Patience is a virtue (worth having)

This year my class got me a gift card to Trendz boutique in Leawood. I really like shopping there and I was super excited to get the gift card. I've been pretty busy this week, but found time today to do some shopping for myself. I went to Trendz and ended up finding a really cute sweater, top, scarf, and wintery head wrap. While I was waiting in (the rather long) line, I noticed a lady in front of me who kept huffing and puffing about the wait. She kept checking her watch and rolling her eyes at the check out ladies. I understand it's frustrating to have to wait, but it's a part of life. These girls working at Trendz were doing the best they could to get people through the line as quickly as possible. The fact is, it's December 23rd. EVERYWHERE you go is going to be busy. Deal with it. Anyway, when the lady ended up making it to the front of the line, she starting writing out a check. The girl checking her out informed her that they do not take checks. She got all pissy and stormed out.

Now, I must say...if that lady hadn't been such a grumpy puss, I would have happily offered to add her purchase to mine. It was only a couple pairs of earrings. If she had been waiting patiently like the rest of us, she would have walked out with what she came in for. It just goes to show you, patience is a virtue worth having!

Thanksgiving Break

Breaks from my job always seem to come at the time I need them most. This year is no exception. It's not that I don't like my job or my students, but let's be honest....being a teacher is exhausting. I am beyond thrilled that I have a 5 day weekend ahead of me. AND we will not be leaving the Kansas City Metro this year which means I just might actually get some time to relax.

Here are my plans for tomorrow:

• Sleep in


• Drink an entire pot of coffee


• Lay around the house watching TV and/or reading a book in my PJs pretty much all day

If I decide I'm feeling productive, I may also cook the hubby dinner. We'll see how it goes.

Upcoming Halloween Party

We're throwing a Halloween party this weekend. I'm pretty excited about doing this:

http://www.scarymommy.com/halloween-vodka/

Yes, candy vodka. Yum!!!

No, I do not have any drugs on me

James and I had the pleasure of watching our Wildcats beat the Tigers yesterday in Manhattan. Despite the horrible weather and the fact that we spent 6+ hours of our day in a car, we had fun. Though, I apparently put off the vibe that do drugs. Here's my (version of the) story:

We got free tickets from our friend Jenni's sister. I guess she had gotten them through work and is not a K-State fan. So we headed down to Manhattan yesterday morning. The drive was terrible. Between construction and game day traffic, it took us over 3 hours to to go Manhattan, when usually it takes less than 2. We got there right as it started to rain. We threw on our panchos and made the best of the gross weather. We went into the game about half way through the first quarter. We were in the bleacher seats and apparently sat in front of some people who didn't like us. Apparently we were being too loud for the people behind us and the lady griped us out. I had been drinking and definitely wanted to go off on her but I used my best judgement and kept my mouth shut. Well, apparently she was still unhappy with us because she went and told one of the stadium managers that I had drugs on me. Seriously...do I really look like a druggie??? Anyway, this guy (who I happen to used to work with at Northview elementary) came up to me and said that "someone" had told him I had some illegal substances on me. I was like..."Um...no." He asked to see in my purse, so I let him. Then he asked if he could look under my pancho, so I let him. Guess what? I did not have anything illegal on me.

Take that, Psycho-Lady-Who-Tried-To-Get-Me-In-Trouble!

Hmm...perhaps I should see a doctor?

I happen to be a huge fan of British singer/songwriter, Adele and follow her on Twitter. I just now saw that she posted that she had to cancel all her US tour dates. She had a link to her blog which explained why:

http://www.adele.tv/blog/352/important-blog

Basically, she lost her voice a while back and tried to power through it but now she's found out that she has a hemorrhage on her vocal chords. To continue to sing would leave her with permanent damage.

This is kind of makes me think about my recent issue with losing my voice. Back in July (during our float trip), I lost my voice. It was a crazy party weekend that involved a lot of yelling and screaming. Anyway, after a few days I did finally gain my voice back. However, ever since then, I lose my voice VERY easily. I would say every week, I lose it 1-3 times and it never really feels completely 100%. It's made teaching very difficult.

I've kind of just been dealing with it, but now I'm wondering if it could be something serious. Perhaps I need to make a doctor's appointment.

Happy Sunday!

Something weird has come over me. I've been in a really productive mood today. I got up this morning and made James and I breakfast. French toast...yum! Shortly afterward, James and his friend Jared went and hid out in the basement to watch football for the day. Meanwhile, I showered, then decided I was apparently in a housecleaning mood. This NEVER happens. So I put away the mountains of clothes that had been sitting folded in the laundry basket or draped over the dresser. Then I cleaned up the bedroom, master bath, and our closet.

I then came downstairs and decided I was sick of looking at the sink full of dishes in my kitchen, so I cleaned the kitchen....only to dirty it up again shortly after when I decided to make the boys a pot of chili. I knew the chili wouldn't be done for a while so I made a couple sandwiches and sent them downstairs. I then decided, despite it being the afternoon, that I really wanted a good cup of coffee. So I played around for a while and then concocted what can only be described as "Christmas in a Cup". Basically it's just coffee, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg...but it was DELICIOUS!

The kitchen has since been re-cleaned. And a load of laundry has been started. Now I'm blogging for the first time in a while and then I have great plans to crack open a book and lay on the couch with the windows open.

It's a Happy Sunday for everyone in the Asher house!

2011 Kansas State Train Video

This. Is. Awesome.

http://youtu.be/Vu44gFK85sw

Best Husband Ever!

I know people often say this about their spouse, but I really do think I have the best husband ever. This week was very busy and stressful for me. It's the week before school starts and despite yesterday being our first official day back for teachers, I put in a 43 hour work week in 4 days this week.

Thursday I had an emotional breakdown when I couldn't find my August file in my classroom. For those of you who teach, you know that this is pretty much the most devastating thing that can happen. Our files are PRECIOUS! It was 6:00 and I still hadn't eaten lunch nor dinner and I was hot and sweaty and exhausted. I called James who was still at work despite the fact that he's supposed to get off at 4:00. He came to school and brought me dinner!

This was incredibly thoughtful for a number of reasons:

1) He had just worked an 11 hour day and I'm sure he too was exhausted.

2) He got Minsky's...which I love AND he chose a veggie pizza because he knows I'm trying to eat healthy.

3) He had been sick all week and I know he didn't feel good but he put my needs ahead of his and I just feel so lucky to have him.

On top of being super sweet Thursday night, yesterday morning I got a text from him saying "I hope your first day back goes well...love you!"

What can I say...he's THE BEST!

Best Wife Ever!

James' birthday was Monday and let's just be honest...he got spoiled. Last Saturday, we went to Old Chicago for lunch. He got a free pizza coupon for being a member of the World Beer Tour so we decided to use that. We ate our pizza, had a couple beers, and played some Big Buck Hunt then decided to go to Best Buy to buy a new TV for the basement. I got a bonus this summer of a little of $1000. I figured since I'd been so responsible with all the rest of the money I earned this summer, I was allowed to spend this. So I put it towards a TV. We got a 55 in LG LED 3D TV with BluRay. Woohoo! Happy Birthday!

That evening we went to dinner at J. Alexander's. AMAZING food! Then we went to Jerry's to have drinks with some of our friends. There was an 80s cover band playing so despite me be the D.D. for the night, I still had a good time.

