goal

I want to be a marathoner. Really. I need to start training at some point because right now I don't know if I can run 3 miles, let alone 26! There is a 5K on Feb. 11th that I want to sign up for. This will give me a goal to work towards. Once I accomplish this race, I can look for a 10K to train for, then up to a half marathon, then a full. I have no idea how long this process will take, but if I take baby steps, I know that I can achieve my goal. One of the things I want to do before I die is compete in a full marathon.

To be continued...

current obsession

My current obsession section is old. I need a new current obsession. Unfortunately I don't have one at the moment. I'll have to think on this one.

If I had gotten an ipod for Christmas, I'm sure that would be my obsession; I'd spend all my time, like a fellow blogger, doing stuff with it. But, I'll have to wait on that one. My mom did say if I don't get one before my birthday she will get it for me. Hmmm, that's 6 months away. I need one now because I am convinced that I will not be able to exercise properly at the gym without it. I guess I could use that as an excuse as to why I can't shed the 20 pounds I would love to lose by summer and swimsuit weather.

gift card Christmas

I received several this yuletide season. Yesterday I spent my Target card on new flatware. I know, boring, but I have been wanting new flatware since I moved into my own place. I don't even know where the old stuff came from, probably remnants of college. I also got some cute earrings.

I got 2 Starbucks cards. That's right; now I'll be able to get my caffiene fix before having to face nutso teenagers.

I also got a card to J.C. Penney. This one was a surprise because of the place, but it will definitely come in handy. I haven't decided what I'll get. I'm still in need of slippers and I'd like to continue building up my earring wardrobe.

motivation

I lack this today. I need to clean my apartment in the worst way. If I don't get it done this week, it will not get done until summer vacation. Once school starts back up, there's no looking back. Now that I'm feeling better, I need to get into gear and get cleaning. I have the kitchen and bathroom done, just need to mop the floors. It's the rest of the apartment that's going to take a while. I'm a perfectionist and because I know it will never be perfect, why even bother trying to straighten up? But I have friends coming into town and I am so embarrassed by the state of my place!

I need some kind of reward system. When I finish cleaning an area, I should reward myself. Let me think...it can't be anything monetary because I don't have any. It can't be food because goodness knows I don't need more of that right now! I will have to brainstorm on this.

And by the way, before you start thinking I'm a complete slob, I clean my bathroom and kitchen regularly.

commentaries

One of my favorite weekend shows is CBS News Sunday Morning. It usually has feel good stories about small towns and funny travels as well as commentaries on different subjects. I really like Ben Stein's commentaries. He has such a dry sence of humor but above all else, he makes sense! Here is a recent favorite titled, "Who Are Nick and Jessica?" Enjoy!

And Merry Christmas!!!

relapse

Just when I thought I was getting better, this cold came back with a vengence! Yesterday I felt pretty good although tired. Then last night I started coughing and sneezing all over the place. I felt weak and ucky. I didn't sleep well last night (again) and today I feel so exhausted. I forced myself to go to the store to pick up more tissues and vapor rub (that's what you smell, by the way) and it seems to be helping a little. I hate being sick!!!

Funny sidenote: Simba was biting at his tail, trying desperately to get something loose. Curious as to what it could be, I grabbed him and saw it was a sticker that had gotten stuck to his tail and he couldn't get it off. I helped by yanking it, along with lots of fur. Poor guy! He seems to be content now, though, sleeping in a ball on the floor. Earlier as I was rubbing the vabor rub on my neck, he came up and wanted to smell. I thought he would run away once he got a whif, but not so. Strange cat!

generic

For those of you wondering, I am feeling much better today. Still a little tired and run down, but overall I feel much better. I tried cleaning earlier but it took a lot out of me so instead, I'm baking chocolate chip cookies.

I make pretty good oatmeal cookies but I have never had much luck with chocolate chip. They just don't turn out that well...until today. These are really good! I bought the generic chips at the store and followed the recipe on the bag. And viola! They are quite tasty! Who knew?

I realized today that I use a lot of generic products, from cold medicine to bathroom cleaner to cereal. It not only saves a lot of money, I usually can't tell a difference between them and the name brand. Now, before you think I'm a total cheapskate, I still have those few items that must be name brand: Smuckers jelly, Jif peanut butter, Starkist tuna, Tropicana orange juice.

sick day #2

I am still sick, which isn't very surprising since you usually have a cold for more than one day. I didn't sleep well last night and I'm so exhausted and drained. I want some juice but I don't have any and can't muster up the energy to go to the store. I am supposed to get together with a friend tonight at Starbucks and I know I should just go ahead and reschedule but I feel so bad about doing that. But I'm also sure she'd rather get together when I am less germy. My apartment is a disaster so I feel even worse than I do to begin with. Ugh!

