Megan and Jacob

Boyfriend!

2011-09-21T13:47:00.000-04:00

I have one! yay!
His name is Matt. He's amazingly nice, friendly, caring, sensitive, romantic, passionate. . . and I got him!

It's been FOREVER since I've been in a real relationship - - and it's fun, new, exciting, a little scary, but totally worth it.

I accidentally went out with a married man.

2011-08-30T09:32:00.000-04:00

I've made a conscious effort to date more this year - -and I have gone out more in the last 2 months than I have in the last 6 years. . . But I did have my first experience dating a married man.
It was an accident.
I didn't know he was married.
He lied. Repeatedly.
Thankfully, we happened to have a mutual friend who informed me that he was, in fact, married.
Clearly, we haven't talked since.

Long time. . .

2011-08-29T15:06:00.000-04:00

It's been almost 5 months since I've posted anything.
Things are going well, I suppose.
Jacob has started 4 grade, and is loving it.
I am still working at Vann's Auto-Mart and making cakes rather frequently for friends, family, and even strangers. :)

I love being inspired by beautiful pictures - and wish I felt it within myself to create/post inspiring things myself.

For a little while, I thought I would be moving to Tennessee, but that didn't come together like I thought it would. I'm ok with that.

Still hoping to find out what life has in store for me, but realizing that it's pretty much up to me to MAKE something happen.

Working in the Garden

2011-04-03T08:36:00.000-04:00

I had an additional little helper yesterday . . . ACT. Yay!

New Garden Pics

2011-03-26T17:48:00.000-04:00

The plants are doing great! YAY!

SPRING and changes and amazingness

2011-03-21T08:46:00.000-04:00

For the first time ever, I am planting a garden. Outside, in pots, I have broccoli plants that I purchased already started. I have a pot with a seed potato in it. I am SOOOO excited that its sprout finally pushed through the surface. INSIDE, I have plants that I started from seeds myself. I have squash, carrots, and cucumbers. I'm very proud of them. :)

I am working at a car lot - - and I'm actually really enjoying it, even though I NEVER would have pursued it. It was literally handed to me, and I needed more money, so I took the offer. I'm learning a lot and meeting a lot of people that I would never have met otherwise.

I'm highly considering homeschooling Jacob next year. More on that later.

I'm also extremely interested in midwifery - - the all-natural, in home birth genre of midwifery. I REALLY want to find a certified-practicing one that would allow me to attend a birth with her in order to find out if that is a field that I would truly enjoy working/experiencing life in. I've watched several documentaries recently that have very much made me an advocates for women's and infant's right to having the best possible birth experience, which very well may NOT be in a hospital setting with unnecessary interventions.

"Pregnant in America" and "The Business of Being Born" were both very . . . significant to me.

A friend of mine from high school, Erin, had an unplanned totally unassisted homebirth a few years ago, and her story of it is very inspiring. I was going to link to her story, but that's not working out.

And now - a few more plant pictures!

HAPPY SPRING!

IT's MY BIRTHDAY!!!

2010-12-10T17:16:00.002-05:00

I'm so excited!

the requested cake

2010-12-07T09:09:00.002-05:00

this is the cake that Brogan has asked that her wedding cake be like. Hopefully i'm able to to it!

2010-11-29T08:53:00.002-05:00

Picture Joy Christmas

Make a statement with Shutterfly Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

This week!

2010-11-20T10:35:00.000-05:00

Goodwill Finds

2010-11-09T08:26:00.001-05:00

Jacob and I went to the Goodwill in Baxley yesterday afternoon. It’s my favorite Goodwill. Here’s what we got:

1. blue and white striped Lands End polo shirt for Jacob

2. Royal blue polo shirt for Jacob (George – walmart)

3. Black, red, and gray sweater for Jacob (Canyon River Blues – Sears?)

4. orange and white striped polo shirt for Jacob (Gap)

5. navy blue polo shirt for Jacob (Simply Basic – Kmart)

6. Navy, white, and Orange sweater vest for Jacob (Nautica)

7. White Laura Ashley nightgown for me

8. Cabela’s “thinsulate” winter vest for me

9. lined wind breaker jacket for Jacob (simply basic)

10. The Doctor’s Wife by Elizabeth Brundage

11. The Scandalous Summer of Sissy LeBlanc by Loraine Despres

12. Muppet Treasure Island

13. Labyrinth

14. An Affair to Remember

15. Jarassic Park III

16. Harry Potter and the Chanmber of Secrets

17. Dumb and Dumber

18. Aladdin

19. Home Alone (book for Jacob)

20. Transformers (book for Jacob)

All of these for $29!!!!!!

I’m satisfied with that!

Posting from Windows Live Write

2010-10-26T20:59:00.001-04:00

I’m intereste4d in seeing how this will work. I’ve never uploaded/published from anywhere except the blogger site itself. We have an extremely busy week this week.

-Primary Program Practice Wednesday evening, with Scouts after that.

-Band practice Thursday night

-Away game Friday plus cupcakes for Jacob’s class

-Ludowici park – clean up/service project Saturday am

-Primary Program + Ward Social + Cake order to Poppell Farms on Sunday.

Whew!

Nutty Putty Bike Trip

2010-10-18T09:11:00.000-04:00

These guys came thru Jesup this weekend and were amazing. You can visit/donate to their cause at http://www.nuttyputtycyclers.com/

Walking again!

2010-10-15T10:52:00.000-04:00

Yay for walking again! I'm excited and it's been going really well - - plus I have a friendly walking companion - LIAM! :)

Applesauce!

2010-09-23T20:33:00.000-04:00

A friend of mine posted pics of her and her child making homemade applesauce, and so I wanted to try. I made a batch about a week ago and LOVED how it turned out. I shared with my parents and my grandma, and today I made some more. And this time, I took pics!

The "yuck" left after food-milling the boiled apples.

The baby that was VERY good during this process.

New Life V.2.0

2010-09-17T10:21:00.000-04:00

Things are humongously different than they were a year ago.
My school days are spent with ONE little tiny child. This one:

His parents are both teachers.

I get to take my 3rd grader to school and LEAVE! and then go back and pick him up hours later.
I am making lots of cakes and other edibles for money.
I am on the Band Staff at our high school, which is actually fairly rewarding and it turns out I like high schoolers much better than I thought I would.
AND I went on a date last night with a guy met on LDSPlanet. I know. But - it went really well, and I had fun!

Jacob's been in Colorado visiting his dad all week and comes home tomorrow! I've been reorganizing/redecorating his "gameroom" all week. . . but I wish I was more done.