Sunday, we went to 77 South for brunch then came home and watched our first movie on our new TV. We still haven't watched anything in 3D yet, but will hopefully find something on Netflix soon.

Monday was his actual birthday, so I gave him the plethora of K-State/Royals t-shirts that I had bought for him back when KS Sampler was having their big sale. Aside from that and his TV, I had another gift that hadn't yet arrived in the mail. That night when he got off work we went to Jerry's for poker. Cassie, the bartender there, surprised James with a card signed by everyone in the bar and an ice cream cake. It was incredibly thoughtful!

His final gift finally came today...The Hunger Games Trilogy Boxed Set. He's currently curled up under a blanket reading the first one. It's pretty cute.

Update on KC's Top 100 Restaurants

I've now been to 17 of the top 100 restaurants. This low number is reminding me that the hubby and I don't eat out nearly often enough!

75th St Brewery

BB's Lawnside BBQ
Blue Koi
Blue Nile
The Drop

Fritz's
Garozzo's

Julian

JP Wine Bar

La Bodega

Manny's
Minsky's Pizza
Nick & Jake's
One80
Thai Place
Tom Fooleries

Zest

2 Year Anniversary

Last year, for our anniversary, we stayed at The Raphael Hotel. It was where we spent our wedding night and we thought it'd be fun to go back there to celebrate. It was very romantic...rose petals, champagne, private jacuzzi tub. We watched fireworks from the hotel window. All in all it was a very nice night.

This year, since we had just bought a house, we decided it was okay to scale it down a bit. So Saturday, I planned a surprise date. Since we weren't able to leave town and go to the lake or anything, I decided to bring the lake to us. We went to the lake at Shawnee Mission Park during the day. We rented a pedal boat and went out on the water. James had never been on a pedal boat and I hadn't since I was a kid so we both had fun. After a while, our legs got sore, so we went back to shore and traded the pedal boat out for a couple kayaks. We had a blast on the kayaks. The only other time we'd kayaked was on our honeymoon in St. Lucia. After we had thoroughly fried our thighs (must have missed that spot with the sunscreen) we left the water and found a shady spot to lay down a blanket for a picnic. The picnic was nice despite getting attached by a posse of 40 geese. James managed to run them off though. After lunch, we lay in the shade and talked while enjoying a bottle of white wine.

Later that afternoon, we went to Town Center/One Nineteen and did some shopping. We went and looked around at Z Gallerie and Crate & Barrel. It's funny how much more fun it is to look at house decor than clothes.

After our mini shopping trip, we went to Brookside to a restaurant called Julian. James and I both love the show "Top Chef" and on the most recent Masters season was a contestant named Celina Tio who was from...Kansas City. Julian is her restaurant and we both wanted to check it out. I think we were both happy with dinner (and the wine, of course) and I got particularly excited when we had Celina herself deliver our appetizer. I made a huge dork of myself by telling her how much I love her.

We concluded our night at home with yet another bottle of wine (third one that day). Then we headed to bed early so we could be well-rested for our housewarming/anniversary/4th of July party the next day.

Sunday, we spent the day getting ready for our party. Around 4:00 people started to come over. We had washers, bags, and hillbilly golf set up in the backyard. We drank good drinks and ate good food and shot many shots. All in all, I would say it was a very successful party and our couches provided a nice sleeping spot for those who had a little too much to drink.

On Monday, James and I went to lunch and then lounged around most the day "recovering". That evening we went to dinner and a movie followed by fireworks at the Great Mall. We snuggled up in the back of the Escape, opened the tailgate, and watched them from the parking lot.

Another great 4th of July and anniversary!

How We Came To Be

James and I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary this past weekend. My sister, Maggie, called to wish us a happy anniversary and she asked me if it felt like it'd been 2 years. On the one hand, I can remember our wedding day like it was yesterday. Many people tell you the day flies by in a blur. This wasn't the case for me. I have very vivid memories about the entire day...memories I hope I'm able to hold onto as I age and become (even more) grey-haired.

On the other hand, I feel like James and I have always been together. We started dating almost 8 years ago when I was just 19. Life before him was...different and I guess kind of insignificant.

After dating for 2.5 years, we moved in together. We lived together for 2.5 more years before he proposed. We had a fairly short engagement...just 7 months, though it was plenty long enough for us. We got married July 4, 2009 - two years ago yesterday. Life has been good to us. We have since found, purchased, and moved in to a beautiful house that we are quickly making "our home".

Yes, children are in our future. As to how soon that happens, you will just have to wait and see! In the meantime, we are very happy to be fur-parents.

I wouldn't change any of it!

I love a good bargain!

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a die-hard K-State fan. Well, one of my favorite places to shop is Kansas Sampler. For our anniversary, I got James a nice Cornhole set. It's wood and unpainted and I decided instead of painting it, I wanted to put K-State Power Cat decals on them and then coat them with polyurethane.

So I was planning on going to Kansas Sampler sometime soon anyway, but I made it a priority today when my friend Lisa told me they were having a super sale.

I ended up getting over $500 worth of clothing for less than $200. For his birthday, I got James a Royal's shirt, a K-State polo, 4 short sleeve K-state t-shirts, and a long sleeve K-State shirt. For myself I bought a long sleeve Chief's shirt, a Royals t-shirt, a pair of cropped K-State yoga pants, a K-State zip up hoodie, a long sleeve K-State shirt, and 4 super cute K-State t-shirts. I will never have to buy KSU apparel again! Though realistically, I probably will.

These 4 items were what I paid for.

These 16 items were what I got.

I LOVE a good bargain!

Summer Job = STRESS!

I've always had a summer job, ever since I started teaching. Despite the fact that I get paid year-round, it's nice to have some extra income for things like weddings and buying houses. I also, quite frankly, think I would be bored out of my mind if I didn't work during the summer.

I have yet to find the perfect summer work situation. One summer, I just tutored. That summer I felt like I had a little too much time on my hands and kind of wished I would have worked a bit more. Another summer, I was a nanny for a family. That was the same summer I was working on my Masters and also getting married, so it ended up being a bit too much. Not to mention the fact that the kids I was nannying were pretty high maintenance and thus required a lot of attention and energy. Last summer, I taught a 6 week summer school and while it wasn't ideal, I decided to do it again this year. I figured since I'd already done it before, it'd be a pretty easy gig. WRONG! I have a very different mix of kids this summer and without being too negative, let's just say this has been anything but easy. The past 9 days of summer school have been the hardest of my teaching career. I think it's safe to say that it's just been way more stressful than it's worth and I will be needing to do something else next year.

Prior to teaching, I spent my summers bartending. While I really enjoyed doing that, I have no desire to go back to working nights. I enjoy my evenings with my husband way too much. However, I'm not sure it'd be worth my time to bartend afternoons somewhere. That sort of job doesn't usually pay all that well.

So, what SHOULD I do next summer? Thoughts?

It's Tool Time!

One of the items on my 101 in 1,001 list is to build something with my husband. James is a guy (obviously) and thus is pretty good with tools. Me? I've used a handheld screwdriver and a hammer. That's it. So I got pretty excited when I decided we were going to build a washers set this weekend.

Saturday we made a trip to Lowes and Home Depot to get supplies (2x4s, PVC pipe, wood screws, epoxy glue, and grass carpet). Then we got up Sunday morning, ate a big breakfast, then went out to the garage to get to work.

