More Christmas Pictures!!

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things about Lori 1. I am a teacher. I teach 3rd grade at an inner city school & normally LOVE my job, but this year is challenging me in that area!! 2. I am about to be 34 next month, but I sure don't feel like it!! So, we'll just say I'm 29 again! 3. I am a major critter lover! I have a dog & 2 cats at home (who don't realize they aren't human). At school, I have goldfish, a guinea pig, and a bunny. Oh, and a pond full of goldfish in the backyard! 4. I LOVE taking pictures and scrapbooking! On the last Friday of every month, a bunch of us girls gather at my house to scrap, eat, and girl talk! (yes, it's tomorrow!! yippee!) 5. I am an aunt to a beautiful niece, Autumn. Her pictures are on here often! 6. I am with family more than anyone else. I love hosting get-togethers!! 7. I found myself single again in my 30's after over 7 years of marriage. After taking time to adjust to it, I am now loving it! 8. I cannot survive without my computer or my cell phone!! 9. I volunteer with a local boxer rescue group. I have had boxers since I was a little girl ~ they are the best dogs! 10. I am currently working on my masters in library science to be an elementary school librarian! (That doesn't mean I'm quiet by any means!!) 11. I graduated with a bussiness degree from UofA in Fayetteville and have another bachelor's degree from UALR in elementary education. 12. I am SUPER organized & can't help it! It drives some of my friends crazy!! I got on a roll just last night after taking down Christmas decorations and re-organized some cabinets in the kitchen and 2 closets! It's a sickness! ha! 13. My favorite things are a really good dessert, being with those I love, laughing, camping, scrapbooking, and seeing my dog jump around so happy to see me even if I've only been gone 30 minutes!! Whew! It's gonna be hard to come up with 13 things about different stuff each week!!! :-) (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!) Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Some Friends are more like Family!

Michelle & me
Me, Jacob (her young 'un) & Chloe (her oldest! ha!)

Michelle and I have been friends for as long as I can remember & were roommates in college. Her house is one of the very few places I can go and still feel like I'm at home. Her & her husband have been with me through many up's and down's. (I even have a picture of Chris counseling me through a break-up in college!ha!) I hold them all very close to my heart & consider them family!! They stopped by the day after Christmas on their way back home to NW Arkansas. We had to exchange Christmas presents!!! :-)

Speaking of Christmas presents, I had some serious gift certificates burning a hole in my pocket that I took care of today! LOVE gift certificates!! I had one to Kohl's (one of my fav stores!!), Wal-Mart, and Target!! FUN!! I got all kinds of goodies!! Scrapbook stuff, clothes, snowman plates and bowls (I collect 'em), movies, a new memory card for my camera that holds a ton more pictures ~ look out!! The next two days, I'm scrappin' with the girls!! Does the fun ever end? LOL!

Keep your eyes out for a new template soon! I am trying my best to work on one but I'm finding that I'm not as talented as my blog buddy Lindsay!! :-)

Christmas at Granny's!!

Travelin' Arkansas for the Holidays!

I'm finally back home & just about ready to snuggle up in my own bed!! I feel like I've been on the road for a week, but it has only been since Saturday morning. Got some good family time in and will start posting pictures from the past few days tomorrow!!

Saturday, I went to the exciting town of Piggott for Christmas at my Granny's! We had a good time & Santa dropped by for the young 'uns. I think the cutest thing was when Summer (my cousin's 2 1/2 year old) told Santa all she wanted for Christmas was "pencils and paper please!" She is just precious! Last year, all she wanted was an apple! ha! Anyway - Santa gave her a package to open & it had lots of paper and pens in it. She looked at those pens and snarled up and said, "These are pens!! I wanted pencils!" LOL! It was cute!!

The adults play dirty Santa and exchange gifts that way. Usually I am the only girl that will steal, but this year after I stole Kim's treasured Razorback watch, it set into motion a fun cycle of taking gifts! yay girls!! :-) I don't even have to feel bad (not that I did ~ ha) b/c Kim ended up actually getting the same Razorback watch I stole from her as a gift from one of her friends the very next day! So...see I did her a favor & we will both be cute at the next hog game!

After Granny's, I went to Rector (about 15 min. away) to visit Kevin and his family for Christmas. He is doing really well and is in a good frame of mind. His parents and him have mapped out a plan of AA meetings, bible study, and counseling that will help him to get to a place where he won't want to drink. We are all very hopeful that is on the path to a healthy, happy life. The desire is there ~ he just has alot to overcome. But, we all had fun playing games and talking and laughing. His parents are wonderful people and very easy to be with. We played a game called sequence that we played over Thanksgiving. Kevin's Mom beat us pretty badly over Thanksgiving, but we came back this time and won all but one hand!!! :-)

On Christmas Eve, I went to church with Kevin's family. The service was really beautiful. The youth group did a stick service performance. It was amazing!! I don't really know how to describe it - you would have to see it. Anyway - after church & lunch, I headed to my Mom and Dad's place (back in the car!!). We just hung out and got the house ready for Autumn & Bubby to come over today. Then, wham! Christmas morning! It sure was a cold, wet yucky day!! Autumn was,of course, the star of the day! She is a hoot! I hope one of the video's I took of her performing (singing & dancing) turned out. If so, I'll post this week!