Now - time to entertain above mentioned baby and make a cake for his older brother's birthday!
Meg

New Life

2010-07-27T19:20:00.000-04:00

This past Friday, I resigned from my teaching position. I finally became willing to admit that while I didn't know exactly what I WANTED to do with my life - career - wise, I knew for right now, it wasn't teaching public school. The decision-making was nearly excruciating, but the actual resigning was amazingly pain-free and it feels wonderful for FINALLY giving myself the benefit of the doubt that not only am I capable of figuring out who/what I want to be, but that I DESERVE to have or be whatever that is. :)

So. Stay tuned. :)

Rolls

2010-07-10T16:30:00.000-04:00

I love how these turned out! I adapted a recipe from here.

I LOVE the summer. . .

2010-07-09T19:47:00.000-04:00

I know I am not alone in this adoration, but when I saw the light coming in the window of my room, after picking out a couple RedBox movies with Jacob; after a long afternoon nap - I couldn't deny it!

My First Wedding Cake!

2010-06-26T08:19:00.000-04:00

flowers were made out of gum paste, cake was classic white with buttercream, covered in fondant. Cupcakes were devil's food, iced with buttercream. I delivered and set up the cake for the wedding and reception at Rose Cottage Wedding Chapel.

Dog-Sitting

2010-06-19T15:14:00.000-04:00

My parents are gone to Orlando for a couple days, and I was given the job of walking their chihuahua, Coco, who doesn't particularly trust me. A few pics from my job:

First you have Fluff, who is. . .well. .. very very fluffy - but still quite flexible, as you can see. She's very confusing, because on the one hand, she's quite anti-social, but if left alone for more than a few hours DEMANDS attention from whomever comes in the house.

And then there's Jessi - who used to be Jacob's and My cat before we moved to Orange Street and then to Grandma's and then to Catfish Drive. Yeah - we move alot. So - she's just stayed here since 2007, I guess.

Oh and here's Coco - the dog that needs walking. You can see she is DYING to go with me. Yep. . . .

Very excited to go walking with Megan. I have to pick her up, carry her at least a block away from the house, and then she will walk, but once she can see the house, she takes off back to it. Whew. This morning, I drove her to the other side of Jesup Elementary - cuz I didn't want to carry her that far. So. We went in the field. I thought she'd mozy around a bit, do her business, and then we'd drive back to the house. Nope. She cut through by the lunchroom, headed up the sidewalk through the pick up line area, and ran back home. GREAT.

Yay for Summer!

2010-06-15T09:24:00.000-04:00

I was sick the first few days of my summer vacation - - which was very very annoying, but I'm feeling better now, and I'm having loads of fun working on cake stuff plus seeing Jacob have fun with friends.

Check it out!

2010-05-21T10:08:00.001-04:00

Hello all! Check out my new cake blog:

www.sweetcakesbymegan.blogspot.com

Charley's 29th Birthday

2010-04-25T18:57:00.000-04:00

My friend Amber asked me to make a cake for her husband, Charley's 29th birthday. Amber and I teach together at JES, and I grew up with Charley, so it was a fun job. We decided on a 6" round cake with additional personalized cupcakes. The goal was to include odes to his radio - all components, music, environmental engineering, Georgia Tech, his church, his fraternity, and his age. I LOVE the way it turned out!

cupcake toppers!!

2010-04-21T23:16:00.000-04:00

A friend enlisted me to make cupcakes for her son's class for his 7th birthday. He wanted Super Mario cupcakes. I really really had fun making these toppers, and am SOoooo excited to see them atop some cupcakes tomorrow night (for Friday morning). YAY!

Jacob wanted Omnitrix cupcakes (Ben 10!). And I was/am also excited about these, though they are much less high-tech.

Sugar Skills!

2010-04-17T20:24:00.000-04:00

Dabbling in sugar arts and cheesecake!

2010-04-17T00:34:00.000-04:00

Cake from Scratch!

2010-04-13T23:40:00.000-04:00

everything was from scratch - chocolate cake, chocolate frosting, marshmallow fondant!
Just for practice, and I gave it to my friend, Melissa!

Cupcake experiments :)

2010-04-10T09:48:00.000-04:00

Some NM Pics

2010-04-08T11:05:00.000-04:00

Easter Sunday we took a picnic out to the Catwalk in Glenwood NM and hiked the moderate trail. Brogan and I still had semi sore legs Wednesday night.

Tyler and Brogan sitting on the remaining front porch from the land where they lived when they were little in Cliff.

The Mexican border. . . so in 2 weeks I've been to both the Mexican and the Canadian borders. CRAZY!

We went and tried paintball. Tyler loved it. Brogan and I are not fans!!! OWWWW!

Going to New Mexico

2010-04-03T07:12:00.000-04:00

Again. Today.

I'm not sure how the trip will go - but still! I'm going! In a few hours. Last weekend, Dad and I drove to Buffalo New York and back - - left Friday afternoon and got back Sunday. Craziness. I really do love to travel. So. . .airports and driving, here I come!

A month later. . .

2010-03-01T18:38:00.000-05:00

Took a month off. . .from many things. . .but now! It's MARCH 1st, and me and my BFF decided that this would be a "new-New Year" . . .so. . here's some pics from Jacob's and my day

W4D2

2010-01-30T16:56:00.000-05:00

It's been a very busy week!
Wednesday, a non-training day, I rode the stationary bike for 30 minutes.
Thursday, I was on Hutchinson Island and in Savannah all day at the Georgia Music Educators Association's convention. I didn't get home til late, and did not get in a deliberate exercise session, BUT I am counting the time that was spent in a session on movement and music - - where I did, in fact, get up and do the choreography suggested.
Friday - whew. . .saw close to 300 kids in my room throughout Friday, got home, too a much needed nap, got up, showered and readied and helped at the Air Force Reserve Band's concert at the HS. Got home around 11, and tried to talk myself into at least riding the bike, but didn't happen. My first no exercise day since the new year - - -closest thing I could count was chasing Anne Claire around the stage, band room, hallways, and tech room - in addition to catching her 3-yr old self as she leaped off the stage repeatedly.
TODAY! Finally talked myself (Tyler helped) into getting out there to do W4D2. I was in a mood again, and wanted to find a semi-private location. Tried the track. NOPE. Went to Bill Morris park - - and thankfully ended up finding their track through the woods. Whoo-hoo. It wasn't horrible. Still very hard, but I did it. (YAY!)

W4D1 take 2, and such

2010-01-27T22:06:00.000-05:00

Last night was my second attempt at w4d1, and I made it thru! I cheated a tiny bit - holding onto the sides of the treadmill every so often during the last two runs, but it is SOOoooo much better than I ever could've done a month ago, that I am celebrating the fact that I finished the durn training day!
5walk+3run+90secwalk+5run+2.5walk+3run+90secwalk+5run+5cooldown.

