday curse could bring. Atleast tomorrow is Friday and I am off Monday for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day so hopefully I will have time this weekend to mourn and relax.

B-day Shoutouts Revisited

2008-01-15T19:35:00.000-06:00

Today is my brother Cary's birthday. He is the big 34. It seems so unreal that we are as old as we are. It doesn't seem like too long ago that we were living at home together fighting over the bathroom and the remote (which by the way, I never won control of and is probably the reason why ESPN is now one of my favorite channels). My brother and I are completely different. He is so outgoing and can talk to a brick wall about anything. I am much more reserved than him and tend to be shy initially. He is always the life of the party which makes everyone love him. He definitely keeps things entertaining around my family. And he has given me two of the biggest joys in my life, my precious nephews Braden and Cooper. We had dinner at my mom's tonight for him and Braden and Cooper had helped make his birthday cake. It was very interesting. I don't think I've ever seen anymore icing or sprinkles. I didn't have my camera with me tonight at my mom's but here's a picture from Christmas time of Cary and the boys. Happy Birthday Older Brother!

Oprah is On the Way

2008-01-10T16:37:00.000-06:00

Though I just left Chicago a little more than a week ago and was unable to see Oprah while I was there, I just might have another chance without ever leaving Meridian. Yep, Oprah is coming to Meridian, MS. Oprah Winfrey is at this very moment probably either on her way or preparing to arrive in the big city of Meridian. She is doing a show on MS being the fattest state in the nation and she has decided to highlight Meridian. I know that's not such a great storyline to be the focus of but hey, we don't care. We know we're fat and if it means Oprah comes to town, I say we keep eating! Anyway, Meridian started a weight loss campaign in the fall called Just Lose It, Meridian and I think she is coming because of that. Until today, it was just thought to be her trainer, Bob Green, that would be in town autographing copies of his book and signing people up for Oprah's Best Life Challenge. But today, the official word came that Oprah herself will be here and supposedly will be interviewing the mayor, the coordinator of Just Lose It, and 2 or 3 people selected for her Challenge. I may be stalking her for the next 24 hours. I will let my faithful readers know if I am able to catch a glimpse of O. Be sure to watch Monday's episode of the Oprah show to see how wonderfully fat and happy Meridian is to have Oprah in our midst!

This is Only the Beginning

2008-01-03T19:24:00.000-06:00

January is a month of birthdays for my friends and family so just get ready for frequent birthday blog shout outs. Today kicks off the month right with not 1, not 2, but 3 birthday wishes. I will give them each their proper respect and attention though they are included as one post.

First of all, today is my wonderful cousin Robbie's birthday. And this is a very significant birthday for her, though I won't reveal her age for all of the cyberworld to see. I'm scared she might hurt me. Just trust me that this is a birthday of transition. Robbie is more than just my cousin. She is one of my absolute best friends. We have grown up together and have shared vacations, family celebrations, and more secrets than can be counted. It's awesome to have someone you can share things with who really gets where you are coming from because they understand your background and life experiences that influence your viewpoint. Robbie is that person for me. She has a heart of gold and always wants the best for me and for those around her. I know that no matter what I'm feeling she will listen patiently and supportively and be willing to help me sort through whatever is going on with me. So on this day, her very special day, I just wanted her and all of my other faithful readers (all 5 of you) to know how important Robbie is to me and how thankful I am to have her in my life. I can't wait for the birthday celebrations that are to come this weekend. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROBBIE!

Today is also my other cousin Kristen's birthday. Yes, I have 2 cousins with the exact same birthday but they are on opposite sides of my family. Kristen is a year and a half older than me and didn't grow up around me but I thought she was the best thing ever when we were young. She, Laura, and Heather used to come stay with me or Mamaw when we were young or I would go stay with them in Starkville and we always had so much fun together. Of course, we did everything Kristen said so that it would stay that way! As Heather said on her blog, Kris can be a little bossy. Since we've gotten older I haven't been able to spend as much time with Kristen as I did when we were small. She is now a wife, mother, and OB/GYN resident in Jackson so she has her plate full. I miss all the fun times we had though and hope she has a great birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY KRISTEN!

Finally, today is my best friend Myndi's younger sister Krystal's birthday. I feel like she is my little sister too because her family always makes me feel like one of them. Krystal has such a good heart and is lots of fun to be around. I wish I got to see more of her. I also wished I lived closer to her because I would go crazy in her closet. She has more clothes, shoes, and bags than I will ever have in my lifetime. Oh how cute I could be if only Krystal was nearby. Move to Meridian Krystal! Hope you have a great birthday.

I'm Dreaming of a White New Year

2008-01-02T21:01:00.000-06:00

2007 ended and 2008 began for me in the midst of a Chicago winter wonderland. Saturday morning in the wee hours (meaning I left my apartment at 4:30), I embarked on a 12 hour road trip to Chi-town as part of a three vehicle caravan.It was by far the best New Year's adventure I have ever had. There were so many highlights but I won't try to name them all. Some of the tourist sites we hit were the Sears Tower, Wrigley Field, and the Field Museum. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to Harpo studios. I know Oprah is upset she missed us. On Sunday night as we left the Field Museum, we were greeted with gorgeous snowflakes falling on our heads. It was so light and fluffy and pretty. The whole way back to the hotel we kept stopping to take pictures and play in the snow. It was so much fun. The next day, New Year's Eve, we spent most of the day trying to figure out where we were going to celebrate the incoming year. Our sight seeing got cut a little short this day though because it started snowing very wet snow about 1:00 and never let up. By 4:00 we were all soaked and had to get back to the hotel and warm up and rest up for the big night ahead.

We finally figured out where we would spend our New Year's Eve and after a welcome nap we were ready to start the celebrating. We had so much fun at the Liar's Club in Lincoln Park which is super close to DePaul University. So if you are ever in Chicago looking for a good place to celebrate, much fun can be had there. We brought the New Year in dancing and having a blast and even stayed around well after midnight just to make sure 2008 was appropriately recognized and welcomed.

The only negative of the night was the extremely long hike in blowing snow with the most painful shoes I have ever had on to the train station only to have to wait forever for the next train and then to be completely jammed into the tiniest of spaces with many belligerent drunk people. Not the most pleasant experience but we survived. You know those stories old people like to tell that begin with..."I remember when I had to walk 2 miles in the snow...." I feel like I can honestly say I have one of those stories now. So if you are around me in 40 or 50 years and I bring this one up, believe me, it's true. We finally made it back to our hotel around 2:45 that morning and had to leave the next day. We woke up to another day of snowing which ordinarily would be very exciting but when you have no idea how to drive in snow and it has been snowing for almost 24 hours straight, it loses its appeal somewhat. But we were up for the challenge and began to load our stuff for the long trip home. As we were getting ready to leave, I got to experience something that for me made my trip even more memorable. If you know me at all, you know that I love college basketball. And my favorite team of all time is the Tennessee Lady Vols. They are the defending national champions and have the best player in the nation, Candace Parker, on their team. Well guess what? They were staying in our hotel. I know this doesn't seem that thrilling to most people but just trust me that it equates to extreme excitement for me. My friend Amy had seen their coach coming down the elevator and I was determined to see either her or the players before we left in the next 10 minutes. And though Bill the bellboy (who loved us by the way) couldn't tell me which floor they were staying on, he did cue me when he saw them come to the second floor for breakfast. At that point, I became a stupid little girl who could hardly contain herself. But I made it up there to get autographs and pictures just in time to not get left behind in Chicago. At that point, my New Year's couldn't get any better and I was ready for the long trip ahead.

Or so I thought. The snow that I had been so thrilled about just a day before now became an enemy as we were literally driving 30-40 mph for the first 2 1/2 hours of our trip and then could only drive a little faster for the next 2 1/2 hours. Yep, that's right. We drove the first 5 hours in a snowstorm. Seriously. We looked like we were in a movie. It was very surreal.This is what it looked like through our car window.
But after many many hours of riding, we finally made it home last night about midnight only to be greeted by the harsh truth that the real world would pause no longer and routine would once again be on the menu for '08. Oh well, I had a fabulous time and many memorable stories and experiences to help me make it through the year. I couldn't think of a better way to start.

Christmas in Collinsville

2007-12-27T22:30:00.000-06:00

What a busy week! My family celebrated Christmas in a big way as usual. We don't do anything small in our family. We started Sunday by having my mom's side of the family Christmas at my brother's house. Even though everybody wasn't there, we still had a great time visiting with each other, eating, and of course opening presents. One of the traditions of the Beeman family is to have a different grandchild read the Christmas story every year before we start present time. This year was my sweet little cousin Amberlee's first time to read. She is only 7 and she did such a fabulous job. That King James version isn't the easiest for anybody much less a second grader. The next day, Christmas Eve, the entire Luke clan emerged on my parents' house for a day long event. Christmas Eve is almost certainly my favorite day of the year. We celebrate all day long and this year was no different. The first guests arrived around noon and the last ones left about 9 that night after a day of food, fun, fireworks and once again tons of presents. The next morning I woke up about 7 so that me, my mom, and dad could all open our presents to and from each other before seeing what Santa brought the boys. Before we could even finish, Braden called, ecstatic about what he had. We made our way up there and though I didn't think Santa was being very smart bringing an actual 4-wheeler to a five year old, he was so excited and it was so cute to see him in his helmet ready to ride. And of course, Cooper was precious in his big red fire truck that he has talked nonstop about for the last month. I know I'm more than a bit prejudiced but they are two of the cutest kids I know. I love seeing them so excited. Overall Christmas was such a wonderful holiday. I'm sad that it's over and I have to go back to work next week. But I am so thankful for all the time I got to spend with my family, all the presents I received, and even for all the food that I ate (which by the way should be enough to last me atleast 3/4 of the way through 2008). Most importantly, I'm thankful for what this time of year means...a chance to focus attention on Christ and his birth. What a gift we have been given. I decided that you probably didn't want to see me post a million pics from Christmas so I made a slideshow that will hopefully work. You can then choose to look at the pics or not. Completely up to you. Hope you and your family had as great a Christmas as we did. Happy 2008!

Christmas 2007

There's A Party Over Here, A Party Over There

2007-12-20T19:54:00.000-06:00

This has been a week of parties. I started the week partying with my students and I haven't slowed up since. Tuesday night, Deanna, Robbie, Brooke, and I had girls night out at Crescent City Grill. We didn't plan it, but we somehow all had on coordinating outfits so I'm sure people thought we were going for group pictures later on. We had lots of fun eating and being silly as usual. For dessert, we made a trip to the drive-thru at the brand new freestanding Chick-Fil-A in Meridian. We are such girls of the night. But a freestanding Chick-Fil-A is a pretty big deal if you ask me. We ended up at our apartment opening presents which is always fun.

Today the partying continued with me, Deanna, and Angela going to eat lunch together at Cracker Barrel. We stayed for over an hour and a half. I'm sure Deidra, our waitress, was ready for us to leave so that she could have more opportunities to earn tips but we were too busy catching up and again opening presents. I love Angela and miss her now that I'm not at MCC. She is such a fabulous person and we had lots of giggling and talking to do. I couldn't have asked for better lunch partners.