Anyway - I'm tired from all the driving! But ready to spend all my gift certificates this week and take all my Christmas stuff down!! I know it is Christmas night & I'm already talking about taking it down, but I'm ready to have my regular stuff back out! ha!

Hope everyone had a safe and happy Christmas Day today! :-0)

Happy Holidays!!

Wishing a "purr"fect Christmas & a "howling" good year to all our friends and family! Love you all! Thanks for the prayers, calls, and emails!

PS. You will all be happy to know that even with the added stress this week, I didn't smoke!! That is HUGE for me b/c in times of stress, that is when I most want to smoke!

Be safe traveling everyone!! :-)

Life

I'm mainly making today's post so I won't have to re-tell it over and over ~ especially over the holidays! It is easier on me to hit everyone with one punch on this one & I know there will be mixed reactions. Trust me ~ I know everything you can & will or want to say. Here goes (with minimal details b/c some things should just stay "off the record"):

I am almost positive that all of you know that Kevin is a recovering alcoholic. He is very open about it, & it is not a secret. This is a disease that he will struggle with on a daily basis for the rest of his life. He has had a relapse in the past few days. As a result, we are no longer "seeing each other" because I strongly feel he needs to have all his focus on himself and overcoming the disease. I KNOW he can beat this b/c he is a good person with a big heart, AND he wants to win this battle!!

I will continue to support him as a friend. We have been friends since we were little kids, and I will not turn my back on a life-long friend. Some of you will agree with this & some will not. That is your right. All I ask is that you try not judge him. Instead say a daily prayer for him that he gets well so he can lead a healthy and happy life.

I ask for your understanding in that I don't want to really talk about this ~ I am taking it a day at a time. Don't worry about me - I've been here before unfortunately, and I will pick myself up and move on like I always find the strength to do.

Simba

I think I have given all my fur kids a good introduction ~ with the exception of Simba! (And he is the one who rules our world around here!!) This cat honestly thinks he is a dog first of all! He goes to the back door to get let out and back in ~ and he will tell you off big time if you don't do it in the timely manner he wants it done in! ha! He was big buddies with Rocky & I know he misses Rocky. He used to greet Rocky every morning by rubbing all over his face! :-)

Even people who don't normally like cats end up liking Simba ~ must be that he thinks he's a dog! ha! He even comes when you call him! But don't fall for the "I'm rolling over on my back so you can pet my belly" trick ~ that is when he attacks!! LOL! (only really he is just playing really rough!!)

Monday blues!

I have had a horrible day!! I'm not going to bore anyone with it ~ but wouldn't it be nice if money really did grow on trees??? I think everyone should get double on their December paychecks so no one has to worry about money around the holidays! :-)

In good news:
1. I had a high stress day and did not smoke! It has officially been one week!
2. I have two work days left until vacation starts!!!
3. I found out I made a 96% on my final!! That gives me an A in the class! yippee!! So far, I have a 4.0 in my masters program!!!
4. I do have lottery tickets for Wednesday night (hey ~ you can't win if you don't have tickets!!)

PS. Send sane thoughts my way from about 1:15 to 2:30 today (tues) that I survive the holiday party with the kiddo's at school! LOL!

BoxAR Fundraiser!

SANTA!!
Takin' a break...

Nice puppy!!
I've been very good this year Santa!

We have been at Petsmart all day for the fundraiser for BoxAR. Kevin did a great job and was most gracious about playing Santa for 5 hours!!! We made almost $200 for the rescue so we were pretty busy!! We even had one lady bring in her cat! It looked just like my Nala too! And...Santa only almost got bit twice! LOL! Both times I thought, "oh if he gets bit, he's gonna kill me for this!!" ha! Anyway...it was good practice for next weekend with the kiddos! :-)

Today's adventures...

Today me, Kevin, Tanner and Jax went geo caching! What is geo caching you ask? Exactly b/c I did not know this existed either!! Here's basically what it is:

Geocaching is an entertaining adventure game for gps users. Participating in a cache hunt is a good way to take advantage of the wonderful features and capability of a gps unit. The basic idea is to have individuals and organizations set up caches all over the world and share the locations of these caches on the internet. GPS users can then use the location coordinates to find the caches. Once found, a cache may provide the visitor with a wide variety of rewards. All the visitor is asked to do is if they get something they should try to leave something for the cache.

Here's what I didn't like: I don't know ANYTHING about gps (global positioning system) or have any sense of direction (which way is north?), so I was lost the whole time!!! Tanner & Kevin were loving it and all pumped up, while Jax & I were basically wondering around like dumb and dumber! LOL!

Here's what I did like: I love the outdoors, and it was a gorgeous day! I love being out in the woods & exploring! And, I like doing things that you can just take the dog along!

For more pics from today, check out the slide show on Tanner's blog: http://dirtjumpert.blogspot.com

Dog Tired!

Is he spoiled or what!?! LOL! He tucks his pillows just the way he wants them! Funny!