I could barely walk afterwards.

But. I did it.

Eating is still going pretty well. I did order out today (usually just happens on Fridays at school), but I did not go overboard or order anything "bad".

Still have had no fast food since. . .around Christmas, but I call it since the New Year, and no soda since The New Year! I'm not sure I've made it this long before.

For fun: when I notice a kid wearing a music-themed shirt at school, I sometimes take a pic on my bb. Here's a few. . .that I could find easily. :)

catching up

2010-01-26T06:55:00.000-05:00

Friday: Walked with pals at the track. Then later, at home, I rode the exercise bike and worked with the stability ball.
Saturday: Got up and took the dog for a walk - big block - 1.3 miles.
Sunday: After church, I tried to take a nap - got woken up, decided to give up, get dressed and go do W4D1. Didn't work out very well. I got through the 3min run, the 5 min run, the next 3 min run, and gave up during the last 5 min run. I felt way defeated! I laid down, on the ground, and had a little pity party. My chosen location didn't really help the emotional situation. I had decided to train at the cemetary. Anyway. . .came home, talked to my (former) sister-in-law, we both cried and counseled and that was draining - but in a good way.
Monday: rode the exercise bike for 30 minutes and worked with the stability ball.
NOW: trying to get myself pumped to try W4D1 again tonight! I know I should still be upbeat - and pat myself on the back for running a combined 11 minutes - which is SOOooooo much better than I was able to do a month ago! But - like I said last week - I knew my emotions were going to get worse before they got better. Hopefully this will pass really soon!

And now. . .a couple pics of JACOB!

First Presidency Statement on Haiti - LDS Newsroom

2010-01-23T17:38:00.000-05:00

First Presidency Statement on Haiti - LDS Newsroom

W3D3

2010-01-21T18:39:00.000-05:00

Did training in Placid Acres (my neighborhood) tonight. My first time running here. Had to psych myself up for it a bit. A couple of cars passed me, but no big deals. Choco started with me, but took some different path at some point, so I worried fleetingly about his safety, but thankfully he made it home safe, so no worries.

Week 4 starts on Sunday!

Tomorrow, pals from church and I are scheduled to go back to the track. Saturday is a friend's birthday party, which I am making a cake for, so I'm gonna try to be super strong and not sample any of it while I'm making it and not eat much at the party.

frustrated

2010-01-21T07:06:00.000-05:00

I woke up early this morning, with the intention to go do my w3d3 training right here in the neighborhood before getting ready for school. It was hard to get myself out of bed, and when I finally did (with enough time, still). . .I heard it: RAIN! BOOOOoooo! So. I don't know when/where I will get today's running done. Maybe I can convince Jess to take me back to the gym. . . (her husband's work - I can't go alone).
But SOME good news: I am today. Right now. Wearing some pants from Aeropostale that I purchased last April, and was not able to wear, but didn't want to return them. So. I am finally able to wear them. I wouldn't say they are quite a perfect fit (yet). But - they do fit. My first pair of Aeropostale pants ever. Not that that really matters, but it's still significant to me.

Now. To go to school and not lose my mind!

Walking with Pals

2010-01-20T21:21:00.000-05:00

Tonight Jessica, Stephanie, Lila, and I hit the track at the high school. We walked and talked (and randomly yelled at kids) for about 40 minutes. I was not in the best of moods, and was occasionally responding to . . .perplexing text messages from a pal/friend/best friend/confusing male relationship/. How DO we deal with hormones+exercise/diet plans? Please fill me in fast, cuz it's gonna get worse before it gets better.

W3D2

2010-01-19T21:41:00.000-05:00

Did my training on a treadmill tonight (for the first time).
Likes about it:
Could close my eyes from time to time to pep talk/pray even though I was in a room with other people
Kept track of my distance without me having to just kinda guess/figure how far I had gone
Could talk to Jess while I was in my walks

Dislikes about it:
It was kinda hot in there
obviously couldn't as easily adjust my pace based on my needs right away.
constantly checking the time/distance. . .not sure if that made it better or worse
There were other people there. The whole time. . . .which I guess is positive, each step of this is getting me over caring what other people think.

Walk today!

2010-01-18T10:42:00.000-05:00

I walked for 1.5 hours this morning! I didn't plan on that, but I'm very glad I did. Jacob left with a friend to go to a birthday party in Savannah at about 8, then I headed to the track. I walked around it 7 times, wanted to keep going, but didn't want to be bored, so I left the track, and walked to the Greenway. . .walked thru the Greenway, and then walked down E. Bay, cut over to Orange, crossed 1st Street, turned and then went down the dirt alleys to the back of my parents' house!

Then, had mom give me a ride back to my car. :)

And I know it seems like I'm posting lots of pics of myself, but I want to have a clear record of viewable progress. . .though I'm not up to full-body pics just yet on here. :) My eyes look kinda spacey - I was looking into the sun, but here's a pic right after I got back.

W3D1

2010-01-17T15:45:00.000-05:00

There were people there again! Grrr! But. . .I kept running when it was time to run despite them. YAY! I love that I'm doing it. Now. Naptime.

Going into Week 3!

2010-01-17T00:34:00.000-05:00

Today was my dad's birthday. We went out to eat. I was extremely proud of myself: didn't eat any of the bread, none of the mozzarella sticks, and didn't even have any of his b'day cake!

Tonight I rode the stationary bike for 40 minutes. It was rainy and yucky outside. Hopefully, tomorrow the weather will be supportive of my Week 3 Day 1 "run".

C25K W2D3

2010-01-14T23:10:00.000-05:00

I was kinda ridiculous.

I am still very self-conscious about anybody seeing my attempts at running. Before today, this had not really been an issue, because I lucked out and no one else was at the Greenway when I went. Well - today, after school I was very tired, so I came home and took a nap. When I woke up, I changed and headed to town. I decided to go by the track at the HS, just to see if anyone was there. Lots of cars. . .several people gearing up to hit it. MAN! why do other people have to be trying to take care of themselves? :)

SO - I headed for the Greenway. 2 cars were there when I got there. BOO! So I kinda waited for a few minutes to see if their drivers would come out and leave. Nope. So. I started thinking.

Hmmmmm. . . I had heard/been reminded about the track at Bill Morris Park. I drove there. MORE people there. Then I drove down to the soccer fields, BUT - there was a road block set up, so I couldn't go there. I was brainstorming more places, when I decided:
1)I'm being ridiculous
2)maybe the people at the Greenway are gone by now.

