Michael Scott Words of Wisdom - 8

The website is a brainchild of my brainchild; Ryan. It is my brain grandchild.

Mood Swing

I feel lonely now.

I got hung up on and it made me sad. It's crazy how one thing can ruin my day. But I'm kind of glad that those "one thing"s happen now and then because it reminds me to always be courteous and kind to people because it works the other way too. One smile can totally make someone's day.

She wasn't being rude, she just hung up while I was trying to thank her for checking to see if I have a package waiting in the office. In a hurry I guess. But doesn't that make you feel insignificant? It does me. My two second thank you isn't important enough for her?

I'm being a baby.

But I was INCHES away from grabbing one of those cupcakes to make me feel better. But of course it wouldn't make me feel better. I know that good and well. It would just be a thirty second relief. Literally only 30 seconds because they are mini cupcakes. haha.

Not worth it.

Will I ever be past this? Or further along? Will I ever be a size 14 wishing I could eat a cupcake? I have never been that small. I would love to be that small. I would love to be able to shop in regular stores. But consoling myself with cupcakes won't get me there.

So I'm praying for a swift afternoon. Which I also feel guilty about. I should be thankful for the time I have, not annoyed by it. But I don't want to be here. I want to be at home in bed with Brett watching a movie or napping. And I won't be able to do that tomorrow because I have class all day, or the next day because we have church all day, or the next day or the next day. Sigh. Three more weeks til our vacation. It's got plenty of activity scheduled already because I will be doing classroom observations at least 3 days. But I have declared that we have one day where we don't get out of bed. I need it.

Stupid cupcakes. Why do they have to be so loud??? I can hear them calling from the other side of the building!

Haha... Some Girls Have All The Luck

Apparently, today I've got all the luck!

Guess what is on the shared food table in the lunch room? A fruit tray!!! There are also pastries and cupcakes and cheese cubes and something that smells like breakfast casserole, but I will definitely be sticking to the fruit. There's pineapple, grapes, raspberries, blueberries and strawberries! Now I'm glad I ran out of fruit because my fruit mix this week didn't have grapes!

Haha. Thank you, Lord, for the small blessings. =-)

Weekly Weigh In 1.29.10

Huge thank you to Jennifer who encouraged me Wednesday night and said "well just do better tomorrow and then it will be less bad than it would be otherwise". She was so right.

A few days ago I was up a few pounds from last Friday, but today I am only up .2 weighing in at 237.4. I'll take it!

Yesterday wasn't easy but it was an overall good day. I hate being hungry and I was hungry most of the day. It's totally my fault. Going from eating too much to eating normal portions is always a bit of a shock to my system, but it doesn't last forever. After a few days of good choices, I'm used to it.

It's Friday and we are going out to eat tonight, (Brett's mom wants to take us out to celebrate the passing of my first test... she is always looking for excuses to see us) so this could be the beginning of another disastrous weekend for me, but I am determined to not let it be. I don't want to weigh in Monday morning with "eaters remorse". So I had my oatmeal and coffee this morning. I sauteed some veggies to eat along side my Lean Cuisine for lunch. I'm a bit nervous because I am out of fruit today so I'm going to work snackless unless I have a flash brilliance in the next 45 minutes. Which I may. You never know =-)

I have class all day tomorrow. Last time I took a healthy lunch with me to eat on our lunch break but I was so nervous and jittery, I ended up driving through Long John Silvers anyway. But I'm super excited about the lunch I am taking tomorrow, and I am going to grab a bottled diet soda today so I don't feel like I need to leave and get anything. (When I drove to LJS last time I was just planning to get a drink, but it turned into a drink with two pieces of fish!) I made a new recipe last night and really liked it! Brett didn't hate it, but he definitely won't be eating any of the leftovers, so they're all for me! And I will enjoy some of them tomorrow.

Sunday is a busy day for us, but I am fairly sure that we will spend all of our money at the grocery store Saturday night, so I am planning to have leftover fajitas for one meal, and I'll do my best to make a good choice on the other meal, whatever it may be.

Sigh. Deep breaths. I'm fighting every minute to keep off the anxiety these days. I need EACH day to be productive. I will do my best this weekend, but I hope my best is enough.

OH! And I finally did it! I went to the workout room at my apartment! My mom and sister came over and trudged through the rain to check it out with me. It's a tiny little thing! It has two treadmills, a stair stepper (I think that's what it was) and a sitting bike. You know what I mean. And then also a tiny little room with free weights and muscle machines. Sorry... I don't really speak "gym" yet. There were two people in there already so it was crowded! And stinky because the rooms are so small. But it's better than nothing and I think I will make it my goal to be in there at least 3 nights next week.

Okay, I have officially wasted enough time this morning. I'm off. Oh! I would give anything to be off today! But I need to persevere. I'm starting to consider calling in sick next Friday. I know that's dishonest, but I think I may need the time before my art test on Saturday. I'm not very happy with this study guide that I ended up with, but seeing as that it's the only one I found after weeks of searching, I'm going to shut up and learn it. But it's all art... no teaching. I'm nervous about that. I may need Friday to do some extra work. I only missed 3 questions on the first practice test I took, but it wasn't a full test... only 17 questions. Ha!

We'll see.

Happy Friday.

How Is That Possible?

My head is both completely dead and working overtime today. That makes no sense!

I suppose it is more accurate to say that my mind is out of control today. I can't get it to focus on what I'm supposed to be doing at the moment. Also known as WORK! I'm filled to the brim with thoughts of what I need to be doing, changes I would like to make, the life I would like to live in the future.... And it's all over the place! Thoughts ranging from "I wish I had a nicer camera, to our February budget, to next week's food and when will we plan/grocery shop." I am overloaded.

It's so quiet at work. I have a couple of projects to work on, but neither one really has a deadline and one of them doesn't really have clear instructions from the customer yet. So I'm struggling.

Maybe 5:00 will come quickly. And maybe I will miraculously find some time to think and plan in the next 72 hours. I need some serious list action! Soon! Or I won't get organized in time and things will get put off that need to be addressed ASAP!

Sigh. Work, I really don't have time for you this week.

Simpsons Quote of the Day - 1.28.10

Kent Brockman: Thousands of people are gunned down each day in Springfield, but until now, none of them where important.

Michael Scott Words of Wisdom - 7

I don't want somebody sucking up to me because they think I am going to help their career. I want them sucking up to me because they genuinely love me.

Seriously Kim? Already?

It's only 28 days into the new year and I already feel like I need a do-over.