We were both "dog tired" today & I played hookie from school. I just couldn't get up the energy for battle today! BUT, I did finish all Christmas shopping! (I only liked Dad and a little something for Kevin's mom.) But I am DONE!!! It is really worth it to take off and do it during the week - no crowds or rude people!! :-)

And, I still haven't smoked!!! yippee! Hope everyone has a relaxing weekend!!!

School Stories...

A funny one: I have a stool that sits at the front of the room that both myself and the kids use on a daily basis. I usually sit on it while they are reading aloud or sharing their writing pieces. Today, we wrote stories about traveling back in time. The last 5 minutes before lunch, we were ready to share some of the stories aloud. I sat on my stool to listen & KABOOM - it totally collapsed!!! I landed on my rear in the floor! LOL! My kids were shocked & actually checked to make sure I was ok before we all started laughing! ha!

Another funny: We write in journals weekly. Each week they write about whatever they want, and I write back to them. There is a boy in my class who has the biggest crush on one of the girls in the room. He wrote a whole journal about her last week. So, I replied, "What is it you like about her?" hee-hee! His response this week: "She is nice and pretty. But mostly because she is a hottie with a body!" Oh my! They start young! ha!

In frustrating school news: They are literally bouncing off the walls & I don't think the holiday break is going to get here fast enough to save us teachers!!! It's not just my room ~ it's school wide! (of course my class and one 5th grade room has the reputation as being the worst in the school ~ so multiply our troubles!!!) My class started a food fight in the cafeteria yesterday. Anyone surprised????

Carolin' @ the Capitol

Sadly, none of the pictures from today turned out very good! They were all dark, and when I lightened them on the computer, they just got a grainy look. But anyway - here we are caroling at the State Capitol today (yes I survived!!!). Their performance was AWESOME! Their behavior on the tour afterwards was not so much! ha! But again, I survived! It's over & I have 6 work days until vacation!! Almost there!

I don't want to jinx myself, but I am trying to quit smoking!! You all know my plan was to quit when school started this year ~ then I got this class from you know where & that plan kind of went out the window!!! Well ~ I hate smoking and all the yucky stuff that goes with it, so I'm really giving it a go! Since Saturday, I have only had one! I know I can do this b/c I quit before for 6 years!! If it weren't for the stress from that darn divorce, I'd still be a non-smoker! LOL! If I can make it a month, I'm laughing! :-)

Cute Puppy Alert!!!!!

Sandy's Christmas present
Isn't he just too cute??? Santa came early for Sandy today! ha! Her present to herself was this cute dachshund bishon mix! Can't you just smell the puppy breath? :-)

And, I am finished with my masters class!! Yippee! I actually think I did good on the final ~ pretty sure I nailed the essay questions. Now, we wait to see the grade! And, no classes until January! If only work were off for a month! ha!

Since my bloggin' buddies did so well today wishing me luck, wish it to me again tomorrow as I take my crazy class on a field trip!!!!!! YIKES!

Christmas Cards Past

Christmas 2005
Christmas 2004
Christmas 2003

I am having a big "I miss Rocky" moment & came to the computer to look at some pics of my old buddy. In the spirit of Christmas, I wanted to reshare these Christmas cards from the past three years. I still have a hard time with the fact that he wasn't here for this year's! It just isn't the same....Jax just truly hates making the Christmas cards ~ I'm sure you can see it all over his pitiful face! ha! But Rocky just ate up the attention & smiled for the camera!!

I have, however, been forgiven by the cats for my Christmas card stunt this year! LOL! And people wondered why they hadn't been in the picture in years past! Ha!

Wish me luck on my final Monday night for my master's class!! After tomorrow night, I will have 3 masters classes down! (No need to count how many to go!)

HO HO HO!

In breaking news: Kevin is going to dress up as Santa this year at my family's Christmas at Granny's! Every year someone from Granny's hometown dresses up as Santa and shows up to hand out the kid's gifts. (of course the older ones this year know it's not real) but we still have two little ones that are 4 and under who believe!! It's so cute!

Anyway - this year, they were short on volunteers & Kevin has been volunteered & accepted the job! Don't worry ~ there will be photos! ha!

And, in case anyone was wondering ~ I have 9 working days left until Christmas break!!!!!! :-)

Christmas Cheer

A few favorites of mine during the holiday season:

* Christmas cards ~ don't you just love checking the mail during the month of Christmas??!! It is the one time of year when there is something cheerful waiting in the mailbox instead of just those darn bills that pile up!! I especially love the ones with pictures, and you get to see how everyone's kids have changed and grown over the past year. I really enjoy it from those friends far away that you never or hardly get to see & their kids are just too cute! Jax even got a card today from his boxer buddies across the way!! :-)

* Christmas lights ~ Kevin & I drove around a bit tonight looking at lights. I love it! It's so pretty! Starbucks and Christmas lights ~ I might be up awhile! ha! Even Jax got to go this year!

* Spreading the cheer ~ every year I bake some goodies & wrap 'em up & drop 'em off at the neighbors doorsteps. (if they have pets, I get them some treats too) Then I ring the doorbell and run and hide. I giggle the whole time! LOL!

* Vacation ~ hello!! I am now 10 working days away from Holiday Break!! Can I get a yee-haw? LOL!

