vote for pedro

Hey guys! So, I was playing around with my camera today and took a couple of shots. Which one do you like better for my profile pic? Numero 1 or 2? Or icks-nay on both of them? Please vote; your voice matters!:)

students who make me smile

There are definitely days when I wonder why in the world I ever decided to teach. Thankfully those days are becoming more and more rare.

Then there are the days when my heart sings as I realize that I am truly where I am meant to be. Today was one of those days:) The school day itself was okay; it was an A day and those are always a little nutty. After school I was in my classroom grading some quizzes when a former student came in. She was looking for her teacher who uses my room A3 during my planning period to teach her class. This student ended up staying in my room for a few minutes to catch up; I haven't really gotten a chance to talk to her this year. She is an absolute sweetheart, a joy to work with. She is a junior and I asked what she was thinking about after high school. I told her if she needed help when it came time to fill out applications to let me know and I'd be more than happy to assist. She then said that she's applying for a summer program and that she needs a reference and has been wanting to ask me if I would fill one out for her! This is a student from last year and she wants me to be a reference for her! She also said she thinks I'm a good teacher:) It's always nice when someone says that you are good at what you do...

a few of my fave things...

As you know, I like to blog about my favorite things from time to time. It's been a while so it's time for another installment! Some of my favorite things lately include:

*Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe on the Discovery Channel--have you guys seen this show?! It is hilarious! They send this guy Mike to do the dirtiest, nastiest jobs out there (they usually involve poo of some sort); he has a sarcastic wit that can't be beat. I highly recommend watching it. New episodes air Tuesday nights at 9pm EST.

*Orbit Mint Mojito gum--oh my gosh! This is my new favorite flavor of gum! It's tangy and sweet, the perfect mixture of mint and a little bit of citrus. You have got to try it!

*coffee--I know this isn't a new fave, but I just love coffee! I'm actually drinking some right now. It just makes me happy:)

This is a really short list for today. Maybe I'll add more as the week goes on. What are some of your current favorite things?

you don't own me!

The other night I came home and Simba was very agitated. His fur was all bushy and he kept jumping around. I sat on the couch to watch tv and he jumped on my lap, something he rarely does. I tried petting his fur to make it stay down but it didn't work. After a few minutes of him sitting on me, I got tired of it and pushed him off. Another few minutes went by and I looked down at my pants and noticed something brown on them. I had gone to dinner that evening so I thought maybe I had gotten some food on them or something. I tried to get the stuff off and then I smelled it...Simba totally poohed on me! Nasty! I was horrified.

A friend told me, "Maybe he was marking his territory." With pooh?!

bridesmaid dresses

I am in a wedding this summer. My friend is getting married in Florida but is originally from Michigan and that is where she is ordering the dresses. She sent me the info for a shop here in DFW that would have the exact dress so I could try it on and figure out what size I needed. This is always a horrifying experience in my opinion. And this was no exception. I walked into the shop and found an associate. I asked her if I can try on the dress and she said, "We probably don't have it!" I said the website said they did and she pointed to the back corner and said, "The bridesmaid dresses are back there," and walked away. I walked to the back of this massive dress shop and found the bridesmaid dresses; it was complete chaos. There was no order, I had no idea where to start and there was no one back there to help me. After looking through the mass of dresses for a few minutes, I finally just left. They are on my black list now...

I called the bridal shop in Michigan and spoke to a sweet woman who was very helpful. I gave her my measurements (this is never fun to do!) and she looked at the size chart for this dress. According to the chart, my bust and hips are one size and my waist is 2 sizes bigger! What the heck!? So, I ended up having to order for my waist size knowing that the bust is going to be out of control! Why do they make dresses like this!? Thank goodness for alterations.

the female psyche

"It’s like a volcano.....it can be pretty to look at from a distance, even intriguing. But if you climb to the top and look down into the cone, there is a good chance you could either die from the sulfur, or it could explode and kill you."

--quote from a male friend

for my fans...

All 3 of you!

Kelli requested that I add more so that the cat pee title does not appear on the screen when she logs onto my page. Plus, Karebear is an emotional pregnant woman and it's best not to upset her anymore. At least that's the line she's feeding me.

It's been a busy few weeks! Here's the rundown:

*Got the IKEA bookshelf put together (with some help!). I'll take a pic and post it soon. I haven't finished arranging everything yet.
*Have gone to the movies twice recently. Night at the Museum is super cute and funny, highly recommend. Rocky Balboa was surprisingly good, better than I expected. If you are a Rocky fan (Karen), you'll like the latest (and let's hope the last because Sly is looking a little rough) installment.
*School started back up this week. Monday was a teacher work day, lots of silly meetings. Tuesday the kiddos were back and I wish I had a dollar for each time I heard the phrase, "But Miss K, we just got back from vacation!" It's been hard to get back into the groove again. I'm hoping it will be better this coming week.
*Currently North Texas is going through an ice storm that started this morning and will continue until Monday morning. Thank goodness I have Monday off so I won't have to make that day up! I was supposed to go to San Antonio to see a friend but decided against it for fear of getting stuck there.
*Life is going well right now:)
*Caught the last few minutes of the UNC-VT game today. GO HOKIES!!! We beat #5Duke earlier this week and now we've beaten #1UNC. We are #1 in the ACC. It's about time our basketball team showed up!

Karebear, is this enough for now?

update

Because Kelli doesn't like the words cat pee anymore!

It has been a while and I know I should fill you in on my life.

But you'll just have to wait!!!:)

cat pee...

is the worst thing ever invented! Well, I guess it wasn't really invented, but what the heck!? It is the worst smelling thing in the world and once it is absorbed into an object it is nearly impossible to get rid of the odor.

I was cleaning out my office area today. I only have one bookshelf and as most of you know, I'm a super nerd and one bookshelf isn't nearly enough for all the books I have. I had some piles of books in front of the bookshelf, sitting there waiting for a place to call home. I picked up one of the piles and noticed that the books on the bottom where sticky. I put my nose closer to the books and realized that one of my stupid cats had peed on them! What made it even worse is that one of the books vandalized was my Spanish/English Bible that I used in Venezuela that has tremendous sentimental value. I was ticked! I was ready to ship some kitties off (I don't know which one of them did it so I choose to be mad at both of them).

I was in such a state of devastation that I grabbed the first cleaner I could find, which was Resolve carpet cleaner. I figure if it can clean up cat puke out of the carpet, it can surely clean cat pee off my leather bound Bible. It didn't work, and thankfully didn't ruin the Bible cover. Next, following the advice from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, I pulled out the Windex. It got the stickiness but did not get rid of the smell. I then used dish detergent but still to no avail. I called a friend in a panic and she suggested Febreeze. Would this really work?! I tried it and no more smell! I am now a true believer in the miraculous working power of this product! I should go on an infomercial with the guy who screams about the orange cleaner...

I was fortunate in that the pee did not get on any of the pages, just on the cover. Not sure how that happened but I am thankful. I think satan led my cat to pee on the Word of God, but the Holy Spirit prevented the actual pages from being ruined. Can't say the same for the Bible study book that was underneath...

plans for the week

Happy New Year!

I'm so happy I have this whole week off, it's so nice! I have a few things I'd like to get accomplished and I really hope it all happens. Here's my list so far:

*clean out my office area--it's a disaster and has been since I moved in
*give my apartment a good cleaning
*go clothes shopping
*venture up to IKEA--yes, even after the last experience; I have a giftcard and I need to use it on something fun:)
*plan for the next several weeks--yes, even though I'm on vacation, I have a lot to do before going back next week; I want to be prepared!

I'll let you know how things come along...