Okay, okay, no more complaining. I'm going to try to change into something other than my flannel pajama pants and go to the store.

sick day

I hate being sick, especially when I'm on vacation. It seems to work out that way for me. I remember several times being sick on Thanksgiving or Christmas Day growing up. I guess the holiday stress just wears me down...okay, not likely since I really don't feel any stress in that department. My stress is reserved solely for school related topics. Back to being sick, I'm achy and congested and coughing and my throat is on fire. This came on all of the sudden so I'm thinking it could be the flu, which totally stinks; the one year I don't get a flu shot!

Why is it that only one nostral seems to get stopped up? I can breathe just fine out of my right one but my left side is all clogged. I don't know if it's always the same one that is clogged (thankfully I don't get sick that often) but I do remember that one is always messed up. And why can't I fall asleep? I even took Nyquil for heaven's sake! That stuff should knock me out. I'm so sleepy and drained and have no energy to even squeeze lemons to make this hot lemon and hot water mixture that is the Venezuelan cure-all for everything from colds to plantars warts (this is what they always recommended to me when I was sick in VZ). And yet, I can't fall asleep.

Simba

I was just looking for Simba. I couldn't find him anywhere. I looked in all his usual spots: curled up in the corner of the dining room, under the bedside table in my room, in my closet. He was nowhere to be found. I was about to resort to calling out the "t" word (treats) which was sure to get him out of any hiding place. The thing about cats is they don't come when you call their names. It's always on their terms. Anyways, I looked at my unmade bed and noticed an unusual lump. I pulled the covers down and there was Simba, curled in a ball getting himself warm. Yes, it is chilly in my apartment but he must have been really cold to do that. He's so goofy!

Christmas presents #2

I started and finished my Christmas shopping today. I know, I'm a big time procrastinator! I hope everyone likes their presents; I tried to be creative while sticking close to the lists people provided. The most exciting gifts to buy were for my little baby nephew set to arrive mid-January. I love cute little baby clothes and blankets, etc. So fun to buy that stuff!

I even got the presents in the mail today. Talk about industrious! And while the line at the post office was a little long, it went really quickly. Way to go PO! Should be there by Thursday, yay!

Christmas presents #1

I had a notice in my mailbox on Thursday that I had a package waiting at the office for me. Yay, I love packages! Unfortunately the office decided to close early so I had to wait until yesterday to retreive it. I knew it was a Christmas present; my mom told me the night before that she had ordered something from Amazon.com for me. I went to the office yesterday and sure enough it was a box with Amazon emblazend on the side. I then had an inner struggle. Should I open the box or wait until Christmas? It wasn't gift wrapped so it wasn't very pretty to look at. But it was a present all the same. Finally the child in me won out and I opened the box. Inside were 2 dvds: Napolean and Pride & Prejudice. Yipee! I love getting presents!

arrivals

My sister arrives to the US from France this evening. She's in the air even as I type this (I think; that whole time change thing gets me all confused). I'm excited to actually talk to her and hear how she's doing. Going overseas changed my life and I'm sure it has hers.

The funny thing is that my sister and I do not communicate that regularly. Don't misunderstand me, I love her; we just don't talk as often as we probably should. And I haven't seen her in a year. I miss her more now though than I ever have. I think part of it has to do with my being protective of my baby sister and she being so far away. Plus she is a junior in college now, almost ready to bound into the world...

I can't wait to talk to her.

intervention

I spoke to a fellow blogger via phone last night. We have started weekly phone dates during Lost commercial breaks (sidenote: stinks that Lost is reruns, I'm so sick of those new people!). I called her to let her know that another blogging friend had threatened to cut her out of her list of blogs to read if she didn't update her blog. She informed me that she hasn't checked email in forever and forgot about her blog. What!? How can someone not check email? And forget about the blog? I hope I was able to convey to her the importance of staying connected to the world and not living like a hermit. We shall see...

why i do this...

One of my students was in my room after school with questions about his grades and such. It's amazing how they come out of the woodwork when the six weeks is about to end. He shared with me how he really wants to graduate and go to college. I asked where he was planning on going and he said he wants to start out at community college and then eventually go on to get his 4 year degree. He asked, "What's up with college? What is it like? How will I even know what to major in?" I told him that he will have the opportunity to take classes in various areas to find out what he likes and doesn't like, and hopefully that will help him choose a career. I asked him what interests him and we continued to talk for a few more minutes. As he left, my heart felt so proud and I thought, "Students like him are the reason I am here."

internet dating

One of my new friends here in Dallas wants me to sign up for an internet dating service. I'm an old fashioned girl; I want to be pursued! I feel like internet dating makes it easy for the men because they know when a girl is interested. They don't have to put themselves on the line and take a risk. Unfortunately, this way isn't working too well for me. I'm too embarrassed to put the number of years it has been since I had a date.

I think getting a circle of friends together is more of a priority than dating. Plus, I can't afford it, although the free meals would be nice.

as if traffic wasn't bad enough...