Went back to the Greenway. One car still there. I sat for just a minute, put in my earbuds, started the Week 2 podcast, and started walking. I passed the owner of the car during my second "run" and yes, I cheated a bit and walked for the 10 seconds or so that he was in my field of vision. I'll get over it soon, I promise. (I hope). I finished the training. . . it was hard, but doable.

Came home, ate, watched "Pretty Woman" for the first time ever. Started realizing a possible reason I hadn't watched any romantic comedies in awhile. (Hopeful/depressing). Read scriptures/prayed with Jacob, watched "Private Practice." Now. Bed.

YAY for Friday! And it's a 3-day weekend! Sweet!

Sunday will start week 3! This will entail:
5 minute warm-up walk
90 seconds run
90 seconds walk
3 minute run
3 walk
90 seconds run
90 seconds walk
3 minute run
3 minute walk
(5 minute cool-down)

I'm 1/2 excited about it, because recently. . .even though the running still burns badly, I'm feeling like I could keep going when the voice over tells me it's time to start. I know the 3 minutes will be hard, but I'm feeling confident about it.

Goodnight!

C25K W2D2

2010-01-12T22:21:00.000-05:00

Today was another "running" day! Whoo-hoo!
And another long day!
Was tired after school today, and did NOT feeling like getting out there and doing W2D2, but i did, and I'm very glad I did. It was still really hard, but not AS hard, and that's the point/goal. I'm excited to still be doing it, and looking forward to being able to do the "harder" weeks in the future.

And. . .still haven't had ANY fast food. (Ok. I had a salad from Zaxby's. Grilled. No toast. Lite Ranch. Still at least 600-700 calories less than I would have gotten a month ago). I haven't had ANY soda. (Accidentally grabbed Jess's pepsi in the car last night -it was dark- and when that carbonation hit my mouth WHEW! All I can compare it to are the times I've accidentally sipped a tea! And I still swear I didn't backwash! I didn't swallow! I promise.) Anyway - and haven't missed a day with 30 minutes exercise. Also have read scriptures/prayed with Jacob each night. And I just need to finish the rest of my conference talk for today! 12 days is a lot!

Jessica highlighted and trimmed my hair tonight, and I was going to post a pic, but the camera+night+long day isn't really working out too well.

C25K W2D1

2010-01-10T16:40:00.000-05:00

Last night, I ended up staying inside and did various things on Wii Fit for 30 minutes.

After church today, I changed clothes and headed to the Greenway to do W2D1. It was almost as hard as week 1 day 1 was for me. . . except it got done a lot quicker - fewer/longer intervals, but even so. . .when the voice over said that it was the last run, I was very shocked. I could've sworn I had 2 or 3 more. That was reassuring. It was very hard though! Choco insisted on going with me, and did pretty well staying right with me. (He peed a LOT!)

Ahhh. . .much better. . .

2010-01-08T21:42:00.001-05:00

Yeah - so it was really hard to read the text before (for me, anyway) and I finally remembered how easy it was to change the font color. YAY!

Another busy busy day, today!

Just walked . . . lots of layers again!

Things are still going well. I can't decide whether to run another day of "week 1" tomorrow, or go on to week 2. . .or just walk again tomorrow and start week 2 on Sunday. Hmmmmmmm.

Conversation with 3-year old AC yesterday afternoon before I went to train:

AC: Why'd you change yours pants?

Me: I'm about to go to the greenway.

AC: Why?

Me: So I can go try to run.

AC: Why?

Me: So I can exercise.

AC: Why?

Me: So I can be healthy.

AC: Why?

Me: so I can be happy.

AC: Why?

Me: Because I like being happy.

{brief pause}

AC: Where are you going?

Me: To the greenway.

AC: Why?

Me: So I can exercise.

AC: Why?

. . .you get the picture, but each repetition ended with her being pretty satisfied with the final answer: "Because I like being happy." AND REALLY. That's why I'm trying to do this.

I like being happy. Not only that, but I deserve to be happy. So. I'm going to do things (as much as possible) that will help me be able to be so more often.

And so. Week 2. Here I come! (either tomorrow or Sunday, lol)

C25K wk 1 -3rd "run" day

2010-01-07T19:58:00.000-05:00

My "plan" for today didn't go exactly as planned, but almost everything got done, including my 3rd day of training! yay! It was mostly dark by the time I got going on that - - which was a tiny bit unnerving through the woods, but not too bad. It was still hard work, but not as excruciating as last time. YAY! Tomorrow is Friday!
And - just for fun, here's a pic of Natasha (our school's technology teacher and a fellow former WCHS Band member. . .) and I all bundled up to complete our early morning drop off/sidewalk duty. BOOO! :)

Plan for today!

2010-01-07T10:09:00.001-05:00

Yay! it's my 200th post! whoo-hoo!

Anyway. Lots to do today. I'm a 3rd of the way done with my classes. Gotta finish them. Submit grades. Practice with the Beta Club inductees for their induction ceremony on Monday. Get Jacob to my parents to work on his PineWood Derby car for Friday's (tomorrow!!) race. Go to the High School. Judge mock-all-state auditions. Change clothes and go do w1d3 of C25K. Get Jacob. Go home. Dinner. Homework. Scriptures. Prayer. Bed.

WOW!

C25K Week 1 non-training day

2010-01-06T06:05:00.000-05:00

I decided last night that I would get up at 5am to go walk around the "big block" (1.5miles) this morning. It's not a run/walk day. . .and/so I wanted to keep moving even though I wouldn't be running. I tried to go to bed "early", but I guess anxiety about 1. possibly not waking up early enough to go walk (thus letting myself down) and 2. going back to work/school today made it ridiculously hard to fall asleep! Then, once I did fall asleep, Jacob woke me up at 2:11am, telling me he was going to go ahead and get dressed for school. "No. Go back to sleep." I had some very odd dreams, including a very detailed one about Mrs. Flowers having her kids each write out by hand 30 copies of a chosen song to then make folders of songs with a CD to give to. . . who I initially thought was Mrs. Taylor (a kindergarten para, not to be confused with my Mrs. Taylor). . .which in my dream actually turned out to be someone else. . .anyway. . .lots of weirdness.
So. When 5am came and my alarm went off, I immediately hit "snooze" - justifying that if I just slept a little longer, I'd still have time to get up, go walk, take a shower, get dressed, get Jacob up, go to school, do morning drop off duty, and be ready for kindergartners at 8:05am.
BUT. Of course, my mind was still riled up, I felt like I wasn't going to be able to fall asleep ANYWAY, so. . .I got up. I put more layers on. Final attire: my g's, tights, sweats, ss tee, long s tee, light weight jacket, puffy jacket, knit hat, hood. YAY! My trusty companion (Choco) and I started walking at 5:13am. He was WAY excited to have me with him on his morning excursion (he's almost always gone alone. . .I know. . .bad idea. . .oh well.)
Walked for 33 minutes.
Came home. Jacob was awake and very distraught cuz he had woken up and not known where I was. I reminded him 1. "If you wake up and I'm not here, I went for a walk" and 2. "If you ever don't know where I am, use the phone and call me!"
So. YAY! Now. Time for a shower and all the things I've got listed up there of things to do before 8:05. My breakfast, lunch, and snacks are packed to grab to take with me. (whoo-hoo for doing that last night.) I'm very optimistic at this point, in case you can't tell.
I think I will do this early morning walk on my "off" days combined with some upper body resistance band after school, and do my "training" days at the greenway (or maybe sometimes the track) in the evenings after school. We'll see.
*btw, when I got home, I looked at the weather - 26, feels like 19. . .which I know for you northern/western peeps, is not that big of a deal, but for JESUP!. . .that's COLD!*

