Random Factoids

1. I love Swedish Fish.
2. My favorite movie is "The Notebook", other close faves are "Forest Gump", "Mean Girls" and "Legally Blonde".
3. My dream job is E! News Anchor. (Giuliana Rancic)
4. I love kids. They seriously make me laugh non stop, I am a five year old at heart.
5. I think Dr. Seuss is a genius.
6. I think I have the cutest, smartest, best & most amazing husband in the world. Just sayin.
7. I think I look like John Travolta.
8. I want to speak Italian fluently.
9. My favorite food is ice cream.
10. I am an undiagnosed hypochondriac.
11. I love making lists.
12. I have never, not finished a book I started.
13. I seriously, and this is no exaggeration, cannot  understand accents. I've tried to watch Harry Potter a dozen times & just can't get it. Even pirate accents throw me. Argh.
14. I love to read.
15. I laugh at all times. When something is funny, awkward, unsettling, upsetting, embarrassing, wonderful, or quiet. Really, any time at all.
16. I'm addicted to reality television.
17. I panic when people tell me to "Go ahead" when walking in the same direction.
18. I like hugs.
19. I get really serious when it comes to my bedding, sleeping arrangements, and pillow selections.
20. I'm an awful driver.

handyWOman.

So this weekend, while PT was out of town I decided it would be a great time to put shelves up in our bedroom. Mistake # 1. Although I have never attempted anything involving tools I figured it couldn't be that hard....it came with directions after all. Mistake # 2. While the instructions did not call for a drill, I thought it'd be cool to try out and probably save me some time screwing things into the wall. Mistake # 3. In the end, the shelves were up. I doubt their ability to actually hold anything but after the work I put into it, I was far too stubborn to take them down. I learned a few lessons during this process: Handy work is not my calling. Instructions are never what they seem. And drills are no joke. I'll be sure to keep these things in my mind when I take on my next "project".

The Excellent Wife

 Some wonderful friends of mine have a bible study each week. Our newest study is a book titled "The Excellent Wife" by Martha Peace. This past week we started Chapter 1... The Excellent Wife: Who Can Find?


I feel that every married woman wants to be the most amazing wife she can be. I want to make my husband happy, I want him to know how much I adore and love him. Being in a marriage requires us to resist indulging in selfishness and to love another more than ourselves. While God has blessed me with a man that makes it very easy to love, I do have to fight the everyday human urge to be selfish. The first chapter of this book stated very simply that we need to put our faith and trust in God in order to be on our way to an excellent, Prov. 31 kind of wife. The truth is I wouldn't be any kind of wife without the Lord guiding me and stirring in my heart. PT is one of the greatest gifts God has ever given me and I want to do everything in my power to love him the way that God intends me to. I may never be the kind of woman that has a gourmet meal on the table at the same time every night, or irons clothes perfectly, or has a spotless home and is dressed to the nines every day. I may be a little messy, a little silly, a little imperfect but isn't that the point? While I may not be the perfect wife, I can be an excellent with my trust and faith in the Lord. If I continue to cling to Him, my love for my husband will shine through all of my flaws.

Just Sayin...

Back to School, Back to School

Whew! After a week of setting up and getting names written on everything school has begun! The first day was a whirlwind of explaining, playing, and trying to get my little first graders used to being in the classroom again (and wanting to return on Monday). They are the sweetest little ones with TONS of energy, & after 8 hours of stickers, band-aids, goldfish, crayons, pencils and sing alongs I was worn out! At the end of the day I hugged each one goodbye and told them what a great day it was and then sat down at my desk to take a breath! The first day went great but I still have tons to do to get ready for the rest of the year! I'll be in the classroom this weekend making sure everything is ready and organized for our full week of school next week! Here's some of what I've been up to:

 

 

These were waiting for me after my first day of school. Thanks PT:)

                                                             

Papercuts, back aches, and bruises

And a classroom that is coming together quite nicely:)