I thought Orlando traffic was bad. And it still is, probably the worst I've ever experienced in this country. But Dallas traffic ranks right up there. It is always busy on the highways, even on Sundays when people are supposed to be hanging out at home with the fam. No one uses their signals here, super annoying, especially when you get cut off going 70 mph. Anyways, traffic is bad here. So what does some genius decide to do? He must have gone to the beach and saw those airplanes flying over head with the trailing ads and thought, "wow, what a great way to advertise!" Now these planes fly over the Dallas metroplex advertising attorneys and jewelry stores. One huge difference between the beach and here: people at the beach aren't doing anything but laying there so not too much concern over a major pile up on the highway!

I think I'm going to write to my congressman about this!

and the award goes to...

The first thing that came to my mind this morning as I woke up was the strangest memory. When I was in the 7th grade one of my classes was an exploratory block. The point of this class was to allow students to experience several different types of classes. I spent 6 weeks in various classes, from home ec. to a careers class where the teacher told me my eye brows were huge and that pharmacology (what I wanted to be at the time) was a boring profession. Way to encourage the future there, Mrs. Whatever-your-name-was. Anyways, one of the classes was shop. Yes, you read correctly, I was actually allowed near power tools. I wasn't exemplary in this class by any means, yet somehow my teacher nominated me for student of the week. I would not have been surprised if I had been nominated in a core subject area like English or social studies (yes, I was a nerd; still am). But shop? I, to this day, still have no idea why he chose me out of all his students as student of the week. I don't remember all the prestige and benefits that came with this title, except that I was allowed to cut to the front of the lunch line that week. I think I may have been given a pencil or something, too.

I think I'll try to choose one of my students for this honor. I don't know if there are any benefits with the award other than knowing your teacher thinks you're a good student.

Christmas list

My family wants to know what I want for Christmas. The truth is, I have no idea. I don't feel in the Christmas mood at all this year, even after going to an amazing performance at the biggest church I've ever been in (it has it's own workout facility!). I'm so blah right now. I think my problem is that I have been slaving away at a job that is killing me and I haven't met any people or found a church yet. Plus, the biggest downer of all is that I can't go home for the holidays. It's been 2 years since I went home. That's so long! I really miss Virginia. Anyways, I've been racking my brain trying to come up with things. What I'd really like is to be out of debt at last but we're talking around $8000 so I don't think that's going to happen (school loans etc).

Here's my list so far:
-subscriptions to "Real Simple" and "Cooking Light"
-slippers
-"Pride and Prejudice" dvd with Colin Firth
-Napolean Dynamite

Anyone have any ideas of things I can ask for?

fire alarm check

I just got a flyer on my door that said the apartment complex will be coming into apartments to check the fire alarms. I wish I had a little more notice; my place is a wreck! I know, who cares what they think of my piles? But I do! It embarrasses me to think of people coming into my place and thinking I'm a slob. So, I need to get cleaning, or at least throw everything into my closet and shut the door.

this is only a test...

I took a test today, one of three that I have to take to get fully certified as a teacher. It was the written Spanish exam; all multiple choice so you would think no big deal. Not so. Everyone told me not to worry, that I would do fine. I left the test unsure of how I did. Usually you know right away on a test, either you passed with flying colors or you bombed it. I have no idea. There were so many questions that I was uncertain of and that I second guessed myself. I feel like I don't really know Spanish. Sad thing is that this test is supposedly much much easier than the oral profiency exam I have to take in March. This guy in the test today said that a teacher he works with had to take that one 7 times before she passed it. If I fail either of these tests twice, I think I'll quit teaching...

playing hookie!

I stayed up late last night hoping and praying that my school district would be closed today. It was sleeting outside and I just knew it had to happen at some point. No such luck. I woke up this morning at 5:15 and stumbled to the living room to turn on the television. As I hugged my legs to my body trying to stay warm, I watched the little bar at the bottom of the screen with cancellations. My district was not listed. Then I changed the channel. Still no luck. I checked all 4 major stations and none of them had my district. I was so bummed! I started getting ready, all the while complaining under my breath about having to slip and slide to work. As I was putting on my makeup, smelling the coffee brewing in the next room, my cell phone rings (not the cool VT ringtone I've been trying to download, stupid phone). It was my department head. She told me school has just been cancelled. I was happy but ticked it took so long. Oh well, at least I have the day off.

It is so freezing right now! The temp outside is 19 with a real feel of 2 degrees. And that's not in celcius people! No wonder my apartment won't get warm!

weather

It's 65 degrees in my apartment right now. Brrrrrr!!! And outside? 32 with a real feel of 22. Yikes! It's even sleeting right now which is unbelievable. My students were a little nutso today (when aren't they?). They were so excited about the potential for bad weather and getting out of school tomorrow. I have to admit, I desperately want a snow day, too.

reality

I don't know how personal I should get in this thing, especially when it has to do with my students. I'll leave it at this: one of my students got into major trouble and will not be in school for a while. We're not talking getting into a fight and being suspended kind of trouble; this is big time. It breaks my heart. I have students who are troublemakers, who spend lots of time hanging out in in-school suspension or end up suspended from school but this is the first time I've had to deal with this kind of issue. I wish I could go into more detail because I need to process, but I need to protect my students. The reality of my job came crashing down on me today.

a few of my favorite things...

