Giveaway!!

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Give me the weekend please!

I need the three day weekend coming up just to get caught up. I have stayed late everyday. There is so much to do at the beginning of the school year. It is crazy!! See, there is a reason we get the summer off - to stay sane from all the running the rest of the year. Unlike other jobs, all of our stuff has to wait until after school or the weekend b/c we can't do it while we have kids in the room (at least not if you are a good teacher and actually TEACHING). But anyway, I could get way off topic with that.

There was a reason I had nightmares before I got my class this year...they are somewhat true. What a group!! I had one have crying, screaming melt-down today. Wow! What a fit! Haven't seen one of those in awhile. Funny thing - the parents are not returning my calls....hmmmm??

I am ready for the weekend, and Autumn's horse show. I think all of us adults are as excited as she is...I just finished making her sign for her stall with her horses name on it. I hot glued his name in rope onto a board I spray painted red. It looks cute but I burned the heck out of my finger on the hot glue. OUCH!! Here is the sign though...Kevin says I should be proud ~ what cha think Mom?

Everyone have a good, safe weekend! I plan to family and nap it up! hee-hee!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

THE BEFORE:

(It was ALL one length, and he looked like Cousin It when he leaned over.) AFTER:

(There are the curls I love! But, his Momma will still want it shorter - ha!)

Disclaimer - this was after working all day and a nap, so it looks EVEN better! :-)
What a sport for posing for the blog! Thanks honey!

It's been two years today...

...since our first date as adults. So many memories we share. Memories that take us well past two years. How many times were we in the same class in elementary school? (but not 3rd grade..heehee..don't worry I won't go into that story!) I have church lock-in memories, Sunday school class memories, then dating briefly as young teenagers (yes, yes, I know I broke your heart)....but my favorite memories were college and now. You somehow had me suckered into doing your laundry even back then! :-) I know that things aren't great right now....that we are in a slump, but relationships, even good ones, go through highs and lows. It is how you handle the lows that truly make the relationship in my opinion. Throughout everything in our lifetime of being friends, we have always been there for each other. That is priceless.

I think that one of our high school friends said it best when you told him we were dating. Remember? He said, "That makes sense. You were always one of her favorite people." And that is true, we have always loved hanging around each other. We have always had one of those easy relationships where if you don't happen to talk or see each other for a bit, you easily pick right back up where you left off. I remember how exited I was when we had lost touch for a few years as adults, and I found out how to reach you through one of our old college friends. Remember when I called you at the restaurant? The laughter is what I remember most.

As I look back over the past two years, I am grateful to have you back in my life. I am sure the perception is that I support you in your disease. And I do. But YOU also support me and hold me up with battles that I face in my life. No one is perfect. We all have issues. Having lived together for a year, I think we have both sacrificed for each other and know that we aren't perfect. ha!

Mainly today, I want to tell you why I love you or what I love most about you...some are so simple, but those matter the most!

Kevin,
I love you for....cooking me meals that you think I will like...remembering which ones I am not fond of and only making them when I'm not home...I love that you feel that I won't eat unless you cook for me! ha......going to the grocery store....stopping at flea markets when we road trip...I love you for worrying if we haven't had time to talk and making us both stop and just talk to each other about nothing....thank you for leaving me little notes when you know I feel bad about something...thank you for trying to pick up after yourself because you know a messy house stresses me out....I love you for growing us a garden so we could have fresh veggies....for mowing the yard even though you HATE it....for understanding when I am grouchy....for listening to me talk about my school kids....I love you for being kind to my pets and making them your own...I love you for not caring that the guinea pig now lives in our kitchen! ha....I love your smile and your eyes...I love that we have a history together that goes back years and years even to our great-grandparents...I love that we both want to live in the country someday and have a pet pig and a pet goat!!! ha....mostly, I love you because you are my best friend. I don't know what I'd do without you.

Happy 2 years babe,
Lori

Almost finished products...

