Updates

Goodness, I have been gone from the blog for a while! Life has been oh-so-busy around here! The summer was F-U-L-L of so many good (and not-so-good) things, and then SHA-BAM! School started! Here is a brief recap of the last couple of months:

• Grandpa's second round of stints did not go at all as planned. Long story short...he had to be transferred from ARMC to St. Joseph's in ATL, where they wanted to do open heart but ended up trying to do stints. That didn't go so well, and he ended up in cardiac ICU. Then, he started having anxiety and trouble breathing...found out he had pneumonia. He spent nearly a week on a ventilator, but he is oh-so-strong and God pulled him through it! He is home now and still getting better!
• I finished my first semester of grad classes and now I have started my second. Holy moly. I think I really have lost my mind this time.
• School started. My classroom is oh-so-cute, but it wasn't perfect at Open House. Fortunately, I'm the only one who knew that! I have 25 lovely students and we are finally settled into something of a routine. I have 3 wonderful co-teachers cycling through my room throughout the day, and I couldn't do it without them, and my super fabulous administration and co-workers!
• Chad had his birthday. I got him a LEGO Space Shuttle kit. I hope he will actually put it together. He loves space/NASA, and that thing will look so cool in the library once it's done.
• I fractured my foot. I spent 6 weeks in a silly orthopedic boot, and four weeks wearing only tennis shoes, with a steel thing-y in one of them. I think it's finally better.

So...tired yet? I know I am!! Now, to top it all off, it's Labor Day weekend, and I have oh-so-very-much to do, but I have a cold or something and all I want to do is sleep!

Inspirations

Well, as some most of you know, my amazing grandfather has had some health troubles lately, and this week was in the hospital. He really gave us a scare! We were afraid he was going to have open heart surgery, but was able to have stints instead. He came through the first round beautifully and is now at home, PRAISE THE LORD! Now, though, he does have to go for a second round of stints, in a more difficult artery, in a few weeks.  But, right now, that is not what the real purpose of this post is. This post has been brewing in my mind for days, but there was no Internet access in the ICU, and when I was at home I was sleeping, so here it is:

I want to write about what an inspiration my grandfather has been in my life. He is the most amazing man I have ever known. He is hardworking beyond belief...I swear, the man never stops! He is 82 years old and still works, because he really enjoys it! The staff at church is constantly commenting about what a hard worker he is and how conscientious he is about his work. He has always been there for me. I have not always had an easy life (who has?!?), and he has been there for me through it all. He has supported me in every way possible as I worked my way through school, and he constantly encouraged me to get my education, finish college, and pursue my dreams. He is a strong Christian man who has always been an example to me of a life lived to glorify God. I can remember growing up, he could often be found stretched out on the couch with his tattered blue bible in hand, reading away. These days, there is a dedicated spot at his kitchen table where he sits to read God's Word. He is also a shining example of what a loving husband should be. He loves my Grandma and would do anything, and I do mean ANYTHING for her. They have been married for over 50 years, and their love is still so evident. I pray that my own marriage will last in the same way that theirs has. He has a stubborn streak that I inherited 100%, and I love him for it. He does what he thinks is best, even when other people disagree. (And sometimes, he's right!) But, when it comes right down to it, he always does what is best for his family, even if it isn't what he wants at the time. He is the patriarch of our family, and I love him dearly.

Here is a picture of the two of us when he walked me down the aisle and gave me away at my wedding:

I'm sure I left out a million wonderful things about Grandpa, but that's okay.  I'm not the only one he has inspired! What about you? Leave a comment and share how he has inspired your life!!

Oh. My. Word. (or, Confessions of a Desperate Addict)

I can't believe I did this.  Well, maybe I can.  A little.  I acted on impulse.  And then, I was soo embarrassed. I almost wasn't going to post about it.  Then today, I decided that I had to.  I absolutely had to.

Two days ago, I was at my favorite drink spot, Sonic Drive-In, to get, you guessed it, a Diet Coke.  I can't help it.  I am addicted.  I love Diet Coke, especially from Sonic.  It's something about the ice...Anyway, there I was.  I had just ordered my drink at the drive thru speaker thingy, and I was pulling around to wait for my 44 ounces of fizzy bliss to be brought to me.  (Half price, by the way, because it was Happy Hour!)  I had some napkins in the cup holder, so I paused at the garbage can to throw them away.  There, in the garbage can, was a bag with the receipt attached.  Not just any receipt, but one of the receipts with a coupon at the bottom for a FREE ROUTE 44 DRINK if you complete a survey about the restaurant!  Well, let me tell you something, I LONG for those receipts.  I check each receipt diligently when we go to Sonic to see if I have been so lucky as to get one of those coupons, and if I have, I take it off, fold it neatly in fourths, and put it in a special place in the car for a future Diet Coke emergency.  And someone had the gall to THROW IT AWAY???  Are you KIDDING ME???  So, without really thinking about it, I reached in the garbage can and TOOK IT OFF THE BAG!!  Then, I pulled on up and waited for my drink to come out.  (I was paying for this one.)  As I sat there, I realized what I had done (and that there was a car behind me whose occupants likely saw the whole thing) and got a little embarrassed.  Sweetness told me that was desperate and disgusting.  A friend (who understands the sweet goodness of Sonic ice mixed with Diet Coke) said she understood completely.

Fast forward to today.  I completed the survey, got my code, and used that coupon.  When the carhop brought me my Diet Coke, guess what was on my receipt?  Yep, you got it, a FREE ROUTE 44 DRINK COUPON!!

Oh, goodness...

New Tabs!