Jennifer asked me last night how my food is going this week and I told her "craptastic". And then I immediately backtracked, because that's not true. I'm making lots of good choices. I'm just not making exclusively good choices. I'm going to be up on the scale in my weigh-in tomorrow and I feel like a schmuck because of it. But I'm still going to post. And today is a new day. And I want to do better.

I got off track because we ate out a lot last weekend. I started it. It was after the test and I was totally freaking out. It was lunch time and Brett wasn't picking up his phone so I just headed to Chick-fil-a for a bit of decompressing. My choice wasn't great (I got original chicken with fries instead of grilled chicken with fruit) but the portions were. I didn't order any extras though, and I would have loved to stuff myself into a coma. And that has pretty much been the truth for the last five days. I haven't been making terrible choices, I just haven't chosen the best choice.

I'm going to stop that today.

And guess what else? I'm exercising tonight. FINALLY!!! My sister and mom are coming over and we are going to check out the workout room at my apartment. I hope no one else is in there. I hope I don't hurt myself on the equipment. But most of all, I hope that this is the first day of a new habit. Brett's schedule is back to late today after three days of a regular schedule. I miss him when he works 10-7:30 but honestly, it's a schedule that could have some perks in the end. If my evenings were free, we would still have plenty of quality time after dinner. As of today I am back to heading straight for the chair in the study to get my read on as soon as the dishes are done. But in a few weeks, that will all be over. I will still miss him in the mornings, but on days that he gets home at 7:30 and I get home at 5:30, I have 2 whole hours to be productive! My plan is to work out when I get home and then make dinner. This will only work if I don't have any post-work grocery runs because I'm missing an ingredient that I thought that I had, or didn't realize I needed, so we need to plan our meals/shopping very carefully. And this is the perfect week to start that because rent is due and it's not our only bill, so money will be tight!

Okay, I'm feeling determined (rather than hopeless) today. I have a lot to accomplish. Some of it has a deadline (the studying and all things school related) but my health does not. I will never run out of time to make improvements. Today I will start again. Again.

Hope everyone's week is going well. Much love.

Michael Scott Words of Wisdom - 6

Indians do not eat monkey brains! And if they do... sign me up, because I am sure they are very tasty and nutritional.

Keep Moving Forward

I am so thankful that I never have to think about that test again. It's done. The next test is the one that I expect to be hard and I REALLY want to pass the first time around! I am taking the art test on February 6. Art is what I would like to teach. I have class from 6-9 tonight, but the studying will begin again tomorrow night.

The next thing that I need to do is get a background check so that I can fulfill my observation hours. I am getting those dates lined up now, but I need to get the background check ASAP so I don't take off from work and then not be able to accomplish anything. I have no idea how long it takes, but I think it costs around $50 and I know I will have to go get finger printed at some point...

I wish that I felt like I were moving forward in EVERY area of my life. I mean, I guess there has been some progress made on the health front this month. We have been seeking out healthy recipes and had a few hits! I just need to be more diligent in planning and we need to make an effort to not eat out so much. AND I HAVE to get my butt moving. I am craving exercise... I just have to start moving! I have SO many things to think about right now that I feel like require and deserve my full attention... but I can only do so much at once, ya know? Focusing on two things at once will just make you cross eyed!

I also have an always growing pile of TIRED that I am really feeling today. Every time I blink, my eyes beg me to leave them alone and let them rest for a minute.

I'm really looking forward to class tonight though =-) And Brett will have tasty fajitas waiting for me when I get home. Woohoo!

MIRACLE!!!

I PASSED!!!!!

Thank you Lord!

Michael Scott Words of Wisdom - 5

My mother used to say that average people are the most special people in the world, and that's why God made so many of them.

Seriously... How Did I Ever Graduate?

Ugh. The test was hard. The best thing that I can say about it is it's over. I will find out sometime this week if I passed. If I didn't pass, I can't take it again for another 60 days. I'm not going to worry about it because there is nothing that I can do now except wait. I am going to start studying for the art test on Monday, and whatever happens, I will keep going.

Okay. So. It's been 7 years since I've taken a test. Well, in May it will be 7 years. I throw that phrase out, that so many people use, "I'm just not a good test taker". But I had forgotten how true that is for me. I mean, seriously!!! How did I graduate? It's not that I struggle with reading comprehension... I understand what they are asking me, but it's the reading the question part... I'm totally literate. I love to read. But I have trouble focusing. Serious trouble. Especially in situations like this. I can read the same sentence ten times and have no idea what it says. Not because it's confusing, but because I am thinking of something else while I read! The testing center was fine. They do everything that they can to make sure that it is a comfortable test environment for users, including little walls between each seat and headphones to block out the noise. But I'm a special case.

I am not exaggerating. I had to read every question AT LEAST three times to make myself pay attention, because the tiniest thing, the SLIGHTEST distraction, and I am off chasing rabbits. I'll tell you the biggest repeat offender rabbit and then list a few more of today's frequent flyers.

Rabbit Numero Uno: The cameras!

When I sat down in the room, which was not what I was expecting by the way, no formal instructions were given. The guy just walked me to my seat, whispered "is that you?" and pointed to the screen where my name and picture were glaring at me. I whispered a yes, he pulled out my chair for me and then walked away. So I looked at the screen and started clicking. There were 10 pages or so of explanations, and one page said that if I needed to take a restroom break at any point during the test, or if I encountered any problems, to raise my hand and a person would come get me and pause the test. So I expected a person to be in the room monitoring us in case there were any problems. Well 30 minutes into the test, the girl next to me raised her hand, and to my surprise, the door opened and someone came to assist her. WHAT? I hadn't looked around (because I was struggling to focus from the beginning) so I hadn't noticed that the room only had test takers, and no administrators present. Guess what that meant. They were watching us!!! There were cameras! This happened a dozen times and every time it drove me crazy! I wanted to look around and find the cameras! But I knew that they were watching, and is there anything more suspicious than looking for cameras? No! There isn't! So I just kept my eyes on the screen and fought to pull my attention there as well.

Ugh.

Other distractions:

- I misread a questions and thought it was asking me about growing planets when in fact it was asking me about growing plants. Had a minute of confusion there while searching the answers, followed by some silent chuckles.

- I tried the head phones and it did block out some sound, but it also made me feel like I was underwater AND I when the only noise I could hear was my breathing, I noticed that my nose was whistling, so that wasn't really an option. ALSO, the headphones had little microphones attached so I looked like a cross between a DJ and a telephone operator. Not a distraction I needed.

- Every single question that asked about teaching procedures, which was probably 75% of the questions, I imagined what I would do if I were teaching and had that problem/issue/situation. Hello! Not the right time to daydream about my future job and all the cute kiddos I am going to see every day. Focus Kim!

