A Year in the Life of Lolo

So, as I am missing my sweet little kitty, I have decided to show you a year in her life!  She has traveled from Cape Girardeau to St. Louis several times.  She has lived through an 18 hour drive to Palm Bay, Florida and the whole moving process.  She has enjoyed exploring her new home.  And, above all, she has loved being cute!!!  Enjoy!

Lolo playing hide and seek in the sink and watching "It's Me or the Dog"...

...playing on the couch...

...lounging in her basket...

...always looking out the windows...

...digging in momma's purse...

...sleeping on her favorite bag...

...once again, on her favorite bag...

...soooooo tired...

...watching the birds...

...can't you tell that this is totally her favorite bag?!...

...moving time...

...sooooo tired...

...digging in the couch...

...sleeping on top of the couch...

...napping in the Yahtzee box...

Lolo has had a busy year!  Being a cute kitty is tough work!  I can't wait to see my little girl again!!!

Delectable!

So, I'm going to attack my to do blogging list a little out of order!  I cannot resist posting the recipe for the most delicious apple scones ever!  Seriously, they are so good, I made them twice in a week!  Both times, I decided to make them for dessert one night, and then we had the leftovers for breakfast the next morning.  They're great for a treat or a meal!  Since it was just Thomas and me, I halved the recipe, and it was a perfect amount.  I hope you enjoy!  This picture is also from the website because we kept eating ours before I could remember to take a picture!  Yes, they're that good!

(The recipe is from Midwest Living, however, I made a few tweaks from the recipe you'll see on their site.)

Apple Scones

Yield: 15 scones  

Prep: 30 mins Bake: 15 mins to 17 mins at 375°F Cool: 5 mins

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon apple pie spice or ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 1 cup finely chopped tart apple, such as Braeburn, Jonagold or Jonathan - I used Fuji, and they were delicious
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 1 egg yolk, beaten
• 1 tablespoon whipping cream
• 16 - 18 thin slices of unpeeled apple
• Coarse sugar or granulated sugar

Directions

1. Line an extra-large baking sheet with parchment paper or foil; set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, the 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, apple pie spice and salt. Cut in cold butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the 1 cup finely chopped apple. Make a well in center of flour mixture.
2. In a small bowl, combine the 2 eggs and 3/4 cup whipping cream. Using a fork, stir egg mixture into flour mixture; stir until just moistened. (Stir as little as possible or the finished scones will become really crumbly.  They will still taste the same, but they're much harder to eat when they're falling apart.)  Dough will be thick. Using a 1/4-cup ice cream scoop or measuring cup, scoop dough into mounds and place on prepared baking sheet. Don't flatten.
3. In a small bowl, combine the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon whipping cream. Brush some of the mixture over the top of the dough mounds. Place an apple slice on top of each dough mound, pressing down until about 1-inch thick. Brush with remaining egg yolk/whipping cream mixture; sprinkle with additional sugar.  (I sprinkled them with a little cinnamon too because I'm obsessed with cinnamon!)
4. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 15 to 17 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on baking sheet on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove scones from baking sheet. Cool slightly. Serve warm with butter and honey. Makes 15 scones.

I hope you enjoy Christmas with your family!  I know I'm loving mine! 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!

Table of Contents

I have had a wonderful past few days but obviously I've been a little short on time to blog.  So, I guess I will have to try and catch up while I'm off school for the holidays!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I officially made it through my first semester of teaching!  Hallelujah!  So, here are some things that are on my blogging agenda:

1. Photos of the scarf you saw a sneak peek of like forever ago.
2. Photos of the other scarf I've made since then!
3. A recipe for the BEST apple scones.  I can't honestly say that I've ever had apple scones before I made these, but seriously, nothing else will ever live up to these!
4. An update on movies!  Yay!

So, that's enough to keep me busy for a little while.  There's no time now because Thomas and I are getting ready to head back to St. Louis for a couple of days!  It will be the first time in six months that we've seen our parents.  (And that's a really long time for us.)  So, we're excited.

Goodbye beautiful Florida weather.  I will miss you every moment that I'm gone...  :(

2 Down, 1 To Go

Midterms, that is...  You know, I'm pretty sure writing finals for students to take is much more stressful than actually taking them!  I mean, I have to sit down and write all 100 questions from scratch.  AND I have to come up with all the wrong multiple choice answers too.  That's really challenging.  And SUPER time consuming.  So, I've got World History and French 1 finished, and I'm powering through French 2.  Not to mention the fact that I still have to write study guides too!  Yikes.  I am so excited for finals week because its going to be a piece of cake once it comes, but my brain may run away before I get to that point!

On the weaving end though, I have taken some time away from working (which is always welcome, but still feels like a mistake considering how far behind I get) to work on my latest project.  Its coming along really nicely.  I absolutely love the color and feel of the yarn I'm using.  However, I don't have any updated pictures because it looks pretty much the same with the pattern I'm doing.  I do love the was the Leno Lace is working in.  I can't wait to get it off the loom and see how it looks then.

Well, its a kind of dreary weekend here in Florida.  It's been raining off and on, but the tempurature's nice.  So, Lo and I are sitting on the covered porch watching the rain fall while I make up wrong answers to French questions!

7 DAYS OF SCHOOL TO GO!!!

Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down

So... I only went to school for a half day today... THUMBS UP!
The reason was because I had to go to the dentist... THUMBS DOWN.

I'm blogging right now... Thumbs up.
When I actually sat down to clean off my desk... Thumbs down.

I started a new weaving project the other night... Thumbs way up!
And got absolutely no work done that night... Thumbs down.

I really like the weaving design of this new project... Thumbs up.

The pictures just don't do it justice... Thumbs down.

Only 8 school days until Christmas break... Thumbs up!
Still 8 school days until Christmas break... Thumbs down.

:)  (If that wasn't random enough for you, then I don't know what you want from me.)    ;)

Endings...Bittersweet

Endings are a very bittersweet subject for me.  On one hand you have the night falling on a perfect day and the next day is Monday.  The final and perfect scene of the best movie in the world.  Pulling into the parking lot at work in the morning when you were secretly hoping the drive would go on forever.  The moment when the screen goes black and "LOST" appears at the end of every single episode except the very last one.  The last page of The Chronicles of Narnia which almost always makes me cry.  Because on one hand, you have the close of something so wonderful that it cannot possibly be topped by whatever happens to be coming next and you so wish it could just go on forever, never ending.

