Say It Isn't So!

Can I just say that I (along with the rest of the world) am SHOCKED that Clay Gaykin, oops I mean Aiken is G-A-Y! And by shocked I mean how the hell have you lived on planet Earth and NOT known he was gay?!

Ladies, the Claymates must die now - he's strictly dickly. Let the record show...

Monthly Dinner Menu

Adopt a Classroom!

MINE!!!

Today, I joined Adopt a Classroom, which is a website where donors can "adopt" my classroom by donating money to my account. I have already received a donation from my generous in-laws, but was hoping by posting this on my blog a reader might take pity on my poor classroom and adopt me! I would love to use the donations for technology, general classroom supplies (i.e. folders, paper, markers, pencils, etc...),books, teaching aids and whatnot.

My school is considered Title I, which basically means that over 50% of the students are on free or reduced lunch. I teach in a low-income area of Rutherford County where parents often cannot afford to send their children with the basic school supplies needed for the year. In turn, I spend money out of my own pocket to cover those needed supplies. I'm not trying to pull out a sob story, but every little bit helps and would be tremendously appreciated!


If you are interested in adopting my classroom, please click on the icon below and it will take you to my homepage. Thanks a bunch!!

Monthly Dinner Menu: August

Better late than never!

I have been to Hell...

I just wanted to let you all know that I have been to Hell. Actually, I have been to Hell twice this week.

One visit involves a 96 degree day and an un-air conditioned wedding and reception.

The other involves a Chinese Buffet restaurant (and if you know me you KNOW I hate Chinese food AND buffets), a karaoke performance, and school inservice.

It's going to take me a while to get the story just where I want it and provide you with video, yes, video from the occasion and all the fitting details. So, you'll have to be patient and wait for my creation. Trust me...it's worth it...

Meet Jackson!

My bestie, Clarissa and her family just welcomed Jackson Garrett home last week. I was lucky enough to go visit him, so I wanted to post a couple of pics! He is such a good baby and he has a wonderful family to call his own! I'm glad his mommy is doing better and she can hopefully get some rest!

Clarissa's dog, Jazzy, was not content with a photo of just Jackson and me. She had to get in on the action, too!

Corey's Birthday

Corey's birthday was July 24. As most of you know, we went to Pigeon Forge for part of his gift. His celebration lasted a whole week!

The Saturday before the big day, his parents and brother, sister-in-law, and neice came to town to eat dinner at The Five Senses. We had a wonderful and tasty dinner and drank a LOT of wine!! After dinner, Corey went to Best Buy to get his Zune. He has wanted one for a while, so that's been his new toy. I also got him a new pair of earphones since he broke his old ones. Good job...

When we came back from DollyWood on Corey's actual birthday, we stopped by my parents house and all went to dinner at Gondola. Corey loves their pizza! He and my dad always get the House Special and a pitcher of beer. They are drunk buddies! Hehe!

On the Saturday after his birthday, we went to dinner at Fuji Japanese Steakhouse.
We had a good time with our friends Ken & Becca, Phil & Dusty, and Shad and Marsha. After dinner, we came back for cake and ice cream!

I'm glad the festivities are over - they have worn me out! Now let's get to planning MY birthday!! Hahah!

Here are some pics from the "friend" dinner:

Dolly Wood

I know you have all been anxiously awaiting the fabulous photos from DollyWood. I'm such a bad blogger. Sorry!

We had a wonderful time in Pigeon Forge! Corey had a great birthday (which I will post about, too) and we will have good memories for a long time! Especially about how freaking soaked we got riding the "Slidewinder," which we DO NOT recommend. We seriously almost flipped twice!! Too bad we didn't get any great pictures of us looking like drowned rats! Ha!!

Anyway, here are some of the better photos we had from our trip. Apparently, Photobucket is being a piece of crap lately and will NOT upload my pics or do a slideshow. So, you get the myspace version instead. It does not let me arrange anything, so you'll just have to use your imagination and if you have questions, just ask me...

Pigeon Forge

Corey and I made it to Pigeon Forge today to begin our vacation. We got here at about 1:00 and checked into our hotel. Of course, the room we had reserved wasn't available because the air conditioner was broken. So, Corey demanded we be compensated and they "upped" our room to a suite with a jacuzzi and fireplace. Now, when I say it's a suite, I mean it's the same size room as any other, they just crammed a bunch of extra crap in here with a big tub and a hole in the wall with some logs in it. However, we have a fridge, so I'm ok with that.