Teacher xmas poem

'Twas the Teacher's Night Before Christmas

'Twas the days before Christmas,
And all through the school,
The Teachers were trying
To just keep their cool.

The hallways were hung
With Christmas art
(some made in November
to get a head start!)

The children were bouncing
Off ceilings and walls,
And seemed to forget
How to walk in the halls.

When out of the teacher's lounge
With "holiday shirts"
And "jingle bell jewels,"
The teachers looked festive
Enforcing the rules.

Suddenly, from down the hallway
There came such a chatter,
The principal went in
To see what was the matter.

The teachers were hiding
And trying to refuel,
On coffee and cookies
And treats from the Yule.

When what to their wondering
Ears do they hear,
But the ringing of school bells
-It's the children they fear!

More rapid than reindeer
The little ones came,
And the teachers all shouted
And called them by name;

Walk, Vincent! Walk, Tanner!
Walk, Tyler and Sammy!
Sit, Jamie! Sit, Laura!
Sit, Tara and Tammy!

To your desks in the room!
To your spots in the line!
Now walk to them! Walk to them!
No running this time!

So straight to their places
The children all went.
With fear of detention
Where they could be sent.

With manuals of lessons
Cradled in arms,
The teachers began
To use all their charms.

But the lessons presented
All fell on deaf ears.
The children were thinking
Of Santa's reindeer!

With a toss of their hands
They put the manuals aside,
Went straight to the cupboards
Where videos hide.

And laying their finger
On the TV remote
They set back to write
Their last Christmas note.

But you could hear them exclaim
At the end of the day -
Have a wonderful, happy and
L-O-O-O-O-O-ONG HOLIDAY!

Some kind of hawk?

Look at this cool guy that flew over my backyard yesterday. He is gorgeous ~ although I'm not real sure what he is. I say he b/c he looks manly! :-)

I LOVE my camera b/c I just zoomed right in on him & I was standing on the deck at the backdoor, and he was at the back of my yard high in a tree. Zoom is great!

Weekend

Well - here we are late in the afternoon on Sunday & the weekend has slipped away once again! Why can't we work two days a week and be off 5? LOL! Maybe when I win that lottery!!!

The holiday season is definately in the air! My aunt hired Kevin to put up her Christmas lights ~ all the outside stuff. He had gone over there twice working on it & wanted to finish up Saturday before the game started. So, we headed over & finished that on Saturday. It was COLD!!! I did get some Shotgun Dan's pizza for helping though ~ my favorite pizza around here!! yum! We kept having troubles with blown fuses and would get half the lights working and the other half would go out! URGH! We finally got it all working and got the heck out of there before any went out! ha! She called this morning to say they looked good, but when we saw her name on caller id, we were almost scared to pick up! I just knew she was going to say that half the lights weren't working! LOL!

Anyway ~ we finished up the day with good pizza and football (which Kevin took the Razorback loss better than I expected). At least we made it to the championship game ~ right? What do I know? I'm just a girl!

Watched my second favorite Christmas movie last night (first one being The Christmas Story). We watched The Polar Express ~ Kevin had never seen it!!! Love it! Do you believe?

Only 13 working days until Christmas break!! Yee-haw!!!

A to Z of Me!

I have had this bug that has been going around & sick all day! So, my brain is mush & I am copying a neat idea from Lindsay's blog earlier in the week! (Michelle ~ hope this satisfies your need for a good read! ha!)

A - Available/Single? Single & lovin' every minute of it! :-) ~ am I still single if I have a boyfriend? I think so...

B - Best Friend? Luckily, I have lots of 'em! Michelle T, Peggy, & Sandy are my main peeps! ha!

C- Cake or Pie? tough one ~ I'll go with pie!

D - Drink Of Choice? Dr. Pepper

E -Essential item you Use Everyday? computer!

F - Favorite Color? green (followed closely by red!)

G - Gummy Bears Or Worms? Gummy Bears

H - Hometown? (raised in) Newport, AR

I - Indulgence? bikini waxes (crazy I know!)

J - January Or February? February ~ it's my birthday month

K - Kids & Their Names? 3 fur kids ~ Jax, Simba, & Nala :-)

L - Life Is Incomplete Without? friends, family, laughter, and critters!

M - Marriage Date? My first marriage date was Oct. 4 '96, & if I am ever brave enough to try that again, it will take a strong man! LOL!

N- Number Of Siblings? 1 Bubby

O - Oranges Or Apples? Oranges

P - Phobias/Fears? snakes, spiders, heights

Q - Favorite Quote? Find Joy in every Journey

R - Reason to Smile? I am blessed with truly wonderful people in my life!

S - Season? Spring

T - Tag Four People? I can tag two ~ L & Tanner

U - Unknown Fact About Me? I say I don't want kids but really I would love to be a Mom ~ I'm just afraid I'd be horrible at it! (or maybe some of you did know that!)

V - Vegetable you dont like? can't think of one...

W - Worst Habit? smoking

X - X-rays You've Had Recently? my back when I threw it out this summer

Y - Your Favorite Food? Toss up ~ italian & Mexican!

