Resolutions for 2008

1. I WILL have a baby by next Christmas, even if I have to kidnap one from Walmart when a stupid mom isn't looking. I'm tired of celebrating holidays without my own family. If you know anyone that wants to give away a baby, you give them my phone number.
2. I want to lose 20 pounds by 2009. That seems like a realistic goal. Once the weather gets nice Kendall and I plan to start building up to long bike rides. Between that, walking the dogs, and joining the YMCA with Jamie, I should be able to do it. I know it seems cliche to put this on a list of resolutions, but I really feel like I need to do this.
3. I will have at least half of our credit card debt paid off by 2009. This has been hanging over our heads for the last 7 years. We need our medical school debt GONE. Anyone want to make a donation?
4. I will redo our first floor bathroom. The toilet has already been replaced. The wallpaper is going, the fixtures will be replaced with some pretty brushed nickle, and I will hand a new mirror.
5. I will get a new car. Preferrably something KICKASS. That makes me look like the rockstar I truely am.
6. I will learn how to play my bass guitar.
7. I will read at least 12 new trashy romance novels. A minimum of one a month. *grin*
8. I will have gone through at least half of the boxes still hiding in storage in my basement and either sell, pitch, or give away what's in them.
9. I will ride my bike 15 miles in one day.
10. I will try to remember to be greatful for the things I already have when I am feeling down and like I have nothing.

Holiday Thursday Thirteen

I could probably write a novel about what happened with my holidays, but I'm going to try to sum it up in thirteen things....since it IS a Thursday and all....:)

Thirteen Things that Happened Over My Christmas

1. I got some of the most random gifts. I made a list, I checked it twice, I even thought I'd been pretty nice. And yet the Erdahls still don't get me. It's frustrating, and I'm sure Martha will yell at me, but I don't like pink bowling shoes. And they don't make any sense to buy them if you don't logically get the bag I asked for as well. Buying me another set of dominoes that I already own just seems silly. We did, however, get a 32 inch LCD tv for our bedroom. Yes, you read correctly, it's for our bedroom. It's obscenely large, and I LOVE IT. I watched Snoop Dogg's Fatherhood on it all day on Christmas Eve. But I digress.....
2. My sister-in-law was much better than we anticipated. She was upset over a couple of things (MUCH too dramatic to tell the whole tale here) and we were all anticipating a very cranky Natalie. She did pretty well. I only had to yell at her once. :)
3. Kendall got a basketball hoop. He's been asking for one for over a year. He was happy.
4. His [Kendall's] cousin Wyatt told me I was the coolest English teacher he had ever met. I told him that while I was flattered, it probably helped that I wasn't his English teacher. HA!
5. We had a barely white Christmas Eve morning. By noon we were destined for a green Christmas. Kind of sad really.
6. Dathan did ZERO work over the last three days. We hosted Kendall's aunt and uncle from Colorado at our house and the whole family came over each day. I couldn't even get him to dry a plate! Oh wait, he did serve the pre-sliced ham to everyone while we sat at the table. Does that count as work?
7. I learned that my house really is a kick ass place for entertaining.
8. The dogs got some awesome new grunting toys.
9. My next door neighbor had her baby FOUR weeks early. She's an adorable 6 pound baby named Maria Giulia. Jamie (the mommy) jinxed herself because she was adamant that she was going to celebrate Christmas without the new baby. She's so funny. Now that Giulia is here she's happy, but it was hilarious to see karma bite her in the ass. *grin*
10. I got a light up moose for my front yard for next year. My mom was nice enough to go out to Target the morning after Christmas and got the last one for me. She promised me that she only knocked over one little old lady to get it. Any more than that and I would have felt guilty about getting it. They didn't have any left at our Target. It's not inflatable. It's one of those lovely grapevine and wire jobs that has a motorized head.
11. I bought myself High School Musical 2 and I'm not ashamed to admit that. And if I don't get HSM I'll buy that too.
12. We gorged ourselves on so many sweets the last 4 days that I can't even look at a Christmas cookie without gagging a little now. I've never done that before!
13. My babies had to go to the vet today to get their teeth cleaned. I was worried they were going to die from the anesthesia but they both came out of it fine. The vet did have to pull 3 more of Morrie's incisors, which leads me to believe he no longer has an front teeth. Poor old boy. I'll try to take a picture later in the week so you can see what it looks like. My poor little Gums McGee.......

Not a very exciting list, but an informative one. And it saved me from writing ridiculously long paragraphs where I digressed and got too cranky. :) I'm planning on making a New Year's Resolution List when we get back from Cleveland. We're leaving tomorrow and coming back Monday.

Since I won't probably post until after the New Year begins, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Merry Christmas

Made Out Like Bandits!

So I think I mentioned last Christmas that my kids brought me some gifts. While I didn't get quite the same quantity as last year, I still got quite a few things and I was once again touched at how thoughtful my kids can be. This list this year includes a gift certificate to Subby's, a set of ceramic Christmas bowls, and a teddy bear dipped in cinnamon scented candle wax (which I'd never heard of before but is a totally cool concept). I also got lots of goodies.

Kendall also got a ridiculous amount of gifts. His list includes:
1. A HUGE box of candy imported from Maine
2. Several other small boxes of chocolate
3. A pie
4. A box of Mediterranean Pastries and other cookies
5. 4 Angus Beef filets from Honeybaked Ham (yeah, I was SUPER excited to see that box on the steps!)
6. A stuffed dog
7. GODIVA
8. A bottle of wine

Most of the stuff came from other doctors in the area. Kendall says it's because they are thanking him for referrals. Hell, he can keep referring....cause I love this stuff!

I wonder if we'll get anything else......I know, I sound so greedy! I just get excited to get packages in the mail!

A Series of Letters

Oh the weather outside is frightful....so I thought I'd write a few quick notes to some people....

Dear White Ford Contour,
As I watched you pass me at 70 miles per hour in the fast lane covered in snow, I just knew you were going to have a bad day....and you did, five minutes later when I watched you shoot across 3 lanes of slick roads and smash into a sound barrier wall at high speeds. Maybe you would still have the front of your car if you hadn't thought you were such a beast.

Dear Miami County ODOT,
I love you. Thank you for making sure my roads are clear and salted. In advance. It's almost like you're a northern Ohio county. But you're not. Which makes me love you more for trying so hard. And I will gladly get out of your way any time you want to keep plowing and salting.

Dear Montgomery County ODOT,
You suck.

Dear Semi Truck Drivers,
Just because you weigh several tons, it does not mean that your truck cannot slide across the ice like a hockey puck just like mine. See above letter to Ford Contour if you don't believe me.

Dear Jeep Liberty, Honda CRV, Ford Escape, and all other tiny "SUV"s,
Just because your name has the word "Utility" in it does not mean you are allowed to drive at high speeds in snow. You were built on a car body. Not a truck body. Therefore, you are a car. Which also means you are a poser SUV. I'm sorry to hurt your feelings. But you are. On the remote possibility that you have 4x4 as an option, just note, you are still a car. You just have 4x4.

Dear all 4x4/AWD vehicles,
Please remember that this feature only helps you get out of the ditch that you spun or slid into. It does not prevent you from going into said ditch. Even if you believe that it does.

And finally....

Dear People born beneath the 39th parallel,
Just because you've driven in snow 5 times in your life does not mean you are an expert in snow. Unless you have driven in snow on consecutive days in consecutive weeks, you are not an expert. Which means you should SLOW DOWN. If I am only going 40 miles an hour on the highway it is because I HAVE driven in snow on a daily basis before. And I understand that there is a certain speed at which your tires start to spin out and get away from you. Also, a reminder that slamming on your brakes is dangerous and ineffective. You are trying to avoid an accident, not create one, which heavy braking will do. It is much easier to let off the gas and coast. Which means you actually have to allow a safe distance. Which I know is difficult for many people. Please just stay home if you can't follow the rules of snow driving ettiquette.