However, you also have the other side.  When the lights dim and a hush comes into the theater; the wait is over; the movie begins.  Pulling into the parking lot of your hotel on the beach for vacation after 20 hours of driving.  The final bell at school on a Friday.  Turning in the last assignment for an ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) course that has basically been the bane of your existence for three months.  :)

Yes!  I'm pretty sure I never blogged about my ESOL course because I just hated it so much.  Every teacher in Florida has to take one of these classes in order to be officially certified, and it is awful!  Especially as a first year teacher when I'm barely able to keep my head above water anyway.  But, this post is not a complaint, it is a celebration!  I turned in my final assignment super late last night, and it was a momentous and joyous ending!!!  Yay!!!

So today, Thomas and I (mostly I) are baking some Christmas goodies for a Christmas party tonight.  And I just love baking!!!  So, I'm really excited even though I'm pretty sure Thomas is dreading it more than not.  The only sad thing is that we don't have any Christmas decorations.  Somehow, they all got left at Thomas' parents' house when we moved.  I'm trying to put on a happy face about it, but its really killing me.  I mean, this is our first Christmas in Florida; its 75 degrees outside so it doesn't really feel like Christmas is coming (though I'm not complaining about the warm weather).  And I'm feeling like a scrooge this year anyway because I'm busier than I ever have been and feel like I'm never going to make it to Christmas.  And it's just one more thing that we don't have any Christmas decorations.  :(

Anyway, I get to spend the day with my husband and do some festive baking.  So there are a lot of things to be thankful for!  :)

Kerfuffles

That's the word of the day... kerfuffle.  It means "a disturbance", or so Merriam-Webster claims.

I haven't had any major kerfuffles in my day, just one of those days where everything is not so great.  However, I really don't want to write a mopey post, so on to more interesting information!

CHRISTMAS BREAK IS IN 15 SCHOOL DAYS!!!!!!!  I can hardly wait.  And then... We'll be back in St. Louis to visit our families for Christmas the day after that!  Yay!!!  I'm so excited!  I am almost done with everything that I have to do to finish up the school year!  Hallelujah!

Movie Alert:::  Thomas and I watched "Crazy, Stupid, Love" this weekend.  It was one of those that I really did want to see when it was in theaters, but Thomas didn't want to see it that bad, and it just sort of fell through the cracks.  Well, anyway, it. was. HILARIOUS.  Parts of it were a little slow, I'll admit, but there were also parts when I was laughing out loud, with tears welling up in my eyes because it was so funny!  And yes, it is partially about a guy who picks up women for a living, but it was (very) surprisingly clean!  (Still definitely PG-13 though)  I LOVED it.  I would recommend it to just about anyone.  I'm almost debating running out to the car and grabbing it so I can watch it again.  HILARIOUS!  Watch it!

Back to work...  Kerfuffle.

Buried Alive! AAAHHHHH!!!

Well, right now, I could give you such an earful (*eyeful, really) of how I'm feeling.  But, to avoid causing you to never read this blog again, I will sum it up in a few words...  Downtrodden.  Frustrated.  Helpless.  Insecure.  And tired... so very tired.

Anyway, Thanksgiving is quickly approaching (thank goodness!)  And we have what seems like a wonderful weekend planned!  You may not know, but Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.  In high school, I just couldn't get over the fact that Thanksgiving was about nothing other than spending quality time with family.  I loved it!  A whole weekend of sitting around the kitchen table eating and playing board games.  Well, this year will be the first year that I will not spend Thanksgiving lunch with my family.  I am incredibly sad about this, because its the first real holiday that I have ever spent without my parents.  However, God has blessed us with some friends to spend the day with since our families are days away. 

So, here's to putting the very first turkey in the oven, to fixing my own stuffing and deviled eggs, to sharing good times with friends.  (We're also planning on going to the beach Thanksgiving Day, so I'm pretty sure that can make anything better!)

There are so many things to be thankful for, even in the hard times.  So, as we approach Thanksgiving, don't forget to give thanks.

Awww.... wasn't that a sappy post!  I think it needs a movie quote...  "If there was one human who could lead them against Hyperion, it would be Theseus."  "I have faith in you.  Prove me right!"  ~Both said by Zeus from "Immortals"  (It was awesome!!!)

Do You See What I See?

An empty loom!!!!!!  Yay!  So that must mean that I finally finished weaving my latest project!  Yay!!!

So, its not finished yet.  It's been off the loom just long enough for me to take pictures and start blogging!  But, that means I'm on the home stretch!  Here's a pic!

Yeah.  That's all I have for now.

Go Ahead, Dance Like an Idiot

Yeah.  I said it, I'm crazy.  So I've had this song stuck in my head all day.  And by all day, I mean, I heard it on the radio on the way into work this morning (at 7:00am), and every single moment that my mind has had to space out today, I have mysteriously found myself whistling and humming it...  I even had to work really, really hard to not break out dancing when walking around at school.  I'm sure that would go over really well with the administration...  And guess what, its one of those songs where I know about three words and can only hum the chorus, so that's been it all day.  So, by 8:00pm when I get home, you'd think I'd be sick of it because I've been humming the same four lines and three words all day, but what do I do?  ...  I, instead, choose to get on Napster, look it up, and also find the lyrics online and listen to it 18 more times because now that's really the only song I want to listen to...  wah wah.  I'm a nut job.  Wanna know what makes it even crazier though?!  The song... yeah... its "Moves Like Jagger" by Maroon 5.  Wah wah.  Anyway, I also just tried to go to youtube to watch the music video (which is also totally weird), and this is what youtube gave me... um...ok?

Cool... thanks?  Lol.

Can I also say that I kind of love how dancing like an idiot is kind of the style right now.  It cracks me up, because you can NOT be in a bad mood while you're dancing like a fool!  So, here's your task tonight:  I challenge you to try to be in a bad mood while you dance as crazy as you can.  Here's a song for you to try it to:

:)))

Stuff and Stuff

So!  Guess what?!  I wove this weekend!!!  Yay!  However, there's not really much to see in that department because it looks about the same as it did when I started, there's just more done.

However, Thomas and I went to the Art of Sand Festival in Viera on Sunday afternoon.  And it was a good way to spend part of the afternoon.  There were sand sculptures made by artists from all over the world, so there was a lot of different art.  Here are some pics!

 Yay fun!  So, anyway, its Monday, so I should actually be working right now.  So... I guess I should get back to that!

Something Relating to Weaving... FINALLY!

So, this weekend I had my first full weekend off in a long time!  Yay!  So, Friday, after work I ran up to Cocoa and Merritt Island to scope out some yarn stores!  And I did not come home disappointed!  Here are the delights of my day!