We ate lunch at a place called the Flying Horse. It was pretty good, but expensive. We both enjoyed our meals. After lunch, we went to the outlet mall and I hit up the Coach Outlet where I found only ONE orange mini-wallet on sale, so of course I had to get it! I also may or may not have done some Christmas shopping...

We went up to Gatlinburg and it was BUSY! We didn't even get out of the car. Just drove the strip up and down and tried not to run over anybody. We've both been there before, so we really didn't feel like we were missing anything by not walking the strip. On the way back, we got stuck in dead-stop traffic and then a giant rain storm! It took us an hour to get down the mountain, which should have only taken about 5 - 10 minutes, all due to about 6 orange cones and a lane closure. BOO!

We came back to the hotel and had a couple of flashes of power outages. I'm glad we weren't in the elevator!

We decided to brave the hurricane like weather and head to a local brewery for dinner. Corey got a pizza and I had a calzone. They were both pretty tasty. By the time we left the rains had stopped and we were able to walk around in the little prominade mall area outside the restaurant. Corey found a fudge shoppe and decided to get a little bit of peanut butter fudge. I had the teeniest-tiniest piece and that will probably be all I have...I'm not a fudge fan.

Tomorrow, we are supposed to go to DollyWood and the weather is supposed to be pretty rainy. So, if you have any pull with the weather "Gods" please ask them to take pity on us tomorrow...

Welcome Baby Jackson!

My bestie, Clarissa and her hubby, Jason had their second child today. A son named Jackson Garrett. He was over 9 POUNDS! Geez! I can't wait to meet him! He's going to have a wonderful family to come home to! And I'm sure his big sister Caraline will be very helpful to her mommy!

Congrats to Clarissa and the fam!


On another note, my friend Katie also had her twins today. From what I hear, they each weighed in at over 6 pounds. Congrats to Katie and her hubby - their dream has finally come true!!!

Jack Daniel's

On Monday, Corey and I FINALLY made it to the Jack Daniel's Distillery in Lynchburg, TN. We have been trying to take this day trip for years! Literally! I bet we've planned to go at least seven or eight times in the last nine years and something always came up. We were glad to finally be able to make it down there!

There was a wonderful aroma as soon as we stepped on the grounds; almost "yeast-y" if you will. And the further we got on the tour, the more intense and "Jack Like" it became!

The scenery was just too beautiful to describe and everything was centered around the spring that gives Jack's whisky that smooth and unique taste!

The tour was absolutely FREE and was WAY more interesting than many of the tours we've paid for and taken in the past! If you ever get a chance to go - do!!! However, don't expect to taste any of Jack's tasty treat becasue Lynchburg is a D-R-Y town! The only tasting you get is lemonaide at the end of the tour! However, you can buy a bottle of Jack and take it home.

Enjoy the slideshow below. You'll need to move your mouse over the pictures to get them to stop so you can read the captions.

Monthly Dinner Menu: July

I would love it if you have any great recipes you'd like to share! Maybe I'll add them to August's menu...

I've Been Tagged!

Here are the rules:
a. Link to the person who tagged you.
b. Post the rules on your blog.
c. Write six random things about yourself.
d. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blog.
e. Let each person know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at their blog.
f. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

Here are the 6 things about ME:
1. I am organized in every aspect of my life. Like, obsessed and anal. My closet is in color order from light to dark. My cabinets at school have tubs with labels on them and I enjoy scheduling things.
2. My food cannot touch! I HATE it when my green beans touch my mashed potatoes, in which case I will create a barrier and not eat the green bean or small row of mashed potatoes because they are now tainted.
3. I am obsessed with the color orange! I feel like it represents me. It is loud and obnoxious, which is just about what I am. I have orange things all over my house and even my cell phone and car are orange - yet, I am NOT a UT fan. I hate when people make that assumption...
4. I get irritated when people take liberties. I understand that most people are just trying to help in certain situations, but for the most part, if I wanted it that way, I would have done it! This especially applies to substitute teachers and students! lol
5. I CANNOT stand worms or ants or anything that is slightly similar (i.e. snakes, termites, etc...) the thought of going outside to stand in the yard and *possibly* having an ant crawl on my foot terrifies me! AND, I HATE the way it smells after it rains a lot and the worms come out. I promise you I can smell them!
6. I love my job. Most of the time. Everybody has their ups and downs, but I honestly don't know what else I was meant to do! Please remind me that I said this when it's the middle of August and I'm talking about how much I hate school - especially starting a new year!!!!

That's it! Now I tag:
Clarissa
Katie
Dustin
Stacey
Michelle
Alyson
Oh, and Dusty tagged me...

Bad, Bad Blogger...