Sincerely,
A born and raised Clevelander

10 Rules About Christmas Lights

1. If you're going to put lights in a tree, go all the way to the top. Don't just stop half way up the tree because you can't reach anymore. Commit to the job! Finish it with a pole or a ladder.
2. Stick to one style of lights. Don't try to do the cheap lights from Big Lots with some fancy LED things. It just makes your Big Lots lights look even cheaper.
3. Blow up Santas and snowmen should not be scary looking. If it frightens small children, don't put it out.
4. Don't use orange extension cords up the side of your house. While I can't see them at night, I have to stare at them during the daylight. And it bothers me.
5. If you're going to put out lights, make sure you put out enough lights. Don't just put lights on one tree or bush. If that's all you can afford to do, that's cool, at least pick a tree or bush that is logical and makes sense. Not just some random one in the left corner of your yard.
6. This one is from the hubby: the general rule for Ohio is that you should put out white lights if there is no snow. If you have snow on a consistent basis, you are allowed to have colored lights. Colored lights only look good against snow.
7. Net lights. Either get several sets that completely cover the bush or tree or don't bother to use them at all. Having a giant blank spot on your bush just looks bad.
8. Baby Jesus should not flash. There should be no flashing lights involved with The Nativity. I somehow doubt that there was a light show the night he was born. And if there was, it was a shower of stars. Keep it tasteful. Jesus deserves some classy lighting.
9. If your light display starts to give me a seizure, it's blinking too fast.
10. Put the damn things on a timer. If your lights are still on at lunch time you just look dumb. Plus, you're wasting energy. And Al Gore wouldn't appreciate that.

15 Minute Lunch

I'm totally addicited to reading this guy's blog now. Ever since the JCPenny entry that Sarah shared, I've added his blog to my favorites. I read it every day. And he seriously writes some funny shit.

So, if you're ever bored and want another blog to read, go to 15 Minute Lunch.

The most recent entry deals with Lunesta. It's pretty damn funny if you ask me.

Thursday Thirteen- Things I've Forgotten to Blog About

1. The 60 year old man who was SAGGING his pants!!!!! Seriously, I could see his entire tighty whitey covered ass when he picked up his winter coat! Kendall and I were sitting and waiting at a Compunet to get labwork drawn. I couldn't stop laughing. And I think the whole room knew why....except saggy pants man!

2. Speaking of the lab....Kendall and I are finally having genetic testing done to see if our chromosomes match up. This way we'll see if we even need to continue treatment. If we don't match, IVF will be our only option. Anyone want to donate 15,000 dollars????


3. New doctor- we are now seeing a new fertility specialist. Same office, younger guy. GREAT doctor, so far....he's completely changing my treatment. It's a lot more expensive, but we are hopeful. Keep us in your prayers. We're almost out of a savings account. Seriously. We've probably already spent 10 g's over the last 3 years.


4. Our EXTREME POWER over the neighborhood- we've decided that we must be in charge of our block now. Because it seems that any time we do something, our neighbors do it to. For example: We rake leaves, 3 other neighbors will get out and do it. We mow, ditto. We put up white Christmas lights, double ditto. We're starting to feel powerful....what to do next....giant plastic snowmen for the roofs? Hehehe.....


5. My new Dyson vaccum. Yes, you should be jealous. I got a 439 dollar vaccum for 200 dollars. It's AMAZING what it pulls out of your carpet. If you don't have a Dyson, you should want one. I'll have to take a picture of the canister when I've finished vacuuming the whole house.


6. The light display down the road from us- I have got to get a picture of this house. It's got to have close to 500,000 plus lights. And they keep adding! So I keep waiting to take the picture!


7. My snow day. Yes I had one, and yes you're jealous. We're hoping for another one tomorrow. 3 more inches of snow anyone?


8. My closet is broken. An entire shelf unit ripped out o the drywall on me. It was awful. I had just finished reorganinzing the whole thing. Everything was neatly folded. Stacked. Then all of the sudden, on the floor and me. I cried. We're now looking at cheap closet systems. With wooden shelves.


9. Driveways=convenient=extra shoveling=extra ice=3 bags of rock salt. RIDICULOUS!!!!!


10. I am going to be on the negotiating team for our union contract this year. I'm really excited about it. I get to see how the whole process works and rumor has it this year sparks might fly. We want a bigger raise. That's never an easy process. I can't WAIT!!! (No seriously, I'll get all the dirt before anyone else. :)


11. I mentioned a while back that I skipped my 10 year high school reunion. I decided it wasn't worth the 50 bucks a person they wanted. To see jerks. I found out that not a lot of people went. That made me feel better. Even the jerks didn't want to see other jerks.


12. We had to have the home warranty people out to the house to fix two electrical outlets and two toilets. The guy was here for 3 hours and only ended up fixing one thing. He is coming back tomorrow to completely replace one toilet and use a new tool to find where the circuit is broken for the plugs. He also may have to cut several holes in my drywall to fix it. And they don't even have to replace it. The warranty doesn't cover it. SUCK. But we need it fixed because the hottub stopped working and started to freeze over. We have it plugged into our kitchen wall right now. Totally ghetto. The cord comes through a window and we have towels and tape over it.


13. This is my house. The pictures aren't the greatest, but you get the general idea. Just think bright white lights.

Oh, It's Coming....

So the picture at the top of my blog is the "Runner up" Christmas card this year. I just got the winner in the mail today.....so.....it's coming. I plan to have them all mailed by Friday. So you better start watching your mailbox.

I don't have addresses for the following people:

Sarah W (I need your new one again- Sorry!)
Jen J
Martha
Anne
Sarah F ( I closed the IM box you sent it to me in!!!!! Send it again! Sorry!!!!!!!!!!!!)
So if you want a card....you need to email me your address.

I Have a Serious Case of the Mondays.

Here is a list of things I'd like to bitch about today.

1. I didn't want to get up and go to work this morning.
2. This weather is retarded. It was 50 yesterday. It barely broke 30 today. There will be snow on the ground by midweek according to the weather man.
3. I am taking a new pill this month that makes me dizzy in the morning if I don't eat enough. This morning I had to sit at my desk for 15 minutes before it went away.
4. My sub from Friday was an idiot.
5. My 4th period kids refused to volunteer for parts to read in the play from the textbook. I told them that if I didn't have volunteers by tomorrow I was going to make them read the whole thing by themselves. They're so lazy!!!!!!!!!
6. My husband forgot to pack the salad dressing for my lunch today. I had to go buy a school lunch.
7. My egg salad sandwich from the school lunch had one slice of white and one slice of wheat bread affixed!
8. I had to yell at a kid this afternoon about making fun of the kid next to him on the spelling pretest.
9. I really don't like my coworkers this year. This is the first time in 4 years that I've really felt like that. I think one of them is purposely not talking to me, but I refuse to confront them. They suck.
10. My stomach is growling, it wants to eat. I have to wait til Kendall brings me something to the basketball game tonight.
11. My sister in law in ruining Christmas. She is being difficult about when we celebrate. It's making everyone miserable. And I'm totally calling her out on it if she pouts at my dinner table on Christmas Day.
12. I have no desire to go Christmas shopping.
13. I still have 3 weeks until my winter break starts.
14. My kids have donated a total of 9 cans for the food drive this year. Last year I had over a thousand. My kids suck.
15. I came home and had to clean up both poop and vomit off my floor. First the poop, which had obviously been sitting there for a while because it was hard and crusty and STUCK to my floor. Then Maggie vomited...when I ran out of paper towels from scrubbing the poop up.
16. Several of our outdoor plugs have decided to short circuit and out hot tub is now in the process of freezing. Yeah. Kendall and his brother are out their trying to fix it right now.
17. I feel fat, ugly, lazy, tired, cranky, and overall very bamhumbugish.

In short, I think I need a snow day.

Update: My very nice husband brought me a roast beef sandwich to the basketball game. And Anne's story about a kid vomiting on her desk today made me feel a little bit better about my work. But I still really don't want to go to work tomorrow.

Gimme Some Pudding!!!!

Okay, so have you ever really listened to the words to "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"? Yeah, here's what they are:

We wish you a Merry Christmas;
We wish you a Merry Christmas;
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Good tidings we bring to you and your kin;
Good tidings for Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Oh, bring us a figgy pudding;
Oh, bring us a figgy pudding;
Oh, bring us a figgy pudding and a cup of good cheer

We won't go until we get some;
We won't go until we get some;
We won't go until we get some, so bring some out here

We wish you a Merry Christmas;
We wish you a Merry Christmas;
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

We won't go until we get some?!?!?!!? What the crap? Basically, this is a really annoying way of saying, give us some pudding or we ain't leaving! We'll keep singing til you bring us some. But Merry Christmas!

Upon further research....