- I was tired. I have trouble with blurry vision at the end of the day when my eyes are tired, but this week has kind of been one long day with short naps each night. I woke up with a blurry left eye. Which made me think about glasses. And what kind I will get. And what color they will be. And how they will look on me. And if they will hurt my nose.

- When I started getting hungry, I thought about what I would do when I left the test, and should I pick Brett up so we can go grab breakfast, and then I realized it would be lunch by the time I finished, and I didn't really want to eat lunch out, but we only had sandwich stuff at home, and he eats sandwiches for lunch all week, so he wouldn't want a sandwich. ENOUGH WITH THE SANDWICHES KIM! You're supposed to be taking a test not calculating Weight Watcher points for all of the possible lunch spots!

- I was also worried because there were SO many tricky questions. These tests are designed to be tricky. It is all multiple choice. They give you a question and four possible solutions, but on many of the questions, I thought that several solutions could apply. The point is to pick the BEST solution for the age group in question. How should I know if a line dance or cartwheel is a better test of motor skills for a fifth grader? Sorry. That wasn't in the book. And there were a few questions where I thought none of the answers sounded right. And a few questions asking me about totally foreign concepts. So of course I started imagining finding out that I didn't pass and being embarrassed when people asked and not having passed the test yet when it is time to start interviewing for next year's teaching positions... I mean, I was on question number 20 and already mourning my failure.

Ugh.

I was also distracted by:

- the orange sweatshirt next to me.

- the pregnant lady in the corner.

- the sound of trucks outside.

- a pimple on my neck.

- how much louder my mouse seemed to be than all of the others.

- how dangerously comfortable I was when my head started to droop.

I'm seriously not a good test taker.

I pay attention just fine when I am reading things that interest me. And I have figured out ways to study as well... when I read aloud I catch what I'm reading the first time around because I can hear and see the words at the same time. But I can't read the questions aloud in a testing center. Especially when there are cameras watching me!!!

But I made it through. I was a little weepy when I got home. More from tiredness than anything else. I walked in the door feeling a little defeated, but I was met by a huge bouquet of flowers and my husband waiting in bed for me because he knew I would be tired.

I shed a few tears... just a bit of stress release... and lay in Brett's arms for a good hour and a half. Then we got up and went to see Avatar in 3D. I said "Avadar" on accident when I was buying the tickets and that set me to giggling. And then they showed that trailer for the Tom Cruise spy movie, which normally wouldn't interest me, but it is co-starring Cameron Diaz and she has a REALLY funny moment in the trailer, so I was all giggles again. And I am feeling better now.

I LOVED the movie. Visually, it was just BEAUTIFUL! After a morning of forcing my eyes to NOT look at anything interesting, I feasted on the colors floating in front of me. I also loved the tortilla soup that I had at On The Border after the movie. And most of all, I loved being with my husband for 8 uninterrupted hours. I missed him so this week.

Thank you to everyone who wished me luck and encouraged me. I wish that I had started studying sooner. I covered all of the information, but I would have liked to cover it all repeatedly...

Screw rabbits. I am off to chase some MUCH desired sleep. This girl can't live on five hours a night.

I didn't mean that about the rabbits... they're sweat. It's not their fault I'm so... me.

Weekly Weigh In 1.22.10

I can genuinely say it was a better food week. Not perfect, but I'm overall pleased. Especially with last night. I wanted to eat more, but I knew that I wasn't hungry, so I stopped and satisfied myself by packing up the two remaining enchiritos for today's lunch. Of course, after I fell asleep within a few pages of the science section I made a large mocha and ate a little snack bar to keep me up for another dozen pages or so. I still didn't make it through the section though. I did a few more this morning, but I will have to do the last 5 pages before I take the practice test tonight.

Happy with today's weigh in at 237.2. I hope that I keep moving in the right direction. I figured out a pretty good workout schedule this week that I think will be ideal when I don't have all of the studying going on. When Brett has a class in session at work, he doesn't get home until 7:30 or so. While we are slow at work, I am home by 5:30. So I can use the gym at the apartment right after work and then still have dinner ready, or close to it, when he gets home. I think that's a great plan!

I take my generalist test tomorrow, and my art test is two weeks from tomorrow. I will definitely start studying for the art test on Monday, but maybe I will stick to studying after dinner and use the time before Brett gets home to workout. We'll see.

It's been a BIG week around here. Hopefully I will celebrate the completion of my first test tomorrow with a nice long nap. I sure could use the sleep! And then we are planning to go see Avatar. Finally! Woohoo! =-)

Happy weekend =-)

Simpsons Quote of the Day - 1.20.10

Chief Wiggum: This is Papa Bear. Put out an A.P.B. for a male suspect, driving a... car of some sort, heading in the direction of, uh, you know, that place that sells chili. Suspect is hatless. I repeat, hatless.

Checking In...

It feels so good to get caught up on reading the blogs I follow. First of all, they are all awesome people! So to read how they are is always fun... I'm interested in their well being! Or state of being... it's not always well. But it always comforts me... because there is always someone sharing my struggles... I'm not the only person out there who sometimes eats too much or exercises too little or stresses or has trials...

My test is Saturday and I am still plugging away with the studying. I only got halfway through my section for last night. But at 12:30 when I realized I probably had 3 hours to go, I had to stop. My eyes were burning and the bed was calling! So I am going to finish that section tonight which will mean that I won't be able to take the practice test until Friday (unless I get through Thursday's section faster than expected...). I don't want to be a zombie Saturday morning, ya know? But I'm not going to stress. I'm just going to keep going. I WILL make it through the whole book. And I'm totally taking it in. Outlining while I read has always been a good technique for me. I'm easily distracted though. Noise of any kind totally loses me.

I have my second class tonight and I am really excited about it =-) I am slightly nervous about making it to Grand Prairie by 6 because I have no idea what those highways will be like in 5:00 traffic, but I will do my best! I'm also lookin' cute today because the attire for class is business casual. My work is CASUAL casual! We have ink and chemicals laying around, so no one dresses up. I'm still wearing jeans today (because I don't want to arouse suspicion at work...) but it's still a somewhat dressy outfit. Pretty cute =-) And there were lots of people in jeans at the last class, so I think I will blend in.

I miss my husband =-( Now that we are on different work schedules, I don't see him much in the morning and last night, we ate dinner, watched about 45 minutes of shows together and then I was off to study. It will be that way all week, except tonight I won't even get home until 9:30 and then I have at least 3 hours of studying to do...

I'm tired. But blessed. You may not hear from me again until after the test, but I may try to sneak in quick lunch posts...