Ok...the pictures of Kevin's hair that I promised will have to wait another day. I have worked on some stuff for the front of Autumn's stall at the State Horse Show this weekend, and after many calls to Mom today, I wanted to share the almost finished products with her! I will have them laminated for durability and then use twine to hang them at the top. These three will go together saying "Ride, Autumn, Ride"....(if you are like me & Kevin, you are now singing "Ride, Sally, Ride" in your head! ha!) Here's a close-up:
And then, Mom, I changed my mind AGAIN and decided with this one to have it be different. It will set apart from the others and will be the one we have everyone sign. In case you can't see it, the top says "To ride on a horse is to fly without wings" and the side says "Bread may feed my body, but my horse feeds my soul"....This is a favorite!

And, that brown box in the corner says "When a horse greets you with a nicker and regards you with a large and liquid eye, the question of where you want to be has been answered."

Tomorrow I will work on the wood sign with Sergio's name...

I love the reward system!

It was the first week of school ~ new kids, alarm clock, getting organized...so much work and stress. Of course, I had to reward myself at the end of it! If there were no rewards waiting for me, how could I get through it? hee-hee!

So, on my way home Friday, I stopped at Pier 1 and splurged on this director's chair. I have been wanting for my classroom. Two of my teaching buddies have one, and I love them! Becca's is denim and has her name embroidered...very cool! But here it is...yep, my first reward! ($75 dollars that I really didn't have but oh well, every now and then, you gotta go off-budget to stay sane!)

(I don't have it pushed down all the way b/c I have to fold it back up to put in the car.) Then, Saturday, me and my peeps (Peggy and Sandy) took one of our 'field trips'. Peggy got on-line and searched for scrapbook stores in Arkansas. We decided to visit the one in White Hall. It was awesome!! She had renovated an old house and had it set up in there with antiques for sale too. We also found a neat sandwich place for lunch with yummy desserts. Girls days are the BEST! (and it's a bonus when scrappin' enters the picture somehow)
Then, today after church, Kevin made us lunch. That boy can COOK! You gotta give him that!

Tune in tomorrow for more on our church search and....drum roll....Kevin's hair cut!! woo-hoo!

This week FLEW by...

I can't believe tomorrow is Friday already!!! The first week of school is almost behind me ~ crazy! It's been quite a week too. My class is an interesting group. Right now, I am just having to be a lot more strict than I like to be, but I know it will pay off in the end. When I have time to breathe, I will fill you in on some of our "issues"....I may need some advice from some of you Momma's and teachers out there! ha!

I definitely need a reward tomorrow. I am going to stop at Pier 1 on the way home and see if they have one of those tall director's chairs for my room. I want one BAD! Then, on Saturday, I have a girls afternoon planned complete with a trip to a new scrapbook store! woo-hoo!!

I'll leave you with this ~ I made hallway passes this year out of clothespins. I thought it was a great idea. It was cheap for when they lose them (which they will), easy b/c I just spray painted them and wrote hall pass on them with a sharpie. Done! The best part was that I told them to pin them to their shirt or collar ~ that way they would never touch the nasty bathroom floor. Passes always end up on the nasty bathroom floor. Then, I never want to touch them! Well, today, one of my children clipped it to the inside of his nose ~ ewwww!! and ouch! (LOL!)

**I will catch up on blog reading this weekend ~ promise! :-)

Wordless Wednesday

First Day of School

First day is over, and I am one tired teacher! I love the excitement of the first day and the nervous feeling, but it sure is a draining day! My feet are killing me! ha! I can honestly say this is an interesting group...there weren't many first day jitters...as in, how to put this? They certainly weren't shy and quiet like kids normally are on the first day. I think I have a talk-a-lot group! I have 21 on my roll now and out of that 21, only 10 were at this school last year. That says a lot. Some will have a rude awakening when they realize how strict this school is compared to others. Don't get me wrong, I have some quiet ones...they just got lost in the talkers. And, teachers kids...that doesn't mean best behaved. Hmmm...are teacher's kids like preacher's kids? I hope not! ha!