We wish you a Merry Christmas History reverts back to the 16th century. We wish you a Merry Christmas History has its roots in England. However the author and the composer of the song still remains unknown to the whole world. Therefore the date of the publication of the song is not known. This song We wish you a Merry Christmas actually reflects the Christmas tradition of showering gifts on the people who wandered from house to house, singing these Christmas songs to please the wealthy people of the community. The name given to these singers were carollers as Christmas songs are also known as Christmas Carols. The song mentions the name of a dessert, which is figgy pudding. This desert, which is mentioned in the song, was once an integral part of the Christmas celebrations but now it seems that it has lost its importance.

Which makes me wonder....what would the words to this song be in modern times.....

So bring us some friggin money?

Thursday Thirteen

13 Songs I Could Hear Over and Over Again at Christmas

1. Mary Did You Know

2. I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas

3. White Christmas performed by Bing Crosby

4. Mele Kalikimaka performed by Bing Crosby

5. The Christmas Song performed by Nat King Cole

6. Little Saint Nick performed by the Beach Boys

7. Winter Wonderland

8. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

9. Carol of the Bells performed by the Transiberian Orchestra

10. Sleigh Ride (instrumental only versions)

11. Jingle Bells performed by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters

12. Deck the Halls performed by Mannheim Steamroller

13. Away in a Manger

Black Friday and Beyond

So we headed out on Black Friday to catch a couple of deals and ended up seeing and hearing some crazy things. I'm really mad that I didn't remember to bring my camera to Cleveland because I would have had some classic shots.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What we saw:

My mom and I went to HH Gregg so I could get 100 dollars off of a Dyson. I wasn't too worried that they run out of them considering the CRAZY deals everyone was offering on flat screen tvs. When we arrived at 5am there was a mob of people surrounding the door and then a short, single file line of less rabid people. Of course, when they opened the doors the mob attacked the man who was writing up slips for the 10 fifty inch Panasonic plasmas that they were offering for 1500 bucks, pretty much half price. People were screaming and trying to vye for this man's attention. We headed to the back of the store, got our vaccuum reciept and headed for line immediately. Even being the 13th person in line it still took us over an hour to get rung out. RIDICULOUS. While I was waiting for them to bring out my Dyson, the young couple next to me was on their cell phone trying to get a big enough car for their new television. When I asked them why they didn't bring a car, they told me this story:

They had only planned on looking and never thought there was a possibility they'd even get one of the big TVs. When they showed up at 5 (same time as us) they headed after the mob of people and quietly snuck into the middle of the group. While everyone else was screaming at the sales associate, the girl smiled at him and quitely and politely said, "We'll take one please." He immediately wrote them the last ticket. Of course this set everyone else into a rage.

Now they had no way to get the TV home. While they were still waiting for a ride, we watched the HH Gregg people load up another big screen TV into the back of a man's convertible. Not that great, until you hear....it was snowing. Heavily. And he was wearing one of those knitted hats with the ball on top and ear flaps. Yeah. I totally wished I had a camera. It was hilarious.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What we heard:

Kendall made friends with the lady behind him while standing in line at Staples. She told him that Value City Department Store opened at midnight. Everyone was standing in a nice neat line waiting for it to open. The manager mistakenly opened the wrong door and the people at the back of the line decided to cut to the front. This caused a riot. No, a real riot. The manager panicked and locked a group of people in between the two sets of doors. They started to get angry and were beating on the glass trying to break it. He had to call the cops. What were the fighting over? Not the 32 inch flat screens for 400 dollars. They were fighting over the 10 dollars off a purchase of 20 dollars or more coupons. Yeah. Ghetto.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What we bought:

A Dyson- which I'm returning because the girl who cleans my house can get it for me for half price. Yes, you read correctly, I have a girl who comes and cleans three rooms in my house. For 30 bucks. It's awesome. She's awesome. My house feels so much cleaner. Or at least the three rooms she cleans. :)

A Wii- we were getting it for our neighbor but her dad was able to get one too. Then we offered it to Dathan and Natalie. We were hoping they wouldn't take it because we can sell it on Ebay right now for almost double.

Just wanted to share a few pictures that we took over the weekend too. We cleaned up the yard from all of the leaves, mowed the lawn one last time, and hung our Christmas lights outside. I'll try to get a picture of them later. Plus I also want to show you a picture of the house down the street from us. Their lights are amazing!

Tuesday

I learned how to use the scoreboard at the middle school tonight. There was an 8th grade scrimmage and they needed someone to run the board so I sat with the assistant principal and we both figured out how to use it together. We had a great time. At one point we were both laughing so hard we had difficulty keeping score and stopping and starting the clock. I think I might have actually started to tear up. It was GREAT. And it was a really nice start to my 5 days off.

I just spent the past two days taking tours with 8th graders at the Miami Valley Career Tech Center (MVCTC). I can't believe that my high school never offered this crap! Some of it is so cool! I would have loved to go into the vet tech program or the graphic design or culinary arts or even horticulture and floral design. The thing is, even if they had offered this stuff I don't know that I would have taken it. I was so focused on going to college that I think I wouldn't have believed that I could still go to college and go to the CTC. That's what they tell the kids. I wouldn't have felt like I had that competitive edge that I'd need. Opinions? Would any of you taken the chance on a sweet vocational program?

We're heading to Cleveland tomorrow for Thanksgiving. We have to make a short trip of it because Kendall has to work on Saturday morning. I'm trying to set up a trip to hit the outlet malls with my next door neighbor that day. Any other takers? Just let me know.

I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and I'll make sure to get on here and give any juicy stories that occur. I'm sure I'll observe something crazy on Black Friday!

Stay safe!

Big Haired Blondes

So Kendall and I spent a large portion of our morning watching VH1 Classic. They had an 80's marathon of videos and then Metal Mania, all videos of big hair bands. My latest theory? The only big hair bands that were successful and well known...all had lead singers that were blonde.


Think about it....


Warrant
Bon Jovi
Motley Crue
Twisted Sister
Guns and Roses


All had big haired blondes. Coincidence? Or secret conspiracy of the 80's???????

Thursday Thirteen

13 Thoughts on My Brain...

1. I used to think that the bad kids were the worst part of being a teacher. Conferences remind me on a bi-annual basis that it's the bad kids' parents that are the worst part of being a teacher.

2. I do not like the dark coming this early this year. I usually do. This year I don't.

3. I'm having a "down" school year. The kids are draining me. They're really high maintenance this year. I feel like I'm running constantly.

4. I'm mad at the tv writers for striking. I get that they want more money. They might deserve it even. But damn it, my TV is what gets me through the week. I'm going to be pissed if it goes off the air.

5. I have done ZERO Christmas shopping. I have no desire to even START shopping.

6. It does not feel like Thanksgiving is coming next week. I think it's the weather.

7. I want to quit my job and stay home all day. Yeah, that's how tiring work feels this year. I don't want to clean or cook or organize. I just want to sit home and do nothing. All day long. How many more days til summer vacation?

8. I haven't spoken to most of my friends in weeks. I feel so tired at the end of the day that all I want to do is come home, lay down, read a book, eat, and watch TV with Kendall. Sometimes we don't even talk that much. We just exist together. In a good way.

9. I have two ten dollar GAP cards burning a hole in my wallet. I need to hit the outlet malls on Sunday.

10. We made some new friends at of all places, Sake Japanese Steak House in Vandalia. We met them a few weeks back when we were out with our next door neighbors. We just had dinner with them again this week and had a great time. It's always refreshing to meet new people. They don't know any of your old stories. Esp the funny ones. So you get to be the interesting, funny person for a while. Does that sound weird?

11. I'm having a bad baby month. I feel like I'm surrounded by women who are pregnant or just had a baby. Could I please hang out with some people who don't have kids? Oh wait, we're the last people we know that don't. I think it's the holidays. I kept saying to myself last year at this time, "No more holidays without a baby." And I failed. It sucks. Oh wait, it could also be the 50 mgs of Clomid I took this morning. *sigh* Stupid hormones.

12. I'm frustrated with the invisible dog fence. I thought the dogs would have picked up on it sooner. It's been a month and I still don't trust them to not run through the fence into the street. I hope they get it soon. I'm tired of having those little flags all over my yard!