I know all 3 of my loyal readers have been anxiously awaiting my newest blog! I apologize - I've been a horrible blogger. I have been so busy with summer school and running around that I've neglected to update. So, here's the quick and dirty version of what I've been up to:

1.) I've been going to Water Aerobics at the YMCA on Tuesday and Thursday nights. I LOVE it!! And if you know me, you KNOW that I HATE to exercise with a passion - mostly because I HATE to sweat! However, water aerobics kicks ass because you still get a work out, but it's comfortable and you don't sweat to death. Also, I have issues with getting ready to go get dirty and then having to get clean again. I have been going to the 6-7 class, so I just come home and get ready for bed. And I am SOOOO ready for bed when I get home. I wear myself out! Also, if anybody wants to come with me, you are welcome! June is bring a friend month. I'm only 2 more friends away from a FREE YMCA water bottle!! Ha! Joanne went with me and we had a super time!

2.) I went home to visit my parents for what we refer to as the "triple threat" i.e. their anniversary, my dad's birthday, and Father's Day, which all take place during the same week. Talk about a lot going on! Anyway, I went home to visit for a few days and had a great time. My mom and I went to the movies to see What Happens In Vegas. It was cute. Predictable, but cute. We also went shopping and I purchased a cute Tommy Hilfiger swingpack to take with me when we go to DollyWood later this summer. Sorry, but I'm not dragging the Coach bag on a water ride! Hell no!
I also went over to my grandpa's house to pick some cherries and apples from his trees. He has a small orchard on his property next to his GIANT garden. I took some pictures because I thought the fruit was pretty hanging from its branches. I can't wait until the squash is ready so I can "fry up a mess!"









3.) I have been super busy with teaching summer school. Monday through Friday I have been at school from 7:15 until 11:30 or later trying to come up with activities that will enrich and extend what these kids already know. God, I'm so ready for it to be over! I'm so jealous of all my other teacher friends who have been enjoying their summer for almost a month now! I only have 4 more days left...I can do this!

Hopefully, the custodians will wax my room immediately after summer school is over so I can get back in and set it up again. Of course, I will end up spending the rest of my summer at school, but I enjoy getting organized and cleaned up. My room needs it!

4.) This is still school related, but I felt the need to give it a new number...
On the way to the cafeteria from my classroom, we pass through a breezeway. Well, during the summer, the birds seem to think they own the place and build TONS of nests. They really are more of a pest than they are cute, but this week the babies hatched and they really are adorable! I took a couple of "fuzzy" pictures because I didn't want to get too close and have the mamma bird get pissed and poke my eyes out! You've seen The Birds, right? That's some scary shit, Mr. Hitchcock...





5.) I've been watching lots of TV. I love me some reality television! I'm hooked on So You Think You Can Dance! Love me some Joshua! He's so sweet and versitile with his dancing.
Right now, we're watching The Next Food Network Star, which is ok, but not as exciting as last season's.
I'm really ready for the new Big Brother 10!!! It starts on the 13th and I'll be all over that!

I guess that's all I've been up to in the past few weeks. I'm ready to have more free time. Corey will be finished with his summer portion of his Master's program on Friday, so we'll be able to spend more time with each other. And by that I mean try not to kill each other :-)

Until next time...

FIRE!!

I almost forgot to blog about the most eventful thing that happened today: a fire.

Just as we were dismissing the students from Summer School, the house right in front of our school caught on fire. At first we thought someone was just burning brush, but it turned out to be WAY more than that! At least 3 fire engines came to put out the blaze. Of course, the kids thought it was the coolest thing they had ever seen in their lives...

It was so sad to watch the dreams and lives of these poor, helpless people just burn up right in front of them. One of the kids that lives there is a student at my school. Sad.

I hope everyone was able to get out alright. I believe they did, but I'm sure it was a VERY scary moment for everyone involved.

Corey and I came home one night after eating dinner, to find 3 fire engines in our front yard - along with the rest of the ENTIRE neighborhood!!! Talk about having the shheeet scared out of you! Lucky for us, it was the house across from us that had caught on fire - unlucky for them. However, they were eventually able salvage the frame and rebuild the house. They got bigger and badder stuff in it, too...We can see their GIANT flat screen TV mounted on their living room wall when their front door is open. Of course, if my house burning down was the only way I could get that TV, I would definitely choose another option! They deserve it with all they went through...

I wouldn't wish that type of catastrophe on anyone!

Sprucing up and the YMCA...

First off, I changed some stuff around on here. I got tired of looking at everybody's blog to see if they had updated anything everyday, so I added a blog roll that will update me when someone updates their blog! Yay! Also, I added the graphic of my name above, which I thought was super cute - thanks Dusty - I totally stole that from your myspace! I moved the header to the "About Me" section, which I'm sure nobody ever read anyway, but just in case, now you know where it is...