This afternoon, I went to Mamaw's Christmas party at the nursing home. It was so sweet. Santa was there and passed out presents to all of the residents. Mamaw got a cute picture frame which is so appropriate for her since she literally has atleast 100 pictures in her room. After her party wrapped up, I walked her back to her room where I saw the Christmas stockings of all of her grandchildren hanging on the wall. Every year at Christmas, my Mamaw hung stockings for us on her mantle but last year, she was living with my Uncle Ronnie and so no stockings were hung. It was so sweet to see all of them hanging again even if it was on a concrete wall stuck with duct tape. I think she has enjoyed having them with her and I'm sure she has loved the extra attention and questions she gets when people see all of them. There are 16 hanging up so it is hard to miss them.

I love this time of year because it means I get to spend even more time with the people I love. Bring on the parties!

I Just Want to Celebrate

2007-12-17T21:08:00.000-06:00

Today is a day for celebration. I have made it through my first semester of teaching with my students. Tomorrow at 11:30 is the official finale to the semester but today was the last day for my students to be at school. It has been such an eventful semester with so many different emotions. I have felt fulfillment, frustration, uncertainty, excitement, and tons more ups and downs. I have learned so much about my students, myself and my future, and teaching. I have not for one second, even on the days that I wanted to cry, regretted my decision to change jobs. It has been exactly what I was looking for--both challenging and rewarding.I have had so much help making it through this semester. When I first started, I was completely overwhelmed and it didn't take long before my principal and the school district realized that another teacher was needed to help shoulder the load. I could not have been more fortunate in who they chose. I was blessed to work with this past semester Mrs. Suzanne Timbrell who just happened to be one of my aunt Lita's high school friends. She has been a Godsend. She had retired after 29 years of teaching special education and agreed to come back this semester to help start this program since it was new at WL. I have learned so much from her and am so sad that she is going back into retirement but I know that she has left me so much more prepared than when I started in August. She is such a fabulous lady and I'm going to miss her tons. Thanks so much Mrs. Timbrell!
Since today was the students' last day, we partied big. This morning, our class went to the nursing home where my mamaw lives and sang Christmas carols for the residents. We had such a good time and I think they enjoyed our own special version of traditional Christmas melodies. I unfortunately didn't get to take any pictures of them in their cute little elf hats ringing their jingle bells so you will have to just take my word for it that they were sweet. After leaving the nursing home and returning to school, we had our Christmas party in our room. It was so much fun watching the kids open their gifts from us and I received several gifts which was nice. Overall, it was a great day and a successful semester. I only hope that I make it through the next one as smoothly.

Friday Night Lights

2007-12-17T20:46:00.000-06:00

Friday night, Robbie and I went to see Curt in Philadelphia. We met him for dinner where we had excellent service which is unusual for us lately. (Robbie and I seem to be cursed when it comes to good service. Hopefully this curse is ending because the last 2 times we have eaten out we have had excellent service) Anyway, after dinner, Curt had arranged for us to take a tour of the home of a lady in his church who decorates like crazy for Christmas. The last few years, Robbie and I have traveled to Philly to see this lady's outdoor decorations which are unreal. Between her and her daughter they probably decorate 3 acres of yard with lights and wooden cutouts. This year, however, Curt felt like we had earned the privilege of getting to see the inside of her home so he set it up and off we went to Mrs. Goldman's home. This lady is probably one of the friendliest women I have ever met. She immediately welcomed us in her home as if we had been friends for years. She was so sweet and loved to tell us the stories behind all of her decorations. Her house was so festive. I think we counted 7 trees that were decorated (including the mini tree in the bathroom) and under each tree was a village. In her main room was the largest of her trees and underneath it was one of the biggest Christmas villages I've seen. It came out atleast 3 feet from the bottom of her tree. I tried to take pictures but they just don't do it justice. We had a fabulous time as we always do with Curt. You can't ask for much more than good friends, good food, and holiday cheer.

It's Better to Be Safe than Stupid

2007-12-09T20:22:00.000-06:00

WARNING: SUPER SUPER SUPER LONG POST. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.
This weekend my Sunday School class took a trip to Nashville for our annual Christmas trip. The title of this post became the signature quote of the weekend coined by Robbie. There were 9 of us that went on a 15 passenger church van that I mostly drove. If you know how much I hate driving my own car, you know how funny it is that I was the primary driver of a big ole bus. To make it easier to share all the funny moments of the weekend, I will separate by days. So here's my recap of our Christmas adventure:
Friday-We left the church in Collinsville about 3:15 heading to Music City. We were riding along the interstate out of Meridian discussing what we were going to be doing and just catching up on each others' weeks when Robbie says she needs to go to the bathroom. We were in York, Alabama! If you are familiar with East MS and West AL, you know that York is seriously less than 45 minutes from Collinsville. We were stopping to go to the bathroom at 4:00. We were in for an interesting road trip for sure! So after the earliest bathroom break in history we were back on the interstate ready to go. We decided we were going to stop and eat in Birmingham but before we could get there we had another bathroom emergency. This time Ryan Brown decided he couldn't possibly make it to wherever we decided to eat and all of sudden said "Take this exit now" Even though I told him I didn't even see a gas station, he assured me that he saw a Home Depot and that would be fine. So I pulled off the interstate into the historic district of some city. It was really dark since there weren't any stores and I missed the drive of the Home Depot because it was far away from the street we were on so then we saw a sign for a Miles College and decided to pull onto campus and turn around and go back to the Home Depot. But even though there was a nice sign welcoming us to Miles College we never actually saw anything that resembled a school. We started to go down the hill thinking we would see buildings and dorms and stuff but actually just saw run down houses and a small church. At this point Ryan Brown decides he will take over the driving duties since this is his adventure so he gets out of the passenger side as we are stopped at a stop sign with another car pulling up to it and one coming up behind us. It was quite a scary scenario since we had no idea where we were and are getting out of a church van at a random stop sign. Ryan eventually makes it back to the Home Depot and gets to the bathroom in time but the rest of us decided we could just make it to wherever we stopped to eat. So Ryan got us back on the interstate and drove us to Cullman, AL where we ate at the quietest Ruby Tuesday's ever. Atleast it was quiet until we arrived. Our presence was definitely felt as we utilized the first of our many photo opportunities. When we are starting to leave Ryan hands the keys back to me and says "I'm tired. Do you think you can take over?" Are you kidding me? He had driven 40 miles and he was ready to quit driving that big huge van. He drives a Dooley for heaven's sake! I begrudgingly took the keys back and drove us uneventfully the rest of the way to Nashville where we checked into our nice hotel and went to bed.
Saturday-Though nobody else's room seemed to have been disturbed by this, me, Keely, and Courtney all were awaken to the sound of little kids running up and down the hallway on the floor above us at 6:00 in the morning. I wanted to beat me some brats! I promise if I had the energy and stamina to last running as long as they did, I would be 2 sizes smaller. So we woke up earlier than we planned and the weather outside was so dreary and yuck but we were in Nashville and weren't going to let out of control kids and gross weather ruin our day. The morning began with a trip to the Country Music Hall of Fame where we had lots of fun taking pictures with tons of memorabilia. After our tour we decided to walk and find somewhere to eat for lunch. On the way we saw the Ryman and stopped for a coupld of pictures. Then we decided to eat at Jack's Barbecue which was really good. If you are ever on Broadway in Nashville and can't decide where to eat, I would recommend Jack's and his Kansas City sauce. In the words of Courtney, "I could drink this barbecue sauce it's so good." The first silly adventure of the day came when we were trying to leave downtown Nashville. Because all the streets are one-way, we got a little lost trying to get back to the interstate so after driving in circles a couple of times we saw a guy that we stopped to ask. Ryan Brown was driving at this point and he just pulled slightly off the road to ask a very nice Middle Eastern man how to get back to the interstate. I wish we had a video of this encounter because it truly was a classic exchange but unfortunately one does not exist. After Ryan asked him directions, the man began by saying, "you need to get out of the road" so Ryan moved over a little bit and the guy continued but almost immediately after said "You really need to get out of the road." It was much funnier if this blog could actually translate his accent and inflection. We were laughing so hard in the back of the van while Ryan was trying to pull over more and listen to the guy's instructions. He was such a nice guy and had a great sense of humor and the last thing he said to us was, "If you miss it, I am bad." Well guess what Mr. Nice Middle Easterner? We missed it! But not because of bad directions. We saw it but just passed it before we decided if were supposed to be going east or west so we went around in a circle one more time but finally made it to the interstate. From there we made our way back to our hotel. Because the weather was so gross, all of our hair was bad and mine and Keely's pants legs were so wet. So we freshened up for a few minutes (meaning all of my hair got pulled on top of my head and my pants legs got blow dried) and then headed to the Opry Mills mall which is freaking huge and was SOOOOO crowded. This is the place where the famous quote above was first uttered. Because the mall was so crowded there was nowhere to park and it's not easy fitting a big van into a small space. But Ryan had complete confidence in his ability to back into the first of many tiny spaces and scared Robbie like crazy cause she thought he was going to hit the cars around us. We made it though and Robbie survived Ryan's other attempts at giving her a heart attack (like slamming on breaks unexpectedly and making the tires squeal on the wet pavement). We all split up and went in groups all around the mall and I ended up with a shirt and a dress for a grand total of $6. I'm such a big spender. We were going to ride a shuttle from the mall to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel which is where we were going to see all the Christmas lights and shows but after waiting for 45 minutes the only bus that came wasn't the right one so we gave up and decided to drive our van and just pay to park. This part of the night was likely the least amount of fun for the boys because all we basically did was walk around and look at lights and make them take our pictures everywhere. We also made them be in a few which they weren't too excited about. The Gaylord was so pretty though at Christmas even though my feet hurt so bad that I didn't even care if we didn't see everything. After finishing the night back at the food court at the mall, we made our way back to the hotel for much needed sleep.

Sunday- We woke up this morning and packed up and checked out before heading to Two Rivers Baptist Church which was right down the road from our hotel. It was so big but a very nice service. The people there were very friendly. After leaving church I took back over the driving duties and we started our adventure home. Nothing too exciting happened on the way home except that the bathroom emergencies once again reared their ugly heads. This time Keely was one of the culprits but Robbie and Ryan were right there in on the action. One funny thing that happened that woke everyone up on the van was that I almost hit a hawk. Robbie was just commenting on what a succesful trip we had, when all of a sudden from out of nowhere flies this huge bird swooping right down in front of us. And like a dummy instead of slowing down, I just kept driving thinking the bird would fly up. At the last minute before impact he fortunately did but he was so close that I closed my eyes for a second thinking we were about to slam him. Ryan said I just didn't want to mess up the cruise control. I obviously just wasn't thinking! After our brush with avian danger we made it back to Collinsville safely armed with our crazy stories and pictures. Hope you aren't completely bored at this point, if you are even still reading. I couldn't figure out how to summarize better. I need to work on that skill. But I had been put on the spot by my road trip mates who will be waiting to see what made the blog. Hope I haven't disappointed you Courtney, Ryan, or Keely!