I figured out how to add new blogs and tabs to this page!  Yippee for me!!  My inspiration came from a fellow teacher over at Ladybug's Teacher Page.  She has a great blog for her students and for fellow teachers, and, through the use of multiple blogs that are linked through tabs, it functions much like a website. I was inspired because I would love to make something like this for my classroom next year.  So...I am starting off by practicing this summer with this blog.

My tabs are for our wedding, where I will post some of my favorite pictures from that super special day, and the other tab is for recipes, where I will post some of our favorites.

Around the House

Well, our anniversary is in less than one week.  We will have been married for two years.  Two years.  In some ways, it seems like a lot longer, and in others, it seems like just yesterday I was agonizing over whether I would trip on the stairs in the church with heels and that long train.  Well, I had been toying with the idea of creating a wordle for him as part of his gift...using our names and other words that have special meaning in our relationship.  But, I was afraid it was silly, or corny.  Then, I saw a former co-worker's blog over at Making Him Smile and she had done THE SAME THING, or almost the same thing.  She and her hubby created a wordle and used it to decorate their home.  I decided that, shew, at least it wasn't THAT corny.  :)  So, I went ahead and created it, then easily with some slight difficulty got it into a format that I could upload to Wal-Mart and have printed through the photo lab as a 8x10 photo.  I framed it and had every intention of saving it until next week to give him.  I am really bad at waiting.

Here is a picture of it on our wall.

I didn't show it to him when he came home.  Instead, I wanted to wait and see if he noticed it.  He had immediately noticed the change in the breakfast nook, but I thought this one would take more time.  I was right.  (I did, however, tell him I had made another change in the house, but he must find it on his own.)  To his credit, he was methodical and found it within a few minutes of starting to look in the living room.

Now, for my next project...the mantle:

I love the pictures above and they are not changing.  But, the rest is so cluttered it drives me INSANE!!  I have two sets of these great shelves from Bed, Bath and Beyond that I just need Sweetness to hang for me (because, while I can totally work a hammer and nails, I am terrified of putting a huge hole in the wall).

I'm thinking they will go great on this wall to the right of the French doors, leading to the dining room.  (The T.V. is to the left.)  That chair will be finding a new location tomorrow.  Then, those sweet collectibles and pictures can find a new place to live on the shelves.

A Place to Study

Well, knowing that I start classes in a mere 6 days (eek!), and knowing that I am a bit on the picky side, I knew that I needed to get myself organized so that I would have a defined place to study/work once I start.  I am waaay too easily distracted to read/study in front of the t.v., and I need to be able to spread out and not worry about little Miss "I am queen of the world" Lucy walking or laying down right in the middle of everything.  So that was my goal for today:  Make a place to study.  Well, you would think that would be easy since there are two of us in this three bedroom house.  Not so much.  One bedroom has been overtaken by our books, and the other is home to the metal monster we call an exercise machine/weight bench.  (Hopefully that will be moving to the shed very soon, thanks to the fabulous father-in-law!)  So, my study area was going to have to be in one of the main areas of the house.  I chose the breakfast nook, because the dining room has an uninterrupted line of sight to the t.v.  With a little re-arranging and about $20, here is the transformation:

Before:  (No, I didn't clean up first!)

After, part 1:  I turned the table and added the missing chair.  This serves two purposes.  I can sit without bumping into either our shoes or that plant stand, and we can now seat four people easily.  Five if we bring in a chair from the dining room and put it on the end.  Although I am not sure why we would want to do that.  Our dining table seats 6.

After, part 2:  I realized that, while I had space to work, I would still need space to keep my books and supplies.  So, off to Wal-Mart I went!  I got this great shelf that snaps together in just a few minutes (I also have a couple in my classroom!) and used it to store my books/supplies.  My textbooks and composition books are in that white basket on the second shelf, although I would REALLY like to have a separate basket for each class.  But, alas, my plentiful allotment of white baskets (no, I'm serious, I have a ton of those that aren't being used) is at school.  One is working fine for now.  The composition books separate the textbooks by class.  I was also able to clean off the dining room table and store my totally amazing Scotch thermal laminator and some other school-related things on here.  My camera and a small backpack that I really should find another home for round out the bottom shelf.  Oh, and I should add that Finn, our betta fish, is up there with my books, and I have added a potted violet to the top shelf.

Another angle.  It really gives us more room to move.  We ate there tonight.  It was nice to sit across from each other.  It felt like we were at a restaurant.  :)

And one final angle.  Don't you love my super fancy pen/pencil holder?  (It's a Dixie cup!)

Adventures in Grilling

With Memorial Day being the official start of summer, my family decided that we absolutely must grill out this weekend!  Well, fine by me!  :)   I love family get-togethers and cookouts because of the FOOD!  I don't know how other families do things, but my family has always done a "bring your own meat and drinks and a side to share" sort of thing.  So, for the two cookouts we went to with my family this weekend, here are our two sides to share:

Grilled red potatoes...so good, when they came off the grill at the first cookout, I was worried Chad and I wouldn't get any!  I wasn't planning to take them the next day, but was told that I would have to!

Pasta salad with fresh veggies.  Oh, boy, I could eat a big ole bowl of this right now!  Actually, there were some leftovers and I did eat some of this for supper tonight...with the hamburgers that my GrillMaster hubby grilled for us here at home.  So.  Good.

We also grilled these vegetables for the first time this weekend.  Nothing fancy, just squash, zucchini, onion, and broccoli wrapped in aluminum foil and thrown on the grill while everything else is cooking.  Yummy.  If I keep thinking of things to cook on the grill (potatoes, veggies, meat...) we may need to buy a bigger grill!  Yeah, right...along with my dream of finishing/re-doing the back deck, that will go on the "Someday" list.  :)