Tomorrow, I have to be more strict. Today I wanted everyone to have a good first day. (Oh, for those that haven't seen me in the classroom, I am NOT good at mean, strict teacher...it just doesn't work for me! ha!) Here are my new kiddo's ~

The Boys

The Girls

Welcome to Ms. J's Classroom!

I am hoping by sharing my classroom with you, I will get back to my excited stage!
I was so pumped and ready for school to start until a few meeting with the main person in charge...then the fun got zapped out of everything. I don't know why I am letting it get me so down. Maybe because I always try to make my kids feel special and give them reasons to LIKE school, and I feel like most of those got taken away from me. Everything seemed so negative. We were 2nd in math and 3rd in reading in our district with test scores - no pat on the back or job well done, but rather, "I would really like to be 1st." We can no longer have lunch with our kids in our rooms. This is a FREE reward I use with my kids as incentive with our Accelerated Reader program. FREE - on my own time. Not anymore. And, the one that really has me down, No more classroom pets. All because of one irresponsible teacher...I'll save that for another day. But yes, now Nibbles is home here for good. I have had her in the classroom for four years. Last year, the kids ADORED her. She was a Rock Star. I am just hoping that maybe I can be convincing once things settle down and get her back in the classroom. Enjoy the pics ~ I'll get out of my funk when I have the kids in the room and get nervous Monday morning!

Very Brief...

Not much time to post b/c I am swarming in school work trying to get it all ready for Monday!! Plus, I refuse to have two negative posts in a row, and today wasn't a good day....meetings and being told you can't do this or this or this or this....URGH!

Check back this weekend for pictures of a finished classroom! Woo-hoo!
Let the school year begin!

By the way, the emails and phone calls are cracking me up with people trying to decide if they are the toxic person from the post below! hee-hee! I agree with Tan - I don't think toxic people even know they are toxic! So, if you said to yourself I wonder if she's talking about me, chances are you are safe! LOL!

Rant

Let's talk about toxic people...you know those people who enter our lives somehow or that we know really aren't good for us. Those people that bring stress to your life rather than joy....toxic people. URGH! What do you do about them? I, unfortunately, let things build and build most of the time. And, my close friends, must listen to me vent. ha! I have one friend (you know who you are), that will occasionally "weed" her friends. Kind of like weeding a flower garden. She "weeds" out the friends that are toxic to her - the ones that bring stress to her life. Stop and think. You all know someone like that in your life. They are the takers. They take, take, take and NEVER give back in return. I admit that I took my friends philosophy and did some weeding. Divorce can show a person who their true friends are. I have a close circle of friends that I would do anything for and know I would get the same in return. Women ~ I think all need that circle to survive. We hold each other up. We celebrate each others successes. We do not judge each other. We bring joy into each others lives.

And, then there are those toxic people who just bring us stress and drama. Drama is a whole other topic. I try to stay away from drama. Yet, these toxic people seem to thrive in it and bring it to you. What to do if they can't be "weeded"? You know it's easy to "weed" or even avoid people that you don't see regularly, but what if it's someone you have to see daily or almost daily? How do you keep that stress out of your life? How do you keep their negativeness (is that a word?) from affecting your life? That's what I want to know. I am not a confrontational person. I hate conflict and will people please to avoid it. So, you can see where a "taker" might take advantage of someone like me?!? Hence, the stress! I really do try to find the positive in almost all situations...but I have worked before with a very negative person...a real downer. When you listen to that ALL the time, you can start to feel it rub off on you. But you work with this person, so you can't really "weed" 'em. What to do?

How do you deal with someone that drives you absolutely crazy no matter how much you try to start over and give them a break???? That's what I wanna know. And, come on, no matter how nice you are, we have all encountered these toxic people at some point or another in our lives. How did you deal with them? Maybe it will help me deal with mine! Seriously...you better tell me or you'll have to read another rant! Ha!

**Disclaimer ~ no it's not Kevin! LOL!

This, That and the Other...