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas

2007-12-01T09:27:00.000-06:00

Christmas is almost here and I love this time of year. I love Christmas trees, Christmas lights, Christmas music, and Christmas sales. Signs of the season are everywhere. Last weekend, I was able to visit my best friend Myndi at her parents' house in Picayune. While I was there, we helped decorate for Christmas. It was so much fun. It was also my first experience unloading and decorating a real tree because my family has always had an artificial tree. I felt very Christmasy! Though we looked rough because we stayed in our pjs most of the day, the tree and decorations turned out great.

On Sunday night, we put up the Christmas tree at our apartment. Deanna primarily did all the work and I added a few ornaments because I was feeling super bad and didn't have any energy. The tree looks fabulous and I love coming home to it everyday. Pictures really don't do it justice so feel free to come by and gaze upon our lovely tree. Hope you have a wonderful Christmas season.

Thanksgiving Recap

2007-12-01T08:45:00.000-06:00

I know Thanksgiving was over a week ago and I've had plenty of time to recap the activities of the day. Sorry for the delay. Though Thanksgiving was great, in my defense, its aftermath left atleast 12 members of my family with a stomach bug including me so I really haven't felt that great this past week. Anyway, here's some of the highlights of my Thanksgiving holiday. At lunch, almost all of my mom's side of the family met at her house. There are so many kids around when we are all together and our youngest member, Henry, wasn't even there. We had 6 kids 15 and under and Heather, who although she is 24, still acts about the same age as the teenagers! We had a great time and lots of good food. The funniest part of the day was watching Brooklee and Candace teach Heather how to do the Superman dance. She was reliving all her cheerleading glory! Here are some of the pics of the day:

That night, my dad's side of the family all met together at my Aunt Sherry's house. We had so much food which is quite characteristic of the Luke family. We never seem to be able to cut anything out. Robbie had her Christmas room ready for the big reveal like every Thanksgiving night. She is so talented and it's always exciting to see what her decorations will look like each year. There were just as many kids at Aunt Sherry's because our family friends, Chris and Missye were there with their 2 little girls so we had 6 kids 9 and under. Very fun. I love kids so it makes things more entertaining when they are all around. Kids are usually much more willing to pose for all my picture requests too so that makes me thankful. Here are some of the pictures from our Thanksgiving at the Lukes:

I Am Thankful For....

2007-11-21T21:44:00.000-06:00

Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, I thought I would take time to really think about the things I am most thankful for. So often this holiday gets bypassed in anticipation of Christmas and I am guilty too of not truly appreciating what this day represents-a chance to reflect on all of our many blessings. So in an effort to give this day its due, here are a couple of lists of things I am most thankful for this year, both serious and fun.
Top 5 Most Important Things (in no particular order)
1) Family-I am thankful that I have a wonderful family, both my immediate and large extended family. We always have fun when we get together and it's so nice to have a place where you can always be yourself and be accepted and loved. We aren't perfect but there is no way I would trade my family for anything in the world.

2) Faith-I am thankful that I was taught about Christ from an early age and was brought up in the church. I am thankful for God's mercy and the salvation that He extended me. I am thankful that no matter how often I stumble and fail Him, that God is always there and will always love me.

3) Friends-I am thankful that I have friends who I can laugh with, cry with, and just be me with. I have friends that I have known for as long as I can remember and those that I've only met in the last few years, but they all serve a special purpose and help me make it through this thing called life.

4) Job-I am thankful that I have a new job that I love. At this time last year, I would have told you that I was thankful for having a job but I couldn't necessarily say it was one I loved or wanted to keep. I have a different appreciation for having a fulfilling job this year and am thankful for the opportunity to change jobs and for all the people who have helped me in this transition.

5) Health-I am thankful that as far as I know I am in great health. Not necessarily great shape but good health! Working with the students that I do everyday has really made me appreciate the healthy life I have been blessed with. So many people don't even start out life with a clean bill of health and I have been lucky enough to have no major health problems and for that I am so thankful.

Now for the not-so-serious list of things I'm thankful for:
1) Pajama pants-This is the best piece of clothing ever invented. This week I have spent the majority of my days in my pj pants.
2) College athletics-I love college football and basketball so this time of the year is wonderful for me because both sports are playing. I am such a boy when it comes to sports!
3) Coke Icees-I am so addicted to Coke Icees and have been since high school. It is seriously a problem and I've been trying to lose weight and cutting these out has been my biggest challenge. I love them!
4) Chapstick-Another addiction for me. I have to carry chapstick with me wherever I go and I'm so thankful that it only costs like a dollar because I go through it like crazy.
5) Naps-I am thankful anytime I can catch a nap and think these are seriously underrated. I try to always have one on Sunday afternoon.
6) iPod-I really don't know what I did before I had an iPod. I love music and this makes it so much easier to take music with me wherever I am.
7) pictures-I am almost as addicted to picture taking and picture displaying as Laura. I am so thankful that I have people in my life who oblige my constant requests for photo ops and I'm thankful for all the memories these pictures let me relive.
8) Toyota-I am thankful that this company has made a car that has lasted as many miles as I've driven my sweet old Camry. Even after 200,000 miles she is still ticking and I'm so thankful that I am not paying a car note every month. I know she won't last much longer and I'm gonna enjoy every single mile and note-free month she gives me.
9) Divided plates-It's the little things in life you have to truly appreciate and divided plates are one of those things that make my life and meals so much easier. I am one of those weird people who don't like for my food to touch so these ingenious tools make Thanksgiving and other big meal opportunities so much more pleasant.
10) Blogging-I have been surprised at how much I enjoy the blogging world since I'm not very good at technology and have never thought of myself as one who needed a creative outlet mainly because I have no creativity. But it's fun to have somewhere to share pics and stories of my world and to see what's going on in the lives of other bloggers. So thank you Heather and Laura for dragging me into this fabulous land of blogging.

So there you have it...My lists of some of the things I'm thankful for this year. I hope you have enjoyed my tribute to this holiday and hopefully you will take time to think of your own list. Happy Thanksgiving.

It's Christmas in the Smokies

2007-11-19T21:35:00.000-06:00

Warning: This post is super long. If you don't have time or energy, you may want to skip.

This weekend me, Robbie, Deanna, and our friend Brooke went to the mountains for a girls weekend of shopping, eating, giggling, and getting in the Christmas spirit. We stayed with my Aunt Kay, Uncle Ronnie, and Brian, even though we really didn't see them too much because we were busy the whole time we were there. We had such a great time and have lots of funny stories and pictures. To make it easier to share, I will give you a day by day account of the highlights of our trip.

Day 1: Friday-Nothing really exciting here. We left after school and drove there and went to bed. The highlight of the ride up was the ginormous Pilot store that had way too many snacks for us to choose from for the ride and the photo shoot that Brooke and Deanna had in the backseat in an effort to find the perfect submission shot for America's Next Top Model.

Day 2: Saturday-This was Dollywood day. We got up early and made it to Dollywood not too long after it opened. Before we could even figure out what to do first, Deanna and Brooke had made friends with the lady who takes pictures of park visitors and we spent the first 10 minutes taking pictures in the big sleigh set up at the entrance of the park. It became our goal for our presence to be known in Dollywood and we managed to take some of the silliest pictures possibly ever made with Christmas decorations. We saw several Christmas shows and ate some good food. The funniest story of the day had to be the train ride which takes you around the park and up the top of the mountain. We waited to go at night so that we could see the lights all around the park. First of all, while waiting in line for the train, me and Robbie get separated from Deanna and Brooke and are allowed to get on the train while they are held back behind the gate. They finally got on with us and we were ready for the cold ride to begin. As we started out of the depot, the train was speeding along pretty well, faster than either me or Robbie remembered. Once we got up the mountain though it began to slow down and the lady came over the speaker telling us we were taking a brief stop but not to get up. So we sat on the 2 inch hard seats and waited thinking we will be back down the mountain in time for the parade that will be starting soon. But oh no, this little minor stop lasted for over an hour. The train had broke down on the top of the mountain and we were stuck up there freezing our tails off and not being able to even stand. We finally got down the mountain and off the train only to go to the bathroom and find black stuff all over Brooke and Robbie who had been sitting on the outside seats. The train is run by coal and I guess when we started our speedride up to the top it flew out on them. Once we got them cleaned up we were tired and ready to get warm so our Dollywood fun came to a close and we headed to Olive Garden for some much needed comfort.

Day 3: Sunday-We started the morning by going to Sunday School with Brian who once again provided a funny story to start the day with. Before class started Brian reached into the inside pocket of his coat and pulled out a bottle of water. He then leaned over to Robbie and said "I had to hide my water from my mom and dad because they would be mad if they knew I brought it." He is right. They would be mad but he is so funny. I love him. After Sunday School, we went back and changed and got ready for our day of shopping. We were girls on a mission and found some great buys. I don't think the KB Toy Outlet will ever be the same. After our feet were about to fall off and our bank accounts almost depleted, we left the shopping behind and went to do what we do best-eat. Calhoun's was really good. On the way home we decided to stop at Walgreen's to get some of the crazy pics printed and who should we run into working there but an Elvis impersonator complete with dyed black hair and thick sideburns. If you know Robbie at all you know how big of an Elvis fan she is (we had already visited the Elvis gift store earlier in the day) so Deanna thought it was her duty to introduce them which of course embarassed Robbie. It was pretty funny but since he was busy there was no time for pictures with him. I guess next time we will have to catch his show! On the way back to Aunt Kay's, we saw a couple of deer which Deanna thought she could take a picture of. There are deer all the time in Aunt Kay's neighborhood and they hardly even notice when cars come through so we slowed to a complete stop and Deanna rolled her window to try and get a picture. She finally found her camera and was just about to take the pic when the deer snorted at her and ran off. She was so scared she almost jumped in Brooke's lap. It was hilarious. She started saying "I almost got a hoof in my mouth." It was very funny. I think she's going to stick to shooting pics of people and leave the wildlife to themselves. The night ended with a relaxing time in the hottub and more stupid pictures.

Day 4: Monday-Unfortunately, we had to come home today but not before more memories were made. The first challenge of the day was trying to fit all of us, our luggage, and all the stuff we bought into my car. We weren't very comfy but we made it work. You have to sacrifice sometimes. Because of all the stinking boys in our family who like hunting we made a trip to the Bass Pro Shop near Aunt Kay and Uncle Ronnie's house. This place is way too overwhelming for those of us who know or care little about this pasttime. But I can't leave this out because it is the site of one of the funniest events of the weekend. We got there pretty early so there weren't too many cars in the parking lot so when we started to leave there was no one parked in front of us so I just decided to drive forward since it was kind of hard to see backing up with all the stuff we had piled up. So I press the gas and the car goes forward atleast initially...until it gets stuck on the parking curb. I, like a big fat dummy, didn't see that there were dividers between the parking spaces and drove right over one. So at this point, I'm laughing but also wondering what the crap am I gonna do if we are stuck. I try to back up but get no where so I conclude that the only way to get off is just to drive all the way over. So I push the pedal down and we jump the curb probably leaving behind half of the underneath of my car. I'm surprised we made it as loaded down as we were. In my defense, where we were parked was the only line of parking spaces that had dividers in between. All of the other ones just had painted lines to separate the spaces. But oh well we made it and were on our way. We then drove to Gatlinburg to drop Brooke off who is staying the rest of the week with her family. After that we made our way back to Meridian without incidence.