C25K day 2

2010-01-05T12:13:00.000-05:00

I just got back from completing week 1 day 2 of the Couch to 5K running program. I had downloaded a podcast from here that has fast/fun music plus voice-over of when to warmup/walk/run/cooldown, etc. Thankfully, it played on my Blackberry. I prayed a WHOLE lot during it! I know I can do this. I want to do this. And thankfully, I was able to do this today. As of right this second, I'm not actually looking forward to doing it again on Thursday, but. . .I can. And I will. Then, again, on Saturday. it will switch up on Monday and have more running. Today for me, the running was actually much easier than it was on Sunday - which is of course, what's supposed to happen. I ran it VERY slowly, but I was running/jogging and wanted to be able to complete the entire program for the day, and I did, so I'm more than satisfied with the speed I went. The biggest accomplishment - I went. (Even after I had not been able to find my keys for the first 30 minutes I was ready to go! BOo!) My legs hurt very badly at the end, and the "brisk walking" for recovery was more like "somehow keep moving forward", but still. I did it at the Greenway, and I think I will continue to do it there for awhile. #1 It's pretty 2. It's public, but at the same time secluded 3. Ok. so I only have 2 reasons for right now, but oh well. :)

Life Changes

2010-01-04T09:14:00.000-05:00

There are several areas of my life that I want to change, and correlated the start of these changes with the New Year. I didn't really want to call them "resolutions" though. . .

Plans/Changes/Etc:

-Read scriptures every day with Jacob

-Read a conference talk every morning

-Exercise at least 30 minutes a day

-learn how to run!

-run in at least 2 5k runs

-NO FAST FOOD

-NO SODA

-Pay off credit card debt

-Pay off blue aveo

I'm off to a fabulous start, and I'm determined to keep it up. YAY!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2010-01-01T09:50:00.000-05:00

Jacob and I welcomed in the New Year Galaxy Bowling (or some other fancy name) with Tracy and her boys, Zach and Caleb. It was pretty cool, they had black lights, and big screens with live coverage from Times Square in New York. They also gave out prizes! And free drinks, and time in the arcade. . .it was pretty fun.

On the way there, I got pulled over. The cop gave me a long list of reasons he pulled me over, and asked, "Have you been drinking?" I wanted to laugh and just tell him, "No - - I'm just a bad driver!" But - I was able to tell him, "no. . .I've never had ANY alcohol in my life." Amongst the random questions he asked me (like, "is there a legal reason you were going 60 in a 40?" and "And why the U-turn in the middle of the road?") he told me to slow down and be careful. He didn't give me a ticket. (YAY!)

After bowling, we went in search of food. . . and ended up at the Huddle House here in Jesup.

Fun.

Almost New Year's!

2009-12-30T23:50:00.000-05:00

I have just 24 hours to hit my first couple goals for 2010. . . I want to have done 200 posts - - very silly little goal, but oh well.

I'm currently working on cleaning my room, cuz I think it'd be cool to go into 2010 with a clean bedroom. (I'm quite messy, by the way).

We had an awesome Primary Presidency meeting this morning, planning for the coming year. I'm excited about it!

Kid meet and greet

2009-12-29T20:32:00.004-05:00

My former teacher and pal, Mrs. Beth Taylor, has and continues to be an important influence in my life. . .tonight we got together with Laura, her husband and our assorted kids to hang out for a bit and go to dinner. Unfortunately my computer apparently has a multitude of viruses and won't cooperate for uploading much right now. . .but the pic above is me with Anne Claire, her daughter. . .we have the same birthday! YAY! and this year, I'm 30 and she's 3. It's fantastic.
Below is Mrs. Taylor with Jacob, Anne Claire, and Laura's 2, Ethan and Evan.

Baptism Day/Cake Day

2009-12-27T16:21:00.001-05:00

I'm gonna try to get to 200 posts by New Year's Day! :)

Kaleigh's Cake!

2009-12-27T01:16:00.003-05:00

Kaleigh will be baptized tomorrow!!!
This will be on the cover of her baptismal program!

(Her mom took the pics)

And here's the cake her mom and I made!

Christmas 2009!

2009-12-25T17:15:00.001-05:00

Jacob and the Articles of Faith

2009-12-19T23:03:00.002-05:00

Jacob just ran in (yeah, so it's 11pm, oh well) and said, "I can do the 13th Article of Faith!" and sang it, only missing a couple words. . . I love that:
1. he was so excited that he could do it
2. that he could do it
3. that I followed through with having "8 is Great" last week, where one of the gifts he got was an Articles of Faith card.
4. That he found the card and studied by himself
5. That he's getting ready to be baptized this coming year.
6. That his dad is getting ready to be able to baptize him. This should be an amazing experience for BOTH of them.
and so many more things. . .

Carter's Hunting Cake

2009-12-19T12:38:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday to Carter, who turned 6!

This is my first cake JOB! (as in, I was paid. :)

8 is Great!

2009-12-13T21:12:00.005-05:00

The program went really well -- all 6 "8 is Great" kids were there along with their families. 2/3 members of our Bishopric, both my counselors. . .it was . . .well. . .GREAT. :)

"Choose your identity"

2009-12-10T20:32:00.003-05:00

I was just leaving a comment on a friend's blog and when I got to the part where i had to sign in, I thought the instruction, "choose your identity" was somewhat funny: wow? who do I want to be? Hmmm the options are endless! I guess I will be me.

I AM 30 YEARS OLD TODAY!

I cannot believe it.

The kids at school were funny. Kids totally understand the birthday thing - and tell them it's your birthday and they will break out in song, hug you, try to give you things, and TRY (for like 20 seconds) to be "good." It was a CRAZY school day - off schedule because of collaborative teacher meetings, but it was still a pretty good birthday.