• Got my grade for my summer Master's class. I made my 2nd B. Boo-hiss! But Kevin did remind me that this was a self-teach class where she gave assignments and said go at it. We had no guidance, and most of the final was copyright laws. URGH! That test was hard, and I could study for weeks and probably not do any better.
• My class next semester is on Saturdays from 8 to 4:30...get ready for some complaining! ha! It's only 6 times...it's only 6 times...that's what I have to keep repeating AND I only have 5 classes to go! :-)
• I have been working hard on my classroom. I moved some stuff around where it feels new to me. I just keep thinking in the back of mind, "It's gonna suck when they paint in a month, and I have to re-do this!" At first, they told us we would even have to empty out closets and cabinets, but now only if we want the insides painted. I am thinking what do I care what the inside of my cabinets and closet looks like? It's storage!! (Pictures to come soon of my finished room!!)
• We got our class list today. So far, I have only 19 kids on my list. That means I have room for four more. I hope I get them in the next few days, because I'd rather start with them than have them enter later in the year. Teachers, you know what I mean? It's harder to get them into the routines and stuff.
• Apparently this class may be a hand-full, so I may have some stories to tell this year. I don't know, I have a hard time going by kids past experiences because sometimes they have trouble with one teacher and not another. They also mature a bit from year to year. And, I'm sorry, but I can't help but think that a bad class at this school is NOTHING compared to where I was teaching!! I am only listening to positive comments about my class list. I prefer to start fresh...now, if I'm pulling my hair out in a few weeks, remind me of my optimism toward my new class! LOL!

Booktalk: Sail by James Patterson

From the Book Jacket: Barely out of sight of land, the Dunne family finds its summer getaway to paradise already turning into the trip from hell. Carrie, the eldest, has thrown herself off the side of the boat in a bid for attention. Sixteen-year-old Mark is getting high belowdecks. And Ernie, their ten-year-old brother, is nearly catatonic. It's shaping up to be the worst vacation ever.

Katherine Dunne had hoped this trip would bring back the togetherness they'd lost when her husband died four years earlier. Maybe if her new husband, a high-powered Manhattan attorney, had been able to postpone his trial and join them it would all have been okay....

Suddenly, a disaster hits-and it's perfect. Faced with real danger, the Dunnes rediscover the meaning of family and pull together in a way they haven't in a long time. But this catastrophe is just a tiny taste of the danger that lurks ahead: someone wants to make sure that the Dunne family never makes it out of paradise alive.

What I thought: A++ Wow! I thought that I would read one more book before the kids came back to school, and I started having stacks of papers to grade. I thought I would read it over the next week. I finished in a day and a half. I couldn't put it down. It was action packed - never a dull moment. I loved it! Mark my words, this one will made into a movie. You have GOT to read it!!

Vacation is officially over...

Tomorrow I go back to work. After two months off, I am ready. I admit it! I really did surprise myself and not get bored this summer, but taking my Masters class in July helped. I still don't know my grade but that should come next week.

I have gone to the school twice already this week and worked in my room for a few hours. I love getting everything ready for the new year and deciding what to do differently and what worked and should stay the same. I will take pictures of the room when I finish. The only bummer about the room is that our building is getting painted but not until mid-September. So....we are going to have to take EVERYTHING down when they paint our rooms and then put it back up again. Why didn't they paint this summer? Good question! Big district and scheduling issues apparently...

Tomorrow it will be fun to see everyone (except for the sitting through meetings part! urgh!)

I went shopping with my Mom and niece today for back to school stuff and got myself a first day outfit. ha! Can you tell I'm ready to go back to school?

Happy Friday Everyone!

Boys...

The boys around here are currently obsessed with the squirrels that have once again invaded our garden. They are stealing our tomatoes again. And, sitting on top of the fence where we can watch them eat them. That's ok...we've declared an all out war. Simba has even joined in and is sitting in the garden some to keep the critters out. What a good boy he is (sometimes). After today, Kevin will be armed with a BB gun and it's ON! (He will only hit squirrels - he promises!)