I just had a great cup of coffee this morning and it inspired me to make a list of my current favorite things. Here goes:

mocha peppermint creamer (makes my regular coffee as good as Starbucks)

my new snowman coffee mug (so adorable, got it at Target)

Coke zero (I love this stuff! I can drink it like water!)

working out (I know, I know, it can be hard to get to the gym, but once I'm there, I feel so good!)

cooler weather (it's been in the 50's and 60's and the leaves have even changed colors)

Nutella (spread it on a ritz and it's a delightful treat)

ancillaries (we just got our much awaited supplemental material for the text books and all of us were so excited; one teacher mentioned that you know you're a teacher when this gets you excited; they are making life so much easier)

Memoirs of a Geisha (this book is really good! I can't put it down!)

kitty prints

I bought some furntiture wipes for my new dining room table. I used one last weekend to polish the table. By the way, they don't work as well as using the spray can and a cloth. Anyways, I was washing the dishes this morning and the sun was coming through the dining room window, shining onto the table. It was then that I noticed several little paw prints running across the table. Sneaky little devils! They would never think of walking on the table while I'm there. They know better.

incident

Ginger scared me half to death last night. She was in her usual spot, taking up half the couch like the true princess she is. She was laying on her back, sprawled out and sleeping. I happened to look over at her and she was shaking with her eyes rolled back in her head. I freaked out and thought, "oh my gosh, she's having a seizure!" Ginger isn't a young cat anymore; she's 7 years old. I was frantically thinking through calling an emergency vet and how I would transport her to the office while shaking her a little and saying, "Ginger, Ginger!" She woke up and looked at me with those huge green eyes like she was dazed. She then got up and ran away from me because I had startled her from her sleep.

I guess she was just sleeping and having a dream, but I have never seen her do that before! It scared me to think that she was sick. I'm so attached to these cats...

kitty pics

I'm not that great with the ol' camera. I always forget to download my pics to the computer. I finally did it and now I'm even pasting them to the blog! Enjoy!

it's the most wonderful time of the year...

I have no idea what to get my family for Christmas. Any ideas? My brother and sister-in-law are having a baby in January, so I know what to get the new addition, but no idea what to get them! Plus, my bro's b-day is next week. No ideas for that either! Maybe I'll donate money to a cause for them. They'd love that! Ideas are welcome!

venting session

I don't want to be a complainer. I wish I could see the glass half full more often. But I'm going to take this opportunity to gripe about Dallas. It has been a lot harder to get adjusted to living here than I thought. No, it's not the landscape that's hard. Yeah, I miss the mountains but I haven't had them in over 3 years so I'm getting used to it. The pollution stinks (literally and figuratively) but at least it doesn't reek of retention ponds like Orlando. (I like Orlando, by the way; I have a lot of wonderful friends there that make me miss it tremendously!) What has been the hardest for me is getting to know people, mainly other Christians. I love the people I work with; they are so great and supportive. But I don't have a connection with them like I do with my Christian friends. I don't want to assume that they are not believers; some of them very well could be. Anyways, I have been trying to find a church in the area. People kept telling me there are so many great ones here so I was excited to see what was out there. Well, they failed to mention that they are great churches if you happen to be married. Every church I go to, I'm surrounded by married people. I don't hate married people, it's just hard when you're the only single person. It's like being a cat at a dog show...you just don't fit in that well all the time. What makes it worse is that I have been trying to connect with a church that I like. I emailed someone about the singles ministry and even filled out a little card asking for someone to contact me. This has been over the span of 3 weeks, and I have yet to hear from anyone. I know, it's the holiday season and they are probably busy. But I can't help thinking, what if I was a non-Christian desperately looking for answers? I need fellowship in the worst way and even when I reach out to people, I get nowhere. I'm finding that Dallas is very superficial. People are very friendly when you first meet them. But getting to know them on a deeper level is almost impossible! I should clarify; this has been my experience at churches. I have not felt that way about my co-workers. Go figure. Churches here are currently batting a zero...

boo-hoos in 'hooville

VT 52, UVa 14
'nuff said.

it's electric!

Static electricity is something I almost forgot about. Living in a super humid climate for the last 3 years has helped me to forget the blue sparks. I hate getting shocked. It ranks right up there with packing to move overseas and eating cow intestine soup. Texas does not have a lot of humidity during the fall and winter. I was watching the weather channel and the level of humidity today is 23%...I didn't think it could get down that low unless you are in the desert!

I'm remembering why I use conditioner now. My hair is scary crazy sometimes with all this static. Plus, my clothes are sticking to everything, including my new couch. Granted, the static sound is kind of cool, but not the feeling you get when you come in contact with a metal object. I've gotten so badly shocked that I temporarily went numb in my left arm.