We measured, we sawed, we sanded, we drilled, we screwed (get your mind out of the gutter), we painted, and we glued. The whole project took 3-4 hours, but I enjoyed every minute of it. And we got the pictures to prove it.

This is AWESOME!

Welcome to the Jungle - Cello Duet

It's summer?

Last night two of my coworkers and I went to our former first graders' baseball game. Between the two teams, I had 7 of my boys from this past year playing. It's funny that just a week ago, these were the same boys who would excitedly come up to me first thing in the morning with a 10 minute story to share. Last night, many of them played the shy card. They'd give a smug smile and look down as they said "Hi, Mrs. Asher." I did still get a few hugs...though most of them were from the moms. I had an awesome group of moms this past year and really enjoyed visiting with them last night. They all seemed to ask me the same question, "How's your summer going?" And I was left thinking....it's summer? Though it's only been a week, I feel like I haven't really had a chance to take a break yet. I've been busy, though I guess there's been some fun stuff too.

Last Thursday was spent in my classroom getting things packed up. We're getting new carpet over the summer, so the end-of-year-shut-down-your-classroom-process is considerably more work than usual. That night, James and I ventured out to Zona Rosa to get Mumford & Sons concert tickets from a craigslist guy. We ended up doing Happy Hour drinks and appetizers at Tomfooleries while out there.

Friday I spent the day running errands. Oil change. Home Depot. Etc. That night was the Buzz Under the Stars concert at City Market featuring Cake and Mumford & Sons. It was hot and crowded but Mumford was awesome! Overall...a good night.

Saturday, I headed out to St. Joe with the girls for Book Club at Sarah's. We had brunch and mimosas and took turns passing around Baby Noah. I love that little guy! When we got back into town, I helped James paint the office. I've come to realize when you buy a house, you don't ever just sit on the couch anymore. There's always stuff to be doing.

Sunday was filled with more errands and more painting. I did get to hit up the pool for a couple hours and miraculously did NOT get a sunburn!

Monday I spent all day in workshops...not the best time of my life, but we did get to go to Blue Moose for lunch, so that was positive. That night James and I went to Jerry's to play some poker. Good times.

Yesterday I was back in my classroom for nearly 5 hours but finally got everything packed up. Now I just need to haul a load of stuff over to Barstow and get my classroom set up there. Perhaps that will happen on Friday becauswe today I decided I'm not going to be productive in any way. I'm going to celebrate summer! So, I slept it...until almost 8:30! I'm going to go see a matinee (Water for Elephants) with my friend/coworker Jenny. Then this evening, a few of my gal pals and I are going to dinner at 75 Street Brewery then hitting up a Starlight show. I believe tonight is "The King and I" which I haven't seen before, so I'm pretty excited. I guess summer is here!

Never a dull moment!

Around 10:45 today our principal got on the intercom to inform us that we were currently under a tornado warning and that we needed to take our kids to our tornado shelter until further notice. So I took my 21 students down the hall to the 14 X 16 ft tornado shelter that we had to share with 40 other 7-year-olds. Initially, they told us we'd probably have to stay in there for about 20 minutes. Then 20 minutes turned into 45 minutes which then turned into over an hour.

And amazingly, during that whole time, we didn't have a single crier or complainer. The kids handled the situation beautifully. They sat quietly just the way we practiced. After about half an hour of crouching in the "safe position", we let our kids put their heads up and read them a story...then another story...then another. About midway through story number 4, we got the okay to send the kids back to class.

It was past noon by the time we got back to our classrooms and we had missed our lunch completely. So we took our kids through the lunch line and just ate lunch in the pod. The kids loved it. The teachers, well....let's just say we survived.

We later found out a tornado had touched down about a mile and a half east of us. Craziness. Just goes to show, there's never a dull moment in teaching!

Letter from a parent

Below is an email I got today from a parent. It happens to be the mom of one of the little girls I mentioned in my last post:

Hi Becky,

I wanted to send you an e-mail and say thank you for calling me yesterday and giving me a report on how *******'s reading is going. I was so happy to hear the news and share it with ******* after school. She has been working really hard and we are glad it has paid off. I appreciate you working with her this year and keeping me in the loop. The extra books you have been sharing with us have really helped too. I hope that you have a say in what teacher ******* will get next year and I hope it is someone who will continue to challenge her to do her best and is also equally as good at communication.

******* has really enjoyed having you as a teacher this year and again thank you for taking an active interest in her academic success.

See you tomorrow,
****

After a very busy and stressful day, this was seriously just what I needed. It made my day! It's nice to be appreciated!

So proud!

I have two girls in my class who have struggled all year long in reading. They are both super sweet girls and they've certainly tried hard, but reading just wasn't something that came easily to them. One girl in particular, I could tell, just wanted it so bad. She's worked so hard at school and at home.

Well, all the hard work finally paid off. I tested both these girls this week and they just rocked! They both know nearly all their sight words and they both scored 5 levels higher on the DRA reading test than they did last quarter. This is incredible. Most kids, on average, increase by 2 levels each quarter. I think for these girls, it finally just clicked. They are both now reading on grade level and I couldn't be more proud.

Moving is EXHAUSTING!

Wow, what a week! I honestly don't know if I've ever been so mentally and physically exhausted in my life. And the thought of tomorrow being Monday and me having to go to work makes me want to cry.

Here's a rundown of our moving week:

Monday - James and I both left work early to go close on our house. After an hour of signing paper after paper, it became official. We were homeowners!

Tuesday - Despite getting an early start on packing (over a month ago), James and I still had quite a bit of last minute boxes to pack. Between writing sub plans and packing, I had a very busy night!

Wednesday - After he got off work, James came and met me at school. Our realtor had dropped off our key earlier that afternoon. So as soon as I finished my sub plans, we headed down 151st to our home for the first time. We had both packed our cars the night before so we could drop off a load. We were both giddy with excitement as we walked into OUR house! We looked around and were pleased to see that it was just as fantastic as we had remembered. After looking around and taking it all in, we knew we'd better get to work. But we needed food first. So I went and picked up a pizza and we ate our first meal together on the floor of the livingroom of our home. We ended up having to go back to the old place to sleep that night since our new bed wouldn't be delivered until the next day.

Thursday - Let the moving begin! We had our cable guy coming Thursday as well as the Nebraska Furniture Mart delivery guys. So James spent the day going back and forth between the old place and the new place bringing loads of stuff. Our friend Jared came and helped out, which was nice. Meanwhile, I stayed at the new place putting stuff away. The worst part of the day came when the NFM guys came to deliver the fridge and it didn't fit because of the molding on our wall. We were incredibly frustrated but luckily the delivery guys were really cool about it. They said we could keep the refrigerator (for up to 30 days) until we were able to go pick out a new one. Thursday evening, Jen and Rory came over to look at the house. Rory cooked us dinner. Yum!

Friday - I had told my students that I had a "surprise" for them. The surprise was that I was going to bring my dog in to school for them to meet. I already talked to my sub and told her I'd be coming in at 1:00 that day. So after laying shelf paper all morning, I took a quick shower and then went up to the school. It was nice to have a break, but I also felt like I really needed to be back at the house getting stuff done. After I got back from school, James and I went to NFM and picked out our new fridge. It's scheduled to be delivered by next Thursday. Once we got home from NFM, Lisa and Jenna both came over to look at the house. They helped me face my nemesis (shelf paper). Shortly after they left, my dad and my sister Nicole showed up. I was so excited to see them since I hadn't seen any of my family since Christmas. So I decided since it was after 9:00, I was allowed to have a break and relax for a while. So I opened a large bottle of wine and then accidentally drank it all.

