Treat Others How You Want to Be Treated

Have you all seen this video?

It's been circulating around Facebook quite a bit, and I first saw it yesterday.  Such a heart warming display not just by the player at the end of the video, but by the coach, the team, and everyone involved with that young man's life.

My first thought was THAT'S the kind of attitude I want my kids (both biological and non) to have, but it's so much more deeper than that.

Here is a coach, a high school basketball coach, who did everything in his power to give his manager a shot at fulfilling his dream.  A guy that didn't care if the game was won or lost, that boy was going to get his time on the court. And those five minutes on the court probably meant everything to that boy.  He wouldn't have cared whether or not he shot a basket or if the other team member did what he did, it was about having just a few moments to do something he'd probably had been told he wouldn't really ever be able to do.  Just play in a game.

And then a high school boy from the opposite team, knowing that his team was down by only a few points and victory was still a possibility, gave it all up to further help another boy from another team get a few minutes of victory.  He knew that his team would go on and win other games.  He knew that he was giving up his own chance of victory for the sake of someone else's.  And that was perfectly OK to him.  He uttered the words that was the reason I teared up when I watched this video... "I've been raised to treat others the way I would want to be treated".

What a powerful statement.  Right?

I'm not really sure where I'm going with all of this, but I know that it's important.

It seems as though, as a society, we've become obsessed with bullying and trying to prevent it.  As a teacher and a mother I watch and hear about preventing bullying, teaching kids that bullying isn't right, and as sad as it is to say - skewing the lines about what is and what isn't bullying.

We've become so focused on trying to prevent bullying, that we're really missing a golden opportunity to turn our thoughts and focus around.  Instead of teaching our kids not to bully, we should really be focusing on that special message - Just treat others how you'd want to be treated.

Instead of teaching what not to do, it really comes down to teaching our kids what they should do.

In my classroom I'm a firm advocate for not forcing my kids to be friends with anyone.  I don't hone in on kids that could be victims of bullying and try and make the other kids be nice to those kids.  I have a couple, believe me.  Instead, I treat the facts of life:  You are going to end up working along side people you may not like, may not understand.  You won't be friends with everyone you have to work along side.  But, those people may be able to offer help when you need it, they may be able to offer assistance with a job you can't do on your own, you will have to take orders from and follow orders from some of those people.  And, more than likely, you'll be able to offer them assistance or help them with their jobs in order to get the work completed faster and more efficiently.  The only way to truly see through the low level of whether or not you can like or be friends with a person, is to treat everyone the way you want to be treated.

I've often told the stories of Bill Gates being bullied in school or the "nerds" ending up running companies.  I've shared how kids who were popular in school often mistreated the kids that weren't, and ended up working for those less popular kids.  Or going back to a high school reunion and finding out that the star quarterback is now overweight, working a dead end job, and is very unhappy.  And then that star quarterback has to greet that kid in school that nobody understood and he constantly made fun of only to find out that he's a millionaire running a Fortune 500 company.

What I guess I'm really trying to say is that we really need to put more focus on treating others how you want to be treated.  Period.  Easy to do?  No.  Possible?  Yes.

And it's not just kids.  People of all ages could really use that mantra in their daily lives.  With the constant battles I witness on Facebook, to things I see in the real world on a daily basis... if we just all started treating others the way we want to be treated, this world would be a much nicer place to live.

Don't you think?

I Just Couldn't Do It Without Him

The past twenty four hours have been tough.  Taking Hubby for his dental surgery, and then seeing him in pain, dazed, and totally out of it was hard.  Trying to do what I could to make him feel better, but not having any luck because he's so dang stubborn - and refuses to listen to anyone.

I woke up every hour or so last night needing to check on him to make sure he was OK.  I slept on the couch as to give him plenty of room in the bed.  I worried...oh goodness I worried.  A routine surgery - nothing life threatening - but I found myself walking up to him in bed every so often to just listen for the sound of his breathing.

It amazes me at the weirdest things that remind me how much I care for that man.  I felt so helpless watching him - wanting more than anything to take the pain away, to do something to make it easier to swallow his medication.  What he brushed off as no big deal left me wanting to break down in tears.  It was a big deal to me.

During my very restless night, I had some time to reflect on myself and what I was going through.  Wait.  Scratch that.  Reflect on why it mattered so much to me about how much he was going through.  There was nothing wrong with me... I was perfectly fine.  I reflected on how much it means to me to try and help him.  Why I get so frustrated when he's not listening to me or not doing what the doctors told him to do.  It's because I care and love him so much.

The past few weeks have been rough on me, emotionally.  I've questioned my feelings.  I've actually had the thoughts of what life would be like without him with me.  I've toyed with the thoughts of if I'd be able to walk away from him if our paths, desires for life were so different that it left me no choice but to decide between my path or him.

And then, something as minor as some dental surgery makes everything clear out..defog.  How on earth could I ever picture my life without him?

I couldn't.  Simple.

There's no doubt in my mind that Hubby and I are probably the most mismatched couple I could think of.  We like totally opposite things.  I'm outgoing, he's not.  I enjoy the company of friends and family, he's a total homebody that's perfectly content without coming in to contact with any other humans.  My comfort and desires are very important to me, and I work hard to provide a good life for my family.  He's happy with a simple roof over our head, food in our bellies, and doesn't give a flying flip about having nice things.  We are complete opposites.  Yet, we are so in sync with each other.  He is the Ying to my Yang.

It's obvious that wanting out of this house is important to me.  So much so that I actually considered leaving him behind with the house.  If he wasn't willing to part with the house, then I had to be willing to part with him.  Those were my actual thoughts from less than a week ago.  I was ready.  Talking myself up.  Preparing for it. It was either my way or the highway.

Truth be told, I'm still dead set on getting out of this house.  I'm unhappy here.  I don't consider this house a home - just a place for me to eat and sleep.  I'm perfectly content being out of the house as much as possible be it at work, or my parents' house, or some other place...as long as I don't have to be here.

But, the past 24 hours have shown me that there's no way I could ever up and leave Hubby behind.  I love him too much.

Thinking back on all of the sacrifices and acts that he's done for me.  Supporting our family so that I could pursue my dreams of becoming a teacher.  Working extra jobs just to make ends meet while I couldn't work.  Standing by my side and giving me comfort when I thought that I wasn't going to find a teaching job.  Raising two children that are not his own.  And just listening.  Being someone that I can talk to about anything - never hiding anything or holding anything back.

I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that Hubby would go to the moon and back for me if I asked.  He has shown me more love in our eight years together than any man could show me in a lifetime.

I just couldn't imagine life without him.

I understand his reservations about wanting to find a new house.  To put trust in the fact that we don't have to rush out and buy something, and that something will work out with what we have.  While I'm not ready to trust that, I'm not ready to give up on him either.

I'm in such a torn place right now.  I am unhappy about our living situation.  Unhappy is a minor word, I'm down right depressed.  I know I can't stay in this house much longer.  I won't give up looking for a new house.  But, I also know, that I'd live unhappy for the rest of my life before I could give him up.  Because no matter how depressed I am with my current living situation - he and the kids keep me going.  They put a smile on my face.  They keep me strong.

One day, I know that everything will work itself out.  We will get out of this house...either by finding something else or it just falling in on top of us.  I will keep looking and hoping that he'll come around.  But, there will not be any thoughts of my doing it alone...without him.

I just couldn't do it without him.

I know that, now.

Truthful Tuesday

To be honest... I could sleep for about another 3 hours easily this morning.  But I can't.  I was sleeping so well, this morning, before my alarm went off.  And I'm just not feeling up and awake yet.

To be honest... I am not thrilled to see the snow on the ground this morning.  Which is really weird for me to say.  Yeah, I'm the one that's usually doing crazy snow dances to get the slightest flakes to fall from the sky.  This morning, however, I have to go out regardless of the weather - and that terrifies me.  Thankfully, the temps are above freezing so I'm really hoping that there's no accumulation on the roads.  There's just too many hills between my house and my destination, today, for there to be the slightest amounts of snow on the ground.  Me + Snow Covered Roads = NOT GOOD!