 

First, I stopped by Knit and Stitch in Cocoa to check out their selection, and you can tell from their webiste, the tiny little store has yarn EVERYWHERE!  Floor to ceiling, wall to wall.  It was overwhelming considering that I have not even thought about my next project since I can't seem to get anywhere on my current one!  But I got the great yarns above there.  They are 100% sugar cane and unbelievably soft!  I've never worked with sugar cane before, so I'm excited to try it out!  I'm thinking about some type of lace pattern with these...

 Then I went on up to Seaside Stitching in Merritt Island for some Conjoined Creations yarn.  Since I have begun weaving, Conjoined Creations soysilk yarns have, by far, been my favorite to work with.  So, since Seaside Stitching carries it, there was no way I could pass it up!  Turns out, the owner can order pretty much whatever I want from the company, so I'm super excited to work with her once I get some free time!  (Try next summer!)  Anyway, I picked up the yarn above because I just couldn't resist the vibrant colors!  It's a nylon and cotton blend that is incredibly shiny and silky, so I'm excited to try something out with that too!

All in all, it was a wonderful shopping excursion... now if only I had time to weave!  I guess that's a little too much to hope for!  :)

Movie Update:  So, Thomas and I have seen a couple of movies lately, even though the pickings at the theater have been pretty slim...  So, a couple of weeks ago, we saw "Killer Elite", and it was ok.  A little slow moving for a Jason Statham movie; the action parts were good, but they were just few and far between.  Though, Clive Owen with a mustache is certainly a sight to see!  :)  Then, last weekend we saw "Real Steel", and we loved it!  It was funny, entertaining, action-packed, and heart-warming.  We definitely left the theater smiling!  Here are a couple of movies that we're looking forward to (you can check them out, watch trailers, and everything on www.imdb.com):

• The Three Musketeers
• Immortals
• Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
• Mission Impossible 3: Ghost Protocol

And last of all, I would like to end on a quote that I heard on NCIS yesterday afternoon.  It was said by Tony DiNozzo, and it was probably the best relationship advice you will ever get from his character.  He says it to his girlfriend, Jeanne, when she asks why he's waited so long to take their relationship to the next level (aka: sleeping together), and he tells her its because he's looking for something more in a relationship.  "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got." ~Tony DiNozzo from NCIS

When I Really Should be Working...

So, I've had a crappy day.  Nothing went seriously wrong, nobody died, no big blowouts, it was just crappy in a lot of little ways.  A:  We had school.  I mean, come on!  We got redonculously bad weather all weekend (don't even get me started on my weekend!), but then Monday comes, and *poof* GORGEOUS!  Boo!!!  B:  I'm so overwhelmed right now that I feel like I'm holding back tears every moment of every day.  During my planning today, I just sat in my room and stared at nothing.  C:  I slammed my hand in the car door this afternoon.  Yeah.  But nothing's broken, it just hurts like no other.  Awesome.

I know that this entire adventure is just that: an adventure.  And everything is such a blessing from God.  But, right now, it feels like a trial disguised as a blessing.  On the outside, it looks beautiful, wonderful, exciting.  But step inside the bubble, and *bam* hurricane!

If you couldn't tell, I did NOT get my to do list from over a week ago finished, and so the loom has gone untouched for yet another week.  However, I do have Friday night and Saturday off this week (I don't even know what that feels like anymore!), so I'd really love to check out some of the yarn shops in the area.  I know there are a couple.  That is, of course, if the hubs wouldn't mind letting me have the air-conditioned car on Saturday!  ;)  So, maybe, just maybe, this weekend, I will have a post that actually pertains to weaving.

Well, since this entire time, I should have actually been working, I should probably get going.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."  ~Matthew 11:28

Superwoman

Well, it's Saturday again, which usually means I'm in for another weepy blog post.  However, since the hubby is not up yet.. slacker :)... I thought I would blog now, before the day could get all mushy and philosophical!  So... what's on the blog menu for today?  I have a big long to-do list that I'm dying to get done because I REALLY REALLY want to weave.  You know, work on that scarf that I started like a month ago and haven't touched since.  But, Thomas is working a short shift today, so I've got less time than usual to get everything done... So here's the list.

1. Finish grading French tests
2. Grade French papers
3. Finish grading History tests
4. Enter grades in the gradebook
5. Plan lessons
6. Type up lesson plans
7. Work on my growth plan
8. Pay bills
9.  Clean my desk (it's thrown up all over the room again)
10. Laundry
11. Fix chicken casserole
12. Catch up on my ESOL class
13. Fix Thomas' wallet
14. Clean out the fridge
15. Breathe...

That's all I can think of right now... but I'm sure there's something else I need to do too.  So, let's see if I can be super woman today!

What is my Issue?!

Seriously... "they" say women are confusing.  Well, you got that right!!  I can't even figure myself out, and I've known me for 23 years!  You know, men (even though the only man who reads my blog is my husband, and he already knows this... that's beside the point.  Ok, moving on....) the thing is, we (women, in general) know you are confused by us, and we know you think that's frustrating... but it's just as maddening to us, because we confuse ourselves all the time! 

So here's the thing.  Thomas is at work today.  And I'm here at home, trying to do 18 things at once so that I can keep my head above water.  But that's not really the problem.  The problem is, if Thomas isn't home, I'm bound to break out in tears over something completely minute and stupid.  Why? you ask... The heck if I know!!!  Seriously, I was just sitting on the couch, watching "One Tree Hill" (yes, I'm pretty much still a 15 year old girl) and grading papers, so when the episode is ending and somebody on the screen is crying, I start tearing up... REALLY???  And then, I sit down at my computer to start typing up lesson plans, but of course, I have to watch the new trailer of "We Bought a Zoo" that's online first.  So then that was heart warming and I start crying AGAIN!  I mean, come on...  I'm not sad or anything, but when I'm overwhelmed, I tend to cry.  So I guess just about anything can set me off.  How ridiculous!

Ok, it's driving me a little nuts that all of my posts have been emotional lately.  So, you are probably not surprised when I tell you that I haven't woven one bit since I posted the sneak peek picture like two weeks ago.  (Has it really been two weeks already?!  Wow.)  Anyway, I was tidying up my areas of the house today, because I have been a complete slob lately.  And I made my weaving area look pretty (er)!

So that's something right?  And anyway, you didn't see what it looked like before.  This is a HUGE improvement!

However, now I am just wasting more time when I really really need to be working.  Toodoloo!

"And Today is All You've Got Now"

"This is your life, and today is all you've got now... and today is all you'll ever have."  ~Switchfoot

The lyrics of this song have been echoing around in my head for the past week or so.  And they're powerful lyrics.  Anytime we talk about... what if there's no tomorrow... it always is.  Because, what if?  If there is no tomorrow, your today would be so incredibly different.