Hope everyone's week is going well!

Says Me Now, "Holy Cow!"

I studied for 8 hours today. From noon to 6:00 and then from 9:00 to 11:00. It was slow going because I was trying to learn WHILE I read. I read through the first of five domains that I will be tested on in my test next Saturday. I didn't just start today, but the first domain, which is language, is the largest so it took me a few days to make my way through. I filled pages and pages of my spiral notebook, but I feel like I took good notes and understood what I was reading. Tomorrow evening/night, I will do domain number 2, Math, which is half the size of domain number 1. Monday night will be History, and it's gonna be a doozy! (When I become a teacher, am I going to have to stop saying things like "it's gonna"? If I say pretty please, can I still use bad grammar on my blog?) I mean, things that I haven't studied in years! And I know that I need to try to commit what I can to memory because on the first practice test I took, those were the questions that I missed most often. It's not that I don't find history interesting, but it was always the subject that I had the hardest time retaining, and it has been YEARS since I studied native Americans and Texas history. Tuesday night, I have class from 6-9 in Grand Prairie, but I can't afford to skip a day of studying, so I will do domain 4, science, when I get home. Wednesday night I will do the final domain which is Art, Music, and Health. And then Thursday night, after I host this months Dining with Divas at my apartment, I will take and score the practice exam. Friday night I will probably read through my notes, but I will try to go to bed at a decent time so I can get up extra early and be at my test by 7:30 on Saturday morning.

Nervous much? Yeah.

And I'm SOOO tired.

And Brett is tired. Work was killer for him this week. Actually, work was strenuous. I can't say "killer" because that sounds negative, and he was an absolute ROCKSTAR this week! He did such a good job managing the first week of his new students taking calls, despite the fact that this class (his second ever) has twice as many students as his first class. He did so well that on Wednesday, a student brought him donuts in the morning because she thought he did such a great job teaching them the previous day.

This week will be a challenge for me because, despite the fact that I have immediate needs that I need to address and can't put off, I want to meet Brett's needs as well. This is the kind of week where we genuinely NEED to be partners. We are going to support each other and each give and take to get through the week and stay positive and productive. Ha. It sounds easy when I just blurt it out like that, but in all honesty, this week is going to be a challenge. Saturday is a big day for me, and after a long full week, Sunday is going to be a big day for Brett because he will be teaching the first of four lessons in a series that he was asked to present at our church.

Thank goodness God's grace is sufficient! Not that I am EVER capable of much on my own, but sometimes it is almost painfully obvious how in need I am of His mercy and strength.

I feel like I have more to say, but I can't mention anything else without starting completely new topics that need a lot of explaining, and I am way too tired for rabbit chasing tonight.

Pray for me this week! Pray that my sleep is TRULY restful and that I find the energy to get everything done that I need to this week. Pray that I lean on the Lord and not try to rely on my own strength. My blurry eyes and cramped legs are telling me right now that my strength is NOT enough to get me through this...

Loving you!

Weekly Weigh In 1.15.10

Well, yesterday morning I was 238.4, which is a decent dip from last week's 241. But then last night, out of the blue, I had a little mini-binge. I came home feeling SOOO hungry, but I think it was more than that. I was tired. I was exhausted. It's been a big week for me, not just in reality, but emotionally too. I was wiped. And for the first time in, I seriously can't remember when, I had the apartment to myself for 2 hours and I had nothing pressing to do. I got home at about 5:15 and I knew that Brett probably wouldn't be home until 7:30. And dinner was already made! I made taco meet two nights ago while I was cooking something else, just so it would be done. Taco meat is usually better the longer it sits, so I made it in advance this time around because I had an opportunity to do so.

So anyway, I made my tacos and was still hungry. So I kept eating. For an hour. It was nothing too crazy. I mean, it was more food than I needed, but points/calories wise I hadn't totally ruined my week or anything. But then the pizza happened. When Brett is exhausted and hungry pizza is usually what sounds satisfying to him. I thought ordering pizza on a Thursday night was actually not a bad idea because we would have leftovers all weekend for an easy lunch option.

I had no reason to eat that pizza. I had already eaten my dinner, and then some! But it just happened.

So, after a good week of eating, I mean a really huge improvement, I am weighing in this morning at 239.6. I plan on having a good food weekend and next week is looking good too!

I am down to 8 days to study for my test. I plan to use them!

Hope everyone's weekend starts out well! Happy Friday!

Slightly Sad Rabbit

So, my niece has decided that I am her favorite. Every time she says that, it makes me want to smile and cry at the same time. It's sweet of her to say (even though my two younger sisters are WAY cooler than me!) but the reason I am her favorite is because she is always excited to see me, and the reason she is excited to see me is because she doesn't see me very often. This makes me sad =-(

I took the day off today to hang out with my sister, Melanie. It was really good to spend some time with her. She is the one who is in nursing school AND working AND just got married AND has a 7 year old daughter. She has a LOT going on. Seriously. How can I talk about feeling overwhelmed when Melanie is doing SO much and doing it all with class and style? (Most of the time ;-)

We went to Madi's school to eat lunch with her and she really enjoyed it =-) And then we picked her up at 2:50 and I was at their house until 5 so I got to play with her for a little while. I accidentally let slip that I couldn't stay for dinner because I was going to eat with Grandmamma (my mom) tonight, and that was the end of her good mood. She wanted to come too, and it hurt her feelings that I wouldn't take her. But it was still a good day overall.

I'm exhausted. I didn't open my book to study tonight but I will get some good work in tomorrow. I'm not looking forward to being back at work tomorrow. Even though we are completely dead and filling our days with busy work, I don't think my boss was very happy when I reminded her yesterday that I would be off today. Blah. At least it is Thursday.

Long Time No Study

I have just completed my first evening of studying for the Generalist EC-6 test. There are a few problems with that statement. First of all, the test is on January 23rd. I wish that I had started studying days ago. But I had to get through the holidays and then get back into the swing of things and then find study guides... so there you go. I'm cramming. Yuck. Second of all, let's zero in on the "EC-6" part. Early Childhood through 6th grade. Last year (and all of the years previously) it was EC-4. It changed this year. All of the study guides are for EC-4. That's helpful.

If I could choose any position, I would want to teach middle school art. I LOVED my middle school art classes and I think that I would enjoy teaching art IMMENSELY. Not to mention, it's what I am trained in, so I feel that it is the subject I am most qualified to teach. But when I decided that I needed to be certified in another area, because art jobs are few and far between, I chose Early Childhood thinking that I would love to be with little kids. Umm... now that I start to study and observe classrooms and get a better picture of what that means, I'm thinking I'd rather be with 4th or 5th grade. I'm reading all of these development concepts, and while some of them are mostly common sense, others are loaded up with words that I had to get a dictionary out to even know what they were saying. I'm totally serious... I am sitting next to a dictionary!