To be honest... I'm a little nervous about Hubby's dental surgery today.  He needs the work done, but I'm not too happy about them doing it while he's awake.  He'll be numbed, but I don't think I could go through something like that while I was awake.  I just hope he's not in too much pain over the next few days.  I hate it when he's hurting.

To be honest... I did not want to receive that call that just came in.  School has been cancelled because of the snow.  There's nothing like trying to figure out what to do with the kids and worry about driving in it and all that wonderful stuff.  I guess Operation: Get Hubby to the Dentist must now commence.

To be honest... I'm just not a happy camper, and I probably just need to stop now while I'm ahead.

Wish me luck!

Back to Work...For A Day

After not going to bed until 11 last night, I sure am feeling mighty perky and ready to go this morning.  It surely has to do with the mini spa I gave myself in the shower with my new Dead Sea beautifying stuff...and my freshly manicured looking nails.

Pampering yourself is really rejuvenating.  Who'd have thunked it?

I get to go back to work for an entire day before I get another day off.  It's up in the air whether the day off will be from more snow, or for the original reason I booked the day off - Hubby's having dental surgery.  I really want it to be the latter, because I don't want to book another day off work if he has to reschedule.

I know I've been begging for snow days all winter, but I've had two - and now I'm ready to finish off the rest of the school year without any more interruptions.  I'm a firm believer in too much of a good thing, and too many snow days will result in the loss of other days off we've got between now and the end of the school year - or it will mean pushing out the end of the school year further.  A couple of days later I can deal with, but I don't want it to get crazy.

The house hunting saga continues...unsuccessfully at this point.  Finding a house that has everything we're looking for isn't going to be an easy feat, that's for sure.  What we'd really like to do is build our own house - but holy cow, land is expensive.  From what I've seen, land by its self is just as expensive as buying a house. I don't see how an open plot of land can sell in the tens of thousands.  In order to have the 3-5 acres Hubby is wanting, we'd be looking at shelling out $40,000-$50,000.  How insane is that when I can find a house sitting on that much land for only $30,000-$40,000 more?

I remember the good ol' days when you could find acreage for $2500 an acre.  That's what it was like when my parents bought land back when I was 16.  Definitely not like that anymore.

We'll be lucky if we can find an acre for less than $15,000.  The listings I've looked at have tons of 0.03 acre plots for a new subdivision and the seller is wanting $14,900 for each plot.  Can you believe that?  Less than a tenth of an acre for just under $15,000?  There better be gold deposits on the land before I'd consider something like that!  Ridic!

But, I'm not giving up faith.  My goal is that we're moving in by this summer.  Either in to an already built home or a house that's been built for us.  I watch enough HGTV to know that house hunting is hard, frustrating, and stressful....but not impossible.  I just got to keep my faith and not jump in to anything I don't absolutely feel right about.  This is my dream house we're talking about, after all.

Well, I'm sure you've heard quite enough about my house hunting saga for yet another day, so I should probably get to getting and get myself ready for work.

A Mini Trip to the Dead Sea

What a fantastic day Hubby and I had yesterday.  While our views weren't anything like this wonderful picture, the peace and quiet can definitely be compared to this beautiful oasis.

We started our day off with a nice, long drive to a thrifty strip mall located about an hour away from us.  It's a mish mash of little stores that sells really cheap stuff - nick knacks, clothes, purses, furniture, tools, office supplies, etc.  We started off in the furniture store looking for some ideas of what type of furniture we want to buy for our new house...someday.  (Soon, I hope)  Then, we browsed around the purse store and the nick knack store.  There were too many people and too much stuff in the nick knack store for me to really enjoy myself, so we high tailed it to the tool store.

I have always hated the tool store.  Mainly because it's full of tools.  Duh.  Why on earth do I want to look at tools?  I don't remember a time I've ever uttered "I sure wish I had the right screwdriver, socket, drill thingy majig".  Never.  So, no interest whatsoever in what the tool store has to offer.  But, remember I had Hubby with me.  I made him walk around the purse store, it's only fair I walk around the tool store.  That was my feelings until I walked in and noticed aisles of SCHOOL SUPPLIES!!  Forget purses and clothes, and bring on the school supplies that are super cheap.

I loaded our cart with binders ($1 a piece), tabbed dividers ($2.50 for a box of 48 sets), binder clips, sticky notes, a new stapler, colored Popsicle sticks ($1 for over 100 of them), etc. etc.  A teacher's dream place!  Buying this stuff at Wal-Mart or some other store would have cost me some serious money - especially since the tabbed dividers are $1 a package at Wal-Mart...and I got 48 packages for $2.50.  The binders I bought sell for over $3 at Wal-Mart.  Let's not even get in to the Popsicle stick and binder clips.  All in all I spent about $15 on over $50 worth of stuff!  OH HAPPY DAYS!

After my mini shopping spree, it was back in the car for a shorter trip back to Fayetteville and a walk around the mall.  This is where my mini trip to the Dead Sea comes in.  You didn't actually think I went to the Dead Sea, did you?  I hope I didn't just burst your bubble at thinking I jumped in a plane, flew to Israel  took a dip in the Dead Sea, and then flew home again in a matter of 24 hours.  I'm good, but not that good at stuffing things in to a kid free weekend.

Anywho, we're walking around the mall, and I hear a voice say "Ma'am may I ask you a question".  I turn my head and I'm greeted with a good looking guy with a soft Israelian accent.  He takes one of my hands in his and asks if I always keep my nails natural - and compliments me on how beautiful they are.  Right then I knew I was in for a sales pitch.  I know your game, mister.  You can't fool me with those soft hands, thick accent, and get me to buy any of your junk... but I'm game for free stuff, so have at it.

He leads me over to his booth and asks if he can perform a little miracle on one of my thumb nails.  He takes my nails, starts buffing it with a buffing stone thing, and within 15 seconds my thumb nail looks like I've had a manicure.  It's shiny, smooth, and even I have to admit - pretty darn impressive looking, considering the mess it was in before.  I haven't had a manicure in...urm...over a year.

I have to admit, I was impressed.  He then dabs a little oil on my cuticle and WALAH, complete manicure in 20 seconds.  That was when I knew I was hooked.  He railed me in for buying not one, not two, but three mani/pedi sets.  Well, technically it was buy two and get one three.  But each one comes with a 2 year warranty - so not too bad.  But, then of course he wants to show me his Dead Sea salt scrub.  Now, I'm not a super crazy person when it comes to washing my hands - but I know that I keep my hands pretty clean.  He had me wash my hands with the sea salt and I was utterly disgusted at the water when I was finished.  It was BLACK!  BUT, my hands were the softest and cleanest I'd ever seen them.  So...again...I was roped in.  However, this time, Hubby opted to pick up the tab for my salt scrub and the guy even threw in free body butter that went with it and a bar of Dead Sea mud soap.

Finally, he roped me in for a facial cleanser - but gave it to us for next to nothing being that we'd bought everything else for him.  So, now, I'm holding on to two years worth of spa treatments in my bathroom.  Any time I want I can take myself off to the Dead Sea for some deep skin treatment.  And give myself a complete mani/pedi in less than 15 minutes.  Let's not discuss how much it all cost - because I know that beauty doesn't come cheap...and I'm OK with that.

After my mini spa session, we went to eat dinner at Red Lobster.  Oh, Red Lobster, curse you and your delicious food.  I had done so well this week with losing some weight...and then I indulge in this...

Lobster tail, garlic shrimp, shrimp mac & cheese, and a lobster baked potato

And a trip to Red Lobster just isn't complete without eating one of their famous Chocolate Chip Lava cookies...

I had to roll myself out of that restaurant when we were finished.