This weekend was so much fun and also productive. I made a big dent in my Christmas shopping and it was a great way to start a week-long vacation from school. I love this time of year.

My Private Shoebox

Oh What a Night

2007-11-12T22:11:00.000-06:00

Sunday night I went to the Little Big Town/Sugarland concert in Biloxi with Deanna, her boyfriend Eric, her sister Lisa, and several of Lisa's friends. All 8 of us crammed into one vehicle so that we could giggle and sing all the way down. Though it was so tight and I was worried about being car sick, it really was fun all riding together. Once we got to the coast, we made our way to Chilis which I LOVE! It was so good. But the real fun was just beginning. We made our way to the concert and found our seats (on the floor!) and got there just in time to see Jake Owen open. I had no idea who he was but he was good and had nice hair. Then it was time for Little Big Town who I absolutely love. They are the reason I really wanted to come to the concert. I just got their new CD last week and couldn't wait to hear them live. They were awesome. Then out came Sugarland who was incredible. I love them way better after seeing them live. I have liked them always but have never just been super crazy about them (not anything like my cousin Laura who has a girl crush on Jennifer Nettles). But I was very impressed with this duo, especially Jennifer. She is a fabulous performer and so cute. We had so much fun and even got to see Laura and her boyfriend JR before the concert started. Of course, I paid for this fun yesterday when I could barely make it through the day at school. I am way too old to only get 3 1/2 hours of sleep. Oh well I guess you only live once and I'm so glad I didn't miss my chance to be at this concert. Here are several pics from our wonderful night.

Hangin' With Mr. Cooper (and Braden)

2007-11-12T21:41:00.000-06:00

Saturday night my brother asked me if I could come over and keep the boys so that he and April could go to a friend's house. Once I checked my oh so full social calendar and realized how fortunate he was that I had a few hours to spare (HAHA), I made my way to Collinsville for a night with my 2 favorite men. Because both boys had been gone all day to Starkville for the football game, I thought they would both be tired and ready to go to bed early. But oh was I wrong. I guess they were fired up about the Bulldog win and were ready to celebrate. They are at an age though that they tend to fight alot so after a while it was easier for me to have them in 2 separate rooms. So Braden was watching TV in the living room and Cooper and I made our way to the play room. I thought we could lay on the bed in the playroom watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and he would fall asleep so I decided to put his PJs on him beforehand. Changing his clothes can be an adventure so I was just grabbing for matching PJs before he ran out of the room. I pulled out Buzz Lightyear, checked the size (3T, fine so far) and corralled him long enough to get them on. Now you would think that a kid who just turned 2 a couple of months ago would easily fit into size 3T pajamas but once I got them on I realized how wrong that assumption could be. Staring back at me was my precious little man in a Buzz midriff top with his sweet chunky belly poking out. I started laughing so hard that I was almost crying. And he was laughing and running around and I knew there was no way that I was gonna be able to get him changed again so we just made our way to the playroom with me thinking that I would change him before I put him down for bed. Well, of course, I completely forgot. After playing hide and seek with the pillows in the playroom and reading him "Hello Bully" atleast 3 times, (How many 2 year olds do you know that hum the MSU fight song and know who Coach Croom is? He has been completely brainwashed!), he fell asleep and I put him in his bed not even thinking about the PJ situation. And I also forgot to tell April that he had on tiny tee so I'm sure on Sunday morning she was questioning why she allowed her children to be left in my care but we had fun and it made for some cute pictures that will no doubt resurface when he is approaching high school graduation. Take a look at my precious chunky monkey.

Happy (Early) Thanksgiving

2007-11-12T21:25:00.000-06:00

On Saturday, the nursing home where my mamaw lives hosted Thanksgiving lunch for the residents and their families. And even though each resident was only supposed to have 4 guests, my mamaw (Miss Popularity!) had 6 guests and I was lucky enough to be one of those special six. My Uncle Ronnie, Aunt Kay, and Brian were home this weekend because it was Aunt Kay's 40th high school class reunion. They won't be back for Thanksgiving and haven't been home for Thanksgiving in way too long so it was nice to feel like we actually got to share this holiday with them. We had a great time visiting with each other and it was so nice for the nursing home to host this. Even though my mamaw will be able to come to my mom's house for the real Thanksgiving dinner with almost the whole fam, I know some of the residents aren't that fortunate. We had a great time and I am so thankful that I have such a special family.

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T20:08:00.000-05:00

I love Halloween. Costumes, candy, hay rides...what could be better? I'm fairly confident that my students wouldn't disagree. Today was their day. They have become the stars of the school and the other teachers and students have been great with them. Today, we went trick-or-treating around campus to the office and several high school classrooms. My kids loved it and came away with more candy than they will be able to eat before next Halloween. I'm sure their parents are going to love us! Then after lunch, my mom and dad brought a trailer filled with hay to take our class on a hayride around the block. We stopped at several homes on the way that had agreed to have treats for my students. It was so much fun. And though our students at my school always leave early on Wednesday the teachers usually still have to stay to atleast 3 but today our principals let us leave early too so it was a great ending to a busy, busy day. Tonight, I was at mama's so that I could see my sweet nephews in their costumes. She had made them pirate outfits and they were SO precious. Of course, neither of them would let me get a good picture. Braden was way too excited and ready to go on to the next house and Cooper just didn't want to cooperate. But hopefully you can see how super cute these little guys are.

After they went to a few of the houses on their street, they were going to see my Mamaw at the nursing home. They were supposed to have trick-or-treating there tonight also and on Monday I took Mamaw a witch's hat and cape to wear. I hope she didn't lose it or forget to wear it tonight. Since I wasn't going to be able to see her tonight, I took her picture with the hat Monday. Isn't she a cute witch?

P.S. I tried to post this yesterday but my internet has been messing up all week and it wouldn't cooperate last night.

Monday Musings

2007-10-22T20:44:00.000-05:00

My Mondays don't usually have any blog-worthy moments but today proved to be an exception (either that or I'm just trying to make up for my extended blogging absence). Just like a Monday morning, some of the events were about as fun as hearing the alarm go off bright and early. First of all, it has rained tons today which meant we had to reschedule our pumpkin patch visit for later this week. Then right after returning from breakfast this morning, one of my students ran toward me like he wanted a hug. I usually am very open to giving my students any amount of hugs they want, but this one was a little different. He approached me with more than just his arms open. Once I realized that he was trying to kiss me, I threw my arms up and got him to stop. I then told him that we only blow kisses to each other in our room. He then looked at me so innocently and said "That's not how Billy does it." Billy is his 21-year-old brother! I'm quite scared of what he has witnessed Billy doing and am hoping that he doesn't try to re-enact any more scenes in class. So after the other teachers in our class were able to control their laughter we were able to move on and have a pretty good day. After school was out, I was able to visit one of my best friends from high school, Haley, and her precious new baby, Grayson. Haley and Grayson live in Madison but are visiting her mom for a couple of days and I jumped at the chance to meet this sweet new addition. He is an absolute doll and was awake the whole time I was there. I was able to feed him a bottle and just love on him for about 45 minutes. It was great. I can't wait to see him again. I, unfortunately, didn't have my camera with me so I have no pics of this precious little man. But he and Haley definitely made my Monday much better. That is, until I decided to visit Goody's. When I left Haley, I went to Goody's to look for some pants for school. Goody's is moving into a brand new store so they are getting rid of all of their inventory from the old store and this is the last week they will be open so everything is ridiculously cheap. Anyway, I was there for a while and found some excellent bargains. I actually got 3 pairs of pants and a shirt for less than $20. Totally ridiculous! So, anyway, I'm feeling good, happy about my bargains, and head for the check-out line where I am in between 2 ladies who are talking back and forth about all the clothes they have found and are comparing what each other has. The lady in front of me is likely in her early to mid 60s and has like 15 or more shirts and she is talking loudly the whole time, trying to tell the lady behind me where all the size large shirts are, since apparently she has canvassed the entire store in search of all shirts this size. While the checkout lady is steadily scanning her items, she looks at what I have and notices my shirt laid on the counter. She comments that she likes it and asks what size it is. When I tell her a medium, she looks me over with a look like "There's no way you wear a medium." She then decides that she needs to see how we compare in size and actually steps behind me and places her hands on the side of my hips in order to see how much space is between them. Apparently she can't grasp the idea that I might could wear a medium when she wears a large. At this point, I am turning red and feel forced to say something like "It's to wear under something." Even the checkout lady has that look of sympathy for me. The lady then says to the woman behind me "I guess I should go back and look for mediums." Who did this old lady think she was? I am by no means a little girl but who gave her the right to question what I wear and how my clothes might fit. I was so irritated. I mean, I know I've gained a good bit of weight over the past year but I'm trying to get things under control and it doesn't help to have perfect strangers point out the width of my body. Lady, believe me, I am perfectly aware of every inch of this body. So even, though, I left the store with great bargains, my less-than-stellar body image took a blow. Oh well, tomorrow is another day and one step closer to the weekend.

Family Time

2007-10-22T20:22:00.000-05:00

This weekend was all about the family. On Friday night, my dad's side of the family met at my Aunt Sherry's house for a fall kick-off. The Luke family needs no real reason to get together and eat, so beginning of fall seemed like just as good a reason as any other to have an eating-meeting. We made a fire, had chili and hot dogs, and roasted marshmallows for smores. What better way to celebrate the start of a new season. You never know what activities might be a part of a Luke family function and this night was no exception. Jump roping and telling ghost stories were the events of choice on Friday night. It was quite entertaining to see the over 12 crowd trying to jump rope. In my family, one of the thrills of the adults has always been finding ways to scare the kids. When we were younger, the aunts and uncles would challenge us to walk around the house on Thanksgiving night saying "Raw heads and bloody bones come get me." And then of course, when we thought we had gathered up the courage and almost made it around the house untouched, one of them would jump out from behind a bush or start making terrible noises that would send us running into the house screaming. Well, I guess Friday night offered them the chance to repeat the performances with the new generation of young kids. Braden loves ghost stories and thought it was fabulous when Uncle Larry came out from the barn wearing a sheet and running toward them. Cooper, on the other hand, was a different story. He was very scared and kept saying "I want go home" He finally settled down and the night continued without any other incidents. Saturday continued the family weekend with my mom's mother's family reunion at Clarko State Park. It was very beautiful weather and even though I didn't know a whole lot of people there it was nice to see those that I did and haven't seen in a while. My grandmother and her older brother are the only children still living out of a family of 12 and they were each presented with a plaque of appreciation for their contributions to the family. I was glad I got to be there for her. Sunday brought about another opportunity for family. My dad's mom's family reunion was that afternoon in Collinsville. Neither my mamaw nor any of her siblings are still living but we still have a good crowd every year. Even though I see most of my family on frequent basis, it is still fun to spend time with them. I love both sides of my family and am so thankful that I am blessed to be a part of large families. (Sorry I don't have any pics of any of these events!)