Now, on to the YMCA. Yeah, I joined. Just for the rest of the month and July. I am going to go to the H2O Aerobics classes on Tuesday and Thursday evenings for the rest of June. Then, when I'm finished teaching Summer School, I will try to go Monday through Friday in the mornings. There is another teacher friend who goes to the Y to work out, so maybe we can get together and go sometime :-)

I'm not a big worker-outer. I mean, have you seen me?! However, my mom has recently lost about 100 lbs in the past year and she is a faithful participant in her water aerobics three days a week. She also has done Weight Watchers and I'm super proud of her! And I'm super even more jealous of her! Scrawny ass! So, I joined and hopefully I will have at least SOME of the success she has had.

I had a little issue with the folks at the Y. It seems that the people who work there have NO freakin' clue what you need to bring with you in order to become a member. I am surprised that they don't ask for your first born child! Anyway, after going back and forth from the Y to my house because of stupidity on their part, I finally told them that if they needed ONE more thing from my house, I was going home and NOT coming back. Apparently, everything that I brought the second time was PLENTY of information after making that point! HA!

Wish me luck! Perhaps I should put a weight loss ticker on my page...nah - that would mean people would be looking and holding me accountable. Now, we can't have that can we?!

Summer School

I'm teaching summer school this year. Ugh.

"Why," you ask? Well, I'll tell you. Corey is an Educational Assistant and they don't work OR get paid in the summer, so that means we have that much less income for the next 3 months! Gasp!

"Why doesn't HE get a summer job?!" you ask? Well, I'll tell you. He started his Master's in Elementary Education today. He's already certified 7-12, but has decided he wants to teach the lower grades since he's been working in an elementary school for the last year.

Soooo, his Master's program is very intensive. He will go Monday thru Friday from
9-5 PM for the month of June. I am teaching school from 7:30 - 11:00 in June, so we will still be able to see each other this summer and we'll have the entire month of July off!! Then, he will go one Thursday, Friday, and Saturday a month for the next year. By this time next year, we'll be decorating HIS classroom!!

Now, back to me:

Summer School started today. Poor kids. They REALLY need to be there. I am teaching former 3rd graders, which will possibly be MY 4th graders in August. Wow, I'm going to have a LOT of work ahead of me when school starts if these kids are any indication of what's to come!!! Hopefully, this will only be a sampling and not a grade-wide epidemic. However, I will say this: only FOUR of the students in my current class are from my school. The others are from different schools in the county. Makes me wonder what they are doing there?!

Anyway, we didn't do much today. Mostly introduction stuff. Tomorrow we'll probably play some math games and maybe start a novel. Good times.

I want to leave you with a picture of what I wished my school days had been like...

I was totally Lisa Turtle...

I.AM.A.DUMBASS.

Yeah.

Today Corey and I went to my classroom to get it ready for my summer school kiddos. We drove through and got lunch and took it into my room. I put down my purse and everything else in my hands. He went out to unload some stuff from my car and I (being the good natured helper that I am) followed him out the door. CRAP.

The door locked behind me. So there we were. Staring into my classroom looking at the keys on my desk. CRAP.

Luckily, he had his cell phone and his car keys in his pocket, so we were eventually able to locate a fellow teacher who came and let us in the building. BUT, I still couldn't get in my classroom. CRAP.

We trolled through the school (thank GOD the alarm wasn't on) and looked in the janitor's office for keys. We found some, but unfortunately, they didn't work. CRAP.

I ended up having to call my assistant principal and he came over and let us in. WHEW.

I owe him big time!

So after that, we were able to FINALLY eat our cold lunch and finish up the work we had come to do.

Yeah. I'll be getting several copies of that key made tomorrow...

Monthly Dinner Menu: June

Please leave feedback...is my posting these menus helping anyone?

Go Fly a Kite!

Today, Corey and I went on a LONG exhausting search for a kite. We started at Toys R Us. They were basically sold out of the cheap ones so we went over to Target. They had PLENTY, but Corey decided there were better ones at Wal-Mart and he'd rather have one there. So, off we went to Wally World. He came back empty handed. Then, off to Hobby World, which is supposed to be open until 5:00, but they decided to close at 3:00. Then, off to Hobby Lobby. No kites. Soooo, back to Target. Ugh. Finally we got to the park and stayed about an hour. There were a couple of other folks out there flying their kites, too. It was beautiful outside! Here are some photos of our fun day:

And here are a couple of videos of us trying to keep the kite up!