A couple of funny occurances, though. Simba came up to me earlier to be petted. I touched his nose and could tell I shocked him as the electricity left me and went into him. He jumped slightly, not sure what had just happened and kind of looked around, starteld. Later on, I was sitting on the couch and Ginger decided she wanted to share the space. She jumped up and when I went to pet her, I shocked her. She looked at me with a surprised look as if I had betrayed her. It didn't stop her from hogging half the couch, though.

get in shape, girl!

I finally broke down and joined a gym this past Saturday. It's about time, too. I haven't done anything fitness wise since I moved to Texas. I went to the gym on Sunday and again this evening and it feels so good! I'm taking it very slowly so I don't get so sore that I want to never work out again.

The one good thing about the hours of my job is that I can leave at 3pm if I don't have a meeting or tutorials. That means I can get to the gym and work out before the crazy crowd gets there after 5pm. I have free reign of any machine and because I'm one of the youngest people there at that time, I'm not self conscious about how my pasty white legs look in my black Nike shorts.

hummus recipe

I've been asked for my delicious hummus recipe. I should keep it a secret...but sharing is caring, right?

What you'll need:
1 can chickpeas/garbanzo beans (16-19 oz)--drain and save the liquid
1/4 cup Tahini (sesame seed paste)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (one small lemon squeezes about this much)
1 clove garlic (if you like garlic a lot, you can add more)

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender, adding only enough of the saved liquid to make it as thick or thin as you like; the more liquid, the thinner the dip. Blend for 2-3 minutes to a smooth paste. Viola! You can garnish with parsley sprigs if you want to get fancy and you can also sprinkle olive oil and paprika on top. I like to eat hummus with almost any veggie (carrots and cucumbers are my faves) and wheat thins. It's best with pita, but haven't quite mastered making a good pita yet.

This recipe comes from "A Taste of Lebanon" cook book by Mary Salloum. It is filled with great Lebanese delights!

hummus

I truly amaze myself sometimes. I like to make things in the kitchen, whether cooking, baking, or just using the food processor (which I just bought a couple of weeks ago and it is now my new favorite appliance). I don't really do much in the kitchen because I am single and I hate going to all the trouble of preparing a meal if it's just for me. But sometimes I get into stints of making stuff.

One of my dear friends loves to create things in the kitchen. She is my culinary inspiration. She makes a mean hummus and I have always wanted to try to make it myself. I finally broke down and bought all the ingredients now that I have the food processor. Well, I mixed all the ingredients together and viola! it was amazing! I can't believe that I made this batch of hummus! Very exciting, especially since I feel so mediocre lately. It's like that scene from Garden State where Sam says when she feels unoriginal she has to do something that no one has ever done before to feel unique and original again, even if just for a second. Now I know millions of people have made hummus before, but not me. So, even if just for an instant, I feel a little original.

Tonight my co-workers are getting together at our department head's house for a night of poker and fun. I will bring my batch of hummus for everyone to enjoy.

It has taken me a few days to write this post because I have been processing exactly what happened. I knew someone was going to die on Lost; the commercials let me know that. But why did it have to be Shannon? Sure, she was a little miss princess when the show started, but she has come so far. She was finally starting to see that there was purpose for her life and that she was valuable. That should have been my first major clue that she was getting the axe. She wasn't my favorite character or anything, but I hate it when someone goes through such a transformation and then dies. It's such a waste! But I'm so emotionally connected to these characters that I can't think of any one of them that I want to see die. Maybe I should take a break from the show for a while...

Whoa! What just happened?! Did I just say I shouldn't watch Lost?! I'm better now, no worries.

adulthood

I feel like such an adult! I recently purchased some furniture, the first time ever in my life, apart from my mattress and boxspring I bought last year. One piece was delivered yesterday and I was so excited; still am! Buying furniture is so fun! Ten years ago I'm sure I would not have said that. Ten years ago I was a sophomore in college...oh my gosh! I am so old!!! When did that happen?!

humility

I was reminded last night that no entity is completely invincible (except God, of course). My beloved Hokies lost to Miami. It was a sad game to watch; they just never really got it together. Miami played a great game, too. At least we lost to a top 5 ranked team and not to NC State or some other team. But it hurts just as much to see them lose. Now if USC and UT will just lose!

nevermind

Okay, I am totally obsessive, but I figured it out! Now it's all lined up just the way I want it to be. I should go into computer engineering! Just kidding.

Ugh!

I am trying to update my blog by adding links, etc. But it is driving me crazy! I am so computer illiterate at times! I can't get everything aligned just the way I want them and it's ticking me off. I know, I know, I just need to calm down and breathe. Why am I such a perfectionist with things that don't even matter? Maybe it's because I feel so out of control with my life that the little things I can control I become obsessive about?

sleeping in class

I understand that my class can be boring sometimes. But I absolutely love when I give an assignment and they have had 10-15 minutes to work on it and I announce, "Okay, 2 more minutes!" and a student pops his head up and says, "Nah, miss, I ain't finished!" and expects me to give him more time to finish the assignment that he chose to sleep through. Ugh! (Like the run-on sentence? I grill my students on that too!)

fire drills

Today the fire alarm went off at school. I hate it when that happens. As if it's not mad chaos to begin with in my class, they have to set off an alarm that allows them to roam outside in the parking lot between all the teachers' cars. I did a head count a at least 5 chose to hang out with other classes. I had students from other periods come over to hang out with my class and I had to tell them to go back to their class. I thought it was just a drill but then a fire truck zoomed by and I thought, "great!" I looked around the school to see if smoke was pouring out anywhere. I figure a cake must have spent too long in the Home Ec oven or something and set off the alarm. After 20 minutes we were allowed to go back into the building. With only 20 minutes left of class, it was impossible to get anything done. Oh well.