And anyway, I don't really want to get all philosophical and deep really, but today, I had a moment of clarity.  I've always loved color guard (you know, the people that spin around the flags and stuff when the marching band is on the field).  And I've always known that color guard is one of my life-long true passions.  But today, I was reminded of that in such a wonderful way.  I got home from school earlier than normal today, and one of my favorite 30 Seconds to Mars songs was playing on the way home.  (This song is my DREAM winter guard routine.  Seriously, it would be soooooo awesome!)  And I've been dying to go outside and spin for a while, but I just never seem to have the time.  And really, I didn't have the time today either, but I decided to just procrastinate on more important things because I really needed some me time.  And I went outside to spin my rifle, and... I'm home.  Color guard is one of my true callings.  All my stress melts away; everything comes naturally; I feel confident; I can genuinely laugh at my mistakes; I love the challenge of really getting a move perfect; I love everything about it.  I never even skip warming up (doing the basics over and over again) because I even love those.  I love the routine of it, and the way it feels to know that I can do a move perfectly ten times in a row.  I love the way you can give yourself over completely to the music and the movements, and nothing else matters in that moment.  Color guard is my thing.  It's that thing that if Thomas and I did not need my salary at any given point in time, I would quit any job and do color guard full time (even for free!).  That is how much I love it.

Anyway, I guess that was still kind of heavy.  This blog in general is getting a little heavy.  Too bad I don't have more time to have fun!  I haven't even seen a new movie in TWO WEEKS!  That's terrible.  (It's not like there's been many good movies to go see though.)  Anyway, I really should have been in bed a while ago.  Boo.  5:30 am comes WAY too early every morning!  Good night, sleep tight!

Florida Drivers Make Me Go ???!!!?!?!?!

Ok, really!  I don't get it!  So, here's the deal:  There's this road I drive on to get to work everyday.  The speed limit starts out at 45 mph, then it goes up to 55 for like 3 or 4 miles.  Then it goes back down to 45 for a mile or so, THEN it goes down to 35 for about half a mile where the road is really busy.  Then it goes back up to 45.  So, the point is... on the 55 mph section of several miles, NO ONE GOES 55!  I swear, every single person I drive behind wants to go between 40-45 mph on that entire, several mile section.  Then, they continue that all the way through the 45 mph section and the 35 mph section.  So, obviously they don't have a problem with speeding, because they're going sometimes 10 over the speed limit in the busiest part of town, but when the speed limit goes up, they don't adjust!  It is so incredibly maddening!!!  Is it that hard to just go the speed limit or 2-4 over at all times?!  I really don't think so.

Also, problem #2... Those said people will go WAY below the speed limit, however, when they come up to a red light that will be CLEARLY red by the time they get into the intersection, they just keep going.  No big deal.  Run a light that's red before you even get close to the intersection.  REALLY?!?!?!  What is up with these people?!  Because, they're obviously not in a hurry because they won't go over 40 miles per hour... but if there's a red light, they're suddenly needing to get through immediately!  It's so re-donc-ulous!  Drives me NUTS!

Anyway, tomorrow is Friday!  Thank goodness!  And it's test day in four out of my five classes, so hopefully I will get to sit down some... my poor feet are so tired!  And then... I volunteered to go on a field trip with the band on Saturday to a football game at FSU, to watch the marching band perform (I am the assistant marching director, so I figured it would be a little weird for me not to go).  However, this particular field trip begins at 2:30 AM on Saturday morning and ends at 3:00 AM on Sunday!  Hah!  What was I thinking?!  So, yikes!  Say a little prayer for Rachel this weekend... I'm gonna need it!  Have a happy Friday!  

Oh, btw:  Palm Bay is getting a Buffalo Wild Wings!!!!!!!!  My life will soon be complete with a fabulously delicious chicken wrap!!!  (Now we just need Imo's and Qdoba!  I'm really jonesing for some Imo's... and a homemade cinnamon roll... moving on.  ;))))

Step 3=Working on it!

Well, I started weaving!  However, the only weaving I got done is the several lines you see here!  I worked hard to make sure you couldn't see the bright red yarn I spaced it with.  Lol.  Here's a sneak peek!

 

So, there's something else I'd like to address.  It's pretty serious...  For those of you who don't know me, I LOVE ice cream.  However, I have never before had this:

And O M G!!!  This stuff is the BEST thing I have EVER tasted in my whole life!!!  Seriously.  I can not believe that I have never before had Blue Bell ice cream, but now I'm hooked!  So...

Anyway, all of this is just stalling because I still have work to do!  So, I'd better get back to it...  boo.

Step 2=Exciting!

Just finished warping!!!  I LOVE the green/blue.  It's the softest bamboo blend ever!

Step 1=Complete

 TA-DA!!!

And, of course, Lo couldn't let an empty box go unexplored!

Today... It's on!

It's a three day weekend, and if I don't get to weave today, I'm going to punch myself in the face... and make it hurt!  (lol)  Let the day begin.

THE END!

"No, I'm NOT a student!"

So, what is the one thing that has happened to me the most in the past month?!  People thinking that I'm a student, not a teacher.  Sad face... lol.  So really, I don't mind that much because I am only 23, and I do kinda look like a 16 year old.  However, when you're wearing dress pants, heels, and a nice top, carrying around a clipboard and a set of keys, if you were a teacher, don't you think you'd take a closer look before yelling at me?  I mean really, I know I look young, but how many high school students dress like business professionals?  And here's the problem I'm struggling with:  I don't want to change who I am just because I got a new job.  I know, of course, automatically, I step up and be the adult instead of laughing at the jokes kids tell; I know looking professional is just part of the job; I know a new job is huge life change.  However, I've already adapted my clothing style A LOT to fit school dress codes (I don't even wear inappropriate things, but I've had to start dressing older than I am), and I'm being an adult.  Do I really have to go even further?  I don't want to dress all frumpy and get a short haircut to make me look older and act like a mom all the time.  Because I'm NOT.  But where's the line?  Am I still too much like a student?  I don't know.  Heaven knows I'm a thousand times more comfortable on the other side of a classroom (sitting in a student desk) so I'm sure I'm over analyzing it all, but... I just don't know. 

Anyway... the moral of the story is...  Mrs. Bernard is NOT a student!  Lol.

As you can probably tell, I am just tired and stressed out and going a bit kookoo!  So, I'm going to stop dawdling and get ready for bed!

P.S.  I miss my loom.  Could somebody lend me some extra time so that I can weave this weekend?  Lol.

School Tomorrow? I Vote No!