Z - Zodiac Sign? Aquarius

Signs of the season...

I love getting the house ready for Christmas! This year I got a new tree for the living room ~ my other one was just too big for my little living room now. I LOVE the new one! It is perfect for my cozy living room & the cats can still hide under it! ha! (or so they think they can!)

My little boxer in the Santa hat always makes me smile! He doesn't look at miserable as Jax when I make him dress up!! LOL! And, of course, being the animal lover I am, you know all my critters have their own stocking & Santa never forgets 'em! :-)

Happy Holidays!

Not again!!

That's right ~ it's Christmas card time!! And, Jax was less than thrilled! LOL! It is always a laugh a minute trying to get my Christmas card photo each year! Last year, I don't know how I managed to do it by myself!

I had some very upset critters Sunday night! The cats participated this year ~ much to their dismay! ha! No humans were harmed in the making of this card! (barely!!!)

A BIG thank you!!!!

Thank you to Lindsay for sprucing up my blog!!!! It looks GREAT!!! I love it! Yippee!!! :-)

Family pics from Saturday!

Turkey Day Slide Show

This life is yours!

Take the power to do what you want to do ~
and do it well.

Take the power to love what you want in life ~
and love it honestly.

Take the power to walk in the forrest and be a part of nature.

Take the power to control your own life ~
no one else can do it for you.

Take the power to make your life happy.

by Susan Schutl

I've always found that to be very motivating! One of my best friends in high school gave me this saying for Christmas way back in 1990! LOL! I still read it from time to time to get re-energized!!

Now ~ I must get motivated to clean the house for guests tomorrow!! LOL!

Happy Friday everyone!

always get a kick out of this...

RULES FOR NON-PET OWNERS WHO VISIT. (and like to complain about our pets)

1. The dogs live here-you don't

2. If you don't want dog hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture

3. I like my dogs better than I like some people

4. To you they are dogs, to me they are adopted children, who are short,
hairy, walk on all fours, and don't speak clearly.

5. In some ways they are easier to care for than kids. They eat less,
don't ask for money all the time, are easier to train, usually come when
called, don't drive your car, don't hang out with drug using friends, don't
smoke or drink, don't worry about buying the latest fashions, don't wear
your clothes, don't need a gazillion dollars for college, and if they get
pregnant you can sell the pups. The same applies to cats, except they ignore you until you get to sleep

A whole lotta nothing...

Well - I think I relaxed quite well today! I slept in and took a nap!! :-) In between, I even managed to sweep out the garage, do a little shoppin' and watch a movie! I officially only have Dad left to buy a Christmas present for & I have NO idea what to get him! Probably just going to swing by his favorite store (Harbor Freight) and get a gift certificate. The man will make a trip to Little Rock just to visit that place! It is a man's store for sure!! I wouldn't know the first thing about what to get in there, but he loves it!

I watched You, Me and Dupree tonight. If you haven't seen it ~ watch it! It came out on DVD this week & is laugh out loud funny! Owen Wilson makes the movie. I am a big Kate Hudson fan so I usually always like her in movies too. I haven't found a movie yet that makes me laugh as hard as Wedding Crashers did, but this one got me to giggle several times!

Happy Turkey Day!!!

No work for 5 days!!!

I plan on taking some notes from Simba here and relaxin' for a few days!! In between naps, I'll get the house and yard ready for the big family turkey day at my place on Saturday! YEAH!!!!!

Crazy class dayz....

Stories from today: Sometimes you gotta just laugh to stay sane! :-)

Funny one: (kind of) Remember those notes we used to pass that said, "Will you go with me? Check yes, no or maybe". I found one today in my classroom. Here is the updated version I guess. It said, "Will you be my girl? Circle one: Hell yes or Hell no". Ok then! She circled the hell no! LOL!

Oh my! one: 3rd grader in my room was sent to time-out. In time-out, he (how should I put this)....put his hand down his pants and did things you don't do in public!!!! I was SHOCKED!! The office AND the counselors were called in for this one!

And the last, but not least: (and it wasn't my room!!! yeah!!) The police showed up at school today. I have yet to hear exactly what the child did - a 4th grader!!! - but they escorted him to their police car with his momma yelling in his ear the whole way. I have to say, it had to be bad for them to actually put him in the car. Usually they just talk to them and scare them! One teacher said we should have brought the whole school out to see it so they could see what could happen to them!! Amen to that!!

Just another day at my school....wonder what tomorrow will bring?
Did I mention I am about to have 5 days off???? Can I get a hip-hip HOORAY!!

Turkey weekend...

Spent the weekend in NE Arkansas with Kevin's family for Thanksgiving. I was a nervous wreck at first ~ I know his immediate family,but there were a ton of folks there. Of course, my family being from the same area, everyone seemed to know at least one of my family members and had a story to share! It was fun and interesting to hear some of the stories. Kevin's grandmother and my great-grandma Bradford used to pick cotton together when they were little girls. She even knew my great-great grandmother! How cool is that!!