13. Don't count on me to post or read your blogs right now. I suck. I'm busy and tired and a crappy friend. I didn't even know Buster died. It made me cry. Why? Because I felt bad that I didn't know. It would be like Morrie dying and nobody noticing. Which is another thing I can't stop thinking about. He's getting old. He trips up the stairs a lot now and sometimes at night when he breaths funny, I have to get up to make sure he's okay because I'm afraid he'll die while we're sleeping and be all alone.

Okay, I have to go now. The combination of fatigue and hormones is getting to me.

A few questions answered...And a question for you!

Karen- No we didn't see the dresses this year. They're in the American History Museum which is currently closed for renovation.

Anne- Yes, I do get a stipend actually....wait for it....wait for it....wait for it...25 bucks. Yeah, you read that right. They figure our stipend is getting to go on the trip for free. Yeeeeeaaaaahh, I "get" to go.

Sarah W- I did dye my hair again, but not until after this picture was taken. I also got another super sweet haircut right after the trip. I wait too long between my haircuts. I've decided to go more often so that I love my hair more. I'm thinking I really may stick to their 6 to 8 week rule. I usually wait until 12 or 14 weeks, but by that point I'm pulling my hair back in ponytails and that's no fun!

Here's my question for you guys: Has anyone else seen the new shopping bags at Meijer made out of cloth? I bought one for 99 cents the other day and was suprised at how roomy it was! It was able to carry three bags of various produce section lettuce, a family size bag of Doritos, hamburger buns, a loaf of bread, sliced ham, and cereal. More than your average plastic bag.

I'm trying to decide if Meijer is really trying to be earth friendly or if they're just posers. They had a very small rack of these bags and they weren't even by the checkout where they should be. But for 99 cents I also feel like they're practically begging you to buy one. Hmmmm...any thoughts? Anyone else seen these?

DC

Here's a brief recap of my trip to DC this year.


Day 1- Gettysburg- we did tons of walking. I didn't really see anything new. We ate at the same buffet we always eat at. The food was gross, as usual. We did however get a compliment from the staff there. They said that we were the best chaperones they had seen. We kept all of our kids under control and didn't leave a huge mess. That's always nice to hear. We did the trip a little differently this year because we left on Tuesday morning instead of Tuesday night. It was a lot nicer sleeping in a hotel bed that night rather than the bus. It also helped our energy level over the next several days.


Day 2- Tour of 8 million museums. Okay, not really 8 million. We hit up the National Archives and then THREE Smithsonians. We went to the Art Museum this year, which we've never been to before. It was amazing. If you've never been to this museum, you should go. I stood within inches of Monet and Da Vinci and Renoir. It was incredible. I can't wait to take Kendall back to see them. We also went to the Air and Space Museum which I never walk through. And finally the Natural History Museum where I got my standard dinosaur picture. This year it was with T-Rex. I also got to see a pair of diamond earrings that Marie Antoinette once wore. They were HUGE! How did those not make her ears hurt? We finished the day with the National Holocaust Museum. Always the most sobering part of the trip for the kids. We had one girl walk out bawling. I found two very interesting books to read. We ended the night with a pizza party and dance. The pizza was GROSS. It was reheated Papa Johns that the hotel tried to pass off as fresh. You know how Papa Johns has that different taste when it's been reheated? Yeah. GROSS. The kids made us get out on the dance floor and boogey with them. It was fun.



Day 3- A cemetery, a church, and a row of politicians. We spent the entire morning at Arlington National Cemetery. It's always a long walk up hill and then an enjoyable 10 minutes of oogling men in uniform. I swear, the guys that guard the Tomb of Unknown soldiers are always the hottest guys I've ever seen in uniform. We ate lunch in the Regan Building where they have this amazing cookie shop. Then we headed to the National Cathedral for the crappiest tour I've ever had there. All the other teachers agreed. We didn't even get to go into the basement and see Helen Keller's tomb. No, seriously, she's buried there. I'm not pulling a Pee Wee on you. We fininished the day with a drive through Embassy Row and dinner at the ESPN Zone. Decent food compared to some of the other buffets we eat at on the trip. The kids got to wind down by playing a couple of hours of video games.


Day 4- A dead President. We went to Mt Vernon, which I've never been to before. If you've never been there it's the house of George Washington. It's been preserved to look just like it did the year he died. It's freaking AWESOME. I don't know why, but I loved it. I just couldn't believe that I was walking on the same floor that the original GW did. I even got to see the bed that he died in. And his tomb. And his last set of fake teeth! They were disgusting! But I got to see them. I highly recommend a stop to Mt Vernon. It had more to do than we had time for. The only thing I didn't like was that they were super anal about kids staying with chaperones. No where else was this anal. Including the Art Museum where kids could have reached out and touched the paintings. The drive home to Dayton was rough. I got pretty bus sick. And I was burping up banana pudding the whole way home from our lunch buffet.


I'm really glad to be home now. I'm also glad to be back into the swing of school routine. The kids weren't, but I am. :)

Rumor Has It....

It might snow Tuesday night.....How FABULOUS is that!!?!?!?!?!

I've been MIA because I just got back from a week in Washington DC with the kids. When my energy is back I'll try to blog about it a little bit.

Eh.

So I just went through and read everybodys blogs. Whew! That's what happens when I drop off the face of the earth for several days!

I feel like my life has been busy with mostly boring things. Or things that I don't really want to take the time to write about. I'm starting to feel like I'm dipping into a low. I'm running low on energy and feel like I'm running all the time. Even the things that are supposed to be fun don't seem as fun lately. They seem like obligations. Isn't that terrible?

Work has felt really busy. I feel like I'm never ahead of myself. I'm always making lists of the things I have to do. And we leave for DC on Tuesday. Which I am really looking forward to because it means 4 days away from the building. There's even been some teacher drama in the 8th grade. I'm trying to be a grownup about the situation, but when you teach 8th grade....sometimes you tend to act like an 8th grader. I've been working really hard this week to get over the problem and stop being petty. I don't really want to get into it here.

Home is okay. The house feels dusty. I never noticed the dust in my old house. I feel like I notice it everywhere here. We got invisible fence for the dogs. It's stressing me out majorly. Maggie is terrified of the zap and wants to be picked up every time it gets her. We have to keep following the training though or they say the dogs will never learn. Morrie ignores the zap. I'm worried we will have to turn the voltage up on his collar. And that bothers me. The whole concept kind of bothers me. That we're zapping our dogs. My head tells me it's not that bad and that once they get used to it, it's a much cheaper way to keep them contained without supervision. My heart feels awful. These dogs are my kids. I don't have any kids. So when I see my furry kids get zapped, it makes me sad.

Kendall is, as always, great. Sure he gets on my nerves sometimes and we bicker occassionally, but he still remains the best thing that has ever happened to me. He's so patient. In so many ways. And he loves me so well. I'm always so amazed at the number of people we know that have had failed marriages. Because it doesn't matter how bad things get or how mad we are with each other, I never worry that he'll leave me. And I always know that he loves me. Thank God for the Kendalls of the world. :)

Here is my quick list of things I've done lately that I don't really want to write about, but thought you might like to read:
1. We went to the Troy vs. Piqua Game with Kendall's co-workers last Friday. AMAZING game. Troy won by one point at the 4th quarter "buzzer"!
2. We went out drinking afterwards- FINALLY something I have in common with these people!
3. We did a 5 K last Saturday. We walked. Took us 55 mins. Kendall still placed 2nd in his age group because so few people came. LOL! He even got a medal. I'll post a picture of it later.
4. We went to THE BEST corn maze with old neighbors on Sunday. We plan on going again to it this Saturday with our new neighbors.
5. Does anyone else's neighborhood do the little ghost/phantom candy game? We've been hit three times! You're only supposed to be hit once! LOL!

Feel the Need to Debate?

Okay, I totally can't take credit for this, my friend Stephanie had it in her blog first, but it totally started a "fun" arguement in our house tonight.

Go to this web address: http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22535838-5012895,00.html?from=mostpop

Then come back here and tell me which direction you see the girl going! I saw her going one way and Kendall saw her going the exact opposite! But when I turned away from the screen and he told me which direction she was going, when I turned back, I saw it his way! What does this say about me? Am I right-brained or left-brained? Or am I AMAZING and BOTH!!!!

Once I got fixated on my direction though, I couldn't see her going the other way! Kendall and I kept arguing about which leg was pointing out and which arm was raised. We couldn't even agree on which direction she was facing while spinning! CRAZY!