Wahoo-not!

I just had to include this in my blog. Thanks Kel! I'm still laughing:)

FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS -- A seven-year-old boy was at the center of a courtroom drama today when he challenged a court ruling over who should have custody of him. The boy has a history of being beaten by his parents and the judge initially awarded custody to his aunt, in keeping with child custody law and regulations requiring that family unity be maintained to the degree possible. The boy surprised the court when he proclaimed that his aunt beat him more than his parents and he adamantly refused to live with her. When the judge then suggested that he live with his grandparents, the boy cried out that they also beat him. After considering the remainder of the immediate family and learning that domestic violence was apparently a way of life among them, the judge took the unprecedented step of allowing the boy to propose who should have custody of him. After two recesses to check legal references and to confer with child welfare officials, the judge granted temporary shared custody to the Virginia Cavaliers, whom the boy firmly believes are not capable of beating anyone.

what not to wear...

One of my students said to me the other day, "Miss, you know that show on TLC...?" I rolled my eyes and said, "Which one?" and he replied, "I don't remember the name but my mom watches it all the time. It's the one where they give you a bunch of money to buy a new wardrobe and get you all fixed up." I looked at my outfit, which I didn't think was that bad; gray slacks, black 3/4 sleeve sweater and loafers. I'm in desperate need of a haircut but I thought I was okay besides that. I guess I was wrong. I need a fashion makeover!!! Help!

Rain

It finally rained in Texas. It's only been about 3 months! The air feels so much cleaner now. I think Dallas has the dirtiest air of any place I've ever lived. Scary! It's so nice and cool this evening, I love it! I'm even wearing a hoody to stay warm. That rarely happened in Florida.

Hokie football

My beloved Hokies are #3 in the nation. I finally have cable so I can watch the games. I'm glad that Marcus is getting his act together and growing up a bit. I'm just waiting for USC and UT to fall...

I love Virginia Tech! As I was watching the game on Thursday, there were a couple of times when I got choked up looking at Lane Stadium. I want to be in Virginia right now, with the leaves changing color and the air getting cooler.

I went online to see how much tickets would cost to go to the Rose Bowl when the Hokies will become the National Champions. $600...yikes!!! I'll be watching that game on tv...

Go Hokies!!!

update

Okay, so it's been a while since the last update...but I have a good excuse! I just got internet in my apartment! I can't blog at school because 1) I'm at work and need to be a responsible adult and do the job I'm paid to do...and 2) the site is blocked. It's so sad, too, because there have been some truly great blog moments over the last few months that I haven't gotten to capture...

woohoo!

I got the job! I will now be an official high school Spanish teacher! Crazy! It should be a crazy adventure. I start next week with new teacher orientation and then the following week is in service week. Then school officially starts on Aug. 15. It is coming up so quickly, my head is spinning a bit!

moving

I'm getting my stuff together. I really don't have that much to move but it still takes me forever to get it all organized and in boxes. I pulled out the cat carriers; the cats are lying low, not wanting to bring any attention to themselves.

I really hate packing. What should really only take me a day is taking me a week to do. I keep procrastinating and finding other things to do. I know that eventually I'll have to get my act together and get moving, and I did get a lot done last night. I would like to finish as much as possible today and then have the rest of the week to clean, 'cause I'm going to need it!

pics

Here are a couple of pics of the kitties. I have many more, so be looking for new additions to the ol' blog!

Beauty and the Geek

Okay, so my new favorite show is Beauty and the Geek. I blame it on the fact that it's summer and all the shows are in reruns. But let's face it; I would watch this show in the height of Sweeps (except if it was opposite Lost; that would be a tough call).

My fave couple got the axe this week. Bummer. I loved Lauren, she was so cute and sweet. And let's admit it, Bill turned into a stud after his makeover! What is up with the uber-goofball Rich?! Get him off the show! It's like he doesn't want to learn how to not be a social outcast! Is he only there to be annoying? Anyways, I'm going to have to go with Scarlett and Shawn now. We'll see what happens...

http://www.thewb.com/Shows/GenericShow/0,11116,228773,00.html

Things are falling into place for my move. I fly there on July 6th to look for apartments and to hopefully have some job interviews lined up. I can't believe how quickly it's coming up! I'm in the process now of applying to various school districts as well as finding a certification program. God is continually putting people in my path who are helping me in this transition. It's so exciting!