I honestly believe that I could be a good teacher. It will take a lot of hard work, but it is possible for me to be the kind of teacher I want to be. To be a Ms. Cray (my fourth grade teacher who ASTOUNDED me with her ability to motivate us) or a Mrs. Allibon (my middle school choir teacher who made her class desirable in every way imaginable) or a Mrs. Gooding (who made the world of art accessible in ways that I didn't realize existed). But it will be harder for me because I am not classically trained, like they were. I am going through an alternative certification program. Do I wish that I had majored in Art Ed instead of Graphic Design like my work study boss told me dozens of times that I should? No. I really don't. For two reasons. (What's with my speaking in lists tonight?) First of all, I am thankful for the skills that I have developed as a graphic designer over the past ten years. I know that God had that path chosen for me for a reason. And secondly, now I KNOW I want to be a teacher. I didn't make the decision when I was young and everyone was telling me that is what I should do. I made the decision after trying something else and realizing that teaching isn't the give-up choice for me, it's the right choice.

But it sure would be nice to have four years of education classes under my belt before I start teaching. I'm reading about these concepts that are foreign to me and I would love to sit and study them. But I'm not a student anymore. I have responsibilities and expenses, and going back to school for an entirely new degree, is not an option for me right now. The speaker (who I have to say one more time, was AWESOME) on Saturday said that AC programs exist because the goal of teachers is to help students, and we want to do that NOW! Not in four years. Now. Even if I did sit through all of those classes, I wouldn't know everything there is to know.

So anyway. If you are wondering where I am for the next several weeks, I'm studying. With my dictionary. But I will post when I can! I have to empty the overflow in my brain now and then, or I will go completely crazy! Teachers, feel free to send your advice my way! Marie, Jennifer and Krista, I'm talkin' to you!

Simpsons Quote of the Day - 1.12.10

Homer: Bart, with 10,000, we'd be millionaires! We could buy all kinds of useful things like... love!

Just One Bite

Sometimes I have the mindset "one bite won't kill me". I want to be like Jamie who embraces balance! And then at other times I feel like "there's no such thing as one bite". The truth is, for me, one bite usually leads to more. Often, to days of bad bites. No bueno.

I wish that I could be casual sometimes about my eating, but the truth is, this is serious stuff! If "one bite" is more than I can handle, then I should stay away. If I can.

Someone brought a cinnamon crumb cake to work today. It smells SO good! But today I'm choosing not to take a bite. It's not safe. Today.

Maybe some other time.

Michael Scott Words of Wisdom - 4

Nobody likes beets, Dwight. Why don't you grow something that everybody does like? You should grow candy.

Simpsons Quote of the Day - 1.11.10

Homer: English? Who needs that? I'm never going to England!

Texas Teachers - Day 1

Sigh.

It was great.

What a great program. I totally understand now why this program is so expensive... they put a LOT into it. The speaker for the first day was AMAZING.

But let me start at the beginning. So we all know that I was nervous. I was nervous about a lot of things. I mean, the whole changing my life and completely starting over aspect... some people would be nothing but excited. I AM excited. But it scares me too. Addicts don't tend to deal with change very well. We are very rooted in our routines, patterns, habits... but it wasn't just the big things that had me shakin' in my Payless cuties. It was the little things too. Driving somewhere that I'd never been following directions that didn't sound familiar. Not being sure what to wear because I didn't know what other people would be wearing. Not knowing what the schedule would be. Worrying that I was going to find out that I had missed a step.

So yesterday was the first class. It was from 9-4 at the Ruth Jackson Center in Grand Prairie. Never head of it. But the directions sounded pretty straight forward and MapQuest estimated a 30 minute drive. They requested we get there 30 minutes early on the first day so I got up at 6 planning to leave the apartment at 7:30. I left at 7:45 but wasn't worried because I thought it would be plenty of time. And it was... even though I got lost. haha. Not lost exactly, but I missed my turn. There was construction so the ramp to get from 114 onto Loop 12 South was not marked. I still can't tell you which of the two unmarked turns it was. I have no idea. So I was pointed the wrong way. The other problem is that I could BARELY see. The sun was right in my eyes and I couldn't read the signs until I was almost directly under them with my car shading my eyes. But God was totally taking care of me. Not only were there no cars behind me so I could drive slowly while I squinted at the signs, but taking a wrong turn was actually helpful. When I ended up headed the wrong way, I turned around and that took care of the sun in my eyes problem. And then I knew where I was. So I still got there in plenty of time.

It was an easy drive (once I got on Loop 12) and easy to find. It's a huge building and it's beautiful. Like, they use it for weddings beautiful. There were a TON of people there! Like I would guess 300. When I walked through the door there was a huge line where everyone was getting a scan card that will be how we check in and out at the classes. I sat down at a table that had one lady who was texting on her phone and evidence of a couple of other people who had left the table for something. The woman didn't look up from her phone though, and I realized that there was a woman by herself at the table next to ours looking shy and nervous so I got up to sit with her. Good choice! It was an interesting table. There ended up being 6 of us at the table. Two girls a few years younger than me, two girls ten or so years older than me and one woman older than all of us who ended up being a bit of a know-it-all. But somewhat helpful.

The speaker was SO good! He is a teacher from Fort Worth (teaching for 30 years) who was recruited by Texas Teachers four years ago because they saw a story of him on the news. He was taking his students, all who had A's in Honor Roll for the year, trick or treating. In May. It was hilarious! He was so enthusiastic! It was incredibly encouraging and I feel like I learned so much from him in the few hours he spoke.

After lunch, two guys who seemed to be the creators of the program or something, spoke about the program kind of explaining how everything works. I think that my scheduling is working out in my favor so far. God has guided me so faithfully. This is the perfect time to be in the program, and I am taking both of my tests soon so that will be over and done (if I pass them the first time) when job fairs start.

To think about the whole process is definitely a bit overwhelming at this point. There are a LOT of steps! But I am going to take them one at a time and pray that God will continue to lead me on a straight path as I cling to him daily.

This week, I would like to do the first three online sessions and STUDY STUDY STUDY! I should have started studying two weeks ago. My first test is two weeks from this past Saturday. But it's not too late. I bought a study guide today. I'm off to get organized and do some, well, studying!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Michael Scott Words of Wisdom - 3

I'm a Night Owl and an Early Bird, so I'm wise and I have worms.