I think everyone knew my Uncle Scott ~ he must be a legend or something! ha! Once I was talking to someone, and I overheard someone saying, "Now did you hear who she was? Her uncle is Scott from Piggott!" ha! I hope they are good stories they are remembering! I'm sure they are!!! Everyone knew my Aunt and Uncle that are farmers in the area too. I heard a funny story about some cheerleaders pulling Uncle Terry's pants down in the gym in front of everyone! LOL!

Hey Scott - if you are reading this - your buddy, Coop, is Kevin's cousin and his parents were there too. His mom is funny! I really liked her alot!

Anyway - after everyone left, we had a little family game night. I thought the picture with Kevin's dad in the background was funny b/c as we were playing games, he was doing something with some guns. You can see him in the background like "Poppa's got a gun! Better Behave!" Ha! He moved out of the background for the rest of the pics!

I had planned to try and swing by to visit some of my kinfolk in the area but we were pretty swamped the whole time, and I knew I'd see ya this Saturday for our Thanksgiving. So ~ I'll catch ya next time!

Sunday morning, we went to church with Kevin's parents and nephews. That was pretty neat too b/c we had Sunday school with a guy that we had Sunday school as kids. It was like being back in the day ~ I felt like I should start passing notes or something! LOL! Kevin's mom even still plays the piano in church like she did when we were kids.

On the way home, we stopped and got some lottery tickets from Mr. T's (hence the picture). I just wanted to remember where I bought my winning ticket from! :-) And of course, we stopped at Mom & Dad's and got some pecans and the turkey frier for Saturday.

Now - I'm exhausted & ready for bed! I AM rested & ready for battle on Monday if necassary!!! LOL!

URRRGGGHHH!

Ok - I am seriously venting today! I now fully understand those people who dread going to work on Monday's b/c they hate their jobs. I never thought I'd be that way!! I've always loved my job ~ NOT this year!! I have started dreading it by Sunday afternoon and with good reason. I really wish some of these "higher ups in office" or politicians would sub in my crazy room for a day! Then let them figure out how we are supposed to bring up test scores and get kids to proficient or advanced when we CAN'T teach b/c of all the behavior problems!!! Oh, how I welcome them into my room for a day! I literally walked past 3 different teachers today with my class who said, "I just want you to know that I pray for you on a daily basis!" That's good b/c I sure need it just to stay sane! Today I honestly wanted to walk my whole class to the office and sit them down & say "good luck b/c I quit!" URRGGHH!

Needless to say, my two worst kids were both having a horrible day at the same time! One was literally bouncing off the walls ~ picture this ~ rolling on the floor, hiding under his desk, knocking stuff off of other people's desks, spinning his self down the hallway with arms completely stretched out and banging into all the classroom doors. (and that was on this way to the office!!!) The other one had a screaming, crying, kicking tandrum on the floor (keep in mind 3rd grade!!!). By 2 pm I thought I was having a nervous breakdown!! HONEST!!!

How are we supposed to teach with this enviroment?? There are no consequences for these kids. I think instead of everything coming down the teachers, let's put some responsibilities on the parents! How about if your kid is suspended, you have to serve a day in jail? Ha! Then they might step up and make them behave at school. One parent had the nerve yesterday to be upset b/c the PE teacher called b/c her kid (same one having the hissy fit in the floor today) yelled at the PE teacher and refused to do what she asked. She said, "give me a break, what did he do? Did he burn down the school? This isn't a big deal!" Where is the respect????

Signed,
one burned out, fed up teacher
(and I never thought I'd say that! You wonder where all the good teachers go? ha! I don't anymore! I just wonder how many of those Wal-Mart greeters are fed-up teachers!!!)

Remember this one?

This is by far my favorite Christmas card! It can always make me smile!! It was the first year the boys played dress up for a card, & it was MAJOR work to get it right! I wish we had a video of it, because we got lots of laughs out of making this card!

I'm still plotting what this year will bring.....I may have to make the cats join in on spreading the holiday cheer! LOL! :-)

Hope it made you smile too!

Borat Movie

I don't even know what to say about this movie, and I've had a day to process it!! Kevin has been chopping at the bit to see it. After all the reviews, I was mildly curious. It is probably the most offensive movie I have ever seen! In parts, it is funny. And, many, many times, you think to yourself - you just can't say that! Or ~ I can't believe he just said that! There are soooo many that could easily be offended by different parts throughout the movie. I really don't know how to explain unless you see it & I don't recommend seeing it!

Here is an interesting article on it & some contraversy:
'Borat' Victims Upset at Being Duped
By ERIN CARLSON, Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK - While teaching American humor to a gregarious and absurdly out-of-touch foreign journalist, Pat Haggerty realized something was off _ who WAS this guy?

Haggerty, a public speaking coach from Washington, D.C., is one of the unwitting co-stars of the surprise hit movie "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit of Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan." Haggerty has no hard feelings toward Borat, a.k.a. comedian Sacha Baron Cohen _ but the same can't be said for others who were humiliated or even lost their jobs thanks to the awkward fellow with the bushy mustache.
Their embarrassment over the film's hilarious, cringe-inducing blend of fiction and improvised comedy is magnified by its success _ "Borat" has topped the box office two weeks in a row, earning a total of $67.8 million.