But, you know what?  I had an amazing day.  I needed it, that's for sure.  Hubby and I enjoyed our time, talked, laughed, and it reminded me that nothing is more important than some quality time alone.

Now, it's time to get back to the real world - have a few things to do this morning and then it's off to pick up the kids.

Kid Free and Full of Glee... Kind of

Oh yes.  That picture sure does say it all.  That's the image I have this very second of Hubby and I.  Jumping for joy in a paradise....why?

Because the kids are all at their grandparent's house until tomorrow!

In fact, that is the image I've had in my mind since 4pm yesterday - when Hubby drove us down my parents' driveway after dropping the kids off.

We spent our afternoon, yesterday, looking at the house.  To my dismay, and Hubby's joy, we didn't like the house at all.  It was a lot older than it looked from the outside, and needed some major renovations.  It had the weirdest floor plan I'd ever seen in a house, and we knew from the moment we walked in that it was a no-go.

But, that hasn't stopped me from being permanently attached to the realtor sites looking for something else.  I just know that our house is out there somewhere...and it's just going to take some time to find it.  I have a large list of "must haves" and that makes the list of options a lot smaller.  Hubby and I both want to be outside of city limits, preferably on a couple of acres.  The house has to be livable with only minor cosmetic work needing to be done.  It also HAS to have 4 bedrooms.  I'm not going to shell out $100,000 + on a house and my kids not be able to have their own rooms.   That's just something I won't budge on.  If this is going to be our dream home, then it better be a dream home for the kids too.

In all honesty, our dream would to just stay where we are and build on the land we've been paying for the past 7 years.  But, that's not exactly going in our favor...and I'm just not willing to wait as long as that could take to happen.  My stress and depression level rises each day I have to stay in this piece of junk house - and waiting several more months while the plans are being set to get rid of the house we're currently in and just buying the land is just too much time for me to wait.  Especially now knowing that I have a pre-approval letter in hand to find something else.

And it isn't just an impatient thing.  We've been trying for months and months and months and months and... well, you get the picture.. to try and buy this land outright, but we've had road block after road block and I just don't think I can stick it out anymore.

What I really need is a day to get away from it all.  And that's Hubby and my plan for the day.  We're going to drive around and do a little shopping, go out for dinner, and help me get my mind away from everything that's buzzing around in there.  The more I'm away from this house, the happier I am.

So, that's probably what I should do rather than sit here.  Right?

Have a great Saturday, everyone!

And Yet Another Snow Day

It's all happy days and smelling roses right now.  Because, once again, I get another 4 day weekend.  Thanks to snow that hasn't done anything to my area except make the roads a little wet.

Ah, the joys of working in a rural school in the mountains.

I've said that before, right?  Yeah, a lot.

Last night, around 6pm, I got the call that school was being cancelled again for today due to icy road conditions in the county my school is located.  So, what does that mean for me?  I get another day off work, I'm not trapped in my house, and I get to go and take my kids to my parents' house for the weekend because the dance I was supposed to go to tonight got cancelled.

Win. Win. Win.

AND, because the roads are completely clear where I need them to be, I get to go look at the house I've been waiting to look at all week much earlier than planned.

Once we go look at the house, I'm off to my parents' to drop the kids off so that Hubby and I can spend some quality time together.  Alone.

The plan right now is a day of shopping and then off for a romantic dinner tomorrow.  Lord knows we need some alone time to talk, relax, and get some stuff off our chests.

I'm so stressed and a little depressed about this whole house situation.  But, one good thing is that it isn't affecting my eating situation.  I stepped on the scale this morning and noticed I've lost quite a bit of weight this week.  Would be really nice to hold on to that loss all weekend.  I guess the stress diet really does work.! HA!

While I haven't been doing the strict Atkins, I have been limiting my carb intake quite a bit - and I guess it's doing something or I wouldn't be down as much as I am.  Oh, and did I mention Aunt Flo's in town?  To see a loss like that with her around is another aspect that's made me say "hmmm".

I've started getting notices that The Race for the Cure is coming up pretty soon.  I've already agreed to join a team this year with some folks from work.  This will be my 4th year at doing that 5K.  Regardless of all the setbacks I've made in my fitness level, giving up that 5K just isn't something I've ever considered.  I guess that's a good thing, right?

Well, as you can see I'm all over the place today.  I should probably just leave it at that and get to getting on my plans for my extra day off.

Now I Remember What a Snow Day Is

So, after a long wait, I've finally gotten my snow day.  Of course, it came on the week that was already shortened by a four day weekend - but am I going to complain?  I. Think. Not!

School dismissed at 1pm yesterday because we started getting some pretty heavy snow.  Although, once the announcement was made at 11:30, it stopped and had pretty much melted by the time we were traveling home.  Again, no complaints from me because I am TERRIFIED to drive in the snow.  I was very happy to get to drive home on wet roads rather than slippery, snow covered roads.

This morning, I was up at 5am just a wishin' and hoping', plannin' and dreamin' that I'd get the news I was waiting for.  And it came shortly before 6am.  I'm glad I decided to not wake up the kids...even though I was risking it a little.  None of the schools around me closed, but I guess I should once again thank my lucky stars that I got a teaching job in a rural school in the mountains - because when it snows or drops down the slightest amounts of freezing rain - it's bad news for the bus drivers.

So, I took my happy behind back to bed, watched a little TV, and decided to go back to sleep around 7am for an hour.

Now I'm up and in my PJ's listening to rain.  There's a possibility of more freezing rain, but as of right now it's just very wet in my neck of the woods.

So, are you wondering what happened to me yesterday?  Did you notice that I hadn't made a post?  Well, that's because I was too busy scanning in documents and emailing people instead of doing my regular before school blog post.

I mentioned, quickly, in my post on Tuesday that I had gotten a pre-approval for a home loan.  It's true!  I found a lender that's willing to offer me a zero down home loan, issued me a pre-approval letter the same day, and just needed a few documents from me to get everything moving.

To add icing on the cake, Tuesday afternoon a Realtor I had spoken to on Monday sent me a listing for a house that I'd driven by every day since getting my job.  It's a big, two-story house on just under 3 acres of land...and it's going for a price right in my range.  It's almost a too good to be true scenario...and I'm trying not to get too excited about it.

The house is 5 minutes from my work.  It has the space I want, the land I want, and in the vicinity I want.  There's just one problem....notice all the "I"s in that sentence?  Yeah.  Things may be pretty frosty outside, but it doesn't really compare to the frostiness going on inside my home.

I'm all alone in my excitement about getting approved for a loan and the ability to look for a house.  Well, except for the kids - they are super stoked and excited.  Hubby on the other hand isn't excited one bit - and has had nothing to say about any of it since I told him.

I totally get his hesitation.  There's so much at stake with buying a new house, not to mention how much is at stake with the house we're currently living in.  I know he's not ready to just pack up and leave it behind.  Not because he doesn't hate this house, but for personal reasons.

I have no idea what my future holds at this point.  It's very much up in the air.  I have full intentions of going on with my pre-approval and looking at houses.  In fact, I'm looking at the house I just spoke about tomorrow.  I just hope that Hubby will come with me, and realize that we have so many more options than he realizes.  FINGERS CROSSED.

So, that's why I've been a little preoccupied over the past couple of days.  Today, I really need to get some work caught up so that I have some free time this coming weekend.  My parents are taking the kids for the weekend....so I don't want to waste it by having to work.

THANK GOODNESS FOR SNOW DAYS!

Truthful Tuesday... I'm Baaaccckk!!

I'm back!! I hope you enjoyed my "filler" blogs while I was away... lots of information about me I have shared before and some new stuff thrown in there.  But, I'm back now, so time to get back to the normal routine...

To be honest... I had a total blast this weekend.  I enjoyed having a family meal out to celebrate my dad's birthday.  I enjoyed an entire day of playing bingo with my mom on Sunday.  And I enjoyed spending the day doing what I did yesterday while I was at my mom's.