Weekly Weigh In 1.8.10

Okay, it' my first weigh in of the year. I am up five pounds from my last weigh in, but that seems like ages ago to me, and the five pounds is not scaring me. Frankly, it could have been worse! So today, at the beginning of a new year, I weigh 239.6. I hope to be less next Friday.

This week wasn't too bad for my first week back in action, but I can't really say that I gave it my all. My days were great and dinners, well, they weren't give ups but they were kind of half ways. So there you go. Next week, there will be no halfway. I am looking forward to really getting back in the groove.

I've decided tracking points is MUCH easier than tracking calories, fat and fiber, so that's what I will be doing starting Monday. And I will be journaling again starting Monday.

I'm still freaking out about my class tomorrow, but it hasn't been constant. I was all worked up yesterday until my sister, Jenna, who did this (got her certification) last year sent me a text that said not to worry, "this is the easy part". So I believed her. I calmed down for a while. But then last night I was laying in bed and just feeling so inadequate. Like I'm kidding myself thinking that I can make things better. That I deserve better. How whiny and selfish is that?! Satan is trying to tell me that I am worthless, but last night I prayed one of my favorite verses for a little while and I am committed to clinging to it through this journey. Proverbs 3:5-6. "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not on thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and he shall direct thy paths." I have no idea what I am doing, but I believe that God is leading me. So I will trust in Him and follow where He takes me, one step at a time.

It was really difficult for me to rest last night. I'm afraid it's going to be a long day. Pray for me if you can, and I will let you know how tomorrow goes.

Freaking Out Too Soon

I am so nervous about Saturday. Like feel like throwing up nervous. My teacher classes start Saturday morning. Why am I freaking out? I can't help it. I just am. I'm nervous about... I don't even know! I mean, when I think about what these classes MEAN... that I'm completely changing my life and facing something unknown that is going to be a huge challenge. I mean, that's scary enough. But right now, I'm just nervous about the classes. About going the first time. What if I'm late. What if I walk up to the door and they say, 'Are you serious? Get out of here!' What if everything they say is terrifying instead of reassuring like I am hoping it will be?

Freaking. Out.

Resolution Refinements

First an announcement: this is my 500th post since starting my blog. Yowza!

Moving on.

I'm finally posting my resolutions! I think it's good to have goals. But I also think it's good to be flexible. I spent a lot of years being almost unforgivable towards myself when it came to failures. Like I was defined by them. I saw myself as all of the things that I wasn't, like not pretty, or not smart, or not fast, or not good, instead of all of the things that I was, like nice and thoughtful and considerate. Maybe that is why I don't chisel goals in stone anymore. I don't always set deadlines. But it is a new year, and like everyone else, I would like for it to be a better year. Who wants a worse year? I committed to making some changes a couple of months ago and I have shared most of them with you, but I want to share them one more time and update you a bit on how things are going.

Health

This year I want to make permanent changes to my health. I want activity to become a regular part of my life. Right now it almost exists as an urban legend. Like there is evidence enough to believe that it has existed in the past, but you can't really prove it right now. I would like to change that. So far, all that I know for sure is that Jenina and I are going to start walking together on Tuesday nights. If the weather doesn't allow outdoor activity, we are going to use her workout room. I used to work out with Jennifer, and though I didn't love Curves, I LOVED being with her. Being with a friend. First of all, anytime that you can see a good friend on a regular basis, it's a HUGE blessing! I loved being up to date with what was going on in Jennifer's life. I am thankful that I am going to get back to being up to date with Jenina. She is one of my oldest friends and being busy just isn't an excuse to lose her. I also think that having a workout partner can be a huge motivator on days that you just aren't in the mood. That will not be my ONLY activity, that's just the only part that I have nailed down so far. More on that this weekend!

Part two of the health changes is my food. Duh! 2009 was a very interesting food year. I had a few fairly lengthy periods of positive eating, but my periods of negative eating (trust me, these are accurate terms) have equal representation. I'm not sure it was quite 50/50 on the food front with the good and bad, but it may have been. This year I want to make permanent changes. I want to cook more. Fresh foods, not foods from a box. I want to consume more fruits and vegetables. I want to eat out less. I want to learn to make good choices when I do eat out without feeling deprived.

I am expecting positive impacts in several areas of my life from making these changes, but it is imperative that I lose some weight. For a million reasons! But the one that is really jumping out at me now that I am 28 is that I don't want being overweight to stop us from starting a family when we are ready. Not that we are ready right now. But we sure are talking about it a lot. I want to have a healthy pregnancy. I want to do what I can NOW to make that more possible.

I will definitely keep you updated on the food and activity front. I hope that you will help me along the way!

Professional

I will not be at my current job in 2011. This is my last year there. The last few years, I have hoped that it might be my final year with this company. This year I am declaring it. I'm done. I do not plan on being there after the summer. Whether I get a teaching job in the fall or not, I will not stay where I am. It is time to move on. That is all that I will say here. (Except, oh my goodness! I start my classes this Saturday and I am so nervous and so excited, and did I mention, SO NERVOUS!)

Financial

I would like to pay off our credit card debt this year. That is going to take a lot of discipline on our part but again, it's part of building towards our future. I want to be financially healthier when we are ready to start a family. We need less debt, more savings and better spending habits. haha... I wish I were feeling more confident about that. But I am saying it out loud because I MEAN it! I want us to be in a better place! We have already committed to putting our entire tax return towards the credit card balance and that is going to take a big chunk out of it. We will keep at it until it is gone. It would be WONDERFUL if that happened this year!

Social

I am SO thankful that I took steps towards reaching out to my loved ones at the end of 2009. I have EVERY intention of continuing that effort in 2010. Jennifer and I have a weekly coffee date set up. Just thinking about that makes me happy! Jennifer is so COMFORTING! She never makes me feel stupid, even when I am totally unbalanced. She is understanding and honest at the same time. I know that if I am being unrealistic, Jennifer will tell me, and she seems to always have options when I think I am at a dead end! She's also a BLAST to be with! I heart her!

I also have a weekly walking night with Jenina, which I've already said is a really good thing that I am totally looking forward to (even though we were supposed to start tonight and I asked if we could wait one more week because I need to catch up on some sleep before I lose my marbles!).

I am committed to making sure that my family continues to meet for a Sunday dinner once a month and I am thrilled to continue my weekly dinner with my mom. (I know that it sounds like I'm abandoning Brett, but my dinner and coffee night are the same night! And my walking is going to happen right after work, so I'm not skipping out on him that night, just starting our evening an hour later!)

And the monthly dinner with my college roommates is still going strong!