So yeah, today was nuts.  First football game of the season.  Rain.  Heat.  School.  All of that.  And we still have school tomorrow and Friday!!!  I don't think I'm going to make it through this week!  My feet are KILLING me!  I mean, I was standing up teaching ALL DAY!  And then I went and stood at a football game for 3 HOURS!  And, I just walked in the door at home.  And, I still have to make sure that I'm ready for tomorrow!  And, we have band practice after school tomorrow.  And I'm so freakin stressed out!  And BOOOOOOO on life!!!

So... can we please just get a freebie day tomorrow?!  If everyone hopes for that, maybe we can all make it come true!

P.S.  A shout out to my wonderful husband, Thomas, and my great friend, Cassie, who can always make me feel better when I'm having a bad day!!!  Yay for you!

So, yeah... Hurricane Anyone?!

So.  Basically, I don't watch the news.  Never have, probably never will.  Most of the time it's pretty much because I don't feel like getting angry and depressed all at the beginning of the day.  So, usually my morning routine consists of hopping on the Weather Channel online and checking the daily forecast.  Lately, however, I haven't even been doing that because I already know the answers to my two questions...  Is it going to be hot today?  Most definitely.  Is it gonna rain?  Yup, probably!  So, this morning when I got to work (school) and checked my school email, there was an email about a hurricane!  Apparently, Hurricane Irene is in the Caribbean at the moment and is due to hit our area sometime Thursday.  Oh... ok!  So, maybe I should start watching the weather or something!

Anyway, the school I work at is apparently a shelter for when there are hurricanes, and apparently, we are one of the first shelters that open if/when a hurricane does threaten the area.  So, if we even get close to hurricane status, school will be closed at some point.  Huh.  SO... since the hurricane is supposed to be here on Thursday, the school went ahead and moved Friday night's football game to WEDNESDAY so that we won't miss it, just in case.  SOOOO, since I am the assistant marching band director, I have to be at the football game all night Wednesday, and then, get up and go to school on Thursday and Friday too!  Really?!  I don't think I can handle a football game in the middle of the week!  I mean, this is NOT my first football game, but it is my first one where I have a little bit of adult responsibility.  So, yeah.  Anyway, since they went ahead and moved the football game, I just know that we're going to have school on Thursday and Friday (not that I'm hoping for a hurricane to devastate the area or anything) and I'm going to be exhausted and dead by Friday!  Anyway...

For those of you who occasionally read because you want to hear about weaving, sorry... the loom hasn't even made it out of the box yet.  And unfortunately, it might be a while.  Even though I'm really jonesing to sit down and weave a pretty summer scarf...  boo.

Well, to end, here are the videos for my new fave Taylor Swift songs.  (Yes, I am 23, a teacher, and I still like Taylor Swift.)

Happy Monday... NOT!  Lol.

Thank the Good Lord for Music and Weekends!

O.  MY.  GOSH.

This past week has been... crazy... beyond crazy... I'm sitting here, trying to think of a word that describes the madness that is flying through my head, and I cannot come up with a single thing.  You know when you feel like your day/week/life is SO nuts that you don't even have time to think?!  Well, that was my week... times 853, 542, 693!!!

So, today is the first time that I have even looked at my computer besides hitting the "Send and Receive" button on my email everyday.  I haven't even read any of them, I just glance to see what comes in...  and even while doing that, sitting at the computer for a whole 30 seconds while waiting for the server to actually send and receive the emails just takes too long.  I have to walk away and do something else until I remember to come back and check to see what came in.  I haven't even checked the weather AT ALL this week.  Usually, I do that every morning before I get dressed.  (Though now that I live in Florida and its August, its not too hard to imagine what it will be like each day... HOT!)  It's been raining a lot in the afternoons too, which I enjoy.  I like looking out my classroom windows and seeing that summer afternoon rain fall.  I don't always love love the rain, but in the summertime, there's just something peaceful about it.  Something that just makes you want to sit next to the window and sigh.

I've been tearing up a lot lately.  It's mostly because my tear ducts are hard-wired to my fatigue level.  And since I've been tired to the max all week, everything makes me tear up.  This morning, I watched a show on "E!" about Taylor Swift, and I was practically crying in the middle of it.  Why on earth would you be crying?  you ask... I don't know.  I don't even remember what they were talking about.  I teared up during a re-run of "Sons of Guns" two nights ago too.  I mean, come on... "Sons of Guns"???  Yep.  Oh, and I cried like a baby when I watched "Secretariat" last weekend.  (For those of you who don't actually know me, I have loved horses my whole life.  It is still a huge dream of mine to own horses someday.)  And at the end of the movie, when Secretariat was running the Belmont, I had tears streaming down my face.  It was just so heart warming.  One of those moments that reminds us all of how more than anything, we just yearn to be a part of something that's bigger than ourselves.  It's the same reason we root for our favorite sports teams; jumping up and down, screaming when they make the final goal and win the championship game!  It's the same as when we go to a concert and scream out the lyrics to our favorite songs along with thousands of strangers.  The same reason we mourn as a group/people/nation when tragedy befalls other people, whether they are near to us or half way around the globe.  Deep down inside, we all long to be a part of something bigger, something meaningful, something real.  And sometimes, that feeling hits me so hard that I can't hardly breathe... (or I just sit in front of the tv, with tears streaming down my face).  No matter how happy or loved or satisfied we think we are, there is always some part of us, deep down in places we don't like to talk about at parties, that whispers, "There's more to life than this."  ...And there is.

One book I love to read when I'm feeling this way is The Sacred Romance by Brent Curtis and John Eldredge.  It reminds me that we are all searching for our meaning and our true, abundant, fulfilled life.  And we are all searching in the wrong places.  I love it.

... Well.  I guess I got a little off track there.  That's not even what I was intending to write about, but there it is.  And, you know, sometimes things like that just happen, so I'm not going to erase it.  I'm just going to keep going.

This week was the first week of school.  And I can hear you all, sitting at your computers going, "OOOHHHH!  I GET it now!  Now it all makes sense."  Yeah, sorry, maybe I should've started with that, but like I said, my brain just kind of went where it went.  And, it was a good week.  But I was just so stressed out and exhausted all week, that I could barely function.  Seriously, when I wasn't actually in front of the class teaching, I was sitting at my desk in my classroom, just staring at the floor... completely brain dead.  I also lost about 4 pounds because I couldn't eat until yesterday.  Every time I would try to eat, I felt like I was going to throw up, so... yeah.  That pretty much sums up how incredibly, incapacitatingly nervous I can get about just about anything.  However, last night I grabbed some Panera on the way home from work, so I think my nerves diet is over.  (If there ever comes a day when I can't stomach my Panera sandwich, someone will need to get me to the hospital immediately, because I'll probably be dying!)  It was a successful week though.  I had a major epiphany after my first (real) day on Wednesday, but I think I'll save that for another time.  Hopefully I'll get some work done today so that next week will go more smoothly.  So, I should probably get to it.  I've been stalling all morning.