To be honest... I found out yesterday that my dream of buying a house is a lot more of a possibility than I thought.  I spent the entire day doing research, talking to lenders, talking to a Realtor  and looking at online listings.  I discovered I'm a lot more financially set for the possibility, as well as discovering that even with student loans and a new car my credit is still set up for me to take out a mortgage if I decided to.

To be honest... After such a long weekend, I'm not sure I'm quite ready for the 14 hour work day ahead of me.  We have a family night after work, and I'm already a little sleep deprived.  I went to bed around 2:30 Sunday morning, got up at 8:30.  Went to bed at 2am yesterday morning and got up at 9.  But, it's a short work week, so I will be able to catch up at some point.

To be honest... I completely forgot that this upcoming Friday is the school dance.  I had made plans for the kids to go to my parents next weekend.  I was supposed to go and buy all of the soda and snacks for the dance this past weekend.  And it all just slipped my mind because I was so caught up in the fun I was having.  So, now I'm going to have to make a run to Wal-Mart tomorrow to get everything I need.  Oops.

To be honest... Because I have so much going on this week, I will probably only get to see Hubby on Thursday night.  He'll be in bed by the time I get home tonight, I have to run to Wal-Mart tomorrow, and Friday I'll be at the dance.  I haven't seen him since Friday.  I hate weeks like this.  However, we're not exactly seeing eye to eye on the whole house buying thing...so maybe it's not such a bad thing.

To be honest... I decided not to weigh in this week.  This weekend, I didn't really spend a lot of time worrying about what I was eating.  I ate out on Saturday, ate out on Sunday, and had a barbecue at my parents' yesterday.  Not exactly the best set-up to weigh.  And while I'm not "officially" weighing in, I did step on the scale this morning and noticed that I haven't gained any since my last weigh in.  No loss, either, but we'll see what happens by next Monday.

To be honest... This is short and sweet, but that's about all I got for today.

Another Post While I'm Away - Part II

Hopefully, you enjoyed reading 24 answers to random questions I answered yesterday.  Actually, I wrote them on Saturday, because I'm currently at my parent's house until later on Monday (or today if this thing posted correctly).  If you didn't, well then you probably don't need to read today's post...it's 24 different questions.

If you did enjoy yesterday's post - well, here's some more for ya.

25.  Mountain hideaway or beach house?

Beach house, please!  On a coast that has dry heat rather than excruciating humid heat.  If you're only offering humid heat, then I'll take the mountain hideaway.

26.  Favorite sports to watch?

Not really in to watching any professional sports.  I'll occasionally catch an English Premier League soccer game with my dad when I'm at my parent's house.  Other than that, I'll take watching semi-pro baseball at the baseball field or any sports that my kids play.

27.  Hair color?

Brown.  Dark brown.  Although lighter than it was when I was a kid - when it was almost black.  That's what years of coloring will do to ya, I suppose.

28.  Eye color?

Almost black.  They used to match my hair, but not anymore.

29.  Do you wear contacts?

No.  I wear glasses.  I have this very weird thing where I can't stand the thought of having something in my eye.  I'm a constant eye rubber - as unsanitary as that is.  I just know that if I ever decided to try contacts out, they'd drive me nuts because I'd be constantly messing with them or accidently knocking them out of my eye when I rub my eyes.

30.  Favorite food?

Steak.  Or bacon.  No, bread.  Well, maybe pasta.  I really like pizza, too.  And Chinese food.   Hmm...and I wonder why I have a weight problem.  Bad question for someone like me.

31.  Scary movies or happy endings?

Scary movies!! I love good, paranormal type scary movies.  Not really in to the slasher movies... but I'm a sucker for a movie about a ghost or a possession or demons or something like that.

32.  Last movie you watched?

Hit and Run.  That's the newest Dax Shepard movie, and I'm totally in love with Dax.  Here's a yummy picture of him...

I don't know what it is about this man, but I'm totally in love with him.  You can keep your Brad Pitts and Channing Tatums - I'd take Dax over any of them, any day.

33.  What color shirt are you wearing?

Purple.

34.  Summer or winter?

Definitely winter, when we actually have a winter.  I like cold weather, snow on the ground, and my behind planted firmly on the couch with a blanket.  Unfortunately for me, though, the last two winters have been extremely mild and I haven't even needed more than a light jacket to go out.

35.  Favorite dessert?

Really?  What's with all the food questions.  I'm trying so hard to be good, here, and I keep getting constant reminders of all the things I'm trying to avoid.

Eclairs.

36.  Strength training or cardio?

Cardio.  I never really cared much for strength training.

37.  Computer or television?

There's really no comparison.  I enjoy both, equally.  I don't watch TV on the computer and I don't type or social network on my TV.  If I'm in the mood to watch a movie or TV show, I do it on the TV.  If I want to write a blog, see what's happening on Facebook, read blogs, etc. then I use my computer... or my phone or iPad.

38.  What book are you reading now?

Well, I'm not reading any book now.  I'm writing a blog.  I'm talented, but not talented enough to read a book and type a blog at the same time.  If you're asking what book am I currently in the middle of reading then it would be More Sideways Stories from Wayside High and My Teacher is an Alien.  The books I'm reading with my classes.

39.  What is on your mouse pad?

Striped lines in different colors.  There are some pinks, brown, white, purple, orange, blue, and green stripes.

40.  Favorite sound?

My kids laughing.  Or the sound of them not fighting.  Or calming piano tunes.

41.  Favorite genre of music?

I'm a big music fan.  I love many different genres, and what I listen to usually depends on my mood.  My favorites include today's pop hits, alternative, 90's, 90's alternative, classical, 80's, classic rock.  In fact, the only music I really don't enjoy is country music.  Which them be fighting words in my neck of the woods - so don't tell anyone, m'kay?

42.  What is the farthest you have been from home?

Depends on which home.  When I was 12, the farthest would have been Oklahoma from London.  When I lived in Oklahoma, it was to Texas.  When I lived in Northwest Arkansas, it would be to Los Angeles, California.

43.  Do you have a special talent?

Well, I can sing.  I don't very often, accept when I'm in my car.  But I can sing.

44.  Where were you born?

London, England.

45.  Where are you living right now?

In a podunk town in Northwest Arkansas.

46.  What color is your house?

Beige.  With black shutters around the windows.

47.  What color is your car?

Silver.

48.  Did you enjoy answering 48 questions?

I did, accept I feel like the first 24 required a little more thought and effort.  These last 24 were more one answer questions....so it took a lot less time to write this post than "yesterday's".

OK...that's it from me.

A Post While I'm Away - Part I

Even though I'm writing this post on Saturday afternoon, you should be seeing it in your feed as if I posted it on Sunday morning.

That's because I'm not going to be home Sunday morning OR Monday morning.

My usual thing to do when I'm not home is to just not post.  But, how fun is that when I have the ability to write posts days in advance and set them up to post for me as if I wrote them on the day I didn't actually write them?

Say that 10 times fast.

Anywho, while wasting some time taking a short break from doing what I'm supposed to be doing - that would be working - I decided to read a few blogs.  I came across a post from one of my favorite blogs, Telling Dad.  In the latest post, he shared a link for another post with 48 questions that had been asked by the writer for other bloggers to share on their blogs.  I figured what a great way to create posts from while I'm away.  I'll answer 24 of them for Sunday and 24 for them on Monday.  So, here goes with my first set of answers...

1.  Where you named after anyone?

Nope.  My name was randomly picked and holds no significant meaning whatsoever - except for the fact that my family members could rhyme my name with "knobbly knees".  That would be my middle name they're rhyming.  And for the sake of not having my identify stolen, I'll leave it to you guys to try and figure out what my middle name is.

2.  When was the last time you cried?

I teared up on Thursday when I had flowers delivered to me from a student.  I cried two weeks before when the kiddos in my class made my birthday A-MA-ZING.