Facebook is fabulous for helping you to feel cared about you on your birthday. And emails are fabulous too. Received one or two unexpected birthday wishes - including calls from my brothers - Michael and Robert - and Robert's family, and even a nice email from my ex husband, who is currently deployed to Iraq.

8 is Great!

2009-12-05T22:24:00.003-05:00

When I lived in Columbus, Robin Harrell used to do AMAZING "8 is Great" programs/firesides for the kids that would be turning 8 in that coming year. This year, Jesup has SIX kids turning 8, which - for Jesup, is amazing. And Jacob is one of them. So - - I decided now would be a great time to try to do one of these firesides. I'm really happy with the way that these invites turned out. I designed them, and my dad designed the corresponding envelopes.

First Video-Video

2009-11-27T16:00:00.004-05:00

I bought myself a (cheap) camcorder this morning at 5am! It came with software to do video/music/videos. . . I'm excited to try it out. My first one:

Thanksgiving!

2009-11-25T12:47:00.001-05:00

I love this! (and thanks, Krista for posting it - I always seem to forget to look for new videos on there!)

November thus far. . .

2009-11-20T07:51:00.010-05:00

These pics are in no particular order - in fact - they are in backwards-no-particular order. :) Maybe one day, I'll insert them into the text at the appropriate times, but for now, I'm just glad they're uploaded.

First, we have . . .Tyler and Annabelle (Cathy and Jason's youngest)

Then Cathy, Brianna, and I

Tyler and Annabelle again

The Mount Oquirrh Temple (IN CATHY's NEIGHBORHOOD!)

Pensive Tyler

Salt Lake Temple at night

Lance and I

In the SNOW!

awwww

Tyler and I on Temple Square

Poster from the Memorial at Banfield

My siblings and I and mom

My gorgeous sister-in-law, Lucero and Sebastian

Tyler, looking fabulous, in downtown Portland

This has been the most hectic, difficult, sad, exciting, dynamic month I can ever remember.
On Tuesday, November 3, we found out that my brother, Sean, had not been to work Monday or Tuesday without calling in. Efforts to have the police break in to his apartment were unsuccessful, so on Wednesday morning, dad, Tyler, and I decided to fly to Portland to do it ourselves. Upon arrival, we were notified that law enforcement had broken in to his apartment and found him dead. From there began probably the busiest, hardest, most sleepless 4 days of my life. I am SO grateful that Tyler was there with us - to help mentally, physically, and for me, most of all - emotionally.
Thursday was spent cleaning out Sean's apartment, renting a storage unit, and handling initial plans for services in Jesup.
Friday was spent finishing up the apartment, beginning to handle legal issues, finding his car, handling his cats, and attending a memorial service held at his place of employment (they were amazing).
Saturday, we flew home - Tyler to his, dad and I to Jesup - with 2 cats! on three flights. Whew.
Sunday was the funeral. I saw all of my siblings + their families for the first time in years.
Monday, I went back to work -
Tuesday - I went to work and ended up helping Mrs. Taylor at the HS for many hours that evening/night - which was probably a good distraction for me.
Wednesday - I went to work. Then came home and started to pack.
Thursday - I went to work, but left to go to the Dr. and found out that I had bronchitus, went home and slept for several hours, then got on a plane to meet Tyler in SLC - for a trip we had already planned.
Friday - we went to a trade show (The Salt Lake Family Holiday Gift Show in Sandy) to purchase stuff for Tyler's shop. Then, met some friends of his for dinner.
Saturday - we did the Temple Square stuff. It SNOWED! Then met Lance for late lunch/dinner, then shopped some, then hung out.
Sunday - we went to church in the JSMemorial building, then had lunch at CATHY's! then met back up with his friends, hung out, went to a Linger Later at their ward, then back to their apt to chat. THEN had to find a FedEx that was open at 11pm on a Sunday! We did it and shipped his purchases to his shop.
Monday - we flew home to our respective homes.

WHEW!

Cake for after Primary Program

2009-10-25T01:06:00.003-04:00

Sooo our Ward's Primary Program is tomorrow morning. In 8 hours. (I should probably go to sleep!) Anyway - I made the kids a cake for us to eat in lieu of Sharing Time tomorrow. :)

Zach's Birthday!

2009-10-24T20:39:00.003-04:00

Fun Fall Baking #1

2009-10-09T15:47:00.004-04:00

In the past 24 hours I've tried a couple ideas from www.bakerella.com. I've had fun! But - now I've got a big mess in the kitchen, about 25+ more cake balls waiting to have something done with them, and I'm TIRED!

Tara's new house - - hopefully

2009-10-04T16:45:00.004-04:00

. . . and #3

2009-10-04T14:51:00.003-04:00

YAY! For Fall! 2!

2009-10-03T20:24:00.003-04:00

Yay! For Fall!

2009-09-30T21:16:00.003-04:00

A friend of Jacob's - -thought it was a cute pic. . .

Turns out I really like fall late afternoon sunlight! And I've been working on wearing my hair curly - even though up until really recently, I didn't know I had naturally-somewhat-curly hair!
Jacob played goalie for one quarter of his soccer game last night, and he did a really good job! Nothing got past him!
So - this man was extremely nice to Jacob. . .and. . seemed. .quite. . .pleasant. But I don't even know his name. . or whether or not he's married - but I had fun asking random people at work today if they know his name and whether or not he's married. Everyone I asked said, "No - I don't know him, but I'd like to." lol.

"you can leave"

2009-09-21T17:38:00.003-04:00

I will go talk to him about it in a minute, but Jacob's friend just upset him. . .in some way. I'm not really sure how. Instead of tattling to me about it, or arguing extensively with the friend, he told him, "You can leave," and walked to his room and shut the door. Maybe I should be frustrated with the way it went down, and perhaps encourage my son to talk it out with the friend, but - - it was clear from 1) the friend's initial defensiveness about the charges, 2) my son's tone of voice, and 3) the friend's immediate acceptance of the invitation to leave rather than to stay and hash it out that tells me that the friend was totally in the blame for the problem. So - I'm proud of Jacob for saying "You can leave." Sometimes that's best.

Progress

2009-09-16T20:29:00.003-04:00

So, I haven't really been keeping up with all aspects of the 21 day challenge, but I have been looking at each day's quote and of the things that I had in mind that I wanted to focus on, I really have made progress on them.