Saturday - I woke up early with a killer headache. Stupid wine! Saturday was the day to move all our furniture. Jen's mom and dad met us at the old house with their trailer. Between Jen's parents, Jen, me, James, Dad, Nicole, Lisa, and Jenni we were able to get everything moved in two trips. Impressive, huh? We took a short break a little after noon to eat some pizza, then we were back to work shuffling boxes around and organizing the kitchen. By the end of the day, pretty much every box on the main level had been unpacked and/or moved to it's proper location. We also got a lot done in the basement! That evening, one of our neighbors came over with her husband and two kids. They introduced themselves and welcomed us to the neighborhood with a plate of (DELICIOUS!) cookies. It was so sweet! Later that night, Braden and Diane were in town, so they came over to look at the house then we all went to Austin's for dinner and drinks.

Sunday - Nicole and Dad left as soon as they got up. Our two big projects for the day were to get food in the fridge and to paint the dreadful pink room. We managed to accomplish both! Pictures to come...when I'm not so tired.

It's Official

We're now homeowners!!!

Royals

James and I got to go to our first two Royals games of the season this past weekend. We had already been planning on going Saturday night for our friend Jenni's birthday (Happy Birthday, Jenni!!!) but Friday night's game was a last minute decision. After work on Friday, our friends Matt and Shannon called us. They said they had two extra (free) tickets for the game and wanted to know if we wanted to go. We figured...why not? What we didn't know at the time, was that the tickets were $100 Diamond Club seats AND it was dollar night. So in addition to having AWESOME seats, our personal waiter, and private bathrooms...we also had $20 each toward our tab. We all drank quite a bit in the parking lot and then continued to stuff ourselves full of beer and hot dogs when we got into the game. By the end of the night, between the four of us, we spent a whopping $20.

Thanks Matt and Shannon!

Nell Hill's

Nell Hill's

I'm looking forward to spending my $200 gift card to this place sometime soon...compliments of my amazing class/parents!

Teacher Appreciation Week

I often complain about all the hard work I do for my students (and their parents) and how it is so rarely noticed or recognized.

However, this week was Teacher Appreciation Week and it reminded me how fortunate I am to teach where I do. Blue Valley definitely has a reputation. They are a district with money. And while that has its ups and its downs, it has been a pleasure to work in such a great district. We have the resources we need to ensure success in our students. We have parents that are involved and eager to volunteer.

Yesterday, I got a gift basket from my class full of student-made cards, gift cards, and office supplies. I was overwhelmed by the generosity of my students and their families. One gift was brought in later in the day, for fear it would break in bottom of a backpack.

I love it!

Let's! Go! Fly! A kite!

Every month, we do a reading incentive for our first graders. Their homework throughout the month is to read and record 15 books in their reading logs. Students who turn in all their reading logs by the end of the month get to participate in a special party. Past reading incentive parties have included: the "tailgating party" in the fall, the "hot chocolate party" in the winter, and of course this month's party was the "kite-flying party".

Today was said kite-flying party and let me just say...short of a thunderstorm, we could not have picked a worse day. I've been checking the forecast all week. Today was supposed to be mid-70s. Perfect, right? Yeah, only the forecast also called for 20-30 mph winds, with gusts up to over 40 mph. My teaching partner (Lisa) and I decided regardless of the wind, we were going to do it today no matter what. Try telling a bunch of 7-year-olds that it's "too windy" to fly kites. It would not be pretty.

So we did it...and we survived. But just barely. Noteworthy events included:

• One of my little girls (we'll call her "V") is tiny and simply adorable. She is seriously the cutest little girl you'll ever see. Anyway, I was talking to her asking her if she was having fun. All of a sudden a heavy gust of wind came and literally blew her over. She was knocked to her feet. I didn't know things like that actually happened.
• I was in the process of untangled yet another kite when I heard one of my girls, "G", screaming bloody murder. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!" I run over to her and ask her what's wrong. She just points to the sky with a look of horror on her face. Her kite was high in the sky....blocks away....just floating away past the neighborhoods. Apparently the string broke and the wind was blowing so hard it just kept going. The funniest part was that there were roofers on one of the houses it went by and just watched as it passed by. Luckily, it didn't hit any one (that I know of).
• "G" had a pretty rough day. In addition to her losing her kite miles away, she also got sliced in the face with a kite string.

This is dangerous business, people!

American Family Insurance

I recently did some "shopping around" for homeowners insurance. Being the nerd that I am, I made a spreadsheet that compared the rates and coverages of the 11 companies I looked into. Since many companies offer a reduced rate if you combine your homeowners and auto insurance, I looked at auto rates too. We are currently insured with Progressive. However, we found that we'd save a ton of money if we switched to American Family.

I'm honestly baffled at the difference in cost. If we were to stay with Progressive for both auto and homeowners, we would pay $984.40 MORE per year.

The moral of the story? Do your research. It may have taken a lot of time for me to figure the numbers and find out which company was best...but I'm thinking the extra $1000/yr in my pocket will make it worth my while.

Garage Sale Madness

Yesterday, James and I got up at 6:35 (yes, on a Saturday), had some breakfast and coffee, and then ventured out for some garage sales. We had a list we compiled from craiglists and basically just made our way around town. We ended up garage saling from 7:30 to 11:30. Pretty impressive, huh? I got a couple sets of Legos for a summer school class that I'm teaching. We also got a set of pots and pans.

But best of all, we found the garage sale of a chef! I was in heaven. The girl was a former owner of Taste, a restaurant in Overland Park. She was moving to Florida and wanted to get rid of everything. She had tons of nice white platters and plates...the types you find in nice restaurants. She was asking for $2/piece. We bought everything (14 pieces) for $20. I'm so excited. They will be perfect for entertaining!

http://www.taste-kc.com/gallery.html

We now have pretty much everything you see in those pictures (and more)...including the super cute paint-palette appetizer platter. Fun!

Housewarming Gift

In the middle of a super stressful week, one of my parent volunteers came into my room carrying this:

It was a housewarming basket full of a myriad of paint supplies (a roller, paint mixers, paint tape, plastic drop cloth), picture hanging hooks, a Better Homes & Gardens Kitchen & Bath magazine, a basil plant, a $25 Home Depot gift card, and some Reese's Pieces (just because she knew I love them). It was SO THOUGHTFUL and seriously made my day. I can't wait to start making our new house "home"!

I'm SERIOUSLY losing my mind!

I don't know what's been wrong with me lately. I'm always somewhat forgetful when it comes to where I left my phone in the house or something like that. But the past couple days...it's just been scary.

Yesterday after work I decided to go to Barnes and Noble to buy the next couple books for our Book Club. I've had a gift card for a while and that was really the main reason for going. Plus, they're currently having their 25% off discount week for educators. So anyway, I went to B&N, found the books I needed, and then checked out. As I was walking out, I thought to myself "Wow, I spent a lot more than I was planning." The whole walk to the car I was trying to figure out why my total was so much. I looked over my receipt and it looked right but still it seemed I just paid more than I should have. I got in the car and after driving for a good 5 minutes or so, I finally realized that I never used my gift card. I'm stupid.