Last year, Haggerty agreed to be filmed for what he thought was a benign documentary on his client's journey across America. He hurriedly signed a release form, was paid $400, and the lesson began.
As cameras rolled, his client told raunchy stories in garbled English and laughed heartily at the expense of handicapped people. "And then, I'm starting to smell a rat," Haggerty told The Associated Press. "Each passing minute I'm going, you know, this can't be real."

Confused, he ended up playing along. He later figured out _ thanks to his son, an HBO-watching college student _ that he'd been duped.
Duped by Borat.

"They were exercising a First Amendment right," said Haggerty, adding that he enjoyed the movie. "And this Sacha Cohen guy's going to make 87 gazillion dollars. You know, good for him. I'm just sorry that he had to do it in such a way that he allowed people to make jerks out of themselves exposing their character flaws."

Two of Cohen's targets _ fraternity boys who made drunken, insulting comments about women and minorities _ are suing 20th Century Fox and three production companies. The lawsuit claims that a production crew took the students to a bar to "loosen up" before participating in what they were told would be a documentary to be shown outside of the United States, and that they signed waivers after drinking heavily. Studio spokesman Gregg Brilliant said the lawsuit "has no merit."

Cohen's behavior also wasn't funny to Dharma Arthur, who claims she was fired as a morning show producer in Jackson, Miss., after being duped into giving Cohen air time. Cohen's live appearance, in which he said he had to go "urine" and hugged a bemused weatherman, led her life into a downward spiral, she told the AP. She is seeking an apology.

Kathie Martin, who runs an etiquette school in Birmingham, Ala., was also left out of the joke. Even though she was gracious and calm when Borat showed her nude photos of his son, Martin admitted she was "taken aback" by his schtick during their on-camera meeting.
"Unless you can figure it out for yourself, you have no way of knowing you have been tricked into being part of a childish prank with an R rating attached," she told the AP via e-mail.
"And even if you figure it out, you've signed a release that Mr. Cohen's people say relinquishes any rights on your part to take action against them."

Ronald Miller, of Natchez, Miss., was baffled by the ruse. He and his wife attended a dinner at a plantation house, which they were told would be an interview with an "Eastern European television reporter coming to Natchez to film social customs in the South," he told the AP.
Borat disturbed guests, Miller said, by making anti-Semitic remarks and saying slavery was wonderful. He also invited a dinner guest _ a woman posing as a prostitute _ to join the group. The Natchez dinner was not included in movie.

Cohen's kerfuffle with Pamela Anderson, however, did make the cut. The "Baywatch" babe was attacked by his alter ego at a book signing, and he later chased her through a parking lot.

Did she learn of his antics in advance? Anderson's not telling.
"Unfortunately, Pamela is not doing any press interviews for `Borat,'" her spokeswoman, Tracy Nguyen, wrote in an e-mail.
"Regarding if it was a surprise or not, we'd like to leave it to the imagination. Pam loves Borat and Borat loves Pam."

Weekend Stuff

Friday night, Kevin and I headed to Pine Bluff to watch our old high school play them in football. Let's just say - if Kevin and I ever ask you to go to a football game, save yourself and say NO! We have horrible luck with football games! Once we drove into a tornado & as we got there,they were cancelling the game and heading for cover!! Well, Friday, it was lightning really bad, and I thought they would call it. Kevin is the optimistic one and kept saying,"No we are driving away from the storm - think positive!" ha! As soon (and I mean less than a minute after we paid to get into the game), they announce a 20 minute delay of game due to the weather. About 10 minutes later, they come on and say - "EVERYBODY to the gym NOW! There is a major storm heading our direction!" GREAT!!! We headed to the gym, and it was crazy! So, I decided I was going to the car ~ let the storm carry me away in the car! ha! Soon after getting in the car (which I noticed most Newport folks took the same route as we were walking to ours), a huge thunderstorm hit! We sat in the car in a storm for probably 30 minutes....then it cleared and the game did start. However, the weather switched on us and went from warm to freezing and the wind blowing! LOL! I tell you - if we ask, just say no! In good news, the Newport greyhounds beat Dollarway. This made Kevin extremely happy b/c the years he played for Newport, we always lost to Dollarway!

Saturday was another football day ~ only indoors!! yeah!! I went shopping that morning with the girls b/c Kevin was in FULL sports mode! I think the grill was going by 9 am!! So I took a break and went to this warehouse sale that had scrapbook supplies 90% off!! That's right - 90% off!!! Now, that is something to get excited about! :-) I got a ton of stuff for $20!!! Then had a good lunch at Izzy's. We watched the game that night & I actually paid attention to most of it! ha! GO HOGS!

Sunday was spent Christmas shopping at the new stores in Bryant. I am almost done!! yippeee!!! I only have my Dad and a few things for my niece left!! Any good Dad gift ideas?

And I have to give a shout out to one of my favorite peeps, Laura. She got engaged Saturday night!!!! :-) It could've happened to a more deserving person! Yeah Laura!! I'm so happy for ya!