The one thing we could agree on? She has HUGE nipples! LOL!!!!!!!!

ps. I see her going to the right most of the time. And the list of right-brained things really does fit me better. :)

The Weekend

My mom came down to visit for the weekend. She had vacation days to use and I happened to have Friday off- which was FABULOUS!

We headed to the outlet malls that afternoon and I didn't find much, but I did scoop up on a fun new outdoor vest from Eddie Bauer and a sweater from JCrew. HECK YEAH for JCrew outlet! After whiling away three hours there we came home and had chicken paprikash for dinner. YUM! We lounged around, took the dogs for a walk, and then dipped into the hottub. It was nice! We really like having that thing. We're already talking about how big our next one can be and still fit on the deck! Realistically this one doesn't have a lot of time left in it. We're prepared to fork over the cash for a new one. It's just so relaxing. You should come over and try it some time. :)

On Saturday we all slept in and then headed to a corn maze in Meadowview. It was LAME. I've been to many corn mazes over the years and this was by far the worst one we've ever been to. There was no challenge to it. And even the other people wandering around thought it sucked. We wanted to go somewhere during the daylight so that my mom could try it. We were worried she wouldn't be able to handle one in the dark. I even saw one of my students there! Inevitably I always see a student when I go to a corn maze. Unfortunately it keeps me on my best behavior. Haha. We didn't enjoy the maze, but we did get some great fall decorations for a very reasonable price. And we were able to check out their nursery. We'll probably head back their next spring to check out their plants.

Here are some pictures of Kendall and I picking out our pumpkins.

Later that evening we went to a REAL corn maze in Sidney. It was hard! Which suited us just fine. We had a good time but we were all exhausted at the end. We stopped for a coffee at the Night Sky Cafe in downtown Troy before we went home. They make really good coffee and the atmosphere is superb! It's an pre-Starbucks coffee shop. Very cozy. Couches, fireplaces, tables to play games on. They even have multiple homemade pies to choose from. If you're ever in town and want to experience it, call me.

Sunday was a lazy morning. We all watched TV and my mom left around 11. I unfortunately seemed to have a replapse of my stomach flu and spent the day with a horrible stomach ache. Everything I ate made it hurt and cramp. It was not my greatest third day off. Fortunately I woke up this morning and seem to be doing okay again.

Thursday Thirteen- Randomness

Thirteen Random Things to Share With You

1. I'm feeling better today. Not 100%, but good enough to be willing to try and eat some pizza. Which is a pretty big deal when you consider yesterday I only ate toast, rice, and a banana. Which is also all I've eaten today so far. :)
2. We have to start paying back Kendall's student loans this month. After successfully avoiding them for 7 years, they're knocking at our door for the first payment......monthly minimum? $673.95. Yeah. So the next time you think we're living the high life.....we're not. Ramen Central baby!
3. This weather- heck yeah for the fifties! Heck no for dropping 40 degrees in 4 days. A little too extreme, even for me!
4. Morrie's gas- it has been extreme lately. Really gross. And loud. Esp for not having butt cheeks! As I've commented about in past entries.
5. I love puffy vests! I'm wearing one right now- INSIDE!
6. I caved and put the sprinkler out on the lawn earlier this week in a really dry spot. The embarrassing part was that the next day, you could see where I had watered because it looked greener than the rest of the lawn! LOL!
7. My house really feels like my house now. Except for the formal livingroom. I've been in there so few times that the leather furniture has a layer of dust on it!
8. Speaking of formal living rooms....does anyone else find them ridiculous? I do! I'd rather have the extra space in my kitchen. Jessica agrees with me on this and voiced this opinion in front of some of our friends (without my presence) and they were dogging on her for it. They thought she was saying something mean behind my back. They were baffled when she said, "But Lisa agrees with me!"
9. I don't take enough pictures anymore! I'm in that phase between youth and adulthood where taking pictures can be awkward. When you have kids, it becomes natural again. But sometimes I worry that my friends would think it was weird if I asked them to be in pictures with me when we get together.
10. Awkward was one of our spelling words this week. And I just used it in my last entry. Positive proof that what I teach is applicable to real life.
11. I haven't read a trashy romance novel in almost 2 months. I'm DYING to read one, but don't have anything new in the house. I may have to resort to an old "classic".
12. My number 13 is kind of long....
13. I found out last week that GAP has upped their free shipping from 50 to 100 dollars for card holders. And now they've created a GAP silver card and those people get free shipping on any purchase! So I called the 1800 number to see how to become a member of GAP silver card member because it pissed me off that I had to order so much crap to get free shipping. The lady told me you had to buy 800 dollars in items from GAP and then you got the "upgrade" to silver for free. Now I KNOW I've spent 800 dollars at GAP in my life. But of course, it only counts from the time they started this new lame card thing. So I'm pissed. I had to order extra clothes in order to get the one pair of jeans that I wanted with free shipping. And now I'll have to return to the store to get the other stuff credited to my account. I can't get the jeans in the store in extra long and HAVE to order then from the Internet. And the store won't order then for you to save you the shipping cost. So I said to the girl, "So basically, GAP discriminates against tall women who are over a size 12." And she had no response. I hope I was the one call they recorded for "customer service training purposes"!

ICK! SICK!

So last night about midnight I woke up with an upset stomach. Kendall was sweet enough to get up and get me some anti-nausea medicine from the cabinet. It knocked me out pretty good and when I woke up to my alarm at 6, I could barely move. Everything felt like it was in slow motion. Kendall told me I should try showering. I distinctly remember telling my body to move faster, but it wouldn't. Afterwards I got back in bed and slept another half an hour.

I managed to drag myself out of bed again at 6:45 and finished getting ready for work. Once again, everything felt very slow. I ate some toast and then headed to work. I honestly don't know how I didn't crash the car. I barely remember the drive to work and when I got there I felt in a total haze. I only made to the beginning of 1st period before I decided I had to go home.

I wrote up my sub plans, got my second period kids started on their work and waited for the sub. I also had to plan for a sub for tomorrow morning because I'm supposed to go to a conference. I hope the quiz I wrote for tomorrow makes sense.

I got home and laid down, finished a book I was reading, and watched a little TV. Most of which I remember. Kendall came home for lunch and I ate some raisin toast. It sat Okay. I had already had some "lower end issues" in the morning. I passed out at about 2 while watching Style TV and woke up at 4:30. I woke up with a pretty clear head but a still iffy stomach.

I've decided to put myself on the BRAT diet and see if I have poopy problems. I guess I'm kind of feeling like Milo right now. But I didn't have any accidents on the carpet. :)

Update

I've really struggled recently to find something to post about. We've been really busy, but nothing seems blog worthy. I could gripe about the kids this year that can't follow directions even after giving them three times. I could write about babysitting my niece, but it just feels like a repeat of other blogs I've written about her (she's spoiled, doesn't listen, strong-willed). The dogs haven't done anything funny.

We haven't even gone anywhere exciting. We've visited with friends, gone to school functions, watched our weekly TV, taken the dogs for walks. I lose sleep over the bills we have to pay because of medical school. I go through the usual fat and thin kind of days. Does anyone else feel like they have nothing to write about?

Karen has her new house. It's amazing. But I don't want to write about it because I feel like it steals from her thunder. Sarah W has Alex to write about and all the cute things he says and does. Viki just closed on her apartment and is on the job hunt. Laura has Ella to share about. I feel like everyone else has something interesting to write about, but not me. I just have a normal, boring life. I guess I shouldn't really complain. :)

ps. I guess this most "interesting" thing was Kendall throwing up 8 times this evening. But that's just a gross story. Not really one to "share".
pps. Oh, and I have a 4 day week. That ROCKS.

Life and Maggie

Happy Birthday Mom! (September 23rd)

Me and Aunt Karen


My grandma has to lay down a lot because her back hurts when she sits up.


At least she humored me for one picture.

After returning from 4 hours of hobnobbing with the doctors of Troy, I think we still look pretty damn good.

The King and Queen of Ren Fest! (Don't those boobs look obscene for a cutout?)

Another cutout. We love these things!

MY Knight in shining...khaki?