Boo.  At least I'm wearing my favorite jeans though.

Oh!  Wait!  I didn't even discuss the meaning of the title of this post!  Haha!  Work, you will have to wait a little longer!  So, The weekends part is pretty self-explanatory.  But, above all else, music has saved my life this week.  Though there are so many things that I am thankful for, music is the one thing that kept me sane this week.  The 20 minutes to and from work when I had the music blaring, singing along, dancing, working hard to try and forget all my worries MADE my week.  So, thank you Lord for music and weekends!

...And, I just broke my desk... awesome.

Well, I'm Still Alive!

So, I officially made it through my first two days of being a teacher!  (Even though I haven't actually done any teaching yet!)  But, I got my classroom all cleaned out (you wouldn't believe how much junk got left behind)!  And, I'm working on decorations and such for my room.  My beautiful world map that I got for Christmas a couple of years ago was the first decoration to find a place.  And it's even too big for my bulletin board... oh well!

Here's a picture of the new shell collection Thomas and I started!  Aren't they pretty?!

 

Well, that's all for tonight!  We're finishing up watching "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King".  So, fun night!  Yay!

Make my Day

Have you ever heard one of those songs?  One of those songs that just makes the world stop?  One of those songs that just has a hold over you?  That can just completely change your mood, your day, your life?  For the past week, this song has been making my day...  "Your Love is a Song" by Switchfoot

Amazing, right?  This song has had a hold over me for about a week now, and I have yet to see an end in sight.  And I don't mind that at all.

On a lighter note, Thomas and I went to two new beaches today and we started a new collection of shells.  I'm too lazy to go take a picture of them right now, so I will try to do that tomorrow... they're really cool though!  The beaches were great!  The second one, which was called Ocean Park (nice name for a park that's right by the ocean... der) was probably my favorite so far.  Except for this one time when we were hanging out in the water, probably 15 feet from shore, and an entire school of fish (I SWEAR there were at least 50 fish) came jumping out of the water like 2 feet from us.  I screamed like a 15 year old girl!  And then Thomas decided we should get out of the water because who knows what scared them.  And can you guess why he was this worried?  Yep, that's right.  It's Shark Week, so of course, he was thinking shark.

So, today was my last official day of summer.  And it was a good day.

Random: Last night I watched "Beastly"... And I know what you're thinking, "What are you, 12?"  Well, yes, yes, apparently I am.  And I would like to say, it was not terrible.  Of course, I am a sucker for super cheesy and the Beauty and the Beast.  So, if you're not 12 also, you probably shouldn't waste your time.  However, Thomas and I went to see "Cowboys and Aliens" on Sunday, and it was a quality movie.  Lots of funny lines and scenes that make you (or maybe just me) jump.  And it was a good story.  Definitely not a bad way to spend two hours and 15 bucks.  Just thought you might like to know!  :)

Fine. Ok. Hi.

Well, obviously, I haven't blogged recently...  So now, I guess I feel guilty enough to sit down and write this up.  Acutally, I just had a blogging epiphany that spurred me over to blogger.  What I really need to do is sit down for five minutes a day and just write a short blog post.  Then, I would be able to blog more often because my posts would be so close together that I wouldn't have much to say.  But unfortunately, I was a history major... so that means that anytime I sit down to write or type anything, my brain jumps into essay mode.  Aka: must be no less than three paragraphs with seven to ten sentences per paragraph, constantly check spelling and grammar for correctness, use the thesaurus to find enormous words that mean the same thing as ordinary, everyday language but just sound more pompous... you get the idea.  And I believe this paragraph length is sufficient.

And j.s.y.k. (which means "just so you know", which I said so often at my previous job that we decided I needed a t-shirt that said "JSYK".  So, Carrie or Cassie, I hope you read this, and get a laugh from that)... Anyway, jsyk, Thomas and I watched "Top Gear" tonight (the British version), so I've still got their British accents and hilarious ways of explaining things stuck in my head.  So, if I say something that's a little off, just disregard.

Well, one of the main reasons I have not blogged recently is that I had band camp at my new school last week.  So from 8am to 5:30pm all last week, I was hanging out with 100 high school students in the 90+ degree heat under the blazing Florida sun...  And when I got home, I ate dinner and promptly fell asleep.  So, yeah.  The great thing was that the band kids and director are great!  And, being the assistant director and being brand new to the school, my main job was to just help out... well, and try to memorize over 100 names and faces immediately... hah!  (I maybe know about 25-30, and that's only when they're holding their instruments!  Oh well!)

So, the first day for teachers is on Wednesday (yikes!).  And of course, they start everyone off with a breakfast in the cafeteria on Wednesday morning.  Really?!  So I'm not even a high school student anymore and I still have to walk into the cafeteria on the first day and wonder who I'm going to sit with... boo.  And for those of you who don't know me... I don't make friends very easily.  I HATE walking into a room and having to find someone to sit with when I know pretty much no one.  You might as well make me run through said room in a gorilla costume because I wouldn't be any more nervous about that than just having to find someone to sit with.  So, yay.  At least we get the hardest part out of the way first... hopefully.  (Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention that I don't even really know where the cafeteria is in my new school!  So I get to go to the front office first and ask where I'm going and how to get there... yippee!)  Anyway, enough with the downer mood... let's find something happy to talk about...

THE BEACH!!!  YAY!!!  So, Thomas and I have been to the beach three times in the last two weeks!  Yay!!!  And each time, we've been to a different beach!  Lol!  I think we're just going to go up and down the coast to try out all the nearby beaches to find our favorite!  We went to a really beautiful one on Saturday.  Here's a pic:

Isn't it gorgeous?!  The water was so blue!  Love it!

So I think we're going again tomorrow, on my last official day of summer!  I'm pretty sure the beach will be a weekly occurrence for us now!  Isn't that amazing?!  I'm stoked!