So Sorry

2007-10-20T21:54:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I realize that it's been two weeks since my last post and that there probably isn't anybody out there actually checking my blog anymore but I have finally found a little motivation to get back in the blogging scene so here goes my attempt at trying to catch you up on my not-so-exciting life these last couple of weeks. Last weekend, me, my mom, and Robbie set off for the beauty and serenity of the mountains. We left Friday after I got off work and I took off Monday so we actually had the whole weekend in God's country. Even though the leaves hadn't turned very much yet, it was still beautiful up there and the weather was absolutely perfect. We didn't get to Aunt Kay and Uncle Ronnie's until late Friday night so we slept in Saturday morning and then Robbie and I went and played around at several of the shops nearby before we headed out to Dollywood that afternoon. We love Dollywood and have never been during this time of year so I was excited to see all the fall decorations. Plus I got to ride the new roller coaster which was so scary but fun. Of course, I couldn't convince my mom or Robbie to ride with me. I guess I looked pitiful standing in line by myself because it wasn't long before two 13-year-old girls adopted me and decided that they would tell me all about this ride and let me ride with them. I hope I get to actually ride this coaster again since I think I only had my eyes open for about the first 15 seconds. That night Robbie and I got in the hot tub and just relaxed and talked. It was fabulous. I would be able to be much less stressed if I had one of those on my porch to get into every night! On Sunday we went to church with my Aunt Kay, Uncle Ronnie, and Brian. We have been with them lots of times to their church and always enjoy it but it is an adventure going to Sunday School with Brian. Since I've been going up there I have been to atleast 4 different Sunday School classes. But the one he is in now I think he is set in. Anyway, Robbie and I were in class with him waiting for it to start, and I was asking Brian what the day's lesson was about. He looked in his book and the title of the lesson was "Be Patient with Others". Then he turned to me and said, "I hope my dad is listening. He needs this big time." I thought I was gonna die. I'm glad class hadn't actually started because I was laughing really hard. Brian is hilarious! He always comes up with funny things to say. Unfortunately, we had to come home Monday and I had to return to work Tuesday but it was nice having a four day week. Of course I think my kids were trying to make sure it felt like I had been there with them all week because they were really stressful Tuesday and Wednesday. But Thursday was Special Olympics so we got to take them bowling. It was so much fun. They were so cute bowling even though I sometimes wasn't sure if that floor was going to hold up to all those balls just being thrown down really hard. All of my kids got ribbons and had a blast. We then took them to the mall and ate at the food court. So Thursday was a fun day and this Monday we are going to the pumpkin patch if it doesn't rain so I'm pumped. I love field trips! So that about covers anything halfway interesting that happened the past 2 weeks. I lead a pretty uneventful life but I do usually try to make it seem like I have a more interesting life than actually is but these past couple of weeks I've just been too tired. I will try to do better in the future.

P.S. I tried to post this earlier but the photo uploading function wasn't working and I didn't really think you would care very much about my post if there weren't any pictures so I decided to wait.

Weekend Recap

2007-10-07T20:30:00.000-05:00

Even though this weekend wasn't quite as exciting as last weekend, I still ended up being pretty busy. Homecoming was Friday and all we did in my class was have fun all day. My kids loved the pep rally. We were even presented a certificate for showing so much school spirit during the week. Here's a pic of our door decorated:

Braden got to come to the high school pep rally because he was on the Homecoming court and he was so intimidated by all those screaming high schoolers. The only time he even halfway smiled was when the drum line took center court. But by Friday night he was ready to go. He absolutely loved his tux. Before he left for the game, he told my mom, "Grammy, I look good don't I? I look like a preacher!" I've never really seen too many preachers wearing tuxedos on a regular basis but whatever. He really does want a pair of tuxedo shoes and socks now for Christmas. When I went over after the game Friday, he was already in his bed watching tv but he got up and all he had on were his boxer shorts and those black tux socks. He slept in them all night! I'm not sure April is gonna be able to return the tux without resistance from Braden. He was so very cute on the field and I promise he had more screams and yells than anybody on the actual court. He had a big fan base. My mom and I were sitting with several other members of our family and Braden's teacher and we all yelled for him and my younger cousin Tiffany got most of the sophomore class to scream for him. So he was well loved. Here a few pics of
the day (even though Braden refused to let me get a good one of him in his tux):

On Saturday, my sweet little cousin Payton had her Princess birthday party. Her actual birthday was a couple of weeks ago but she just had her party yesterday. Even though it was really hot, it was fun watching her in her crown jumping in her blowup castle and opening all her baby doll stuff. She is such a prissy girl. Here's a pic of her with her BFF Mallanye:

Finally today Robbie and I went to see the Sound of Music at the Meridian Little Theater. It was fabulous. I can't quit singing "the hills are alive..." I am such a sucker for musicals and jump at the chance to see a good one. This season the MLT is showing 3 musicals so I'm pumped about having season tickets. Today was the opener and it didn't disappoint. These are a few of my favorite things!

A Fairy Tale Day

2007-10-03T20:32:00.000-05:00

This week is Homecoming week at West Lauderdale. Oh the memories that have come flooding back seeing the campus decorated, houses rolled, and students dressed in crazy outfits everyday. I loved Homecoming when I was in high school so I was super pumped about being back at my alma mater during this week. I think every place of employment should have a week where you get choose a theme, decorate, and dress up everyday. It really makes it more fun to go to work. Anyway, today was Costume Day and because we weren't sure that all of our kids would actually wear a costume to school, we decided to have the class all dress up together and we would make their costumes. It was decided that we would be Snow White and the 7 dwarfs (even though we actually had 10 dwarfs with the assistants dressed up also). Because we only have 2 girls in our class and weren't real confident that either one would actually keep a costume on, it was voted that I would be Snow White and all the students would be my dwarfs. So for almost a week we have worked on their costumes preparing for today. And since I couldn't find a Snow White costume in Meridian for anyone over the age of 6, my fabulous mother whipped me up a perfect costume yesterday afternoon. She really is amazing. I called her on my way to school yesterday morning and told her I didn't have a costume and if there was any way that she could make me one. And of course, she did. And of course, it looked great. So this morning when my kids got off the bus, I greeted them in grand fairy tale fashion and we dressed them in their cute hats and signs and paraded all around campus. My kids loved the attention and were a big hit with all the other students and teachers. Thought you might like to see some pics of our day.

One more note about Homecoming: Braden is going to be the crown bearer at the Homecoming game Friday night. The oldest teacher's child in PreK or Kindergarten gets to be the crown bearer and flower girl during halftime to crown the Queen. So hopefully he will behave. It could be interesting. Atleast maybe he won't fall asleep like he did when he was supposed to be the ring bearer at Heather's wedding!

Georgia On My Mind

2007-10-01T20:36:00.000-05:00

This weekend I went to visit my best friend Myndi and her husband Brian (and her dog/child Scarlett) in Athens, GA. Myndi moved to Athens last year after she got married because Brian got a job as a professor at the University of Georgia. Athens is a cool little college town and anytime I can make a road trip I'm ready. But to get to visit Myndi makes a trip even better. So Friday afternoon her brother Jared and I made the trip east for the weekend. Other than getting stuck in traffic outside of Atlanta for about 45 minutes and then getting there to find nobody at home, Jared and I made the trip just fine. Once Myndi and Brian finally realized we were just chilling in their living room while they were playing at the neighbors our weekend fun began. Saturday morning Brian found out that he could get 4 tickets to the Georgia/Ole Miss game instead of just 2 like he had originally thought. So Myndi and I were able to join the boys at the game which was really exciting. We had incredible seats 22 rows up in the end zone. I have never been that close at a college football game. And it was even better that Georgia won (Sorry Courtney and Clay!) Of course we were in the sun the whole game and left with crazy sunburns of only half of our faces and necks but it was worth it. I LOVE COLLEGE FOOTBALL! And Saturday night we went back downtown and ate and watched the Auburn/Florida game. Also a very great game. And one of the coolest things about Athens is that there is no indoor smoking so I could actually come out of the bar without smelling like a smoke stack. Go Athens! I wish Meridian would take a lesson. Then Sunday rolled around and unfortunately we had to leave. Of course, a trip to visit Myndi would not be complete without going to Target so we made sure that we went before I had to leave. And what a productive trip. The dollar spot at Target was on fire yesterday. I got so much stuff to use in my classroom for Halloween and Thanksgiving. And I got 2 really cute shirts for less than $20. Unfortunately, I had to come back to work and Jared had to go to school so we had to leave yesterday afternoon. I already miss Myndi and can't wait to get back soon. We don't get to spend nearly enough time together anymore. Growing up stinks! Here are some pics from the weekend:

Birthdays All Around

2007-09-22T10:29:00.000-05:00

September has become a month of birthdays for me. Most of my posts this month have been birthday shout outs. And today is no exception. This day is the birthday of my Hattiesburg roomie Leah. I miss my days in Hattiesburg and especially miss all the fun times I had with Leah and my other college friends. In graduate school, Leah, Myndi, and I were basically the 3 Musketeers. Usually if one of us was around, atleast one of the other 2 were close by. I have so many great memories from those days and wish I got to see more of Leah. She was a fabulous roommate and one of the funniest girls you could ever meet. Here is a picture of us in the 'Burg and just one of the goofy pictures that are sure to exist.

And in keeping with my birthday tradition, here are a few of the reasons I love Leah and am glad she was my college roomie:

1) She loves college athletics as much as I do. Most girls are not as enthusiastic as me about spending a day watching college football but living with an LSU fanatic the year they won the national championship made it even more exciting.

2) She has the most entertaining karaoke skills of anyone I've ever seen. I have never heard "Fancy" sung in quite the same fashion as Leah performed it.

3) She's a great travel buddy. Leah was part of several trips I made in college. My first trip to Chicago wouldn't have been nearly as much fun without her.

4) She has a wonderful family. I spent a good bit of time with Leah's family during our time in Hattiesburg and they always made me feel welcome and part of them.

5) She is a prankster. She started the Honk, It's My Birthday tradition on Myndi's car and then for my birthday she somehow stole my car floormats and replaced them with pink carpet custom cutout ones that still are in my car because she never returned my actual floormats.

So Happy Birthday Leah. Hope to see you soon.

Today is also the birthday of my precious little cousin Payton. She is 3 today and she is such a princess. I know I am probably more than a little prejudiced but she really is one of the cutest little girls I have ever seen. And her personality is so cute. She is a little performer and doesn't shy away from showing out in front of anyone. Here is a picture of her and her best friend Mallanye. Payton is the one on the right. The one posing! Happy Birthday Pay Pay!

Happy Birthday Cooper

2007-09-16T20:55:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was Cooper's 2nd birthday. I can't believe he is already two years old. It has gone by so quickly. He is such a sweetheart and his personality comes alive more and more every day. Today was his birthday party at Planet Playground. There were so many people there. When you get all of our family together and then the friends who make up the extended family there is madness. It was a beautiful day and the kids had a blast. I think Cooper got more presents than I got for my 1st-18th birthdays combined. It really was ridiculous. He had a Clifford the Big Red Dog cake and it was so cute hearing him say what kind of cake he had. It's hard for a 2 year old to say that. He also responded with Happy Birthday every time somebody told him that so there were lots of birthday wishes going around this afternoon. He is one of my 2 favorite boys in the whole wide world and even though I was afraid that I could never love another nephew like I already loved Braden, it took me about 2 seconds to fall totally in love with this sweet precious boy too. I can't wait to watch him grow up. Happy Birthday Cooper!