So relationship wise, things are looking pretty good. I need to find a way to spend more time with my sister Melanie. I just need her right now. I get anxious when I go too long without seeing her. Probably because she is totally Super Woman and juggling a million things right now. It's UNBELIEVABLE that she can manage so much at once. So much so, that I need to see her with my own eyes to know that she is okay. I also love her daughter and want to see her more, so I am going to figure something out there.

I also want us to go see Jeff sometime soon. He moved a year and a half ago (is that right?) and we haven't been to see him yet. We see him when he comes home, but he is not far, only in Tulsa, so we want to make the time to go see him.

We've been really fortunate in finding ways to see our Houston friends over the past year, so I am expecting that to continue this year!

Spiritual

I want to be consistent in reading the Word and I want to continue to grow in my walk. God has blessed me SO richly... how can he not have a plan for me? I know that he has called me to live a purposeful life and I want to honor him with everything that I do.

Marriage

I just want to keep learning! Being a newlywed has been wonderful! Learning can't be easy all of the time, but we ARE learning and growing and loving each other every day. I am so thankful for that.

Okay, that lack of sleep that I mentioned early is TOTALLY starting to show. I need to get to bed. But those are my resolutions. I know they may seem kind of flimsy, but don't you worry... my resolve is growing every day!

Happy New Year =-)

Feeling Okay

On day two of getting my food back under control and it's going okay. I'm feeling hungry because I've been eating so much lately, so the smaller portions are leaving my tummy in protest, but very soon my body will start thanking me. I feel SO much better when I eat healthier food! Now I just need to start getting some exercise in! I still want to post my "Resolution Refinement" post... hopefully will do that tonight.

I'm so tired this week! We didn't make it to the grocery store over the weekend because it took us all day Sunday to make a full grocery list. So we were already planning to go last night when Brett's mom asked if she could go with us on our next trip. It's TOTALLY fine to take her to the store, I'm glad that we can help, but when we shop at the same time, it makes for a very long trip. Not to mention driving across town to get her and take her home, and fitting in dinner in between. Seriously though, I don't mind... it was just rough not getting home until almost 10 last night when we left the apartment at 6! I need to make a serious effort to be in bed by 10 tonight. I want to play with some of our cookbooks because we just bought some post it strips so we can mark the recipes that we use often or want to try soon! I also need to hit Walmart on my way home to pick a few things that I forgot/we couldn't find last night. But I am looking forward to being home tonight, making a tasty dinner for my husband and then doing a little cleaning and blogging before getting to bed early. Sounds good!

Hope everyone's new year is starting well!

Holidays 2009

I realize that I am already on day three of 2010, but I finally have some time to post about the holiday season. I figure it's not REALLY the new year til Monday morning... so this counts. I can still talk about the holidays. First things first. I am SO blessed.

I mean, really, it's ridiculous.

This year has been so wonderful. 2009 was a huge year for me! Getting married was... interesting. I mean, a LOT goes in to planning a wedding. We had some bumps along the way because of some mother in law issues, and of course, everything is so expensive, but when it was all said and done, I had far, far, FAR more good experiences than bad when it came to the whole wedding ordeal. I have the most amazing family and friends and having so many of them be involved in the wedding was just tremendously special, and it is still, 9 months later, difficult for me to think about the whole thing and not cry because I'm THAT happy!

This is not a wedding post, but I feel like I had to mention that so you can realize, as I have, that I am just spoiled. I mean it. Tremendously blessed. I know that I've used that word twice now, but it's the only word big enough for my blessings today.

The holidays were wonderful. Being a Holland (because I always will be) AND a Bacon, was delightful. I don't want to leave anything out so I'll start at the beginning. I apologize now for the length of this post. I'll try not to ramble... too much.

As a Holland, our holidays really began on Christmas Eve because that is when we have our big family get together. But as a Bacon, our holidays begin a day early because Brett's birthday is December 23. I LOVE Brett's birthday! Mostly because Brett enjoys his birthday. Some people are so glum when it comes to birthdays, but Brett gets excited and looks forward to it and it makes it SO much fun to celebrate!

This year I had a great gift in mind. I decided months ago that I was going to get him the George Harrison guitar that was released with Beatles Rockband. We needed a new guitar and he had mentioned wanting this one many times. The only reason that we didn't buy it to begin with was it's price. At the time, the guitars that we already had were still working just fine, so to pay $100 for something that we didn't need, not to mention didn't really have a place for, was just not an option. But now that our guitars were worn out and not always functioning well, it made sense to buy a new one, and if it were a birthday present, it would be okay if it were expensive.

Okay, well for the sake of keeping the story as brief as possible, I will just say that gift didn't work out. His mom ended up buying him the guitar before I could. Not really a problem... I always have a running list of things that I want to buy Brett. But after having had the guitar in mind for so long, the gifts on my list just didn't seem very impressive. They were all things that he wanted, but nothing that would seem special. So I decided to make the giving special. I was sitting at work on a Friday and had the idea to do "12 Days of Birthday", like 12 Days of Christmas. I checked the calendar, and it was 13 days until his birthday. Perfect! So that day, I wrote a little poem, made a card at work, grabbed a few presents on my lunch break, and Saturday morning, gave him the card with the poem in it and his first gift. He LOVED it. The gifts were never dazzling, but several of them were quite fun! And celebrating for 12 days was perfect. When it was all said and done, between his mother and me, he ended up with a pretty good stack of gifts! And then on his birthday, I managed to leave work at 12:30 and spend the rest of the day with him. (He had the day off.) We went to Maggiano's for lunch, and after a couple of hours of shopping (he had birthday money from his mom to spend) we had dessert at The Cheesecake Factory. It was a truly wonderful day. We both had a blast!

The next day, Christmas Eve, was perfect! I was off of work and, because we didn't get paid until that day, I had some Christmas shopping to finish up. I think that I went to 5 stores in all but I was home by 12:30 or so. It rained most of the morning, but by the time I came home there was a good amount of snow mixed in to the rain. By the time we left for our Christmas Eve celebration though, it was ALL snow and the roads were icy. It was fairly scary. I'm so thankful that it wasn't bad enough to keep everyone trapped at home because we had a wonderful time at my Uncle's. The adults (my parents, aunts and uncles and grandmother) draw names and each buy gifts for one person. The kids (my siblings and cousins and I) bring a $40 gift card along with a board game, and we do a White Elephant style gift exchange. And then everyone buys gifts for the grandkids. There were 6 grandchildren present this year, and it was really fun to watch them all open gifts. Our meal was Tex-Mex this year and everything was delicious!