My washer and dryer arrived on time on Tuesday!  Thomas and I were just hanging out (Thomas was napping), when I heard a big truck in the parking lot.  So I ran to the window, and looked out... And it was the truck carrying our brand new washer and dryer on it!!!  I immediately ran back to the bed, "THOMAS!!! THOMAS!!!  Our washer and dryer are here!!!  GET UP!!!"  I was so excited!  I am so excited!  I no longer need quarters to do laundry.  And I can just throw a load in whenever I want.  And I only have to step out onto the patio to get to them!  YAY!!!  And Lo loves laundry time, because that means she gets to come out on the patio too!  Its all screened in, so she could really be out there by herself, but its too hot to leave the door open.  And I really don't want to take the risk of forgetting about her while she's out there and leaving her out in the heat.  So, when she hears the door opening, she comes running!  (That was a bit of a digression wasn't it?!)  Hm... reminds me of Beowulf...

Well, it is now 10:17 Eastern time, and I am going to bed!  Have I been random enough for this post?  Hm... not sure, so here's one more thing... hold on, I've gotta think of something random... oh, ok.  So, we have cable again, and I really have mixed feelings about it.  Because we have the cable, but not DVR, so Thomas' life once more revolves around what's on tv.  This week its "Shark Week"... which means the tv is on. period.

(And I just went through and proofread this post.  And there was a typo or something I wanted to change, but by the time I got to the bottom of the post, I forgot what it was.  And now I'm too tired to figure out what it was again.  Oh well, I guess.)

Is This For Real?!

Well hello there!  Thomas and I have been moving since Friday night, and we just got internet today!  Yay!!!  So, I guess this is update #1 on the move... with many more to come!  There is so much to tell, so much to be excited about, that it's going to take numerous posts to get it all in!  So, here are the first three things that are amazing about our new life!

#1 -

This is the view from the road we live on!  (And for those of you who aren't familiar with the Florida Space Coast, that is pretty much a huge ocean inlet.)  Need I say more?!  I mean really... we cannot leave our apartment without driving past this.  So basically..... AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!

#2 - Our apartment is HUGE!  Literally, it is DOUBLE the size of our old apartment!  Yay!!!  We are getting all the furniture arranged, and we still have room for more!  It's incredible!

#3 - My new washer and dryer will be delivered on Tuesday!!!!!  Yay!  I'm pretty much completely head over heels with having my own washer and dryer!  No more treks to the laundry room.  No more quarters.  No more setting a timer on my phone so I remember to go get my laundry at the exact moment that it gets done.  YAY!!!

And since there are many more fabulous things about our new life, the list will just keep going!  Stay tuned...

Random:  Tomorrow we're going to the beach for the first time since we got here!!!

"Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Will There Be Enough Room?"

(Quoted from Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault)

Well, last night a had a nightmare... (Before I start this story, I must warn you that I have very random dreams that are very detailed and complicated and just totally weird me out sometimes, but I will give you the short version today)  So, I had this dream.  And to preface: my parents are coming to town on Saturday to help us load the 16 foot moving truck with all of our belongings.  So, in my dream, my mom and I were taking a walk while Thomas and my dad went to pick up the moving truck.  All was fine until we got back from our walk, and lo and behold... our moving truck was a fifteen passenger van!!!  So, I started crying hysterically, and the one line I remember from the dream was, "Our couch won't even fit in there!"  And the funny part is, we're not even that attached to our couch.  Just tonight actually, after I was telling that story to Thomas, we decided that if everything didn't fit, we would pitch the couch first.  But, before last night, I really hadn't worried about whether or not all of our stuff was going to fit into a 16 foot truck, but now...  I'm not so sure.  So, maybe we can all hope together that my dream is not indicative of how Saturday is going to go! (And this morning, when I was getting ready for work and planning out this blog post, somehow, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom popped into my head, and I am very excited about how it fits as a title.  I LOVED this book as a kid!)

So, only two more days!  Wow!  And I haven't gotten anything done yesterday or today, so now I'm feeling behind.  Yuck.  So, I should probably stop writing this post, which has no more interesting or uninteresting information to impart...  but...  It's nice to just sit down for a few minutes.

OOOHHH!  I should tell you the other interesting (HORRIBLE) part of my night.  Well, last night when Thomas and I were going to bed, a cicada decided that it enjoyed sitting on top of our air conditioner (we have a wall air conditioner in our bedroom, so the cicada was sitting on it on the outside).  He wasn't too loud, so we were both able to get to sleep alright.  But at 1:30 AM, he decided to have a stinkin' songfest!!!  And of course, I'm the light sleeper, so it woke me up right away, and it was immediately driving me NUTS!!!  So, I started banging on the air conditioner to make him go away.  However, apparently, Thomas was still asleep before this, so he got mad at me that I woke him up.  And I got mad at him because if I didn't get the bug off the air conditioner, I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep.  So, we were both tired and angry, so we came out to the living room, and I turned on "Beauty and the Beast" (my go to Disney movie, and since I know it by heart, sometimes it helps me sleep) to try and drown out the noise.  But, it didn't work, and I was just frustrated that we were kicked out of our bed by a BUG.  So I went to bang on the air conditioner some more.  And... about 45 minutes later, I FINALLY WON!  So, I woke Thomas up again, and we went back to bed.  And the moral of the story is: cicadas are evil.  Lol.

So we just had a *great* night all around.  Yay.  Anyway, I should probably go now.  Ok.  Bye.

Random:  ONLY TWO MORE DAYS!!!!!!!!!

Countdown Initiated

4 days to go!  4 days of work... 4 days to finish packing... 4 days to say goodbye... 4 days until we're "homeless"... 4 DAYS!!!

And of course, I'm FREAKING out!  I've got so much stuff packed, but there is so much to go.  I can't believe that I haven't woken up from this crazy dream yet!  I mean, in four days, Thomas and I will be packing our lives into a truck and moving to Florida!  Wow!

And in 7 days, we will be living in our new apartment!!!  Yay!!!  So, I don't think I've mentioned yet, but WE HAVE A PLACE TO LIVE!!!!!  And its AWESOME!!!  Totally cool!  So, its almost twice the size of our current apartment!!!  It's in a complex that has a pool!!!  It has a DISHWASHER!!!!!!!!!  And washer and dryer hookups!!!  And a screened-in patio!!!  And a master suite!!!  And it is right across the road from the inter-coastal waterway!!!  And have I mentioned... its in FLORIDA!!!!!!  YAY!  Basically, its like everything I could ask for!  (Besides a mansion that has its own private beach, of course)  Can you tell I'm excited?!  It's gonna be awesome!

So, it's really crazy around here, but I'm really getting to enjoy the excitement too!  Yay!  Anyway, I should get back to either packing or writing lesson plans!  So, too-da-loo!

Random:  I don't think I mentioned that it is Thomas' and my wedding anniversary tomorrow!  Yay!  We've been married for three years now!  And boy, has it been amazing!  Getting married to my best friend was the best decision ever!

Are We There Yet?!