Fluffy

So, my sister sent me the cutest birthday present. I open the box and inside there is a stuffed hippo that she bought at the San Diego Zoo. She is so creative. When she and my mom came to visit me in December, we took a trip to Animal Kingdom. One of the best rides is the Safari thing and as we passed by the hippo pools, I commented, "Wow, those hippos are so fat!" The "tour guide" didn't appreciate that very much and replied, "They aren't fat, they're fluffy!" Now I have a memento of that. She cracks me up, my sister not the hippo. The hippo just kind of sits there.

I finally got the cd player my sister gave me installed in my car. I can't even begin to tell you the difference. I can't wait to get into my car now! It's amazing! It will definitely help on that 18 hour drive to Dallas in a month and a half...

So, I'm moving to Dallas. It's a crazy big step for me, but one I am reading to make. I have been wanting to move there for a long time to fulfill my dream of attending Dallas Theological Seminary to get my Masters of Bibical Counseling. It all came about so suddenly. I mean, I've been praying about this for a long time but just didn't feel any real direction from the Lord to start pursuing it. Then, one day about a month or so ago, my roommate and I found out that our apartments are being converted into condos, meaning that there would be no option for renewal. I started looking for apartments when it hit me..."why am I staying in Orlando?" I know I have a great church and lots of wonderful new friends, but staying here is not getting me closer to fulfilling the purpose God has for my life. So, I'm moving to Dallas. Now, just getting all the details in order to make the move...

"Love God, then do as you please." --St. Augustine

5 love languages

I know what my cats' love languages are. Ginger is definitely touch. She will sit with me for hours and let me pet her. If I stop, she meows her tiny little meow and gives me those huge green eyes as if to say, "why are you stopping?" If I don't restart the petting, she turns around and prisses away on her tiny little petite paws, visibly hurt.

Simba, on the other hand, is gifts. He goes crazy when I say the word "treat". He can't get enough of them! When I get home in the evening, he follows me around the apartment, meowing super loudly and looks up at me. "You've been gone all day, I want a treat!"

I should write a book on the love languages of pets...I could sell it at PetSmart!

I came out to my car this morning to find 2 flat tires. There was just enough air in them to get them to the gas station where I filled them up. When I got dressed this morning I picked out a new shirt I had just bought. It's flowery and very pretty. Of course this would be the day that I would end up having to fill my tires with air and get my hands all black from car crud. I knew that since the tires were flat that I should take my car in asap to get the tires checked out. The guy assured me that it wouldn't take too long since they weren't busy. Then, one of the mechanics gets a call from home and his car had just gotten stolen, so he had to leave to fill out a police report. That meant the wait time increased from "not too long" to "we're not too sure how long." One person really does make a difference. I'm sitting there waiting, watching the Tony Danza show (the guest was Sly Stalone who incidentally has his own magazine coming out), and the mechanic comes in with a frown and says, "there's a problem." Yikes! Not only are the 2 tires irrepairable, but because I had bad allignment, all 4 tires need to be replaced.

It's days like this that you wonder why you even got out of bed in the morning...

cat tales

Ginger found a new place to hang out. I left one of my dresser drawers open one morning as I was getting ready for work. I walked back into the room and Ginger was just laying in there, sniffing around, checking things out. She is the most inquisitive cat I know, yet she's terrified of her own shadow. How does that work? I'm surprised she hasn't had a heart attack yet.

I went to buy my kitties some diet cat food, as they are in need of some weight reduction. I found some that said "weight management" but I don't want to manage their weight, I want them to lose it! Anyone know where I can find low fat/low carb cat food?

quarter life crisis

I am having an identity crisis. First, I can't seem to get my name changed. Some people know me as Annette, others as Anna, and other refuse to call me Anna so they only call me Annette. I know this is confusing, most of all for me!

Secondly, what the heck do I want to be when I grow up?! This question haunts me many a sleepless night. Okay, not really, but I do think about it a lot. I wish I knew where my calling was. Neon signs are always welcome...

life lessons

I learned a valuable lesson on Saturday. Don't ride two roller coasters back to back with only a few minutes in between to recoup.

How did I learn this lesson? Well, a friend graciously invited me to go to one of the many theme parks in the area. I was so excited because I haven't gotten to ride any cool rides in forever. There is one coaster that is actually two in one; there are two trains that go at the same time side by side. Well, I rode one and it was one of the best coasters I've ever riden. It had tons of loops and when I got off, I was really dizzy. I couldn't even walk straight! We figured that since we were already at this ride, we should go for the other coaster as each one is different in the turns and speeds. We got in line and within minutes were riding the other train. When it stopped at the end, I thought I was going to loose my Cinnabon breakfast!

I think I'm getting old...

Life

Does life ever slow down? I feel like the older I get, the busier and more full my schedule becomes. I know, I know, boundaries, right? I feel like I have good boundaries, but I also want to be involved in my church and in the lives of my friends. The balance is so hard to find!

flute lessons

I have finally found a creative outlet. I just began flute lessons! I am really excited about it and looking forward to seeing if I will ever be able to play that Vivaldi piece that I listen to and imagine myself on a stage, playing with an orchestra behind me...or at least being able to remember the fingerings for the various notes.