As far as crying out of sadness?  A long time ago.  I've wanted to cry a few times, recently, out of frustration - but thankfully, that hasn't happened.

3.  Do you like your handwriting?

Sometimes.  I am one of those weird people that have about 3 different types of handwriting.  I can write very neatly and purdy like - but I can also write sloppily and messy.  I also have a writing that is a combination of both.  I'm a lefty, so sometimes writing in a straight line on paper without lines or my white board is quite the task - and I get frustrated by how crooked it looks.  But, for the most part, I have pretty good handwriting.

4.  What is your favorite lunch meat?

Hmm... it's a toss up between Buffalo turkey and salami.

5.  Do you have kids?

Yep.  26 of them.  Three biological.  Twenty that are mine until May.  Three that are of the feline variety.  There are days when I love a category more than others, but they all hold a special place in my heart.  And, I'm not saying that I love my biological children less than those that are not mine or human.  I'm just saying that there are days where... well.... you know what I mean.

6.  If you were another person, would you be friends with you?

What a great question.  I think I'm a pretty good person to get along with.  While making close friends hasn't really ever been one of my strong points, I think I'd be friends with me.  I enjoy having a good time, I'm funny, and I'm a loyal and faithful friend.  Although I may get tired of listening to some of my whining, and I'd never take my advice if I asked for it.  But, we'd have a lot of fun just hanging out.  HA!

7.  Do you use sarcasm a lot?

No, not at all.  What is sarcasm?

Hmmm, it's a lot harder to be sarcastic through the computer than I thought.  But, it's my first language.  Just ask the kids in my class, or my biological kids, or just about anyone that knows me.  They'll tell you I'm fluent in sarcasm.

8.  Do you still have your tonsils?

I do.  In fact I have all of my original body parts. Accept for half a tooth that I broke a few years ago, and yet to have fixed because I don't have dental insurance...and it's just something that's never bothered me so I haven't done anything about it.

I have my wisdom teeth, my gall bladder, my tonsils, my ovaries, my uterus, and anything else that people might have taken out.

9.  Would you bungee jump?

No no, but HECK NO!  I'm terrified of heights, and I see absolutely no point AT ALL to jump off an extremely high crane or bridge with nothing but a piece of elastic wrapped around my ankles.

10.  What is your favorite cereal?

I don't eat cereal.  It's just never been a food I've been terribly fond of.  I will eat cereal on occasion if I'm hungry and that's about all there is to eat - but I can take it or leave it.  I suppose if I had to choose a favorite it would be Cinnamon Toast Crunch or Golden Grahams.

11.  Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?

Nope.  Never.  I yell at my kids all the time for it, and yet I never do it myself.  I'm such a hypocrite sometimes.  A quality I'm sure I wouldn't like about myself if I were to be friends with myself.

12.  Do you think that you are strong?

Physically?  Not at all.  Lifting a case of pop makes me feel like I'm exerting every bit of energy I have.  I have been strong in the past, but I have quickly learned that if you don't use your muscles, you lose your muscles...and they are replaced with jello.

Verbally?  Load on the weights.  I will yell and scream at you until you think that I could totally kick your behind, even though a punch from me would feel more like a tickle.  Just don't mess with my kids, or my family - and you won't have to ever feel the strength of my verbal assaults.  I don't even remember the last time I had to use that power, actually.

And emotionally?  Brick house right here.  I have to be in my line of work and with the kids I work with.  Some of their stories could put you through an entire box of Kleenexes in a matter of minutes.  But, I have to be firm and strong - for their sake.  Also, having a son with the disorder he has causes my emotional skin to be extremely thick.  I have to put up with verbal assaults, heart wrenching nastiness, and vile name calling on a some-what regular basis.  In order to cope, I have to let it bounce right off of me and not take any of it personally.  If there was a strength competition for emotional strength?  I'd be the Iron Woman every time.

13.  What is your favorite ice-cream flavor?

Mint chocolate chip or rum raisin.

14.  What is the first thing you notice about people?

Their facial expressions.  I'm a face reader.  I can kinda tell if a person has a kind heart by the look on their face or if they're probably someone to stay away from.  But, that doesn't necessarily mean I'll shy away from people that throw me a facial warning.  Sometimes, I've found that what I perceive as a hard face is really just a worn face that just needs someone to be nice to them.

15.  Red or pink?

Urm..can I have both?  No?  Well, fine.  Red.  For clothing.  I suppose.

16.  What is the least favorite thing about yourself?

My weight.  Duh!

17.  Who do you miss the most?

My parents when I don't get to see them for a long time.

18.  What is the technique that you need to work on the most?

Definitely procrastination.  Being that I should be working on grading and lesson plans right now, but I'm having a lot more fun answering questions for blog posts that I'll be posting when I'm not even home to post them.

19.  What color shoes are you wearing right now?

I'm wearing zebra patterned slippers.  It's the only type of shoe I wear when I'm at home.  My shoes are the first thing to come off of me when I walk in to my house - even before my coat, most days.

20.  What is the last thing you ate?

An Atkins Chocolate Chip cookie dough meal bar.  That was for breakfast.  I somehow forgot to eat lunch, being that I was so caught up in..urm.. "working".

21.  What are you listening to right now?

The hum of computers.  I don't know why I don't listen to music while I'm working at my computer.  I used to.  Maybe I should put some one now that I'm thinking about it.  OK, so now I'm listening to the Enya radio station on Pandora.  It's nothing but calming, soothing, classical piano and Celtic tunes.  Much better than those blasted hums of the computers.

22.  If you were a crayon, what color would you be?

Urm... red?  Kinda boring, but I don't remember any of the fancy crayon names off the top of my head.

23.  Favorite smells?

Coffee.  Freshly brewed when I wake up in the morning or when I walk through the door after work.  Jelly when she first wakes up in the morning, and after a bath.  Cool Water cologne - on Hubby.

24.  How important are your political views to you?

Important enough for me to care about them, but not important enough for me to verbally bash or hate against anyone that doesn't agree with my views.

And there is Part I of my two day question posts.

Be sure to tune in tomorrow for the other 24 questions...as long as my schedule thingy works right...otherwise I've just sat here and written these for nothing.

Happy Birthday to my HERO!

I love this picture.  It is the most favorite picture of my dad and I together.  One because I'm at my thinnest weight I'd been in years, and two because we look so happy - and you can really see how proud he is of me, and how much I love him.

Today is his birthday.  I actually started writing a post about the snow I woke up to this morning, but then it dawned on me... why on earth am I not writing about my dad?

I could have sworn that last year I wrote birthday posts for both my mom and my dad... but a quick search through made me realize that the only time I've ever written a post about my dad was on Father's day, 2011 - and he shared a post with Hubby.

Not cool.  Not cool, at all.

I love Hubby, but there's not a single man on this earth that could even hold a torch to how much I love my dad.

I'm actually a little ashamed and feel horrible that in the three years I've been faithfully writing this blog, my dad has gotten not even half a blog post of me explaining how much he means to me.  For shame!

My dad truly is my hero.  A man I've looked up to for as long as I can remember.  A man of few words, yet really doesn't have to say much to get his point across.  His personal ringtone on my phone is Hero by Chad Kroeger (lead singer of Nickelback).  Not because the song has any significance other than I like the tune, and it has the PERFECT title.

I can say all the cliche things about my dad:  He's hard working, he supports his family, he is a great dad, a great grandfather, etc., etc, but none of that barely scrapes the surface at the man I'm so proud to call my father.

The truth of the matter is, there aren't words that can explain how special he is to me.  Our special bond comes from the link of our eyes when we're both thinking the same thing, the way I say things and hear "you sound just like your dad", the way I turn to him for help with anything wrong with my car or house - completely dismissing anything Hubby says until it is confirmed by my dad.

At the end of the day, my mother is my best friend, but my father is the person I aspire to be like.