So then, on my way home, I decided to stop at Target to pick up some Pepto for James. I also had a Target gift card, so I figured I could browse around while there. I walk into Target and suddenly couldn't remember why I was there. I started looking around and (of course) got distracted for about an hour then finally realized it was 6:20 and I was supposed to be at my house and ready to be picked up for a birthday dinner by 6:45. So I turn around and nearly walked out of the store without the Pepto. Luckily I remembered right before I left and was able to get it. Oh wait, there's more.

I ended up getting home at like 6:40 and had to change, throw up my hair, and freshen up my make up in 5 minutes. So I was all rushed when Lisa showed up to come get me. We went to dinner at Cheesecake Factory and had a great dinner. I got home around 9:30 and had to make a dessert for my Bunco night. So I started on the recipe only to realize I never put my Cool Whip in the refrigerator to thaw. So I basically made half the recipe and then got up early this morning to finish it with the thawed Cool Whip.

I was so proud of myself this morning when I was ready to walk out the door and for once I wasn't running late. And then I realized I had NO idea where my keys were. I looked for 10 minutes....in my purse (100 times), couch cushions, pretty much everywhere. I finally decided I was going to be way late if I didn't just grab my spare key and go. So I look to the key box on our dining room wall (where I usually keep my spare) and realize it's already been packed away. So now I'm like totally late for work and I'm ripping tape off boxes trying to find my spare. I found the key box but it was empty. Of course. Turns out my spare was on the desk upstairs. I had taken it out of the key box when I packed it up. You know, in case I needed it. In all my rush to find my keys, I ended up leaving my sunglasses there and was without them all day today.

So, needless to say, I had a rough morning and I was really looking forward to our counselor lesson this afternoon because it was time that I could sit at my desk and get some work done (or just relax for a minute). So after specials I took my kids back to the room. We typically teach science right after specials. So when I got back to the room, I started freaking out a bit because I had no plans for what I was going to teach in science. So I had the kids sit down on the carpet and I started to wing it. I get about 2 minutes into my science lesson and it dawns on me....we don't have science today. It's a counselor day! Seriously...LOSING MY MIND!

Then at our PLC meeting after school, I realized that the two personal days I took off for moving into the new house conflict with our field trip to the zoo. So now I have to get that all figured out.

Think that's all the forgetfulness that can possibly happen in one 24-hr period? Think again.

As I was leaving work, I looked for the MILLIONTH time in my purse for my missing keys. Sure enough, they were in there....hiding in some secret pocket I've never used in my life. I went home and told James all about the craziness that is my brain and even made a joke about losing my keys again. Then it was time for me to go to Bunco and.......surprise, surprise....my keys were gone again! I didn't have time to even look for them, so I grabbed the spare and left.

Just now got home from Bunco. James told me to look in my purse for my keys. Low and behold...secret pocket.

Somebody needs to just put me out of my misery.

Must be growing up...

Last night was one of my good friend's birthday. It was a beautiful night so we decided to spend it on the roof of The Well in Waldo. Since I hadn't done it in a while, I offered to drive.

And I'm pleased to say that (for the first time ever), instead of getting drunk and having to get a cab home, I actually stayed sober and was able to drive everyone home at the end of the night. Despite not really drinking, I still had a good time! AND I didn't spend much money nor am I hungover today. Crazy, huh?

More new furniture....

Our new house has a finished basement so we've been keeping our eyes open for some used furniture to put down there. Yesterday I was perusing craigslist and found a nice looking 4 piece set (couch, love seat, chair, and ottoman). It was a neutral color and was priced well. We went and looked at it and decided to buy it. So James got ahold of our friend Nate, who has a truck, and the two of them went and picked it up.

Of course, we don't move for another month so it's currently all crammed in our dining room. It actually takes up a ton of space, so I'm thinking it may end up being our regular living room furniture and the black leather couch and loveseat we have now will end up in the basement.

Anyway, it was exciting to make yet another purchase for our new home.

The Latest House News

In my last post about the house, I mentioned that we had our inspection done and that it went well. That following Monday, our realtor sent a list of things we wanted fix to the sellers. On Thursday we heard back from our realtor. She informed us that the sellers had agreed to fix everything we asked them too. Good news! The even better news was that the sellers have found a house and want to close about a month earlier than we previously agreed on. We originally needed a June closing because of our current lease. We didn't want to have to pay rent and mortgage at the same time. The sellers have offered to pay a month of our rent in order to closer earlier.

This is pretty much the best case scenario for us. We get to move in earlier at no extra cost to us. So we're excited...just hoping everything works out. We'll hopefully find out more tomorrow.

April Fools!

I'm not usually one to get into the pranking that goes with April Fools Day. I guess it just seems like too much effort to come up with something good. Well, this year, I wasn't planning on doing anything...but my students were driving me crazy yesterday. They were all wired and wouldn't listen or follow directions. So I randomly, at last minute, decided to pull one on them. It was at the end of the day. They were in their desks and I sat down on my stool at the front of the room and said: "Boys and girls, I have something I need to tell you. I'm not sure how to say this. You know how Mr. Asher and I bought a house? Well, the people who own that house decided they don't want to sell it to us. So we're not going to be able to buy that house. We were both really sad at first, but it's actually okay because we found a different house and it's even better! There's just one thing...it's in Texas. We're going to be moving next week and today is my last day." I have one of my little girls raise her hand and say, "Will you be able to come back and visit us?" I respond with, "No, I don't think I'll ever be able to come back. You guys will have a sub for the rest of the year. I'm hoping she's not a mean one." At this point I look around the room and I have 22 sets of 7-year-old eyes welling up and I realize I'm a horrible person. "Oh, there's one more thing....April Fools!"

What do teacher's make?

Please take three minutes out of your day to watch this. http://whinewinewhine.tumblr.com/post/4085560480/the-most-aggressive-defense-of-teachers-youll

Inspection

James and I had our home inspection today. Everything went really well. Just a handful of little things....but nothing big and unexpected. It was nice to get to spend the morning looking around our future new home.

While we were there, the seller's realtor came by. Nice guy....who turned out to be from Hillsboro, KS (tiny town 9 miles west of my even tinier town) of all places. We had a fun time teasing each other about the rivalry between Marion and Hillsboro.

Also, while we were there, we got Ding-Dong DITCHED (thank you, Lisa) by one of the neighbor boys. I couldn't help but laugh.

After our inspection, we met up with Jen and Juliana and had lunch at Firehouse Subs. Then we headed to Nebraska Furniture Mart and spent way too much money. However, we now have delivery scheduled for a new king-sized bed (and mattress), two nightstands, a dresser, 2 bar stools for the kitchen island, and a refrigerator on June 6th.

Can't wait!!!

Well, that's good news!

I have a Japanese student this year whose family moved to the US last July. They're great people. Despite her limited English-speaking abilities, the mom is always one of the first people to volunteer to help out in the class. I love her!

I'll be honest, the second I heard about everything going on in Japan, the first thing I thought of was them. I know they have a great deal of friends and family that still live back in Japan. I can't imagine the fear and panic they must have gone through when they heard.