We made it home around 9:30 I think and fell asleep with snow still falling outside. It was so nice to wake up to a white Christmas. But WAY nicer was, for the first time, waking up to my husband. =-) He is the greatest gift I have ever been given and it was so special to be able to celebrate with him first! We slept til 9 or so and took our time getting ready. I think that it was 10:30, maybe a little later, when we got to my parent's house. People showed up one at a time and then we opened presents like we always do. So much fun. Madi was in a really fun mood! So excited to see everyone and to open gifts! And my gifts were so wonderful this year! I mean, they are every year, but this year I found myself actually needing a few things. Well, clothes, in general. But I mean, I needed it all. I haven't bought clothes for myself in a while because, well, we're newlyweds... there's just not a ton of extra money available. And before this year, well, I was saving for the wedding. There was no such thing as "extra money". It all had a purpose. So there had been no new clothes in ages, and the old clothes. They were OLD! I got rid of a TON of clothes when I moved here after the wedding because they just needed replacing. And unfortunately, a lot of the clothes that I kept don't fit right now. Apparently I was a size smaller last year. So I needed new everything. Shoes, socks, a jacket, jeans, pants, shirts, sweaters... you name it, chances are, I needed it! So Christmas morning, I was so excited to get three new pairs of shoes! All cute and all totally needed! I also got two movies, Up and Julie & Julia, that I really wanted!

After presents we had a delicious lunch! And then all just hung out for a while watching Christmas movies and eating dessert. Brett and I left around 3:00 I think. It was a very Merry Christmas =-)

But here's the funnest part. I mean, serious spoiling went on. When Brett asked me a month ago what I wanted for Christmas, I told him that I really just needed clothes. We decided to shop for everyone else first and then see what money we had left and buy presents for each other the day after Christmas. Well here's the thing. Brett ended up with so many birthday presents, and along with the Christmas presents that he got from his mom and my family, he didn't really have any immediate needs. There are no games out that he wants and doesn't have, he got 7 new graphic novels in all over his birthday, he got the movies that he wanted from his mom and gift cards, and he had a Best Buy gift card to spend. So instead of shopping for US the day after Christmas, my wonderful husband decided that we should use the money that we had left to buy me clothes, and if he thought of something that he still wanted for Christmas, he would wait until we got paid again in January.

Oh. My. Goodness.

Um, best day ever? Probably not, but it HAD to be in the top 5!!!

I shopped. And shopped. And shopped. And it was everything that I hoped it would be! We started the day at Target because I had a $40 gift card there. Okay, so with my $40 gift card and $75 cash, that was all Christmas money, not even our money, I bought:

- A pair of jeans that I was in DESPERATE need of

- A cute purple and black shirt that I can wear to church

- A purple sweater that came with an adorable scarf

- Two shirts that I would call "fashion shirts" that are the same cut but totally different colors and INSANELY cute!

- A white button down shirt

- A turquoise knit jacket

- Two pairs of socks.

Do not adjust your screen. You're seeing that right. I bought a pair of jeans, 5 shirts, a jacket and socks for $115. Target had a HUGE clearance section! It was WONDERFUL!

After that we met Jeff for lunch at Chipotle which was totally the icing on my Christmas cake. We haven't spent any real time with Jeff in a LONG time. Like maybe August? The reunion didn't count because we barely got to speak, and that is the last time we saw him. We were able to have a nice long visit at lunch and it was everything I was hoping it would be.

Then it was back to more shopping!

We went to Payless next so that I could exchange two of the pairs of shoes that I was given the day before. They were adorable! But a size two big. I was able to find the right size at the store and I bought a bracelet and ring that are SO cute! So I spent $15 or so there.

Then we went to Ross where I found a black sweater/jacket that is going to be a SERIOUSLY useful addition to my wardrobe! I spent $17 and some change there. Then we went to Walmart where I didn't really find anything, but I bought a shirt that I already have in a color that I don't have because it's a good fit and it was on clearance for $7. Ha!

We checked Kohl's next and though I didn't find any clothes, I found a KILLER pair of brown boots that were half off!!! I spent $35 there.

Then we headed to the other side of town so Brett could check a different Best Buy for his gift card spending. While he was in Best Buy, I went to the other Ross, and though it was a slightly frightening experience, I found what I had been looking for! New black pants! AND a dress that I am going to wear as a shirt over my jeans, that is seriously sexy! I spent about $30 there.

We were both exhausted after all of the shopping, but I was thrilled!!! We had a gift card to use so we went to Pappaduex for dinner and had a WONDERFUL experience there! When we got home, I performed a fashion show for Brett who was with me all day, but not really with me. We were in different stores most of the time. He's generous, but come on! Boys just can't be expected to shop with me! I'm a machine!

The next day I ended up taking back the white button down and Turquoise jacket to Target because I ended up finding so many other things on our shopping trip. I loved everything that I bought except for the white button down shirt, and even though the jacket probably would have come in handy, and was a great price on clearance, I felt like I could maybe find something more useful. I ended up getting a $12 necklace that I LOVE, an $8 that is super cute and three pairs of earrings for $8 that I am going to get a ton of use out of.

It was the funnest gift I have ever had. I'm pretty sure.

The holidays weren't quite over for us because this weekend we drove to The Woodlands to attend a New Year's Eve party thrown by our favorite Houstonites. Houstonians? Not sure. But it was a blast! Our hotel was kind of blah, but it was SO good to see everyone! And the trip was relaxing and not overly tiring like I was worried it might be. I mean, we didn't hit the road until 6:00 on New Year's Eve so it was 10:00 or a little after before we got to the party. But it was a blast! We didn't go to bed until 3:30 so everyone slept in! We went to lunch around 2 on New Year's Day and totally relaxed all afternoon watching the boys play with their new Christmas presents. After a late dinner, we did a little more hanging out and then went back to the hotel room for some well earned rest. We checked out of the hotel around 11 and went to IHOP for a delicious brunch before heading to say goodbye to our friends. It was tough for us to leave when we had so much daylight left, but I new that I would need some time to recover and Sundays, though always nice, are not always restful.

So that was it. Our 2009 holiday season. For me, it was the best ever. I love being married and I love my family and I love our friends. God is good all the time. Even when days are rough, and trust me, we have plenty of rough days, I go to sleep everyday thankful for all that God has blessed us with.

I am looking forward to 2010. More on that later!

A few pics:

Our Charlie Brown

Christmas Tree.

Our annual

Hoops & Yoyo

ornament.

Tara & Marie

on New Year's Eve.

Scott & Brett

on New Year's Eve.

Brett with

Ryan & Josh

on New Year's Day.