I have lots of boring things I could write about....like TV this week, or the dinner Kendall and I went to to welcome him to Upper Valley Medical Center. But I have no interest lately in writing about my life. It seems boring. And busy. And I'm lazy. :)

Those are just a few pictures of us from recent trips and now for a quick story about Maggie...with video! (My first!) I figure all those other moms are posting video...so I should get to post video of my "kids" too!

So this is the "aftershock" of Maggie EVERY time a squirrel goes by the patio doors. This is mild in comparison to her raction when the squirrel is actually on the deck. This usually lasts a half an hour or more. Basically she'll do this until I yell at her to stop...until the squirrel comes by again. In her defense, the squirrel does taunt her. It walks the edge of the deck all the way around, slowly, while she goes schizo. I'll try to video them both if I get a chance.

Small Rant

I am SO SICK OF THIS WEATHER!!!! It goes from raging hot to nicely chilly weather to raging hot again! We just spent the last two days sweating our asses off at school. Now it's going to be pleasant for a few days....but looking at the 10 day forecast....back up into the freaking 80's by next Monday!

I can't even retire my summer wardrobe for the year! It's so frustrating! Plus, this is the kind of weather that ends up giving me a sinus infection. I can't handle it!!!!!!!!!!!

Someone needs to get on this global warming shit. As I said to Jessica yesterday, global warming has definitely become an "inconvenient truth". Stupid Al Gore! This is all his fault.......

:)

Friends with Children

Let me apologize in advance if anything I say/observe offends any parents who read my blog. But I found this interesting and felt the need to share my feelings on it.

Jessica and I had an interesting conversation on the phone yesterday that I wanted to share. Now that she is pregnant she has made the observation that she has suddenly become "more interesting" to our friends that already have kids. And I have to say that her observation is pretty accurate, and I don't think it only applies to our mutual friends.

Before, when she lived in the land of inferility with me, friends would politely ask how the whole conception thing was going. Especially when we were all trying at the same time to have a kid. Slowly but surely, everyone else started to have kids. Suddenly the questions stopped. I know that part of that was because it was starting to get awkward. But I also think it was because they no longer had anything to talk about with us. Their lives had moved to another dimension. The "having a baby" and not "wanting a baby".

Jessica and I were left behind. It was sad and disappointing. But at least we still had each other. We both became very comfortable with talking about our problems. No one else asked and we stopped telling. When we got together with our friends that had kids, their kids (and pregnancies) were almost all they could talk about. I didn't (and still don't) mind hearing about people's kids. I enjoy a funny story about poop or a new fascination with one's orifices. But it seemed there was nothing else to really discuss anymore with some people. Maybe they didn't even realize it.

When Jessica finally got pregnant, suddenly she was the center of attention. We were all excited that it finally happened for her. But to her, it felt like all of these people who had become absorbed in their own lives as mothers were only now ready to pay attention to her again because she was joining their club. I noticed it, she noticed it.

The great part about Jessica is that she understands how it felt when they all kind of abandoned us. And quite honestly, the pregnancy hasn't become the only thing her life is about. Occassionally she'll complain about being sick and she always mentions her doctor's appointments, but I want to hear about these things. She's my best friend. I don't hold it against her that she got pregnant with a healthy baby and I haven't. What I truely appreciate though is that while she's conscious of the fact that I may be sensitive to hearing about it, she still tells me things. She offers to let me see the video but isn't offended if I say no. She mentions she went to the doctor but waits for me to ask what happened. She doesn't force it one me.

She also commented that having a baby doesn't "consume her life". Which it did for many of our friends. They wanted to talk about being pregnant all the time. She wants to talk about our favorite TV shows. In many ways it's almost like she's not even having a baby. Maybe she does it for me. I'd like to hope it's really because our friendship is strong enough that we have more in common than our shared past of infertility.

Who knows, it could all change come March when that little baby is at home and she's up late at night and trying to figure out the breast feeding thing. But I'm optimistic that it won't. I'm hoping that we still have all of those fun things to talk about like TV, and the books we've read lately, and how annoying our husbands can be.

I guess the greatest observation is that I notice now more than ever who I really have things in common with. It's the people in my life who have kids, but don't feel the need to constantly talk about them, almost like we have nothing else to discuss. I find Karen to be a good example of this. I feel like she's found a good balance in her life for talking about her child and her life without her child.

My final thought for my friends that are mothers: I may not be part of the mommy club, but it doesn't mean we still can't have things in common. And I hope you feel the same way too.

I lightened my blog by one shade so that it will be easier for Martha to read.....because I'm nice...and I love her! :P

My Weekend

Friday- Kendall and I went down to our old neighborhood and had dinner with Jessica and Aaron. We got to see a video of their baby on the ultrasound. It was HILARIOUS! It looked like you were watching the dancing baby from Ally McBeal! It was GREAT! It's amazing that something the size of a snap pea can be dancing around inside of you and you don't even feel it!

Afterwards we all went to Urban Nights downtown. We were able to tour several lofts and there were lots of local artists. We were unimpressed with most of the apartments, we did however notice that most of the people that lived downtown have incredibly nice furniture. The coolest thing we did was take a tour of the Arcade. I'm not sure that many people know that Dayton has a really cool complex of buildings that date back to the beginning of the 20th century. The sad part is that it is slated to be torn down in January if the back taxes can't be raised to buy it back from the state. We donated some money and bought a button. The weirdest thing we saw that evening was the "freak show" in the Cannery. Some girl was doing a performance with egg timers and a sledgehammer. It was lame. And there were some guys making noise in the back corner that I think was supposed to be something deep and art like, but we thought it was loud noise and nothing more.

Saturday- My dad came down to visit for the day. We hung out around the house for a few hours waiting for Kendall to get home from work and then went out to eat at Max and Erma's. I was starving and tried to joke around with our waiter about it, but he really didn't have a very good sense of humor. I told him I needed some mustard so that I could gnaw my arm off. He didn't even crack a smile. At one point Kendall made my sister blush. I was sitting next to him with my hand on his leg. He turned to look at me while I patted it and said, "That's not my leg." I laughed out loud! My sister on the other hand turned red! She turned an even deeper shade of red when I said, "Well Sara, then you better be careful not to touch his other leg!" LOL!

We went down to the Renaissance Festival in Harveysburg and had a great time. We spent about 2 1/2 hours there and saw things like jousting and a Viking performance in the Muditorium. If you've ever been to the Festival, hopefully you've enjoyed a performance by the Mud Men. They're hilarious. As they told the audience that afternoon, "If you don't want to have to explain what the word innuendo means to your small children, you should leave now." They say whatever comes to their mind, even if it's naughty. It was also pirate day. There were lots of crazy people to watch. We had a great time. We all left with a "dragon egg", geodes from Mexico. I got a very pretty dark amethyst.

We had dinner at the Cracker Barrel and then they left to go home. It was kinda sad, we wished that we could stay, but I'm glad they came to visit. They also brought us some very nice house warming gifts, including some pictures from their vacation. I have a hilarious picture of my father in a red spaceman suit. When we get a new scanner I'll post it here so you can enjoy it too.

Sunday- We slept in, I mowed the lawn, Kendall trimmed the bushes, and we went to Sam's Club. I cleaned out the garage. Not a very exciting day but a productive one.

On another note, it feels like September is going by very quickly! In just two weeks Karen will be moving into her new house! We can't wait to see it! In just two weeks we'll be going to a dinner to welcome Kendall to Upper Valley Medical Center. In just two weeks the first quarter of school will almost be over! WHOO HOO!!!!! Hopefully in just two weeks I'll be busting out my cold weather clothes. Is it going fast for everyone? Or is it just me?

P.S. BFJ is on a two day out of school suspension! He walked out of his Friday detention after two hours. PLUS, he now has to serve another Friday because he didn't finish that one! It's craziness!

P.P.S. That website about Hobo Teacher that Sarah recommended is HILARIOUS. I feel that man's pain!