What a Weekend

2007-09-15T20:57:00.000-05:00

Because I am doing the alternate route teacher licensure program, I have to take an online class this semester. It is taught by an instructor at Ole Miss (sorry Heather and Laura) and it requires that I attend an orientation session in Oxford. Though I knew I had to go, I was not looking forward to spending a perfectly good Saturday in Oxford UNTIL.....my fabulous friends Courtney and Clay offered to let me spend the night at their apartment in Oxford and Curt (Courtney's brother) and Robbie decided to go with me and make a weekend road trip out of it. So after that, it was on. Last night once we got to Oxford, we went to the Square and ate at Old Venice which was absolutely fantastic. I LOVE PASTA (and no I didn't just get spaghetti Myndi!) and it did not disappoint. Then we strolled around the Square and spent a long time in Square Books which I loved. I can get lost in a bookstore so easily. I love books. I guess that comes from being a librarian's daughter!

So after heading back to the apartment for yummy dessert made by Courtney, the real adventure of the weekend began. We started out on our trek to Holly Springs, home of none other than Paul Macleod, father of Elvis Aaron Presley Macleod and owner of Graceland Too. If you have never heard of this tourist attraction tucked away in the tiny town of Holly Springs, fear not, I will spread the joy and wonder of this hot spot. Paul Macleod is the biggest Elvis fan and collector of all things Elvis. Seriously, he is in the Guinness Book of World Records. His house is covered from floor to ceiling with Elvis everything. And he is open 24/7 every day of the year. It doesn't matter what day of the week or what time of the day you go, Paul is waiting to greet you and give you the grand tour. It's totally insane. And nothing is better than hearing Paul recount, with false teeth bumping in and out of his mouth no less, his tales of Elvis encounters and how much his son looks like Elvis (which by the way is SO ridiculous). It is quite obvious that Paul's son has moved far far away, changed his name, and denies any knowledge of Graceland Too. This is my theory, though according to Paul, he is just always off working on Graceland Too-The Movie.

This is really one of those places that you HAVE to visit and experience yourself. There is just no way to possibly describe to you the hilarity of it all. It only costs $5 and once you go three times you become official lifetime members and never have to pay again. And so the reason for our trip. Though we have all been before, this weekend became the time for me, Robbie, and Curt to become lifetime members. Courtney and Clay, who introduced us to the phenomenon that is Graceland Too, became lifetime members the last time we went. So this weekend marked a milestone for me and even more so for Robbie, who though she pales in comparison to Paul for her devotion to Elvis, still surpasses anyone I know under the age of 50. Once you become lifetime members and not a visit sooner, you are eligible to wear the belt and jacket and hold the guitar for an official picture that may one day hang on the walls of this historic monument. (That is, if Paul could ever leave to get the pictures developed and then find even a hint of wall space to display it) But nonetheless, the 3 of us took our place in history as official members and sported the coveted items for a pic. I can't tell you how priceless it was to be given that official pink cutout card signifying my entrance into an elite club of Graceland Too visitors. It will truly be a moment I will treasure for days to come.

So after our wonderful night, reality set in and the actual reason I came to Oxford surfaced with the early morning light as I had to wake up and go sit most of the day in a classroom for my orientation. It really wasn't too bad and I actually got out earlier than I anticipated allowing me to go with the group to see Rowan Oak, William Faulkner's home. This actually is a true piece of history and was interesting to see. And it was a gorgeous day hopefully signifying the beginning of fall. And just when I didn't think the weekend could get any more interesting, a totally random natural gas explosion occurs this afternoon in Philadelphia which just happened to be where my car was parked since we met Curt there on Friday afternoon. And it just happened to be at the building on the road in front of where my car was parked. And it just happened to knock out some ceiling tiles and lights and windows at the building where my car was parked. And it just happened to do not one single bit of damage to my car. Not one thing. I mean if random explosion is going to occur yards away from my car and destroy buildings and vehicles in its path, why can't it take out my Camry that I have been driving forever? The car with over 200,000 miles. The car that the paint is coming off. The car that I love but has seen better days and is getting oh so close to that roadtrip to the sky. But no, nothing, happened to my car. And while most would be ecstatic to return to find their property safe and sound, I was quite disappointed that a new car paid partially with insurance money is not in my future. So there was my weekend. Hopefully you haven't quit reading since this post is especially long. Just couldn't figure out a way to succinctly express all the blogworthy moments of this weekend. It was one I won't soon forget.

Guess Who's Home...

2007-09-15T20:38:00.000-05:00

Aunt Kay Kay, Uncle Ronnie, and Brian are in town this weekend for the Annual Rock and Roll Revival. It is a classic car show in Meridian that they come home for every year. An award is given in memory of Kyle and Brian gets to pick out the winner so he gets pretty pumped about coming. Of course, Uncle Ronnie jokes that he just picks the car closest to where he's sitting and doesn't actually walk around and look at all the cars there. I love getting to spend time with them and haven't seen them in way too long. I haven't been to visit them in Tennessee since April and I don't think they've been home this summer so I was ready to see them. They came in on Thursday so mama cooked that night for the whole fam. It was a loud fun night. There were 6 kids between the ages of 2 and 15 and they were being really silly and showing out dancing. It was lots of fun. Of course, Aunt Kay Kay and Uncle Ronnie had driven all night and gotten to Meridian early that morning so I'm not real sure if they could have handled much more excitement. I'm so glad that I got to see them and can't wait until October when I'm planning on heading north to the mountains.

Welcome to the Oprah Show

2007-09-12T22:08:00.000-05:00

If you have ever wanted to be a part of a taping of the Oprah Winfrey show, you should have been in my classroom today. All of my students and myself made guest appearances on the same set with the one and only Oprah Winfrey. I must say it was a thrill. We are doing a unit on Mississippi and this week's focus has been famous Mississippians. And what would a study of our great state be without a tribute to one of its most famous and influential natives. So even though I am pretty confident that none of my students even have a frame of reference for who Oprah is, we decided to do it big. Each student also made the cover of Oprah's magazine. Of course, the only issues available are in our classroom so don't scour the stores to find them. I wish that I could take credit for these wonderful ideas but I am not that good yet. They have hired a retired teacher for this semester to help transition the students and help get the program kicked off right and she is fabulous. She taught for almost 30 years and has so many wonderful ideas and experience. It has been such a God-send having her around. Tomorrow we are studying Elvis and if you have ever wanted to try out as an Elvis impersonator stop by WLHS and find us. We will be the ones in the paper sparkle capes and black wigs.

Luke Family Fun Day

2007-09-10T21:14:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, my dad's side of the family got together to celebrate my parent's anniversary and my aunt Kay's birthday. If you have ever been around the Luke family, you know we don't need much of an occasion to eat, laugh, and play. Deanna jokes that we have family reunion every week. But this day was special because we headed to the way deep South of Jasper County where my cousin Lori Ann lives. If you think Collinsville is country you should see this place. My mom and I got lost and went in circles trying to first find a cell phone signal to call someone for help and then finding the actual house. Once we got there though the celebration was on. Lori Ann has many acres of land and tons of four wheelers which for the Luke clan equals hours of fun. We rode all around the yard and even went down the road to their lake and fed their HUGE fish. Another fabulous part of the day was the tire swing. You haven't really lived until you've swung on a tire hanging from a gigantic tree. While I wasn't the only somewhat grownup to ride the 4 wheelers, I'm pretty sure that I was the oldest person on the tire swing. Oh well. Everyone else just missed out.

One of the things that made the day was seeing members of my family ride a motorcycle. My aunt Kay who was celebrating her 65th birthday and her husband both made rounds on the motorcycle, even though I thought Uncle Larry was going to take the house down. But the best site of the day was seeing Robbie ride. She was hilarious. She wanted to ride but started screaming almost immediately after getting on and I don't think I've ever seen anyone holding on so tight.

What a great day! I hope we get to go back to the way way way country soon. And if you haven't experienced a Luke family function, you certainly need to. I promise it will be a day you won't soon forget.

The Big 25

2007-09-09T21:36:00.000-05:00

Today is the fabulous day my roommate Deanna entered the world. She is 25 (still such a baby!) Last night we went to Outback to celebrate. We had silly girls night and giggled way too much. No matter where you go or who is around, when you are with Deanna there is always going to be goofiness. She is so funny. I met her when I started working at MCC and before too much longer we were roommates. She can always make me laugh so there is rarely a dull moment at our apartment. We both have moved on from MCC now and I know we won't be roommates forever but I will always be thankful for the crazy times we've had and all the stories and memories I have. Here are just a few of the reasons why Deanna makes my life more interesting:

1) She has a song ready to sing at any moment. Any word or statement is fair game for her to pull out some 1988 song lyric.

2) She expands my wardrobe significantly. Because we can wear alot of the same things, I can choose from her closet or mine. And her accessories are way cooler than anything I have.

3) She gives my life some ghetto. I would never have known all the words to Buy U a Drank if it wasn't for Deanna.

4) She can choose somewhere to eat without it taking an act of Congress. I am the most indecisive person about little things like where to eat but she will quickly decide where she wants to go. Not so much for the major life decisions but if the choices are Wendy's or Chick-Fil-A, Deanna is the girl to ask.

5) She can talk to anybody so I never have to worry about any awkward silences around a bunch of people cause she will fill in the space with some random question or game like Who Would You Rather? I can be quiet around alot of people but she always comes to the rescue.

So Happy 25th Birthday Deanna. Hope you have a great next year in your new job.

Football Friday

2007-09-09T20:58:00.000-05:00

Friday night was the first home football game for West Lauderdale. Mama and I went to the game along with pretty much everybody else in Collinsville. I mean if you want to get away with something you aren't supposed to in Collinsville do it on a Friday night. Football season has become insane at West Lauderdale over the past few years because they have been very successful. It's so funny to go back to a game now and see how much excitement there is about football because when I was in high school we were lucky if we won more than 2 or 3 games. This year I'm sure I will be at many football games not only because I am now working there and can get in for free (one of the perks of being a teacher) but also because Brooklee is a cheerleader. She did really good cheering on the sidelines even though she was on the complete opposite end and I could barely see her. Here's a picture of her at her first pep rally.

Braden and Cooper were also at the game on Friday as official members of the West Lauderdale Fan Club. They both had on their cute t-shirts and got to stand on the field before the game when the players ran out. Of course, the only thing that really interested Braden was the band and for Cooper it was the food. Football was secondary to both of them. In about 10 years we will be going to football games watching Braden leading the band. I mean he is 5 and his favorite movie is DrumLine and he has a CD that he listens to constantly of the MSU Marching Band. He is destined for the Band no matter how much Cary objects.

And my final story from the first football game...I was standing in line at the concession stand with Braden and right behind us were 2 boys who couldn't have been older than 5th or 6th grade. As we were waiting I was listening to them discuss the perils of middle school love. The conversation went something like this:

first boy: This game isn't nearly as fun as I thought it was gonna be.

second boy: I know. We are losing.

first boy: Yeah and I haven't got a girlfriend yet.

Oh if I could just go to a football game and leave with a boyfriend. I hope this kid keeps believing for as long as possible that it's that easy. So even though WL lost it was a fun night and I'm sure I will be back.