My cats, on the other hand, are not excited about this new venture. The first day I practiced they both looked at me and ran. Ginger hid under a table and Simba went into the other room. The next time I played, Simba looked at me with this, "What the heck?!" expression and sauntered out of the room; he likes to act like he's not frightened by walking out cool-like, but you can tell he's terrified. Ginger does not hide the fact that she's scared. She looked at me with those wide open green eyes, her mouth in a little frown, and hid under a chair, looking out occasionally to ask with her eyes if I was done yet. Yesterday I practiced and Simba has gotten used to it. He even sat on the bed next to where I was standing as if to be my audience. Ginger looked at me as I opened the flute case, then darted out of the room. I need to get her some valium.

you think you know someone...part 2

The saga continues...

The woman who previously owned my kitties came over to visit them. She brought over paper work from the original owners when they were adopted from the Humane Society). I thought the cats were 3 1/2 years old. According to the paperwork, they will be 7 years old this March. This could actually explain alot...like why Ginger is so fat! She's not 21 in people years, she's almost 49!

I know, I know, you are all thinking I am a crazy cat lady with all these stories...

I'm in the money!

Okay, not really, but I finally got a job! Woohoo! I start on Jan. 31st and it's a great company to work for. Benefits start the day I start and I get to wear jeans to work! Plus, if I hit all green lights, it's only 5 minutes away from my apartment. It's nice to finally have that soap opera done, at least for now. God provides in His time, I just need to contantly remind myself of that!

you think you know someone...

I got a call the other day from the woman who owned my cats previously. She wanted to know how they are doing. She asked, "So, what did you end up naming them?" I said, "I kept their names the same, Ginger and Simba." She laughed hysterically and said, "That's not their names!" I was so confused. I said, "Your roommate told me that their names were Simba and Ginger." We both laughed and she explained, "When I got them, their names were Cleo and Leo. I didn't like those names so I changed them to Gin and Juice."

I can see how you could get Ginger from Gin, but Simba from Juice?

I decided to do an experiment. Ginger was in the same room and I called out, "Cleo!" She looked right up at me and meowed as if to say, "yes?"

Kind of explains why they never respond when I call them...that, or they are just being normal cats...

Simba

My cat Simba is a beautiful cat. He is a tannish color with slightly darker stripes. Everyone who meets him thinks he is beautiful.

I thought it would be cute to get him a Simba stuffed animal from the Lion King movie. My mom purchased it for me and I brought it home to him. "Look Simba, it's you," I said and laid the stuffed lion on the bed next to him. I walked out of the room and when I came back a few minutes later, the stuffed Simba was laying on the floor.

I guess the live Simba doesn't like competition, or he is not happy with the representation of himself in the stuffed one.

returns

I bought a little bed for my cats, thinking they would enjoy a soft pillow for the floor. This was especially for Ginger as she like to prop her head up on the legs of tables; I thought this would be a nice alternative. I brought the bed home and they wanted nothing to do with it. I eventually coaxed Ginger to at least sit in it, but she barely fit (she's a portly cat) and she did not like it very much. I left the bed on the floor in the hopes that they would warm up to it.

After a few days, I decided to take the bed back because they were not using it. I put it in a bag and headed back to the store. I approached the returns counter and the lady asked why I was returning it. I said, "My cats didn't like it." She asked, "Did they use it?" I answered, "one of them sat in it for a minute but that was it." She said, "It smells," and wrinkled her nose. I just kind of shook my head not knowing why it would smell. She then looked at the tag and asked, "do you know why it's wet?" I picked up the bed and saw that indeed, the bed was wet and had the inmistakable smell of cat pee. I was horrified! I apologized and left the counter with my cat bed in tow.

I got back home and decided to wash it. Maybe they peed on it because they didn't like it or something. So I cleaned it up and it smelled all nice. I put it on the floor hoping one of them would take to it. Neither cat touched it for a while. Then, Simba kind of smells at it and paws at the bottom. He gets in the bed and squats as if ready to relieve himself when I yell, "Stop! Get out of there!" He jumps out and goes to use his other litter box instead.

I've come to the conclusion that Simba is not the smartest cat out there...

the search continues...

So, I have a job interview tomorrow. I want to be excited about it but at the same time I don't want to get my hopes up and then be terribly disappointed when they send me the rejection email. I'm wondering just how much rejection one person can handle! Is there a point where I will receive the rejection that will put me over the edge and I will jump off the observation tower at Sea World? Actually, that wouldn't happen because I'd have to pay $60 just to get in the park and then an additional fee to ride the observation tower elevator. I'll have to find a cheaper way to end it all...

Don't worry, I'm not going to jump from any tall buildings or end my life in any other way. I may go crazy from this job search but it won't put me that far over the edge! I just hope the insane asylum they ship me off to has internet access so I can keep my blog updated...