Just a summary of what I've been countless hours doing for the past 48hours:

Lugging large heavy items from a second floor classroom to a first floor classroom. sweating in the 100 degree Tallahassee weather. cutting. taping. coloring. boxing. organizing. fixing. walking up and down stairs. sweating. laughing. whining. thanking my dad for his height and strength. sweating. hanging. standing on chairs. finding random game and puzzle pieces. sticky tacking. sweating. shopping. arranging.rearranging. planning. brainstorming. sweating. climbing. lifting. scooting. sliding. dragging. chatting. proofing. checking. reaching. sweating.

Pictures of my adventure to come.

Peace Out Summer, It's Been Real.

Well it's official: Summer is over. I am packing up my car today to head back to Tallahassee to begin setting up my classroom for the new school year. As the to-do list in my head piles up I am finding it harder to sleep at night and relax throughout the day. I am beyond excited to get back to the schedule of my daily life, my sweet students and our condo in Tallahassee but I know it won't be long before I miss the simplicity of summer vacation. Tonight we're going over for one last dinner at Mama and Papa T's house and then I'll be heading to my parents house before me and my dad (bestdadintheworld.com) head up to Tally to start the process of my classroom transformation! I'm looking forward to the fall, filled with football games, school events, holidays and birthdays... but who doesn't wish summer was a little bit longer?  Goodbye Summertime, see ya next year!

Weekend Wrap Up

Is it seriously Monday? I have a feeling in about a week these Monday posts are going to be alarmingly passive aggressive considering I'll be back to waking up to an alarm every morning! Ah! Reality is starting to set it that I will not be on summer vacation any longer. OUCH. But anyhoo--on to the weekend wrap up:

Technically my weekend started on Thursday this week because my dear husband unexpectedly had to visit Miami to take a test (the test was supposed to be in Tampa, but checking the location didn't come until much later) so we booked a hotel room and jetted off to Miami Thursday night for his Friday morning test. We drove 4 hours, checked in, ordered delivery and got into bed in time to turn on Jersey Shore.

FRIDAY: We got up early for breakfast in the lobby of the hotel, PT went to take his test, I wished him good luck and went to the gym. 2 hours and 2 episodes of Teen Mom later PT was back and we hit the road again. We got to my parents house and ran to the mall to provide moral support for my brother's job interview (and shop, well mostly to shop) and got fro yo. Then headed back to the parentals to get ready to go out for Jennifer's birthday dinner celebration. The celebration was fun until I got lost on a dark random road with a dead phone and a gas light on. So happy that I am alive and blogging today. I spent a good amount of time thanking the Lord for this one.

SATURDAY: Woke up early and the boys went golfing while I headed to Jenn's to lay out and BBQ. It rained so we played pool and ate inside and just about the time the sun came out again I was headed back home to get ready for dinner with the fam:) We spent the rest of the evening lounging and complaining about how full we were from the chicken gyros and how good the food was at dinner.

SUNDAY: We woke up and went to church and lunch and headed back home for some Sunday laziness and game night. Mom made lasagna and a pepperoni loaf and this was when I came to realization that not only my weekends, but my entire life revolves around food. We played some games and headed back to the Bettelli's for a Brothers and Sisters marathon.


Weekend Rating: Borderline Gluttonous.

Lovely Day

As summer draws to an end I am excited to get back to work but know I will miss the laziness of my time off. Waking up early and working long days is not something I'm camping over night, waiting in line for but I am so pumped about the ideas I have for my class this year that I can barely stand the wait! There are plenty of things to whine about but I am working on positivity here- So as I think about the 12 page paper I have due for my class, the never ending list of things I have to do to get my classroom ready for my kiddies, saying goodbye to family as I leave for Tallahassee next week & all the other busyness that I consider my life, I have a few things to keep in mind that will make all of my days lovely. (Feel free to steal some.)

Have a lovely day everyone!

The Way I Am