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream

2007-09-02T17:37:00.000-05:00

Last night Apartment 2H was transformed into an ice cream parlor. My Sunday School class came over for a night of fellowship to kick off our new church year and we decided that the best way to do that was with ice cream sundaes. We had almost anything you could think of for ice cream toppings. We had brownies, cookie dough, strawberries, bananas, hot fudge, caramel, whipped cream, nuts, and sprinkles. Could you get any more fattening than that? It was so much fun. And we put the hot fudge in my cute little fondue pot so I was really excited about that. Of course we could all barely move afterwards but it was worth it. And even though I threatened all of them if they left any of the stuff they brought, I found the rest of the cookie dough in the fridge a little bit ago. So now I have to see how strong my willpower is when I know that a thin refrigerator door is the only thing separating me from that fabulous chocolate chip cookie dough. I'm pretty confident that I'm going down in flames, another victim to the power of indulgence. I haven't been able to spend much time with friends lately so it was really nice to spend an evening catching up on each others' lives, watching football, reminiscing about old times and of course, eating. Not much else is needed in my book for a good time. Basically if ice cream is involved I'm in. Me and ice cream are a good time in my opinion so to share that with friends and football makes it all the better.

Happy 35th Anniversary

2007-09-02T17:25:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was my parents' 35th wedding anniversary. I can't believe they have been married that long. There are lots of moments when I've wondered how did they ever get together and how do they put up with each other. But they still love each other so much and have been a great example for me and my brother. Cary and I tried to come up with something special to do for them on their anniversary but after realizing that it fell on the first day of dove season we knew that it was pointless because my dad wouldn't be available. I jokingly asked my mom how she ever convinced my dad to marry her on the opening day of a hunting season. Making him miss a hunt is almost grounds for divorce at their house so he must have really been in love to agree to that date all those years ago. I did get a DVD made for them with a lot of old pictures from before they were married and early on in their marriage. It turned out really well and I had a blast looking through all their old pictures. My brother looks so much like my dad did when he was younger. Neither of us really look like our mom. I'm so glad that I have the parents that I do and I love them both so much. Probably the best thing that they ever did for me was to always give me anything I needed and never give me everything I wanted. They have given me a strong moral foundation and taught me to value people and not things and for that I will always be grateful. I am the person I am today because of their guidance. So thanks mama and daddy. I hope you have a great anniversary and wish you many more happy years. Happy 35th!

Football Fever

2007-09-02T17:09:00.000-05:00

I am officially in the football spirit. I have been looking forward to opening weekend for a while. I LOVE college athletics and there is nothing better than the first weekend of football after waiting the long summer with no college sports to watch. I spent most of Saturday flipping between games and checking scores. (And you wonder why I'm still single...Who wouldn't love a girl who loves football?) I started off watching College Game Day which made me cry most of the morning. They were broadcasting from Virginia Tech and showed many tributes for those who died in the tragedy there. And while I am usually a big supporter of the underdog I just couldn't cheer against Virginia Tech. I'm sure ECU felt like the whole nation was against them. It was nothing personal! And while my Golden Eagles came through the night with ease my Tennessee Vols weren't as fortunate. It was so irritating watching Cal just run the ball at will against them. Where was the defense UT? I hope this isn't a sign of things to come this season for my boys. Which leads me to my next weekend dilemma.....USM travels to Knoxville next weekend to take on Tennessee! These are the 2 teams that I root on every season and never has there been a conflict of interest. They are in separate conferences and play completely different schedules, UNTIL this year. And next weekend they will face off. My loyalties will have to belong to Southern Miss because obviously I went there and have 2 degrees from there and they are the big underdog. But on the other hand if my Vols have any hope of going to a BCS bowl game and making a positive move ahead after this weekend, they can't get beat by an unranked Conference USA team. And while you may be saying there is no way USM even has a chance and I have nothing to worry about as far as post season hopes for UT, stranger things have happened. Just ask Coach Carr and the Michigan faithful. So I guess I will just have to wait and see what happens when my two teams square off but don't worry Trey I know where my heart lies. GO GOLD!

Happy Happy Birthday

2007-08-28T17:06:00.000-05:00

Today is a special day. And while normally Tuesdays don't hold much appeal for me, this day marks the 14th anniversary of the day my favorite redhead entered the world. Today is my cousin Brooklee's 14th birthday which is one year older than my age when she was born. I am getting so incredibly old. I can't believe she is a freshman in high school. For about her first 7 years of life Brooklee was the only little kid in the family who lived close by so she was spoiled for sure. She was my best excuse to see every kiddie movie I wanted to see without feeling like a big loser. She was one of my biggest fans and came to see me play basketball and softball when I was in high school. Now she is a varsity cheerleader who I can't wait to see flying through the air at football games. So Happy Birthday Brooklee! I hope you have a great day. Here's my birthday top 5 list of Reasons I love Brooklee (in no particular order):

1) She has fabulous red hair (not the fire-orange-kind-of-scare-you-it's-so-bright-red hair but pretty reddish auburn hair)

2) She is so adaptable (Brooklee is comfortable being outside riding the 4 wheeler or walking across a beauty pageant stage in a dress and heels)

3) She still thinks I'm kind of cool and will still talk to me in public (Brooklee will still come up to me and give me a hug and talk at school even when she's with her friends)

4) She is so pleasant to be around (though she is a teenage girl and has her moments, for the most part Brooklee has a great attitude and is always hilarious)

5) She is fulfilling my dream at age 4 of being Mary Lou Retton (Brooklee is a fantastic gymnast who can do amazing things with her little body and while I barely ever learned to do a front roll and cartwheel this girl is fabulous)

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

2007-08-25T19:14:00.000-05:00

With school getting started I haven't had much time for anything fun lately. After another stressful week, getting out of the apartment and having giggly girls night was just what I needed. And after being gone from my previous job for over a month, I have been missing out on quality time with one of my favorite people, Angela. This girl is fabulous and is one of the few things I truly miss about my old job. Me, Angela, and Deanna were basically the 3 Musketeers of Admissions and Advising at MCC. I miss eating lunch with them so last night was a chance for us to catch up and just have some fun. We decided to get out of Meridian and head to the 'Burg. And even though Heather had told us about Club Nashville we decided to just stick to what we do best....EATING! So to the Olive Garden we headed, followed by Target. Two of my absolute faves. I'm pretty confident that the waitress at the OG was pretty tired of hearing us ask for more breadsticks. I think after we left we could change our name to the 3 Little Pigs. We made a surprise cameo at the lovely Skaggs home which is always entertaining. Thanks Heather for letting us pop in. I unfortunately forgot to bring my camera so I have no pictures of our adventure last night but here's one of us on my last day of work.

I'm Still Here

2007-08-23T16:44:00.000-05:00

For the 3 or 4 people out there reading my blog, I apologize for the long lapse between posts. Especially those of you (Heather and Deanna) who check like 10 times a day at work because you are bored. I know the feeling. I was one of you just a short time ago. So forgive me please. This past week has been really busy but not with anything that is truly blogworthy. I have still been getting used to teaching and my students. They are SO challenging. But I did find out yesterday that they are going to hire another teacher in the special ed department and then I will actually get a planning period! HALLELUJAH! My church had revival this week also so every night I was there. I have been really uplifted by the music and messages. Dr. Jim Futral from the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board was our evangelist and he is incredible. He holds your complete attention and really brings a great word from God every time. If you ever get a chance to hear him, I strongly suggest that you go. Well three weeks into school Braden has now gotten his first real frowny face. I stopped by mama's after school and was there when he got off the bus. After checking his notebook, we discovered that he had received the dreaded frown along with the note that said he had pushed 2 kids, wrote on another one's paper, and thrown something in the lunchroom. That's the Braden we know and love! I had been so surprised that who we see all the time hadn't shown up in kindergarten yet. Well I guess today was the day he decided to have the big reveal. Poor Mrs. McEntyre. After finding that out, I decided to make a quick exit from mama's before Cary came home. I did not need to witness that encounter. Hopefully tomorrow will be better. Atleast it will be Friday. I'm so ready for the weekend.

Congratulations Deanna

2007-08-16T20:42:00.000-05:00

It seems like Apartment 2H is the place to be if a job change is in order. My fabulous roommate Deanna found out this week that she got the job at Mississippi State University that she applied for last week. Deanna has been working at MCC for the past three years as the high school recruiter and now she is moving on to MSU to recruit community college transfer students. She is a fantastic recruiter and is so excited to be back in the land of the Bulldogs. She is a proud alumni of MSU and probably the only time we argue is when she tries to talk bad about my Eagles! Thankfully for me she will not be moving. They wanted someone based in Meridian or Jackson because her district will be the community colleges south of I-20. So it works out great for me! I'm so excited for her and know she will do a great job. Good luck Deanna!

Update

2007-08-15T21:37:00.000-05:00

Well the honeymoon is officially over. Braden's week of smiley faces has come to an end and just as he was oh so close to getting those 10 straight and winning a fabulous trip to the coveted kindergarten treasure box. I guess the erasers and stickers and whatever else might be considered to interest 5 year olds for 10 seconds will have to be a goal for the future. Cause atleast for this week it is not to be. I will give him that he atleast only got a warning today and not a complete leap to the land of sad faces. When I asked him what he did to get a warning he said that he was talking during quiet time. Instead of putting his head down and being quiet he proceeded to keep telling whatever story he had concocted to his friend beside him. When we asked him why he kept talking, he responded (looking at us quite dumbfounded by this obviously stupid question) that he wasn't through telling him and he needed to finish his story. Does this kindergarten teacher not understand that Braden always has to have the last word? How dare her limit him to so few minutes of story telling? (Hopefully you know that I am TOTALLY kidding. Don't unite against me elementary teachers!) Probably a story that most people can tell in a relatively short amount of time takes longer for Braden because he is oh so country and slow. Hopefully we will make it through kindergarten.

As for my group of students, they all have extreme special needs but are precious. They are teaching me lots of things and I feel like I can already write a book on what they have said and done and it's only the second week. We are having lots of fun but there are lots of challenges (keeping shoes and clothes on for one!) I have lots of cute pictures of them from the first week. This is their first year at West Lauderdale too because they have always gone to another local school until this year. So we toured the campus last week and took our picture all over campus. Here is one of them in front of the school.

Hi, Welcome to the Buckle, My Name is Melanie

2007-08-11T16:16:00.000-05:00

Five years ago, my mom, Melanie retired after 31 years as a high school teacher and librarian. Since then, she has been keeping my nephews and just doing whatever else she wanted. She has loved retirement and has never even wanted to go back to work. But alas, Melanie has officially come out of retirement. No she isn't going back to teaching and no she isn't becoming a greeter at Walmart. My mother, who by the way isn't the least interested in beauty, fashion, or style, is now an official member of the Buckle staff. What might you ask could Melanie possibly be doing? Well she certainly isn't trying to sell jeans to 15 year old little bitty girls. That would be a disaster waiting to happen. Mel has now become the fabulous seamstress for the Buckle in charge of all alterations. If you know my mom at all, you can understand how incredibly hilarious it is to think my mom works at the Buckle. She didn't even know where the store was in the mall, much less what they sold or their target consumer group. My mom is the unofficial seamstress for the community, sewing everything from cheerleader uniforms to bridesmaid dresses and all in between. Well a lady who knows her told the people at the Buckle that she knew someone who would be good for doing their alterations so they called my mom and asked her if she was interested. Since Braden started to school this year and Cooper is going to daycare for the first time, my mom decided that it would be easy money and give her a reason to get out of the house some. So if you are in Meridian and want to shop at the Buckle, go on Tuesdays when Mel is there and ask her to get you her discount. She certainly won't be using it!