Not that there's anything wrong with my mom, she's an amazing mother.  But, my mom has a tendency to worry a little too much.  My dad is the kind of guy that lives in the moment, doesn't like to sweat the small stuff, does his day at work and likes to come home and relax.  He likes to enjoy the fruits of his labor, and doesn't really like to hear the words "we can't afford it".  Me in a nutshell.

In fact, the only flaw that I can think of off the top of my head is that he's too good of a grandparent.  Yep.  That's my dad's flaw.  He's too nice.  When I look to him for guidance with Butter - and like to have a firm upper hand that Butter will actually respond to and respect... my dad tends to go easy on him, because he just can't bare to be the "bad guy".

Bad flaw, huh?

But that really is my dad.  He worked so hard instilling good values in to me, that he just wants to be the grandfather he is - loving, kind, and the reason my kids just adore everything about him.  And how on earth can I argue with that?  My kids do adore him.  In fact, as horrible as it is to admit, you could ask Butter right now if he'd rather go and live with my parents - and he'd be out the door leaving fire streaks in his path.  Not because Butter doesn't love me - but because my dad is everything in Butter's eye.  In a list of people Butter loves the most, I'm pretty sure I rank #3...right after my dad as #1 and my mom as #2.  I could actually be at #4, because he thinks my youngest brother is pretty darned awesome, too.

My five siblings and I didn't make my dad's life the easiest it could be.  Each of us have brought our own share of hurt down on my dad.  My mother too, but sorry Mom - this is Dad's turn.  Each of us have done horrible things to him that we're not proud of.

While I can never take back the things I've done to my dad in the past, I learned from them - and it actually ended up bringing us closer together.

And when his job was just about done with being a father to children?  He and my mom decided that they weren't ready to give it up - and became foster parents.

Not to put any of my other siblings down, but my dad and I probably have the closest relationship of my other grown siblings.  Two of my siblings still live at home, well - that was until my brother moved back home with his girlfriend and two kids.  But that's another story altogether - won't go there.

My dad knows I have the up most respect for him.  There's not anything I wouldn't do for him - and he the same for me.  I can sit here and go on and on and on, but I still won't be able to truly express how much he means to me.  Because, again, there just aren't words that can express it.

At the end of the day, all you guys need to know is that I have one heck of a dad.  I have been truly blessed by having this man raise me.  I have him to thank for instilling the values that made me the person I am today.  I know that I have made him proud, and that he loves me with all of his heart.

I love you, Dad, more than I can ever express in words.  Have an amazing birthday!  See you tonight!

A Wonderful Way to Move in to A Fun-Filled Four Day Weekend

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day.  I did.  It was totally awesome.  The part where I wasn't at home, anyways.  HA!

My kiddos really showered me with love all day from gifts to cards to hugs to behaving themselves as much as they could having to look at a table completely packed with candy and treats and not being able to enjoy any of it until the very end of the day.

I always tell myself that I should take a picture of the stuff my kids bring for parties, but I always forget.  The amount of stuff would probably shock you... I know it's shocked me each time we've had a party this year.

But, I did remember to take a picture of the goodies they bought for me.

I got a chocolate rose, a box of chocolate covered cherries, a heart shaped box of chocolates, a peach Crush with a small bag of candy, a Pepsi, a bottle of Diet Dr. Pepper, 2 large suckers, a massaging cat, a Bath & Body works set, and a tulip plant.

The Bath & Body works set was courtesy of my super amazing Secret Pal, the peach Crush came from an anonymous sender, and the rest came from my kiddos.

The picture doesn't even include the treat bag that my kiddos made for me to ensure that I got whatever was being passed out around the class during the party.

The tulips I have to talk about, because it was the biggest surprise of the day.

While my kids were in their P.E. class, I was helping with a student council fundraiser - we were delivering Crush's to classes.  I saw the parent walk in the front door with the tulips in hand.  I was called to the office, but I had to go and retrieve my lil guy from P.E. at his dad's request.  When we both got back to the office, my lil guy's dad looked at the tulips and gave a little head nod to his son indicating it was to give to me.  I'm not sure if the smile on my face or the smile on my lil guy's face was bigger.

You see, this was the same kiddo that got me the awesome collection of sweets from the local candy store for my birthday, do you remember that?  Well, I made a little joke on Wednesday and told him to stay away from the candy store for Valentine's day - due to my diet.  I had no idea he would actually listen.  He instructed his parents to buy me flowers, instead, because I couldn't have candy or chocolates.

Is there anything more sweet than that?

I don't have favorites in my class.  But there's just something about that little boy that melts my heart - and it has nothing to do with the extravagant gifts he buys for me.  I told you about him in my birthday post.  I swear, it will be super hard to say goodbye to all of my kiddos on the last day of school.  But my lil guy?  I just know I'm going to bawl like a baby for having to let him leave.

It just happens to be an added bonus that he's the brother of Peanut's beau.  Or should I say best-friend, because he's not allowed to date until he's 16.  I just love that family.  To two very supportive parents, to an amazing older son that makes my daughter feel so special each and every day, to a younger son that makes me feel special each and every day, to a younger daughter I've haven't met - yet - but I really hope she's in my class once she gets to 4th grade.  In fact, their mom is the only parent I have as a friend on Facebook.

Speaking of the older brother, Peanut sent him a can of Crush yesterday.  He didn't send any to anyone.  He received two, however.  At the end of the day, Peanut informed me that he gave her the extra can he received.  He kept the one Peanut sent him, and gave her the one he'd received from someone else.  Not sure how sweet that comes off to you guys - but I know that Peanut thought it was amazing...and so do I.

Anywho, I've gotten way off course here somehow.

So, to wrap up, yesterday was an awesome day.

Today?  I'm at home.  NO WORK FOR ME!!  I do have to take Butter to a doctor's appointment here in a little while, and I have tons of grading and plans to write for next week.  But, once I'm done with all that?  I get to enjoy the rest of my time off.

Tomorrow night we're all going out to eat for my dad's birthday.  Then, I'm going back to my parent's house so that Mom and I can go and play bingo ALL DAY LONG on Sunday.  Then, it's another night at my mom's house and home Monday morning so I can rest at least one day before going back to work.

Fun times!!

Everyone else enjoy your day, I know I will.  :)

Happy Show Your Love Day!!

Every day, I am thankful to be a teacher.  Every.  Single.  Day.  Almost.

But, there are certain days where I'm a little more thankful than others.  And one of those days?  Oh yes.  Valentine's Day.

Why would I be more thankful on a day that's supposedly about love and relationships and romance?  Because Valentine's Day is a don't even mention it subject in my house.

You see, Hubby hates Valentine's day.  No, he despises it.  For the eight years that we have been together, I've watched Valentine's day come and go keeping my lip buttoned as tight as the kids in Harry Potter who can't mention He Who Must Not Be Named.  I've watched friends receive the most beautiful flower bouquets, boxes of chocolates, jewelry, and all other types of gifts that are meant to show that special loved one how much they're thought of.

But, you know what?  It hasn't really bothered me.  One good thing I can say is that Hubby pretty much shows me how much he loves me every day.  The man cooks for me - the most amazing dishes imaginable.  Seriously, it's like having my own personal chef.  He puts up with me without coffee.  And, there's not a day that doesn't go by where I don't hear the words "I love you" out of his mouth.  I really don't need a special day out of the year to feel more special when it comes to Hubby.

Yet, I still LOVE holidays - and Valentine's day is no exception.  And, now that I'm a teacher, I get to celebrate it with some other little lovelies that feel my heart with love.

The sad part is, it's not really about showing them how much I love them all.  Just like Hubby with me, I try to show them every day how much I love them.  No.  It's totally about getting to have a class party.  Yep.  I'm one of those teachers.  HA!