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Random Things I Want to Write About

1. Kendall had a dream two nights ago that Sheryl Crow wanted to hang out with us on New Year's Eve and we brushed her off because we already had plans to hang out with our friends Todd and Kerry. But then we told her she could tag along! LOL!
2. I had a dream two nights ago that my car got towed when I used Valet Parking. The bellhop at the hotel offered to buy me a new stove to make me less mad.
3. I busted out my first pair of knee socks for the fall season yesterday. It was cold enough here to wear pants so I pulled them on and was so happy. I LOVE knee socks!
4. I'm already getting annoyed by one of my co-workers. I've complained about her in the past. She's the other English teacher. It seems that each year she gets more annoying and more difficult.
5. I bought two pairs of jeans from GAP.com and they were totally worth the 90 dollars I spent on them. I haven't bought a new pair of jeans in at least 2 years and my old ones were getting ratty at the bottom. These jeans are nice and long and I don't even have to worry about putting them in the dryer and them shrinking at the bottom! WOOO HOO!
6. We've been taking the dogs for a walk every night. We walk by this house that has a beagle. He runs out every night to bark at us from behind his invisible fence. I've named him Duke. Because I hate just saying "Hi doggy!" Kendall is worried that other people will hear my calling him Duke and start doing it too! I think it would be funny!
7. I busted two girls for cheating today. I totally ripped into them in front of the whole class. Made an example out of them. One girl was letting the other one copy her homework for Science. The lame excuse the one girl gave, "She said she just wanted to check her answers." Yeah, my response, "Her paper was blank! What was there to check?!?!" It was awesome. At the end, one girl said, "I was scared Mrs. Erdahl!" And another kid said, "I'd never do that in your class now!"
8. We're totally in love with our new next door neighbors. They're awesome! They're our age, they love to go out, and they don't have any problem leaving their kid with a sitter so we can have adult time. I think that we might see if they want to go to Las Vegas with us after their daughter is born this winter. They love going there and we've never been. Plus, he's a pilot....free/cheap flights?????
9. Morrie has a serious gas problem. Ever since we put him on this prescription dog food he has ginormous farts. They practically propel him across the room. And they sound like human farts! How is that possible?!?! He has no butt cheeks! Isn't that part of what makes a fart a fart?
10. Speaking of ginormous....Kendall gave me a Nike golf ball that has that word printed on it. That's AWESOME! I LOVE that our language has evolved into blended works. I say ginormous all the time. I also say Fantabulous.
11. I've decided that I want to name a second son Mitch. I like the name. It sounds fun on the tongue. Kendall dislikes that you can rhyme is with bitch. I told him that no one would ever call our kid a bitch. Mitch is a strong name. Mitch sounds like the cool kid. I know, I'm weird. But if we ever have two boys, their names will be Max and Mitch.
12. I am officially tired of attending baby showers. So everyone stop having babies for a while! I've attended at least 10 showers in the last 6 months. I have forked over way too much cash! If I get invited to too many more, I'll be broke! But let's put it this way, at least I'll have a nice long list of people to invite to my own future shower. Can you say reception hall? LOL! Just kidding.
13. My dad is finally coming down to see our house this weekend. The dumb part? They're driving 3 hours to see it, staying the day, and then driving 3 hours back the same day. My aunt and uncle did the same thing a couple weeks ago. I don't get that. Just stay one fricking night! It feels so rushed when they don't stay overnight. Oh well......at least he's finally coming to see the place.

Nickname

So I've decided to nickname "the boy" BFJ. I'll take guesses on what it stands for....but I don't think I'll tell you here. *grin*

So he didn't show up to school on Friday, which I bet on with the assistant principal and won. I knew he'd fake sick before he'd serve the 3 hour detention. Of course, it gets carried over to this coming Friday....he's still going to have to serve it. But, my greatest hope is that he'll keep missing school on Friday to avoid it and eventually just get in school suspension. This benefits me in two ways: 1. My Friday's are better for the immediate future 2. He will then be sent to in school suspension, which makes the REST of my week better. LOL!

It was unbelieveably hot this week. We all suffered. I went home two days with soaked shirts. Yeah, not fun. And I mean it was soaked EVERYWHERE. They're saying the heat should abate a bit here this week. It just makes for miserable teaching and learning conditions.

Today was an "education day" for us.

We went to Brown & Sons Nursery this morning for a big auction they have every year. It was a madhouse. They were having CRAZY deals on huge trees. But we weren't looking for trees. We were looking for boxwood bushes. But so was everyone else! So we only stayed for like an hour, just to get a feel for it, and we left. We may go back next year when we re-landscape the front yard and actually landscape the back. It would be worth it then.

We also test drove a GMC Yukon XL. We were disappointed with the second and third room seating space. But we were totally pumped about the front row and all of the options available on the car. We aren't planning on buying until this time next year, but we want to be prepared incase the Explorer dies unexpectedly. We learned a lot about end of the year financing and rebates. The sales lady was really nice. We're actually thinking about going back and looking at the Expedition EL, it might actually have more room. Maybe not as many bells and whistles though. We are concerned about our guests' riding space though. Why? Because we're considerate like that. ;)

Now we're off to run some errands and hopefully "stay cool".

The Boy

He got a Friday detention because he was unaccounted for THREE times today from other people's classes. One of which was during his call for pictures. All three times he was found in the boy's bathroom by the office. I told the assistant principal (Bob) I was going to write a sign that said "(Insert Name of Kid)'s Club House" and post it on the door. LOL! I bet Bob a buck that he wouldn't show up for school this Friday. Bob says he'll just put him in In-School Suspension.......

*SMIRK*

I know, I'm bad.

My Week and Weekend

So I could write forever about the first week of school. But I won't. It was hot. It was miserable. It was nice that it was only 4 days long. And I'm glad this week will be too!

Overall, I think the kids will be okay, once I'm done being a crazy bitch for a while. I have one boy though that it going to drive me off the deep end if I let him. He only attended 2 of the 4 days for students last week. The first day I only saw him for short spurts of time and it was fine. The second day (Friday) he was here a full day and his true colors started to show.

So he's a big fat liar. He seemed to do okay for the 90 minutes I had to teach him. It's the down time that is going to kill him. He has to sit in my room for 45 minutes at the end of each day in a study hall type atmosphere. I had to fight with him the whole period to even have something out to work on. Then he asked me if he could go see his math teacher for help. They're allowed to do that, so I signed his hall pass. He was gone five minutes, came back, and then proceeded to do nothing the rest of the period. At one point he even lied and told me all of his homework was done (which I knew it wasn't). I called his bluff and told him to go turn in the math worksheet he'd gone for help on. He admitted it wasn't done, but still did NOTHING. At the end of the day, I found out he hadn't even gone to see the math teacher. He had just disappeared for 5 minutes. NICE. He's getting busted tomorrow. I could go into further details, but I won't Needless to say, he's going to be a pain in my ass. I hope he skips his punishment and gets in-school suspension. Then I won't have to see him for a while.

So the weekend was spent relaxing, shopping, spending time with friends, and finished with a whopping $155 speeding ticket. YEEAAAAAHHHH. Total speed trap too. We were driving home from Kendall's parent's and decided to try a new back road off the highway. We were zooming along, me being very conscious about my speed on a holiday, when suddenly there were flashing lights behind us. I was like, "WHAT!!!!". So we pull over and this rookie sheriff comes up to the window asking me "if I knew why [he'd] pulled me over" and of course I'm like "No".

He claimed I was doing 50 in a 35. There was no sign indicating it was a 35mph zone, I even asked Kendall. And the last sign I had passed said 55. And I was barely doing 60. I told him exactly that. He said it was 35. How do you argue with that? So I gave him my license and the stupid HOLE gave me a ticket. And in North Charleston (some podunk half mile strip right outside of Troy) 1-20 miles over is $155. 1 to freaking 20!!!!! How is that even legal? The cheapest violation on the ticket was a seat belt for $75. The part that pissed me off the most was that I was totally going with the flow of traffic. And I think he pulled me over because I had the personalized plates. STUPID HOLE!!!!!!! Needless to say I scribbled my name as sloppily as possible on the ticket and then sweetly said, "Have a nice holiday officer."

OHHHH!!! And the best part is that he totally admitted that he only gave me the ticket because it was a holiday!@!!!!!! WHAT THE F*CK!!!!!!!!!

Oh well, I'll pay his stupid ticket, because I'm so not showing up to Hee Haw small town court. It's the only thing on my license. So I'll live. Time to go pick out my picture day outfit for school.

I've decided to wait to write about school until tomorrow afternoon. Then I'll just write about my whole first week back.

Nothing super exciting. I'll whine a little bit and then predict how my year will go. Just in case you don't feel like reading the next post....:)

Work starts again tomorrow. No kids, but I still have to get up at 6. UGH. I think I'm ready to go back. Not as ready as I was last year. This summer just seemed to go by faster than any of the others.