We also are trying to unload Kevin's storage building and bring everything here. We got all the boxes this weekend on the way home from the horse show. He spent Sunday unpacking a box or two and was like a kid in a candy store with all his treasures he kept finding. Here he is coming to show me his BBQ belt! HA! He was cracking me up! He was spinning the tongs like he was in a gun fight. Then, Monday night, he found the box with his video game, an X-Box or something, and I knew something was up because he was quiet for way too long. Sure enough, I went to see how things were coming and he had set the game up in the guest room and was laid out on the guest bed playing video games.

Between the BB gun and the new found video game, the rest of those boxes may never get unpacked! Boys and their toys!

Make & Take Day

My co-workers and I took a little field trip today to a make and take co-op. It is quite a drive for us (to Hoxie) but well worth it. I have gone nearly every summer since I started teaching. I like to make my own stuff for my walls rather than buy store-made. I think it looks so much better. So...today I introduced my new co-workers to the place and we had a great day!

I added a few items to my ocean theme that I started last year. The first thing I made was the "Sea" star of the Month poster for my Good Citizen of the Month. The yellow square will hold their picture and the orange will hold their sheet they answer questions and tell information about themselves. Then, I made 7 of these ~ picture them with cute googlie eyes...they will go in the hallway and when they meet certain AR points, they will get their picture on their sea star. There will be a 15 point star, 25 point star, 50 point...and so on.
These are going to be my name tags on their desks:
I LOVE getting ready to start the school year!! This is my favorite time of year! And, to make my day even better when I got home my scrapbook stamps I ordered were in ~ woo-hoo!!
Click here if you wanna see what I made last year with the ocean theme.

Visitors ~ Part II

Go HERE for Part I if you must, but the gist of it is we are searching for a "home church" or a church that is a fit for us. I meant to post about this a few weeks ago, but somehow time slipped away.

Anyway...we think we may be onto to something with a church right here where we live (instead of driving into "town" where we work and all the good restaurants are). This church is actually 5 minutes up the road. Bonus. It is also the size we are looking for ~ I would guess that there were around 200 people in attendance. We could actually get to know the people in the church. Another plus was that most of the congregation was close to our age. Sounds good so far - right? Well, Kevin didn't like the contemporary music. But not to worry, they have an early morning traditional service. Herein lies the problem folks...EARLY service. Alarm clock on the weekend service. Yep, we have had plans for 2 weeks now to make the early service. One weekend we got in the night before at 12:30 am from the horse show...didn't make it. This weekend, we left the horse show early, so we could get up. The alarm went off. I hit snooze. Went off again. I turned it off. It's true. I am in big trouble starting Friday when I have to get up and go to work again! LOL!

All was not lost, we did go to church. We went to the 10:30 service at the church I've been going to with my cousin. I was so excited to get to hear the preacher because I love his messages, and guess what? He was on vacation in Florida! ha! It was still a good service though (although a bit long winded ~ remember I have A.D.D.), and we WILL try our best to get to the early service and try the traditional service this week. That is my pledge!

Another Yee-haw Day!

We spent Saturday in the triple digit heat at another horse show ~ shocked? LOL! In good news, after this weekend (the temp was 105 degrees and the heat index was 115 degrees), Mom is looking for a horse trailer with an air conditioned compartment in the front....can I get a YEE-HAW!?! It was H.O.T.! But, those cowgirls and cowboys didn't mind...they had on long sleeves and jeans. Crazy! (Girls ~ pause here to picture the cowboys in jeans...hmmm) OK...

Despite the heat, I got too many good pictures to share all of them, so I made a slideshow of just a few. The paint horse that you will see them riding is a 'horse on loan' from one of Mom's friends. Autumn needed one to finish out the season in the show events ~ her horse, Dolly, is just too old to handle the heat. She is something like 35 years old!!

Anyway ~ enjoy! These are the last ones until State Competitions over Labor Day Weekend! (I think I heard a sigh of relief from Kevin ~ ha!)