Just kidding... but seriously.  This weekend was the official start of packing.  Thomas brought home about a bajillion boxes, and I got to it!  So, would you like to see my progress?!  Please say yes, because I would very much like to share!

Ta Da!!!  Lol.  I've packed quite a lot, but still have more to go!

So now, its time to start doing things like taking our desks apart because I have nowhere else to put the boxes that I pack!  It's pretty crazy.  However, I did have "help" in packing yesterday!

Once I started packing, Lolo decided that it was her job to be in my way just as much as she possibly could!  She's pretty good at it too!  Look at that dedication!

Also, I forgot to show you one of my other bday presents when I blogged about Thomas' the other day.  My mom, who is very skilled in the arts of sewing and embroidery, got/made me this for my birthday!

It's my teacher bag for school!  Isn't it totally cute?!  I love it.  Thanks Mom (and Dad)!

Anyway, I should probably go wake my napping hubby up so that we don't miss our Sunday afternoon movie!  We're going to see "The Green Lantern", and I'm so excited!  Normally, we would've gone to see this the week it came out, but we have been waiting a couple of weeks so that we can use our last free movie ticket!  So, now its time!  Yay!  "Speak the oath... because everybody knows the oath!  I pledge allegiance to a lantern... that I got from a dying purple alien..."

Can I Please Sleep Through This?

To say that the past few weeks have been an emotional roller coaster would be an extreme understatement.  But, I had it all under control... until yesterday.  And you may have noticed from yesterday's post that I was (ahem) in a slightly bad mood.  Yesterday just jumped on top of me and pounded me into the ground... and then kept going.  So many things shook my very fragile self control, and I just lost it.  You see, since this whole process started, I have been closer to God than I have been in a while.  This is taking so much faith and trust that I am constantly in prayer about something.  And I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this is God's plan for me and Thomas.  I have not had any doubt about that since the first moment we prayed about it after I was offered the job.  And along the way, God has so blatantly opened and shut doors that it is so clear that He is 100% shoving us down the right path.  I mean, He has just slammed a couple of doors for us, and He has thrown so many open and pretty much thrown us through the door.  He knows that we are trusting Him to lead us on our path, and He could not be anymore obvious unless He audibly spoke.  But yesterday, my confidence in all of that shattered.  The devil was absolutely determined to make me doubt what God is doing in our lives, and he succeeded.  Last night was a pretty low night.  But... the Lord is faithful, and He has not given up on me.  Today, I am just as stressed out, but I once again have no doubts about our path.  I wish that I could say that the devil couldn't get to me, but he did.  I am pretty weak in the faith area, so this experience is really growing me in that area.  And partly, I think I just really needed to cry.  Sometimes you just have to get it all out.  However, today I am extremely exhausted.  So, I think I'm going to start off my birthday by sleeping all day tomorrow!  :)

Ok, enough with the heavy!  I would like all of you to know that I have the absolute best husband in the world.  I don't care how awesome you think your husband is, mine is better... hands down!  ;)  Well, since we are going through this really sudden and expensive move, I told Thomas that we weren't going to celebrate my birthday with any presents right now.  But... he just couldn't help himself, so he found a very budget friendly way to get me a wonderful present!  Today, on my lunch break from an absolutely crazy day at work, he took me to Barnes & Noble and told me to pick out any journal I wanted.  (He knew I'd been wanting a beautiful journal for a while, but just hadn't gotten one yet.)  So, he managed to get me a wonderful birthday present on a very tight budget!  Awwwwww.

So here's my beautiful new journal!  Thanks honey!  I love you!

So, this is the start of the packing weekend.  Here we go!

Random: I watched "Wicker Park" two nights ago.  And it has been forever since I've seen that movie, but I have never forgotten how amazing it is.  It is a wonderful, yet annoying love story.  And it is a story about how you will never get over or forget "the one".  Watch it!

What should I name this post?

Alright yall... this is a blog post.  A blog post about everything and nothing.  A blog post because I feel guilty for not blogging.  A blog post for the sake of talking about myself...  Sounds great, right?  I know, but if you're really that bored already, just stop reading.  No one's forcing you to stay.  Anyway...

So, I'm going nuts!  We are packing up our apartment and moving in t-minus 8 days!  (Side note: isn't it weird how "t-minus" technically has two minuses... the "-" and the "minus"?!  Yeah.)  So, my life has been turned upside down.  I walk around the apartment just looking at stuff.  And we now have a huge portion of our study filled up with boxes that don't even have anything in them yet.  And we have totes and boxes just sitting in the middle of our living room on the floor, and we walk around them and kick them all day long.  But we can't move them because there is nowhere else for them to go.  But it's not really time to start for real packing yet, because we still have 8 days.  Aaaaahhhhhhhhh!  And we have so much to do before we move (you know, minor things like FINDING A PLACE TO LIVE!) that I just can't figure out what to do first!  Did you catch that?  We don't have a place to live yet... awesome.

So, this is a very stressful time for me, and even though I could (almost) not be more excited about this move, I find that I'm in a bad mood most of the time.  I don't really know why, but I guess I'm just so stressed that even the little things are making me snap.  And my brain will not shut up.  I've laid in bed the past few nights for at least an hour trying to sleep, but I just can't calm down enough.  How stupid is that?!  I know, right?!  I'm getting the chance of a lifetime, and I'm wasting the experience by being crabby all the time.  Like right now... why can't I stop complaining.  This is ridiculous.

Moving on!  So, I finished up all that yarn a couple of weeks ago.  And I was so eager to get it out of the house that I didn't even photograph it first.  So, I had to snap a couple of pics at work one day.  I haven't even looked at them yet.  In fact, I need to go get my camera and download them so that I can finish this post!  OK, all done!

 Corriedale Cross Top - about 70 yards

 Romney Cross - 120 yards

 South African Fine - 125 yards

And more South African Fine - 97 yards

So, those were one of my last projects before the move.  Now everything is taken apart and ready to be packed up.  :(  But, as I mentioned in an earlier post (I think), these yarns were bound for Lisa of Tri-Bec Creations so that it can all be made into something cute!  So, she posted this photo on facebook the other night, and I just had to share!

Here are two hats that she made from some of the yarn!  Aren't they so cute?!  She is so talented, so you should follow her blog and like her facebook page!  She's got this adorable crocheted, stuffed giraffe that she just started making, and it is ADORABLE!!!  So, go check out Tri-Bec Creations!

Well, the to do list is glaring at me, so I'd better get going!  I hope everyone has a quick Friday so that we can all get to the wonderful weekend!!!

Random note:  MY BIRTHDAY IS ON SATURDAY!!!  Woohoo!