I can't believe I start my 7th year of teaching tomorrow. It feels like just yesterday I was one of those crazy freshmen running around UD's campus. We were down in the campus area yesterday and both felt so old! I can't believe we used to be that young! And my job marks that time well.

I'll be sure to post Tuesday night after I've met all my new kids and tell you whether this year will be good or bad. You get a pretty good feel from day 1. Some of the kids may suprise you but overall, at their age, they're not very good at hiding who they really are. The honeymoon is so short, it doesn't even really exist!

On the agenda for tomorrow: District breakfast (free!!!), computer training that I already had in Sidney, out to lunch with the other 8th grade teachers, staff photo and killing the time til 3:30. I know, a really rough first day back! :)

So the HOLE (as in a$$) that keeps posting with my name was "kind" enough to explain how they are doing it. You have to turn off anonymous comments in your blog and then they can't be a "fake" version of you. I've had anonymous turned off and I think that's why they can't post with others names in my blog. So, if you just go to your blogger dashboard you can not allow anonymous comments. That will also solve our "reader" problem. :)

Okay, that's enough for now. Oh, and it's really me posting....because if you weren't really me, you wouldn't know that Karen has touched my husband in "special places" when we were in college and really drunk. LOL!!!!! Karen, back me up!

CHANGE YOUR PASSWORDS

Someone is hacking mine and Martha's accounts I think. Someone posted a message to Viki's blog with MY NAME. If I hadn't gone back to read the comments posted, I wouldn't have even noticed it. I'm changing my password and I suggest others do the same thing!

This looked fun....

A) FOUR JOBS I HAVE HAD IN MY LIFE:
1. Pet Store Employee
2. Friendly's Ice Cream Scooper
3. Professional steel belly bander and marker (I had to band red hot coils of steel as they came off the mill and then mark them with heat chalk telling their weight, thickness, and type of steel. All while it rolled away from me on a conveyor belt and more steel was being produced)
4. Teacher

B) FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED:
1. Parma, OH
2. Huber Heights, OH
3. Dayton, OH (and I mean IN the city limits)
4. Troy, OH

C) FOUR TV SHOWS I LIKE TO WATCH:
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. LOST
3. Miami Ink
4. The Office- by far my ABSOLUTE favorite show. I can watch these things over and over again in reruns and they're still funny to me!!!! Both the American and BBC versions!

D) FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN:
1. Ocho Rios, Jamaica
2. Malibu, California
3. Milbank, South Dakota
4. Burlington, Vermont

E) FOUR FAVORITE FOODS:
1. Pizza
2. Salad
3. BREAD!!!!!!! All kinds!
4. Cheese!!!!!! Almost all kinds!!!

F) FOUR PLACES I'D RATHER BE RIGHT NOW:
1. Somewhere with snow
2. The beginning of last school year with my favorite kids EVER
3. The Cabbage Patch- where I could just "pick" a baby!
4. Hawaii (but after the hurricane mess is over!)

G) FOUR FRIENDS I WANT TO RESPOND:
1. Karen
2. Stephanie
3. Laura
4. SARAH FORD!!!!!!! Are you dead dude?

H) FOUR PLACES I LIKE TO SHOP:
1. GAP
2. Crate and Barrel
3. Sam's Club- I love buying in bulk!
4. Pottery Barn

I) FOUR FAVORITE BOOKS OF ALL TIME:
1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
2. Gone with the Wind
3. Pride and Prejudice
4. The Goose Girl

I have to say the book list was very hard for me. Because I love to read! And I could have made a much longer list. I had to sit for a while and think about those.

Now, consider yourself tagged. Here's what you're supposed to do. Post this on your own blog or on my comments. Copy all, delete my answers and type in your answers. Can't wait to see your Four Things...

Mostly random Thoughts

Time for a random post. As if many haven't been random lately.

1. Soft Core Porn- so Kendall and I came across this in our Showtime On Demand List. It was a "film" called Busty Cops 2. We couldn't help ourselves, we had to watch part of it. Not only does the word Busty catch your attention, but the fact that it's a 2!!! Implying there's a 1!!!!! So basically they got naked for most of the movie and had gratuitous sex for the portion we watched. How do they get away with it you ask? By not showing the "money shot". I was amazed at what my cable programming gave me access to. For the 10 minutes we watched it, we found ourselves critiquing the breasts of each woman. It was definitely obvious who'd had implants.

2. Kendall's obsession with TV- He wants to watch it all the time! Movies, TV shows, TV on DVD. I'm tired of watch TV. I like reading books. TV in my head. I finally told him tonight to go watch it on his own and I'd catch up later. He pouts about it. It's weird. I wish he'd read more.....

3. Our lawn tractor- Had to rent a U-haul and return it today. Long story short, Home Cheapo lied to us and we couldn't by the extended warranty we wanted on the mower. It's been acting up and we've only had it 30 days! I got mad and returned it today. And now we're going to go buy a John Deere at Lowes. LOL! ps. I LOVE lawn tractors. Makes my two hour mow only 40 minutes long!

4. School- I have barely gone in this summer. I think I'm still in denial that I have to get new kids. I told Kendall the other day that sometimes it just feels like we're on a long "spring break" and that my kids from last year will be coming back in August. Like I'm saving stories in my head to tell them. I've never been affected by a group of kids like this before. I love them. I miss them. I am sad that I have to get new kids. I don't want new kids. I want my old ones. It makes my heart hurt to see them. Because I miss them so much. More than they could ever know. I sound pathetic. But these kids really affected me. I have to be conscious not to carry that over into my new year.

5. Our new neighbors- They ROCK! We just met Jamie (wife) and Andrea (Italian husband) two weeks ago. But we are already finding that we have many things in common. I really wish we had small children because it would be just one extra thing we have. They have a two year old named Matteo and have a baby girl due in 5 months. I'm really excited about them because we both want to live in our houses long term and I think that we will become great friends. It's so nice to have cool neighbors. Jessica commented that Kendall and I seem to have good luck with neighbors. And we truly do. We've loved our neighbors in both of our houses.

Okay, time to go spend a little time snuggling with Kendall!

Babies in Threes

Anyone else out their prego right now? I just found out that my friend Anne is pregnant and due March 21st. Jessica is also pregnant and due March 22nd, I didn't mention that here yet. (I was sworn to secrecy!But now I'm not!) So my question is....who's the third? In my experience they always come in threes...both pregnancy and delivery. Case in point- I had three friends deliver in or near July- Karen, Lora, and Missy (Missy was August 1st so close enough!).

So who's the third soon-to-be-mommy???? (May I also note that this is not something I'm upset about. I've chosen not to talk about my own infertility anymore in my blog, and quite frankly, I've gotten to the point where I'm okay with it....sort of. But anyways, I just wanted everyone to know that this entry wasn't about being upset.)

Nothing new in my world. Just avoiding the heat. Our thermostat is at 71 degrees and I'm actually contemplating getting some sweatpants out. But I'd rather be cold that HOT!

Oh, yeah, and Kendall got his first paycheck from his new job. It's a one week paycheck....and it's already 400 bucks more than my two week one! *sigh* I guess I couldn't be the sugar mama forever.....

This is SICK. And WRONG. OUTRAGING!!!!!!

Convicted Animal Abuser Gets Abused Dog Back
Activists Outraged By Release To Owner
POSTED: 8:08 pm EDT August 5, 2007
UPDATED: 11:53 am EDT August 6, 2007

OXFORD, Ohio -- A man who was convicted of animal cruelty will be allowed to get his dog back, but he must follow a list of conditions to care for the animal.

Otis Clark, of Oxford, pleaded no contest last month to charges related to the abuse of his 2-year-old dog, China, and he petitioned to get it back.

The dog was found with a chain so deeply imbedded in its neck, it required surgery to remove it.
Judge Robert Lyons allowed Clark to care for the dog, provided that it is licensed and is not tied up.

The dog also must be checked every 90 days by a veterinarian, and if Clark does not comply with the judge’s orders he will be considered in violation of his probation.

Clark must read a book on dog care given to him by the court and is subject to random home visits by a probation officer.

If he violates the terms of his probation, Clark must forfeit the dog and would face up to 180 days in jail.

Animal activists are angry that Clark was able to get the dog back, blaming the prosecutor and judge for engaging in a "closed door" deal with Clark.