And - I think I can honestly say I had "flaming enthusiasm" at school today. And shockingly - I was most enthusiastic during the last class of the day; the class that usually drags on forever, and I'm just trying to make the time pass. Well, oh my goodness. Today, I decided to "play" with them. And boy did I join in and play. And we all had fun! Yes, they thought I was ridiculous, but that was the point. They were doing the "Cha-Cha Slide" and I got up and joined with them - for the whole thing! Even though my legs were killing me - - as they have been ever since I woke up this morning, after doing the "Aerobics A-Z" with Kindergarten/First Grade yesterday, along with the. . ."move and count to whatever" song (lol - I don't remember the title of it - but you do various movements a certain number of times following the directions of the singer/voice.) Wow. Then - cuz we had fun doing that, and because it felt GOOD that my legs hurt from exercise, I put on "Hoe Down Throwdown" and did that with them, too. My hair got all messed up, and my legs were KILLING ME, but the time passed shockingly fast.

After school, I went and bought a bike. Jacob has really gotten into riding his bike, and he does it everyday. Occaissionally, we've gone around the bike with him and his friend riding their bikes, and me walking, but. . .I wanted to join in! Plus, my pal Jessica had bought a bike about a year ago, but she wasn't having much success being motivated to ride by herself. Well - -so. . I got a bike. As soon as we got home, Jacob and I rode around the block. (We live in an awesome enclosed neighborhood) Then we went to scouts, then I had a Primary Presidency meeting, and after that, Jessica and I rode around the block sans children. It was amazing. And painful. :) It was already dark, and the riding created a little bit of a breeze, and we just chatted and rode twice around "the big block."

I SOOOO hope we can keep it up!
Tomorrow we've got our kids' soccer practice and her husband won't be home. . .but we're gonna ride Friday night again.
Whoo-hoo!

A start.

2009-09-09T21:52:00.002-04:00

I'm a day late. . .but I want to catch up!

2009-09-09T14:41:00.004-04:00

I had actually set New Year's resolutions this year, and kept them up for a few months, but majorly slacked off mid-spring. I still have "enough" time to accomplish some of them by the end of the year. . . and am hoping this challenge will help. So. . .I'm not going to publicly state the things that I'm working on, but hopefully will be able to figure out a way to report on progress just the same. . . and as I catch up really quickly, maybe I will be able to state them clearly on here - -at least a couple.

a few pics

2009-09-08T21:57:00.002-04:00

My grandma and me.

The family members that attended the service.

Jacob and my Grandma

Four generations

Grandma and the four great-grandsons through my dad.

"You're in a happy mood."

2009-09-08T12:31:00.003-04:00

. . . a kid told me that as she walked into my music classroom for my last class before my lunch. My response: "yup - I'm trying." Last night before going to bed and as soon as I woke up this morning, I prayed for . . .basically the ability/determination to be happy/loving with the kids at school - even if it meant pretending to be at first. The day has gone by REMARKABLY quickly, and so far so good. Two more classes til the end of the day.

I will soon be posting pics of the fam from this weekend.

4 Weeks.

2009-08-31T21:36:00.002-04:00

It's been 4 weeks since I've had contact with him.

No Training Wheels for Jacob!

2009-08-17T21:35:00.001-04:00

2009-08-16T15:56:00.001-04:00

old pic

2009-08-16T15:51:00.002-04:00

Small Town Life

2009-08-15T15:01:00.004-04:00

Signs that I live in (and am from) a small town:
1. Yesterday, Jacob fell from the monkey bars at school and was taken to the nurse. Every step of the process of handling the situation points out what a small town we live in.
First of all, he fell while playing on the monkey bars with his friend, Blake, who he has been close friends with since Kindergarten. They were in Cub Scouts together, and Blake's dad was their Den Leader. Blake's mom is a 4th grade teacher at the school. I am the music teacher at the same school. Sooo - rather than getting a call on the phone, I was "buzzed" while in Natasha's classroom. Natasha is the computer teacher - and we were also in band together in High School. Her sister was in band with us and is a kindergarten teacher at our school. Their mother is a 5th grade teacher at our school. Their father was our principal when we were at "Middle Grades" years ago. But, I digress - back to Jacob's fall. So - I go to the nurse's office, and it is decided that I need to take him to get xrayed at the er. I check with the principal to Ok me leaving campus, and ask if it's ok if my mom covers my last two classes of the day. My mom is also a teacher at our school - teaching EIP (Early Intervention) to Kindergarteners and First Graders. She Ok's this, and I locate my mom, who agrees to cover my classes.
While in the hospital, Jacob is very friendly and well-behaved. . .after xray while we were waiting for results, there was a knock on the door, and in walks. . .Blake's DAD, who is in administration at the hospital, and had heard Jacob's name and wanted to check on him.
Jacob was and is fine. No breaks. By that evening, several friends from the school had called or texted to check on Jacob.

2. Like I said, I teach with several friends from high school. For the first time this year, I also teach at the same school as my mom. And my son. And my fifth grade teacher is at my school, too. Yesterday, I got an email from a different one of my former fifth grade teachers, who is now teaching music. She asked me for ideas and advice for her new job. I teach my friends' children, my former teacher's children, and my friends teach my child. And this year, I will be teaching my own child in the public school setting.

I love being in small town.
More to come. . .

my favorite

2009-08-09T00:07:00.001-04:00

New Pics

2009-08-08T23:50:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday, Aaron!

2009-07-31T00:29:00.005-04:00

NOW GO HERE

Start at the very beginning

Judo Cake

2009-07-22T00:41:00.001-04:00

This is my second attempt at fondant and my first attempt with gum paste!

Quote

2009-07-19T16:55:00.001-04:00

"In life you can never be too kind or too fair; everyone you meet is carrying a heavy load. When you go through your day expressing kindness and courtesy to all you meet, you leave behind a feeling of warmth and good cheer, and you help alleviate the burdens everyone is struggling with."

Brian Tracy

We're Home!

2009-07-15T13:23:00.005-04:00

Jacob with Abe in Topeka, Kansas

Fair ride in Junction City, Kansas

My Favorite Capitol Building/lawn: AUSTIN, TEXAS!

Final stats from our road trip:

We were gone 17 nights. We stayed:
2 nights in Phenix City, Alabama
1 night in Jackson, Mississippi
1 night in Houston, Texas
3 nights in New Braunfels, Texas
1 night in Grand Prairie, Texas (outside of Dallas)
2 nights in Junction City, Kansas
2 nights in Kansas City, Missouri
1 night in St. Louis Missouri
2 nights in Louisville, Kentucky
2 nights in Duluth, Georgia (outside of Atlanta)

We saw 8 state capitol cities:
Montgomery, AL (saw capitol building)
Jackson, MS (went inside capitol building)
Baton Rouge, LA
Austin, TX (went inside capitol building)
Oklahoma City, OK (saw capitol building)
Nashville, TN (saw capitol building)
Topeka, KS (went inside capitol building)
Atlanta, GA (saw capitol building)

We saw 8 LDS Temples:
Baton Rouge
Houston
Dallas
San Antonio
St. Louis
Nashville
Oklahoma City
Atlanta

We drove through 11 states:
1. Georgia
2. Alabama
3. Mississippi
4. Louisiana
5. Oklahoma
6. Kansas
7. Missouri
8. Illinois
9. Indiana
10. Kentucky
11. Tennessee

We saw family and friends:
1. Crystal Garrison
2. Darlene Boynton
3. Lulu Eiland
4. The Dellalatas
5. The Zachresons
6. Tyler Vendrely
7. Kamara Adams
8. Chris Hatcher
9. Earl and Janet Mote
10. Robert/Susana Murphy and Fam
11. Amanda Nance and friends
12. Lucero/Sebastian and Fam

I drove @3892 miles!