School Days, School Days

2007-08-07T19:17:00.000-05:00

For those of you who don't know, I changed jobs a couple of weeks ago. I was working at Meridian Community College as an academic advisor but had decided that I wanted to try to get my teaching license. Over the summer I took the certification tests and was actually able to get a job for this school year teaching special education at West Lauderdale High School which is where I graduated from oh so many years ago. I have been looking very forward to this opportunity even though I have been completely stressing out over the last couple of weeks. I was unable to get into my classroom (formerly a room of stored books, desks, computers, etc.) until last Thursday. So I have been crazy busy trying to get it ready for the students to come. And come they did. Today was the first day of school for students and I was so nervous. I have never had a first day of class with this population. My first days of teaching have consisted of going over the first day handout of all the fabulous psychology information that college freshmen and sophomores are ecstatic to learn and then going home. So needless to say, having the same kids all day the first day seemed very intimidating. Well thankfully the worst case scenario that I had run through my head was far from the reality of the day. It was hectic and there were some moments when I was praying for the time to pass faster but overall it was a good day. I think once I get into a routine with these precious students, I am going to enjoy it. As one teacher told me this afternoon, one day down, only 179 more to go! Today was also Braden's first day of kindergarten. I unfortunately don't have a picture of him in his new school uniform because he would not agree to let me take one of him this afternoon when I went by to see him after school. I guess he was tired of pictures because I'm sure April took a million this morning. I can't believe my little man is in big school. And he didn't really tell me anything about his day but he didn't get a sad face. Of course, he informed me that the teacher said they wouldn't start moving clothespins until tomorrow so it might be a short lived stay in happy face land for Braden. I will keep you updated about both of our first years at school!

Celebrate, Celebrate

2007-08-07T18:12:00.000-05:00

Because of my change in job and all the craziness of preparing for a new school year in a new place, I had not given much thought at all to my birthday and what I might want to do to celebrate. In my mind, all I needed was that touch from Tim the weekend before. My wish had already come true. So after doing it big in Biloxi I thought my celebrating was over. Boy was I wrong! Other people in my life had a different idea. Last Thursday night 2 of the students I advised in Phi Theta Kappa at MCC took me to dinner. These girls are so sweet and were so much fun to be around this past school year. We went on several trips together and stayed in Nashville for a week together eating, shopping, and dancing. They are both moving on to Jackson State and I know they will be successful in all they do. I love you April and Alyece. Good luck!

On Friday, Haley, one of my best friends from high school was in town for her job and took me to lunch. She is pregnant with her first baby (a little boy) and I was so excited to see her cute self. I haven't seen her since early in the summer so it was great to spend time with her, especially for my birthday. I hate I didn't get a picture of the cute little mama-to-be. It is so crazy that she is having a baby. It will be fun to see how much she learns. Babies haven't usually been her thing! Thanks for being a great Friday lunch buddy Haley. I can't wait to see that sweet little boy.

And finally, Saturday night (my actual birthday) we had a cookout at my mom's and lots of family and friends were there. My family doesn't even need an actual event to get together and have fun but when there really is something to celebrate, you never know what all might go on. It was lots of fun and I got fabulous presents. One of my absolute favorites was a small fondue pot. I have always wanted one of these but I don't think anybody has ever taken me seriously because I have never gotten one until now. I can't wait to use it. So if you think dipping strawberries in melted chocolate out of a really cool pot sounds as exciting as I do, feel free to come over. Thanks Robbie! And if you really want to celebrate right on your next birthday, find a trampoline and friends and start jumping. I don't think I'm going to have another birthday unless a trampoline is involved. It is very entertaining to watch 20 somethings sailing a 5 year old giggling through the air. Yes I know, I have a very boring life but don't judge til you try it. Being 27 does not mean trampolines are now off limits.

I had a great birthday and thanks so much to all of you who wouldn't hear of letting me pass this one by with no celebrating. I appreciate all the cards, calls, emails, presents, and blog shout outs. Happy Birthday to Me!

I Thought I Was Getting Better....

2007-08-04T09:16:00.000-05:00

If you have ever ridden with me while driving across a bridge over water, you have probably been witness to the mini-freakout that I experience whether I'm actually driving or just riding. (And you better hope that I'm not driving! Just ask my best friend Myndi) I have an extreme fear of bridges over water. I am scared that our car is going to somehow hit the side of the bridge and go crashing into the water below. I don't exactly know where this fear came from but I have had it I know since elementary school. I have a very specific routine that I do while driving over the bridges and if you are riding with me you know not to interrupt or expect me to answer any questions or comment on anything you might have just said directly to me. I am completely silent (mostly because I can't breathe very well) and I have to constantly check how far the other cars are from us and how far we are from the side of the bridge. And if you are driving and you are talking on the phone, or playing with the radio, or just passing another car, I get even more scared. I say all of this to say that recently I had begun to get better. When you love going to the beach, it is impossible to not drive over bridges so I have been over many this summer alone. And I really thought I was getting better. I just went over a couple of bridges last weekend and I was able to not check constantly and actually said something while on the bridge. BIG improvement for me. But then this week tragedy struck in Minnesota and what I thought (and what so many people have told me) was just an irrational fear, suddenly became very real to me. I can't imagine what those people went through and what their families are experiencing right now. My heart goes out to everyone affected by this horrific event. I have watched the coverage as much as possible though it is very hard for me to do. When I saw the first headline that said Bridge Collapses Over Mississippi River, I had a mini freakout right in my living room. Last night I watched tips on what to do if your car ever does go underwater (even though I already know these tips and have committed them to memory) And I even have one of those rescue tools that can cut you out of your seatbelt, knock out the window, etc. I got that for my birthday several years ago and probably will always rank as one of my all-time favorite gifts. And while this horrible tragedy won't completely keep me from going over bridges over water, my little bit of progress that I had made has gone completely out the window. I will be right back to the silence and constant surveillance. My prayers are with all of you in Minnesota.

Baby Jackson is Here

2007-08-01T21:30:00.000-05:00

On Monday, April's younger sister Allison had her baby. Jackson Douglas Autry was born at 4:24 p.m. and weighed 6 pounds 6 ounces. He has a head full of black hair and is so very cute. I wish I had a picture of him but you can go to the hospital's website http://www.jarmc.org/ and see baby Jackson's picture. Just click on Baby Faces and then on his name under July 30th. Allison is doing great also and they were able to go home today. I went to visit them in the hospital yesterday and Allison looks fabulous. It makes me sick how cute and little she is less than 24 hours after having a baby (and this being the second one in 15 months!) Allison's little girl Ella Kate wasn't there yesterday when I went to visit but they said she loved her new little brother. I'm sure it is going to be a big adjustment having 2 little ones now. Congratulations Allison and Rob. I'm glad it's you and not me!

My Super Sweet 60

2007-07-30T20:54:00.000-05:00

Last night I attended what should be MTV's new attempt at reaching out to a slightly older audience. My friend Angela threw her husband Larry a surprise birthday party for his 60th. And this was by no means a simple little party. Other than the lack of a semi-musical star and the whining, complaining brattiness of a spoiled 16 year old, this party could rival anything MTV has showcased. Angela has been planning this for months and was able to get all of his children from the West Coast to Mississippi in July and get her family from Texas here to celebrate the big event. It was a wonderful party complete with fabulous food, great conversation, and the best presents ever for the birthday boy. Not only was he given airline and football tickets to California to see his beloved Oakland Raiders play, but he was also given the keys to his brand new car. Sixteen year olds aren't the only ones who can get a car for their birthday! Larry has been wanting this car forever and Angela was able to get it for him without him finding out. He was so cute when he saw it. He just started running towards it. It was for real a super sweet 60 moment. And while I usually am so very irritated watching the actual version of the show, it was so sweet to see this much loved and humble man receive this car that he would have never bought for himself. So here's to you Larry. I hope you have a great birthday and I can't wait for my first ride.

He Touched Me, Oh He Touched Me

2007-07-29T18:45:00.000-05:00

If you know me at all, you know that I am obsessed with Tim McGraw. He is my number one on almost any list you could come up with. I have seen him in concert twice before but this weekend I was able to see him on his Soul to Soul tour with Faith in Biloxi. Me, my roommate Deanna, my cousin Robbie, and our friend Brooke have had tickets to this concert for several months and I have been waiting as patiently as possible to see him again. Obviously it was my idea to get the tickets and by the time everyone else decided they wanted to go, they were sold out! What a tragedy! But such a little thing would not keep me down and being the Ebay shopper that I am, I was able to find us floor tickets for not too steep a price. Since our tickets were general admission floor tickets, I have been dreaming for these past few months that we would be close enough to Tim to actually touch him. Every time I have seen him before I had pretty good visuals and was actually fairly close, or so I thought. This time though we got to the concert 2 hours before it started so that we could get in line and get on the floor as close as possible. And though my feet hated me the rest of the night, we were within arm's reach of the catwalks coming off the stage. Needless to say, I was about to have a heart attack just thinking how close I was about to be to Tim and Faith. The concert was incredible and though I only got a fingertip on Faith I had full finger contact with Tim. It was something I will never forget. Unfortunately, I have had to wash my hand a few times since then! But the memory will live on!And while I thought I was Tim's number one fan, I was sadly mistaken. Standing right in front of us were 2 ladies probably my parents' age with airbrushed tshirts proclaiming their love. But screaming even more loudly of their devotion were the tattooes of Tim on their bodies. Yes, you read it right, these ladies had actual tattooes of Tim on their backs and had a hole cut out of their custom made t-shirts in order for him not to be covered up. It was a sight to behold. And while I love Tim, I am not inclined to permanently have his face inked on my body. You never know what you might see at a country concert!

To top off our fabulous girls weekend, we headed to Gulf Shores Saturday morning and laid out at the beach for several hours. Other than the mini sandstorm we endured, it was a gorgeous day and wasn't too terribly hot. There's nothing better than laying on the beach reading a good book. Of course, we are all paying for it today because we woke up some crispy girls feeling the burn. I am pretty sure I'm going to peel. Oh well, it was a wonderful weekend and worth the sore feet, burnt skin, and Ebay searching.

P.S. I have tons of pictures of this weekend but since I'm new to this whole blogging world, I don't know how to make cute slideshows or display them in a good way. So until I learn this will have to do.

I Finally Gave In

2007-07-26T19:59:00.000-05:00

Well my cousins Heather and Laura have finally convinced me to start a blog. They have been after me for quite a while now. And though I'm still convinced that they are the only ones who are interested in reading about my life, I agreed to atleast attempt this blogging thing. I do have one small confession though....I am computer/technology challenged and will probably get very frustrated when I can't figure out how to make my blog cool with cute pictures and links. Heather and Laura have agreed to tutor me though and guide me through this wonderful world of blogging so here I go. I hope I don't make an idiot of myself in cyberworld!