We were on Spring Break at the time all this happened, but today we returned to school. I saw the mom after school in the car line. I told her that I had been thinking of her and her family and asked her if they were all okay. She told me thanks for the kind thoughts and informed me that all her friends and family were safe. Such a blessing!

Our House

Yesterday I was so excited to tell everyone we bought a house that I forgot to disclose any of the details!

It has:

2 stories

4 BR

2.5 BA

2 car garage

Hardwood floors on main level (except in livingroom)

Finished, walkout basement

New stainless steel appliances in the kitchen

Vaulted ceilings

Walk-in closets

HUGE fenced backyard with a deck

It's located at the end of a culdasac in Olathe, around 151st & Black Bob. We can't wait for June 6th to get here. Only 78 days away!!!

Home Sweet Home

Today was a very big day for The Ashers. Today we found our future home. We've been actively looking for about a month. We've seen 19 houses...some of which we liked, some of which we didn't.

Last week, we thought we had found "The One". We made an offer but the seller wouldn't come down from his original asking price. We felt it was priced too high and had to walk away. I was so bummed out at that time. Now I know that house wasn't our home. I thought it could be. But today, when we saw this house...


...we knew. We had 2 more houses to look at after we saw this one and we were both so distracted when we looked at those 2 other houses because both of us had our hearts on this one. So, we sat down with our FABULOUS realtor and made an offer. We only had to sit by the phone for about 2 hours before she called us back with a counter offer. We went back and forth a couple times, as you do, but the end result was us agreeing to their final offer. We still have to complete the rest of the paperwork and do our inspection. But assuming that all goes well, we will close on June 6th! We could not be happier!

Hunger Games Movie

For those of you who are interested:

http://www.pinkisthenewblog.com/2011/03/jennifer-lawrence-has-been-cast-as-katniss-everdeen-in-the-hunger-games/

"Dating" again

In my last post, I compared the emotions I was going through from losing our house to that of a break-up. We were flying high when we put down our offer. It was like the butterflies you feel in your stomach at the beginning stages of a relationship. Then there was the sitting by the phone...waiting. Let's be honest, every girl has found herself in that position. And to make matters worse, last night I saw that the house we had put an offer on has now sold. It was like seeing your ex with another girl.

But, you know what? I'm over it. Really! Now, less than a week later...I feel like I'm ready to "date" again. Normally, the healing process would take longer, but I decided I'm done moping around, feeling sorry for myself. People have kept telling us "something better is out there". I'm finally at a place where I can believe that. Saturday morning, James and I are scheduled to see 5 new houses. I'm feeling very optimistic. I really think it's possible that we might see "The One" that morning.

So yeah, I'm pretty excited...but at the same time, I'm trying not to get my hopes up. Prince Charming may not reveal himself quite yet.

Broken Hearts

Everyone is saying right now "It's a buyer's market" when it comes to real estate. If this is the case, why are we currently experiencing the heartbreak we're going through?

Last week on Tuesday we went and looked at five houses with our realtor. The previous week she had taken us out to see seven houses. Out of those seven, there were two we liked but weren't sold on. When we went last Tuesday, once again there were two we liked....one of which we both REALLY liked.

It was just...cute. It had an adorable front porch and it just seemed to have everything we wanted in a house: 4 bedrooms (though one was smaller and in the basement), a good sized FENCED in yard with a deck, a kitchen with granite countertops, a great master with a big master with his and hers closets, master bath complete with whirlpool tub, and a spectacular finished basement that had a really nice wet bar...perfect for entertaining. It was in a great neighborhood. Close to my work. The only real downside was that it was 16 years old and still had its original wood shake roof. So we had decided we liked it but were going to have to negotiate the roof situation with the seller. Our realtor notified the seller that we were interested and informed his realtor that we wouldn't be able to close until June because of our current lease. His realtor said she'd talk to him about doing a 90 day closing but that she thought he'd be okay with it. Things seemed to be going so perfectly.

Wednesday, James found another house online...a foreclosure that we wanted to take a look at before our realtor left town for vacation on Thursday. So she called to make an appointment to show it only to find out it sold earlier that day. She also informed us that two of the other houses we'd been interested in had sold as well. It seemed like things were going fast and we decided to take quick action on the house we'd seen the day before. She told us, if we wanted to, we could go ahead and put an offer on that house. It seemed so soon but we both loved the house and knew we'd be heartbroken if someone else got to it before we could.

So, our realtor met up with us...we went to Mi Ranchito and sat for a couple hours and made an offer on the house. James and I were both giddy with excitement. The next day I sat by my phone all day waiting for "the call" from our realtor. She called us that night and informed us that the seller had countered with an agreement to allow for a 90 day closing, pay closing costs, and provide a one-year warranty. He did not, however, offer to come down on the original asking price. As much as we loved this house, it was definitely priced too high. Our realtor pulled up a bunch of comps and he was asking much more for the house than it's currently worth. The seller provided us with an appraisal that stated the house was worth 10K more than he was asking. However, the appraisal was over 2 years old and thus didn't really prove anything. From the research we've done, most houses have gone down 15-20K just in the past year...so that house definitely wasn't worth what it was 2 years ago. We countered his counter offer and again waited by the phone the rest of the day.

Friday night, around 8:00, our realtor called us with the news. The seller turned down our offer, said there was nothing wrong with the roof and would not agree to replace it, and said he still was not willing to come down in price at all. So, as sad as we were to do it, we had to walk away. Everyone keeps saying "it wasn't meant to be" and that "a better house will come up". But right now, I feel like someone just broke up with me. Sure there are "better fish in the sea" but we both really liked this fish.

House Hunt

We recently started looking at houses and I've been meaning to blog about how it's been going. Needless to say, work (and everything else) has been exhausting so I just haven't had the energy. So this won't be a detailed recap on how it's all going. Just short and sweet. Enough to let you all know that:

We put an offer on a house tonight!!!



More details to come.

Only in 1st Grade...

Today I was teaching reading to my kids on the carpet. We were adding sight words to our Word Wall and the word we were adding was door. The kids were trying to guess what word I had in my hand. So I gave them a clue. The clue I gave was: "This word rhymes with more".

The first guess: "Whore?"

The funny thing is...the kid had no clue what the word meant and neither did any of the other kids. They are 6 and 7 years old, after all. So I quickly said "That's not it, any other guesses?" (while silently laughing in my head).

It gets better.

The next guess was one of my ESOL students. She doesn't speak much English but she loves to participate so her hand is always up. I called on her and she answered...

"Octopus!"

Only in 1st grade...

Store Week

Today was the end of "The Best Week of the Year" in first grade. Today was the conclusion to our store unit. Despite the huge amount of work and stress that go into this unit of study, it's (hands down) my favorite to teach. Our kids LOVE it and they learn so much!