For today, I promised the kids that I'd bring them special treats for their party.  They all unanimously voted on brownies made by who else?  Ah ha... Hubby.  They've had them before, and they enjoyed them so much that they'd gladly take a brownie over any stationary set or cutesy stuffed animal.  They'll be getting homemade caramel chocolate brownies and a Crush soda.  Cute, right?

And, the even better part to this day is the fact that it's my Friday.  We're getting Friday and Monday off for President's day.  A 4 day weekend!  HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO ME!  I'd gladly take two days off work over a box of chocolates or some flowers ANY DAY. Cause it means that I get extra time home with the ones I love.  And that's what today is all about, really.

So, take some time today to not think about the gifts or the treats, but who the important people are in your life.  Don't worry too much about what you buy, but more importantly - show them every day how special they truly are to you.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

Well, That's Just Disappointing...

How do you make an entire counties of teachers stay up until ungodly hours, band together in prayer chains, and then make them all cry hysterically in a matter of 12 hours?

Tell them snow is coming.

Oh yes.  It appears that NW Arkansas and SW Missouri is in for another snow-day free winter.  Oh goody! *Insert massive amounts of sarcasm*

All day, yesterday, every teacher in every school district in our area was keeping a close eye on the weather.  It was even worse once school got out.  Why?  Because we were given a slither of hope that we'd be getting snow...and not just a little.  That word was used that sends us all in a frenzy and causes crazy behavior like snow dancing, getting up out of our chairs every three minutes to check outside, keeping our TVs constantly tuned to the weather channel, and staying up until well past our bedtimes chatting on Facebook seeing what's happening where in terms of any snow sightings.  ACCUMULATION.

Oh, and we got it.  We got a whopping 1/2- 1" that accumulated enough on the windshields of our cars to be a pain in the rear end when we have to go out there to drive to school. *Sigh*

I guess I can't complain too much.  I am getting Friday and Monday off.

I remember the good ol' days from when I was in school, and the slightest dusting meant a snow day.  Heck, I even remember a few occasions when school was cancelled because there was snow in the forecast - and then we ended up with a few flurries.  I guess I'm now paying the price for those over zealous superintendents...and now there has to be actual inches worth of accumulation before there's even a consideration of a snow day.

In other disappointing news....anyone catch Biggest Loser this week? *SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVEN'T!*

I wasn't very happy this week. I really hate weeks with temptations...especially when there are people that eat and barely scrape by because they got the 2lb advantage.

That's what happened this week.  Francelina and Alex both participated in the temptation - as well as Jeff, but he only ate about 200 calories.

I was shocked to see Francelina participate, because she's been having a really good run.  Alex, on the other hand, drives me nuts - and tries to find any way possible to skate by on the coat tails of others.  Lucky for her, Francelina won the challenge - and then gave Alex the other 2lb advantage because she "took a risk".  Blah!

But that's not what bothered me the most.  I was not surprised when Francelina fell below the yellow line this week - that's karma's way of telling her she should have just stuck to her guns and not consumed 1500 calories of junk.  I was ticked off Alex got a high number, but I was even more ticked off when Mike had to lose more than 10lbs to be safe...and lost 10lbs.

I really thought that after the temptation, the rest of the house would let Mike stay and send Francelina packing.  He earned every pound of his weight loss.  Yet, no.  The group decides to send Mike home...because he's the biggest threat.  Well, hello Game Play - I was wondering when you'd show your ugly face.

The jerk of the week award goes to Jeff.  He and Mike made a promise to each other at the beginning of the show that they wouldn't vote for each other - no matter what.  Then, Jeff decides to think of competition, and then uses the LAMEST excuse as to why he voted off his roommate.  Jeff said he based his decision on the percentage of weight loss for the week.  Mike had the lowest percentage by 1/10th of a percentage.  YET, Francelina only got hers with a 2lb advantage.  So, Jeff was a total idiot when he voted Mike off for that reason... because the lowest loser was, in fact, Francelina.

I told you a few weeks ago that I didn't like that guy.  He's shady.  And now he appears to be a back stabber.  I don't have any love for people like that.

But, that's life, I suppose.

Oh well, it's that time to go and get ready for work.  I'm gonna look on the bright side and not focus on the fact that we lost out on a snow day, but focus on the fact that I have only two days left of this week and then I get to enjoy a nice, long, 4 day weekend.

Truthful Tuesday

To be honest... I'm a little unsure about this sore throat I woke up with.  Not sure if it's from the heating being on, the constant change in the freakin' temperatures, allergies, or I'm getting sick.  I've got a three out of four chance that it's nothing...so I'm liking those odds.

To be honest... I refuse to get too excited about all the snow talk that's going on right now.  Since last Friday, there's been a whisper that we'll be getting some snow tonight.  Well, the forecast has changed about every hour - so I'm not sure what to think.  One minute we're in for 1-3" of accumulation, the next we're in for less than an inch, the next we're getting 1-2" of slushy, wet, snow.  It just blows my mind that yesterday I was outside in a light sweater, and tomorrow I could be bundling up to go out in freezing temps.  And I wonder why my throat hurts and my nose is running.  Humph!  Of course, knowing my luck, we'll get just enough snow to make the ground too nasty and wet for outside recess... but not near enough to have a snow day.

To be honest... I didn't mean to worry anyone with my pathetic weigh-in post yesterday.  I'm so thankful for the support and encouragement.  I didn't want to put the vibe out there that I was giving up, I just meant that I didn't want to keep making empty promises.  It seems like the more I talk about being successful, the more failure that comes my way.  I figure if I just take one day at a time (my beginning of the year mantra), I might be able to see better results.  But, thanks again for being so kind to me.

To be honest... I'm really nervous about being away from school today.  I have professional development, and I have a sub that I don't know.  To make things worse, I'm getting a new student today...another one.  That's two in a week.  I hate not being there when a new student comes.  Hopefully, he gets settled in OK and makes it through until I get there this afternoon.

To be honest... I did a little happy dance last night when I found out that Peanut's best friend (whom she's goo-goo over) asked her to the formal dance.  He is such a sweet, caring, and smart young man - and I couldn't be happier about it.  He's not allowed to "date" until he's 16... so Peanut is fully OK with them just being best friends.  And so is Momma.  He even stayed with her at the basketball game last night, even though he has absolutely NO interest in 5th and 6th grade basketball.  I'm lucky enough to have his little brother in my class, and I have gotten to know his family pretty well also.  So happy for my baby girl!

To be honest... I'm really hoping that Hubby and I can have a day out on Saturday.  We're both not too keen on trying to get out the weekend after Valentine's Day, but we definitely need some time alone.  He HATES Valentine's day, so we're looking at it as more of a late birthday date night.  My hope is that we can go make a visit to the construction company I want to build us a house and find out where we stand and how much of a possibility it is for us to start building our house pretty soon.  That would be the BEST late birthday present EVA!

To be honest... As much as I can't wait to start the process of getting a house built, I'm very nervous about our current situation with buying the land we're currently living on.  It's complicated because we've been paying for the land for the past seven years, but we've been paying Hubby's dad and he's been paying the land owner.  We have nothing in our name, right now, and I'm worried that it's going to be a lot more difficult than we think to get something in our name.  Fingers crossed things all work out.

To be honest... I should probably think about going to get ready.  I need to get to school early and make sure everything is ready to go for the sub.  I just hope this day flies by.  Not a big fan of being away from my kiddos.

Weigh In Monday....And It's Not Pretty

I just don't know what's happened to me since my birthday weekend.  I mean, I have one small portion of french fries and it's all downhill from there.  I've had the worst week trying to stay on track and stay focused... I just don't know what's going on!

It's not like I've gone crazy this week.  I haven't.  Not all week.  Just the past two days.  And still, not "crazy" - just eating things I shouldn't be.

The worst part is, I had such a wake-up call yesterday... and after, I drowned my sorrows with a burger and fries.  Let me explain.