We played puttputt golf, went bowling, went to the zoo, went to restaurants, walked around downtowns, went swimming, and went to Walmarts (in 9/11 states we visited!) :)We got invited to watch the House of Representatives convene in Mississippi (by a member of the house), we went to a small town fair in Kansas, we met the dog of Jacob's 1st cousins twice removed in Houston, Texas.

Most importantly, I found out that if I have Jacob, some clothes and toiletries, oh AND my Blackberry I can go and do anything! We were kept safe, we were happy, we never got lost for more than a few minutes. . . it was a great trip.

Jacob and his cousin, Nathaniel Murphy, in Louisville Kentucky

As we were heading back towards Georgia. . .FINALLY. . .we went through a bit of a bad storm, but as we came through the mountains near Chattanooga, Tennessee, we saw a piece of a rainbow. Cool. As we drove, it got clearer and clearer - and lasted for close to 2 hours!! it was almost 9:00 at NIGHT and I could still see a portion of the rainbow. While it was its clearest, I ended up pulling off the interstate and took this video:

Road Trip - Day 8!

2009-07-06T11:15:00.002-04:00

Wow! We are on day 8 of our road trip! I'm somewhat shocked that we actually left, and have kept on it!
A few stats so far:
We've been in 7 states - Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
We've seen 5 Temples: Baton Rouge, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Oklahoma City.
We've seen 4 capitol buildings: Montgomery, Al, Jackson, MS, Austin, TX, and Oklahoma City, OK. We went inside Alabama's and Texas's, and got to see the House of Representatives convene in MS.
We've met 2 somewhat distant relatives: Earl and Janet Mote in Houston (my dad's cousin).
We've filled up 8 times.
We've seen several friends - in Alabama, Texas, and Kansas.

some more cute ones

2009-06-23T02:35:00.000-04:00

Old (Adorable) video of Jacob

2009-06-23T02:02:00.003-04:00

This video was recorded in the fall/winter of 2004, when Jacob was two. He had been matching the butterflies in a file folder game I had made for my PreK class, and so
I tried to video him doing it. He didn't fully perform on command, but he was and still is amazing.

Kids Singing

2009-06-23T00:38:00.001-04:00

via

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Camp . . .

2009-06-14T21:18:00.003-04:00

My cabin's skit was fun and amazing! We had a blast planning it and performing it. (A first in my history of Girls Camp - enjoying the skit process. . .:)

My Cabin (1)'s AMAZING skit

This year camp was a totally difference experience for me anyway.
1. I didn't plan on going. I only found out I would be able to go a week out, then rushed to try to get things ready.
2. I was solely responsible for my cabin, except for a random extra older girl/grownup that was added at night each night. (A different person each night). In the past, I've teamed up with someone else and we shared all responsibilities. This time - I was the boss - totally - of "MY" girls.
3. For the most part, I was 100% relaxed. Last year, I had been overwhelmingly stressed about trying to figure out my personal life and an upcoming trip to New Mexico. . .so I went to camp HOPING to be able to put those stresses aside. Camp was viewed as an escape to some degree. . . and it was HARD to try to focus on anything but my personal life. . .blah blah blah. This year, I had NO other agenda than to just go to camp and try to enjoy it.
4. I've never been with first year girls. This was an amazing experience for me. I had an amazing group of four girls. . .and they trusted me fully, obeyed me completely, played with me, by the 3rd night, slept on the floor next to my bed. They all four bore their testimonies at the testimony meeting the last night - including the non-member! They told me my laugh was contagious, laughed at my jokes, told me long random stories, . . .it was a great experience for me! :)

Tentative Summer Road Trip

2009-06-07T22:12:00.004-04:00

Click on the pic below to see my current plan of stops on our tentative summer road trip!!! yay!

Red, White, and Virtue

2009-06-06T20:59:00.007-04:00

I am going to Girls Camp this coming week. I hadn't planned on going, because its scheduling conflicts with my post-planning at school. However, I agreed to go last minute, and my principal was supportive (as always) with me taking time-off to go.

The theme this year is "Red, White, and Virtue" - encompassing both patriotism and virtue, the "new" Young Women Value that has joined faith, divine nature, individual worth, knowledge, choice and accountability, good works, and integrity.

I am very excited to go. Every year I have gone to camp has been a remarkable experience. The first year or two I went as a young woman were not too great due to my awkwardness at those ages, but since going as a YCL and older, it has been amazing!

Here's Daisy from Girls Camp 2007. . . sporting a hairdo by me.
This is the back of Daisy's hair. . .

Last year, the theme was "For Unto Us a Child is Born" - and everything was Christmas-y. We even had snow! (in June in Georgia!)
Fun, Fun, Fun.
Anyway, while I am not packed, and I haven't purchased everything I need to purchase, and planning and presenting skits always stresses me out, and giving and receiving Secret Sister gifts is always a challenge for me, I am so grateful that I get to go. Here is a video from the Mormon YouTube channel on Virtue . . . I love at the end where all the girls - babies to growup women are all in front of the temple and together turn and look towards the temple. Sweet! This summer, on the road trip for Jacob and me, I am hoping we get to visit many temples.

Last day of school!

2009-06-05T21:19:00.003-04:00

A few of my 3rd graders (the ones that hadn't been checked out already)
were more than happy to pose for pictures!

I had checked Jacob out as he finished FIRST GRADE! and he came back with me to hang out in music for the rest of the day!

Posing with his "Rhode Island" project. Their school does an end-of-the-year "Literacy Day" and the kids read to their parents, have refreshments, etc.,
then receive report cards and can be checked out.

This morning, before leaving for our last day of school!

Crepes!

2009-06-04T00:27:00.005-04:00

Made crepes for the first time yesterday . . .and Cathy - lol - your pics of your awesome cheese cake reminded me of my crepes! :)

SCARY!

2009-06-03T21:19:00.000-04:00

This was taken in my kitchen. Yup. Scary. Spider caught a scorpion.