Here's what the week looked like:

Tuesday: Introduction Day

• Review money (something we've worked on the past couple weeks)
• Discuss goods and services and brainstorm list of goods and services in the community
• Explain how the store will work
• Brainstorm a list possible stores that could be run by students on "store day"
• Students choose what good or service they'd like to do (I have students write down their top 3 choices and then I choose one of their choices for them so we don't have too many of one shop)
• After figuring partner groups, let students know which store they will be doing
• Have them make a list of supplies they will need to make their good or provide their service

Wednesday: Creation Day

• With the help of parent volunteers (couldn't do it without them), students make their goods. I provide a myriad of craft supplies and ask parents to bring in hot glue guns if they have them. Sometimes kids bring things from home.
• Students who will be providing a service use this time to make a brochure
• Make a poster to display in front of their shop including the name of their shop, a picture of their product, and price (anywhere between 5 and 30 cents)
• Write a script for a commercial
• Practice script
• Decorate banks (made from coffee tins, oat canisters, etc)

Thursday: Finishing Touches Day

• Guest speaker - We had a parent from our school who recently opened up a restaurant. She came and spoke to the kids about the process.
• Record commercials - We don't actually video tape the kids. Instead, we use a program called "Photostory". A picture of the kids' poster is displayed with they record their voices. The result is basically a slideshow with the kids' voices talking about their product.
• Watch other class' commercials and write a journal entry about what they want to buy on store day.

Friday: Store Day

• Two of the 1st grade classes set up their shops out in the pod.
• The other two classes come and shop. They each bring in $1 in the form of 5 dimes and 10 nickels. They are encouraged to spend all their money.
• After the first group finishes shopping, they set up their shops and the other 2 classes get to come spend their money.
• Count money
• Decide how to use the profit. We donate our money to the KC Zoo. We adopt an animal which we go see when we take our field trip in the spring.

This is something we've done for the past three years. It's something I'm quite proud of, as I helped come up with the idea and put it all into place.

Some popular shops this year:

• Pet rocks (rocks decorated with googley eyes, paint, pipe cleaners, etc)
• Stress balls (made with flour-filled balloons)
• Fancy pencils (decorated with pipe cleaners, ribbon, bells, etc)
• Origami
• Jewelry
• Popcorn stand

Again...a lot of work for the teachers, but it's SO worth it!

His. Mine. Ours.

I'll be honest...the hubby and I watch a lot of TV. Not to say that we don't do a lot of other (more productive) things too, but let's just say our DVR gets a lot of use. I've come to notice the shows we watch fit into 5 different categories:

1. Shows I watch that he hates - Gossip Girl, anything with the Kardashians


2. Shows he watches that I hate - UFC, anything on the History Channel (Modern Marvels, How It's Made, etc.), non-KSU sports (excluding the Chiefs)


3. Shows I watch that he doesn't particularly like nor dislike - Biggest Loser, Glee, Grey's Anatomy, Chelsea Lately


4. Shows he watches that I don't particularly like nor dislike - American Pickers, Pawn Stars, World Series of Poker, The Daily Show, Tosh.O


5. Shows we both like to watch - Jeopardy, The Office (kind of), Chuck, Mad Men, Dexter, True Blood, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Modern Family, K-state sports

I'm sure there are more, but I just now realized that I have resorted to blogging about TV.

A Very Special Day

Over six years ago (maybe seven) I was living in Manhattan. I was an elementary ed major and thus worked at Northview Elementary as a lunchroom/recess supervisor and a staff member of the after-school program there. I met some great friends through that job, one being my friend Kara. Kara and I have had many fun shared memories with one another. We've laughed together. We've cried together. We've worked out together. We've drank (a lot) together. College simply would not have been the same without here.

Around this time (6 years ago), I invited Kara over to a BBQ at "The Boys' House" (otherwise known as James' friends). I had enjoyed spending time with James' friends....they were all fun guys. However, I thought that particular night would be more fun with some estrogen. So Kara came along with me. She met Ben that night. The two of them hit it off immediately and quickly made plans to get together the next night...and the next night...and the next night.

In December of 2008, shortly after James and I announced our engagement, we had the honor of attending Ben and Kara's wedding in South Carolina where they both now live. It was a beautiful occasion and it was kind of fun to think that we were the ones who introduced them.

Today marks a very special day for both Ben and Kara. Today they became parents to a beautiful baby boy, Jackson Paul. Jackson is 9 lbs 5 oz and 20 inches long. Big boy! I wish SO badly that I could be there!

Happy Birthday, Jackson! I can't wait to meet you!

A Beautiful Day

The weather was beautiful this weekend. I must admit, Saturday the hubby and I were both kind of lazy. We pretty much sat around the house all day looking real estate online then spent the evening playing poker with some friends. But yesterday, we took full advantage of the gorgeous weather. We randomly decided to go to The Legends to do some shopping (with our eyes, not our wallets). We spent a couple hours at Nebraska Furniture Mart...looking for items that may look nice in our future home. Then we walked around outside a bit. I made him suffer for only a short while so I could find a new pair of jeans then we headed home. Despite it almost being dark, we took the dog on a nice long walk. At that point, the weather was cool but it felt perfect with a hoodie on.

I could get used to this.

Of course today...it's 31 degrees. No, thank you.

Happy Valentine's Day to Me!!!

84-68...'nough said.

Go Cats!!!

Life is good today!

Yesterday goes down in history as the most worthless day of my life. Friday night I drank WAY too much and I spent my entire day yesterday suffering because of it. I was either in bed or on my couch 90% of the day and logged like 10 hours of television. Pretty lame. However, my husband DID win $400 in a poker tournament, so I guess the day wasn't a complete bust.

Despite my worthlessness yesterday, I redeemed myself today. I woke up this morning and made biscuits and gravy for my husband. We relaxed for a while then I went up to the school for a bit to get my kiddos' Valentine gifts ready. When I got back, I was so excited about the beautiful weather that I insisted the hubby, dog, and I go on a walk. We walked until poor Kahlua couldn't go any longer. When we got back we played a very competitive game of Big Buck Hunt and gave the dog a bath (not fun...but much needed). Afterwards we decided our 40 minute walk wasn't enough and we went to the gym. I had a great work out at the gym and felt great as we were leaving. On our way home, we started discussing what we wanted to do for dinner. We realized a quick trip to the grocery store was in order. So I dropped James off so he could hop in the shower and I went to the store and spent $40 on produce. On my drive home, I decided I was going to make salmon lettuce wraps...something I've never made before. So I did what everyone else does when they have no clue how to make something...I made it up as went along. AND...they turned out to be amazing! Yay! I concluded my night by taking a way-too-long hot shower and then watching the Grammy performances. They had some really good ones this year (LOVED Mumford & Sons)!

And that is that. Time for bed, kids!

Valentine's Dinner

Since Valentine's Day is on a Monday this year, and will interfere with our weekly poker plans (and the KU/K-State game), the hubby and I are celebrating this evening. Tonight we are going to dinner at the new(ish) La Bodega in Leawood. I've heard great things about the La Bodega on Southwest Blvd. but I've never been. Recently I saw that they got another one in Leawood...much closer to us. AND it's in the building where J.P. Wine Bar used to be, which is where James and I ate for Valentine's last year. I'm very excited for lots of sangria and tapas!

I'll also get to cross off another "Top 100 KC Restaurant".

Suffering Sinuses

I hate winter for a variety of reasons:

1. I don't like being cold.
2. Anything more than 3 days of snow on the ground in a year's period of time is too much.
3. I can't exercise outdoors.
4. Chronic sinusitis.

Chronic sinusitis: a condition in which the cavities around nasal passages (sinuses) become inflamed and swollen. Chronic sinusitis lasts 12 weeks or longer despite treatment attempts.