Remember how excited I was about going dress shopping with Peanut for her formal dress?  Well, we had an amazing time... except for when it was time for me to try on some dresses.  It took everything I had to hold back the tears of how awful I looked standing in front of a mirror in a dress.

My beautiful daughter had tried on several dresses, and I felt so proud to ooh and aah over how truly amazing she looked.  Here's a pic of her in one of the dresses she tried on.  She didn't like the dress, but she looked stunning in it...

I posted this photo on Facebook, and one of my old friends commented on how much she looked like me when I was 16.  As complimented as I felt reading that comment, I couldn't help but think I sure don't look like that now.

When I found a dress I liked, and tried it on, I couldn't help but notice how terribly frumpy and large I truly looked.  And it was devastating.

I ended up picking a dress that looked the least terrible, and then had to find something to put over it - because I refuse to wear a sleeveless dress.  Again, because I look terrible without sleeves.  I tried with all my might to just keep a smile on my face - because it's my own fault I look the way I do.  I wasn't going to let it spoil our day out together.  Nope, instead we made the quickest drive to Red Robin and I drowned my sorrows in a huge burger and fries.  Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

So, it was no surprise when I stepped on the scale this morning I discovered that I had gained 1.2lbs.  Yep.  GAINED.  So, now, my total weight loss in the past 4 weeks is a measly 6.8lbs.  UGH!!

All I kept asking myself in my head, yesterday, was why didn't I stay the course two years ago?  How proud would I have felt if I was down below 200lbs trying on those dresses?  And the worst question of all:  Will I embarrass my beautiful child by showing up to her dance looking as awful as I did in those store mirrors?

To make matters worse, the night before we all went out and ate Chinese food with P-Momma.  I was semi-good and only ate meat and veggies.  I stayed clear of my absolute favorite Chinese food - Chow mein.  I look at that as a form of a victory, but I'm sure I over did it on the meats and veggies I did eat.

This time last week, I sat here and spouted off about how I was going to really buckle down again and jump right back in to losing weight.  And look how the week went?  I'm not about to start playing the same old tune week in and week out, trying to defend my poor excuse for weight loss.  I'm just not going there.  Again.

I have one of two choices to make.

I either accept the fact that I'm a large woman and will always be a large woman - taking the hurt and despair of trying to look nice in clothes, when I know deep down that I don't.

OR

I stop with the "I will" and just freakin' DO already!  No more excuses.  No more minor slips.  No more using food as a reward or being OK with a minor cheat here or there.  Because you know what?  There are no minor cheats.  When I slip and fall - I majorly crash and burn.

The sad truth of the matter is, I can't just sit here and give you an answer.  I can tell you which one I want to choose - but unless I actually start doing rather than telling, it's all a load of hot air.

I have exactly a week and five days until Peanut's formal dance.  I know it's not possible to lose enough weight to look much different than how I look now.  That makes me sad, but it's the truth.  But, I have to also stop thinking about the short term in all of this. If I am thinking of committing - completely - it has to be for the long term.

I truly don't know what the future holds for me and the success of my weight loss.  All I know is that I hated the woman looking back at me in the mirrors at the store, yesterday. I hated the way I felt.  I was full of shame and detest.  I don't want to live my life feeling that way about myself.

So, it appears I have some serious decision making to do....and doing will be the key word in all of it.

Armed Teachers Looking to Become a Possibility?

That's not a fake picture.  That's an actual freeze frame from a news segment that has aired about the possibility of Oklahoma teachers carrying guns.  And it's a very hot topic in my neck of the woods, right now, because I live only 10 minutes from the Oklahoma border.

I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times - I don't like to use my blog for talking about hot topics like religion, politics, etc.  But, sometimes I have to put my 2 cents in on a topic that actually has something to do with me.

While perusing around Facebook, yesterday, I noticed story after story after story discussing that Oklahoma teachers may soon be carrying guns to school with them - after taking a short course about gun safety - and my heart stopped beating for a second.  Will it really get to that?  Will my neighbor state really move towards training and arming their teachers as if they were police officers?

I was very surprised at the equal mix of comments on the news stories.  Many people were in support of having more guns on a school campus, many were opposed.

I read actual comments such as:

I'd feel safer knowing that my child was protected by an armed teacher.

The only way to truly protect children from crazy gunmen is to have an armed person waiting for them, and what better person than their teacher?

What happens if a teacher gets really mad at a student?  Or a student gets really mad and overpowers the teacher with the gun?  

What kind of message will we send to our children if the teachers start carrying guns?  We're basically telling them that they aren't safe anymore.

I'm in full support of it ONLY if the teacher receives the proper training and the guns are kept in locked safes.  With a response of:  What good will it do to have the gun in a locked safe?  By the time the teacher gets it out, they'll already be shot. 

And I could go on and on and on.  Some of the comments made me think, others scared me to death.

Hubby and I have had our share of conversations about this very topic.  He has a concealed license.  He owns guns.  Me?  I hate them.  But, I will admit, I feel just a tad safer knowing that there is someone in my house that's trained to use a gun - and has one available if he needs it.  That's not to say that we have guns laying around our house.  Not a single gun is ANYWHERE my kids can get to.  They are locked up.  Period.  However, if the need should ever arise, I'm confident that Hubby could be armed and ready in a split second.

So, what's my actual opinion on teachers being allowed to carry concealed weapons?  I don't like it.  Not one bit.  That doesn't mean I'm opposed to having guns on campus - but only in the hands of those truly trained to use one, comfortable with using one, and are kept away from any child.

What good would that do a school?  I don't know.  I really, honestly don't want to think about it.  I would, however, feel a little safer knowing that the administration in our building had access to firearms - if the need arose.  I would feel a little safer knowing that there were police officers on campus that had the only job of protecting our campus.  Would I feel safer knowing that there was a gun in every classroom on campus?  Not at all.

At the end of the day, this business in Oklahoma does scare me.  Mainly because I think it's quick judgement over a tremendous tragedy.  Because such a heinous crime took place in Sandy Hook, schools and states are now making decisions that are too quick.  Not properly thought out.  Where too many questions will go unanswered.

I have this horrible feeling in the bottom of my stomach that this bill will pass, and we'll start to see an incline in problems.  What will it take before all of the pros and cons are truly examined?  Will an accidental discharge that causes an injury have to occur?  Will a teacher have to be overpowered for his/her weapon?  Will a disgruntled teacher have to snap and do something terrible?

I honestly, truly, don't think the answer to preventing school shootings is to arm every employee.  Do I think that added protection is needed in schools?  Of course.  But at the end of the day, taking guns away from law-biding citizens or giving guns to every teacher might not be the answer.

If it were so easy to stop criminals from committing crimes, wouldn't that have happened already?

All I know is that I would do whatever it takes to protect the precious angels in my classroom.  No doubt about it.  I would jump in front of a bullet, I would hide them all in every nook and cranny available, I would throw chairs or tables or any heavy object at a person who was trying to harm us.

But, I can also go about my day loving every student that walks in my room or attends my school.  I can give them support, guidance, reassurance that nothing is ever as bad as they think it is.  I can send them home each day with the feeling of love.  I can look out for any child that may show signs of being bullied or is somehow hurting inside.  And I can pray to all things holy that taking preventative measures that way may change the mind of any student or person who wishes to do me or my class any harm.

Because at the end of the day, I didn't become a teacher to worry about whether or not I need a gun to protect my students.  I protect my kids every day.  I became a teacher so that every kid I come in to contact with knows that there is at least one person who will ALWAYS be there for them, to give them the tools they need to make something with their lives, to make my classroom a safe haven for any situation that may be taking place at home.  Not a single child in my room now, or that ever walks in to my room will feel the pressure of a label, or live in a shadow of a past reputation.  There are no bad kids... just kids that need someone to help and support them.  I show them that I don't give a flying flip about what trouble they've got in to in the past, or how much they hated school because of problems they've had to deal with.  Those things stop the day I become their teacher.