Reluctant Buddies

It looks like they are dividing the loveseat right down the middle! Don't touch me!! ha! They really do have a love/hate relationship. Nala hates Jax, and Jax would love for her to go away! :-)

Today is one month without our Rock Man around the house. Seems like longer! I still miss him like crazy - it is a big shadow missing that used to follow me everywhere I went! Simba was his biggest buddy, and he trying to make friends with Jax. However, Jax just looks at him like he's crazy when he starts rubbing on his face!

My school kids today couldn't handle "being good" any longer. I had one (a girl!!) in the office for saying "I'm gonna knock the black off of you!" to one of the aides at recess! Enough said! And one of my boys who is challenged on a daily basis with not threatening anyone - lost it today and told a girl that was bugging him to "shut up before I crack you!" Good times!! LOL! I should just buy them all boxing gloves and call it PE!!

Going to a high school football game tomorrow night....memories! Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Happy notes...

Have I mentioned that I have the best boyfriend??!! Today, he called to say he was stopping by the grocery store on his way over & was cooking us dinner. He came in with groceries to make us lasagna and had picked up flowers for me too! He's awesome!! Aren't they purty?

As you know, I am not a chef & can only cook by following a recipe. Sunday night, he came over and I told him there was no food in the house, we'd have to go to the store if we were eating at home. He said, "let me see what I can come up with." For those of you that have seen my refrigerator and pantry and made fun of it, you know what he was dealing with - NOTHING! Somehow, we had roasted potatoes & meatloaf! I have no idea how he managed that - when I looked, I thought - take out again! ha!

On another note, my job has settled down lately! Knock on wood!!! :-) No major diasters in almost 3 weeks! The kids aren't angels, but aren't threatening to kill each other at the moment! No suspensions, no parent tantrums, no office visits....can it continue? Let's hope!!!!

Jax is doing great too! It's been a week since the surgery. He only made it two full days without getting on the couch, oh well! :-)

Remember when...

...Jayce was this little? He has always been so precious! His personality is just priceless! I went to his 4th birthday party this weekend, & it seems like just yesterday, he was this small! Happy Birthday Jayce!



For those who don't know - this is my cousin's little boy. He has the cutest expressions !!

I'm going to try to find an old picture every Monday. Right now I can only go back as far as 2003. But once I get my scanner for Christmas (hopefully), it is going to be "Blast from the Past" Monday every week!! I'll dig up some old stuff! FUN!

Recipes!!

My scrappin' buddies requested a recipe post of some of our favorite scrap night yummies....here it is girls! Let me know if I left one out! :-)

Butter Pecan Brownies

Butter pecan cake mix
1 stick butter
1 egg

combine above ingredients, mix and press into 9x13 pan. Top with a thin layer of pecans.

Topping:
1 lb box of powdered sugar
1 stick butter
8 oz cream cheese
2 eggs

Combine and beat until smooth. Pour over cake and sprinkle top with pecans.

Bake at 300 for 60 minutes


Carrie's Dip

1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch
16 oz sour cream
1 sm pkg of real bacan (or you can cook some)
2 cups shredded mixed cheese

Take all ingredients above and mix them. It is awesome with Ruffles chips!


Chocolate Chip Ball

12 oz whipped cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup mini chocolate chips
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Mix all together - shape into a ball - chill overnight - serve with graham cracker sticks!



Chili

1 1/2 lbs hamburger meat
1 pint tomatoes
1 pkg chili seasoning
1 onion
3 or 4 tbsp shortening
1 or 2 tsp ground oregano
1 or 2 tsp garlic salt
salt/pepper to taste
2 tsp sugar
3 or 4 cups water
1 can dark red kidney beans

Brown meat & mix with all other ingred. except beans. Simmer 2 hours. Add beans & simmer 1 hour. Add more water if needed.


Spaghetti Pizza Pie

8 oz spaghetti, cooked & drained
1/2 cup parm cheese
1 egg
1 lb. hamb. meat
2 cups spa sauce
1 pkg 8oz shredded mozzarella cheese

Toss cooked spa, parm cheese and egg. Place in 9inch pie pan. Press along bottom and sides to form crust.

Mix cooked meat & spa sauce. Spread meat mixture over spa crust. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 350 for 30 min. Let stand 5 min. and cut into wedges. Serves about 8.

Ramblings....

Jax & I are going to take it easy this weekend! yay! I have a 4 day weekend b/c of teacher workshops that I'm skipping out on! :-)

Planning on scrappin', doing a bit of Christmas shopping (I HATE getting out in the Christmas crowd so I try to be done by Thanksgiving!), mowing this overgrown yard, and catchin' up on some serious ti-vo! I think I am about 3 or 4 weeks behind on all my shows....tonight will be a Boston Legal marathon! LOVE that show!!

Jax is recuperating from his surgery just fine - has major gas as usual! ha! And is sleeping a bunch, but he is being a good patient and not using his leg just like the doctor told him!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Halloween Costumes

For Halloween this year, Simba had to be my mascot! He did a great job!! I doubled up Rocky's collar from last year, and he strutted around & even greeted the trick-or-treaters at the door!

Tanner was Bill Clinton & that mask freaked me out!! In person, it is creepy!!! Kayce was catgirl & man, that outfit was a bit risque'! ha! And the precious princess in pink is my neighbor's granddaughter. She is CUTE!!! Halloween is so fun! :-)