For the last few years I've noticed that I'm sick virtually all winter long. Usually, it starts around October or November and lasts until February or March. I'd go to the doctor, get diagnosed with a sinus infection and start of round of antiobiotics...but they would never really help. It's already tough to get out of the bed in the morning when it's cold and dreary but it is so much harder when you wake up every morning feeling miserable. However, that's become a sad reality of my life these days. I have not had one morning out of the past three months that I've woken up feeling normal. Every morning I feel miserable: stuffy nose, headache, the feeling that my face is going to explode. I'd had occasional toothaches lately too. I just recently discovered this is also a symptom of chronic sinusitis.

People have offered suggestions for treatment and remedies, but nothing I've tried has seemed to work. I've tried:

• antiobiotics
• allergic mediation (tried Allegra D and Zertec)
• over-the-counter drugs
• nasal sprays
• Neti pot (irrigation system)
• humidifier

Though, I'm sure these things have probably helped to a degree, none of them have made me "feel better". I've been feeling really discouraged at this point. I'm thinking the next step for me may be making an appointment with an allergist to find out if there is a specific allergy issue I'm facing that's causing my problems.

Have you or someone you know had similar sinus problems? What's worked?

Thin Mints

I got a call earlier this evening from my 8 year old niece. She called from my sister's cell phone and I was eating dinner at the time, so I didn't answer. Then James' phone rang and I got kind of worried. Anytime someone calls both our phones I assume it's bad news.

So I answered James phone and it was Maddie. She reprimanded me for not answering my phone then asked me if I wanted to buy girl scout cookies from her. I told her we'd buy a box of Thin Mints. She replied with "That's it?" I told her, "Yes, we're on a diet". And she replied with "But you're not fat." So then I told her we didn't have much money because we're saving to buy a house. She squealed (literally) with delight over this statement. Who would've thought an 8 year old would be so excited about real estate? Then she says "So you're going to have babies soon!?!"

Too funny.

Favorite Books

I'm currently reading "The Art of Racing in the Rain." This is a book told from the perspective of a dog. Though many would find this idea silly, this book is BEAUTIFULLY written and has just wrenched at my heart. I'm about 2/3 of the way done and plan on finishing the book later this afternoon. However, from where I'm at in the book right now, I think I can probably say this book may end up on my list of favorite books.

Among that list (in no particular order) are these books:

• Stuck in Neutral - by Terry Trueman
• A Time to Kill - John Grisham
• Amazing Gracie - Dan Dye & Mark Beckloff
• Marley and Me - Josh Groban
• Sharp Objects - by Gillian Flynn
• Glass Castle - by Jeannette Walls
• The Kite Runner - by Khaled Hosseini
• Water for Elephants - by Sara Gruen
• The Time Traveler's Wife - by Audrey Niffenegger
• The Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
• The Hunger Games Trilogy - by Suzanne Collins
• The Help - by Katherine Sockett

Being (positively) recognized is important...even when you're 27

As a teacher, I am constantly telling kids how smart, fast, or creative they are. Kids love to feel like they are awesome. If they do something well, they want someone to be there to see it...someone to tell them how proud they are of them.

Adults really aren't much different. We crave praise just as much as those 6-year-olds do. However, with most jobs, you probably don't get recognized unless you've screwed up. How often does someone come up to you and say "You're an amazing (insert job title here)"? It just doesn't happen very often.

For the past 4 weeks I've had a practicum student (we'll call her "D") in my classroom. She's on her way to becoming a teacher and spends everyday during our reading block in my classroom observing and helping out. Yesterday she had to teach a lesson on her own. Her university supervisor came to observe her lesson. This superviser lady ("Dr. M") was totally my number one fan. She came up to me before the lesson and introduced herself and said she thought I would've been older. When I asked her what she meant by that, she said that from reading D's daily journal entries, she was really impressed with the things going on in my classroom and that she just assumed I was a veteran teacher who'd been in the classroom for 20 years. "You're doing all the things we're teaching our incoming teachers to do!" She then asked me if she could add my name to their list of mentor teachers who help other students in the MNU program.

Right before she left my room, Dr. M said "I just wish I could spend all day in here watching you!" And honestly, it made my day. It made it a little easier to stay an hour past my contract time...knowing that someone, even for just a moment, recognized the hard work I put into my teaching.

Thanks, Dr. M!

Scariest thing ever...to a dog

I'll be honest, I haven't walked my dog in almost a month. I know this makes me sound like a horrible pet owner, but really...my dog is like a cat. She does not have a lot of energy and I truly believe she is content laying on the couch all day long 7 days a week. She also hates extreme heat and the extreme cold.

Of course, on a nice day she loves romping around outside, but we haven't exactly had a "nice day" in quite a long while. So yesterday, it got up to 55 and quite a bit of the snow melted. So the hubby and I took Kahlua out for a long overdue walk. She seemed to enjoy herself...until we encountered a snowman. Instantly, the hair on her back stood straight up. She cowered away at first, then slowly approached it growling and showing her teeth. Then, as if the snowman jumped at her, she yelped and barked and ran in the opposite direction.

Yes, my dog is a scaredy cat. We've seen a similar effect with scarecrows.

3rd Year Anniversary of Book Club

Tonight we had our 3 year anniversary of book club. This just makes me smile. My book club is seriously one of my favorite things that I do. Combine great food, wine, books, and a fabulous group of girlfriends and how much better can it get?

Our get-together tonight was particularly special because one of our group members brought her 2 week old son. Noah was definitely the star of the night. We all fought about whose turn it was to hold him next. He did very well with a room full of women.

Other topics of discussion tonight included stories about "the drunkest" we've ever been, our favorite book club book ever, gory details about what really happens when you have a baby, bachelorette party plans, and some other things I dare not mention (or I'd have to kill you).

All in all, it was a great night.

Speaking of five year olds...

This is funny...

A chart made by a 5-yr-old...rating her friends + Jesus.

Jesus always seems to win such competitions.

My 5 year old niece is hilarious...

Comment made my our niece last night:


"Look guys, I can jump with no legs!"


(tries to jump with no legs)


"Nevermind."

Why?

Questions I often ask myself about my dog:

• When she eats, why does she get a mouthful of food, take it to the diningroom, spit it out, and then eat it?
• Why does she have to walk around in circles before she goes #2?
• Why does her tail wag furiously whenever she's nervous?
• Why does she HAVE to be under blankets when she sleeps (even in the summer)?
• Why does she get SO mad at me when I talk on the phone?

And are these things that all dogs do? Or is mine just special?

Speaking of cowboy boots...

The hubby bought me these yesterday for my birthday!!!

I hope...

I hope that one day if I have a little boy that he insists on wearing cowboy boots all day everyday...even with his pajamas.

And if I have a little girl, I hope my little princess parades around the house in a tutu.

(photo by photographer/friend, Jeni Turner...check her out!)

Note to Gold's Gym

Dear Gold's Gym,

It was good seeing you today. It's been a long time. Hopefully we'll see other again soon!

Love,
Becky

Don't be mean, James!

Okay, so I'll admit I've been a little spacey lately. I believe it's due to back-to-work stress combined with a miserable 3 months of severe sinus issues. But anyway, I told my husband a story today about something that happened to me the other day and he replied with:

"I'm concerned that all the sense you once had has seeped out of your ears. I feel like I should duct tape your ears shut."

He's going to feel bad when he finds out I have sinus cancer and/or chronic fluid in my ears.

Yum...

I made this last night. Es muy delicioso.

Chicken Tortilla Soup


Try it.