Trick-or-Treat

I'm not a big Halloween fan. I prefer "fall" to Halloween. However, I don't see the harm in letting little kids dress up in costumes and go trick-or-treating. However, out here in the sticks, that's kind of hard to do! In the 16 years that Tracy & I have been married, we've had a grand total of TWO trick-or-treaters! We usually just go to a couple of fall festivals, but since Luke's costume didn't arrive in time for the fall festival, we decided to attempt trick-or-treating. I talked to about a half a dozen people in the community and asked if we could come trick-or-treating. Turns out, they were as excited as we were! We had a ball, and it was just the right number of houses to visit before getting totally worn out!

From the time the costume catalogs started arriving, Luke wanted to be Super Why from the PBS Kids show. Well, Mama here let time get away, and we almost didn't get a Super Why costume. I finally found one, but it cost me way too much in shipping! Learned my lesson on that one! Matthew had said he didn't want a costume, but when it came time to actually leave that night, he decided he'd put on his Mario costume from last year. The pants were way too short, but I let him wear it anyway!

Demonstrating how his cape flies! He loved that cape!

Checking out the cape again!

Catching Up

Hello friends! Are you still there? I really hope my half a dozen readers use Google Reader, and will see that I've posted something new; otherwise, I'm sure you all have given up on me, given that it's been about 6 weeks since my last post! We've had lots of things going on since school started. I just haven't been able to manage my time as well this school year, for some reason. Anyway, here I am. In going through some of my pictures, I've found several things from the last few months that I haven't shared here on the blog, so this post is going to be a photo dump!

Remember how we went to FBLA national conference in Orlando in July? Well, I forgot to tell you about one of the highlights of the trip. Our board of directors (of which I am a member) took the national board of directors and national staff to dinner one night. And guess where we went? A private room at The California Grill on the top floor of Disney's Contemporary Hotel! With a private balcony to watch the fireworks from the Magic Kingdom. We felt like we were something else!

We also went to Gatorland while we were there. Honestly, I thought it would be pretty cheesy, but it was actually pretty fun. They had gone in April while we were at state conference, and I was tied up in meetings. They wanted to go back this trip. My boys think it's better than Disney World! This albino alligator was pretty cool!

I'll leave you with a few miscellaneous photos.....be back soon, I hope!

Luke breaking it down on the dance floor at a wedding this summer.

Notice, also, that he's barefoot!

Yes, I wore this dress to everything this summer....along with my new Sorrelli. It took me a while to get "into" Sorrelli, and even longer to actually break down and purchase some, but they do have some really pretty jewelry! (I have no idea why this is showing up as a link.) It's really popular here, and I can see where it could get addictive!

Nothing like summertime with chocolate ice cream at the pool!

Just put them in the pool and wash them off!

I made this for my classroom by cutting the letters with a Cricut.

It's incredibly difficult to find things to put on the walls of a high school classroom!

Anybody Else?

A Different Kind of Memory

September 11, 2001.

I was in my classroom at school; it was my planning period. My mom called me from her classroom and asked if I had heard anything about an airplane crashing into the World Trade Center. I didn't, but I told her I would look online and see what I could find out. Apparently, someone had called the school, and word had started spreading. I found a short article online, and as so many others did, I thought it was just a terrible accident. And then I turned on the TV.....and as the morning unfolded, we all realized this was no accident.

Fear. Uncertainly. Utter disbelief. All those things went through my mind. It was a day that changed the lives of Americans forever.

It was a day that would change my life forever......but for a different reason.

You see, that was the day we found out that I was pregnant with Matthew. Honestly, I was really scared, thinking "What kind of world are we bringing this child into? What will life be like for this baby?"

As the weeks passed, of course, our nation realized that life would go on....it had to. And we realized that things would be okay, and that our baby would be okay, and we'd just keep on living.

And that is why September 11, 2001 holds a different set of memories for me. I will never forget......

First Day

Where has the time gone? We've been busy packing all the fun we can into these last few weeks of summer! It has been a truly wonderful summer, but now it's time to settle down and head back to school. While it's unpleasant initially, I know we NEED to be back in a routine! Matthew started fourth grade today, and I began my 16th year of teaching.

This should prove to be an interesting year. We have a brand new principal....not only to our school, but this is his first principalship. That, of course, brings changes....some I'm happy about, some, not so much. One good thing though is that all the faculty and staff who wanted to gathered for prayer this morning before school. That in itself helped the day get off to a good start!

Matthew started fourth grade today in the same classroom that my mom (Grandmommy) taught in. His teacher is the one who took Grandmommy's place when she retired to keep Matthew when he was a baby. She has also subbed for this teacher a few times. So Matthew feels a special connection to her, and has wanted to be in her class since he started kindergarten.

Overall, it was a good first day, and as usual, I'm completely worn out! Hope the school year is off to a great start for all of you!

I hope I don't look like I've been teaching 16 years! That makes me feel old!

A Little Project

This will probably seem really weird to some of you, but I always have a summer project, or rather projects--plural. I am sure it is because I'm a teacher, and feel like this is my best chunk of time to be able to accomplish things. Anyway, I always have a rather ambitious list of things that I want to accomplish during the summer! Here's the project I worked on tonight, and I am rather pleased with the results, especially for my first attempt. I think I'll make another one tomorrow for a friend whose birthday is coming up! It's someone who I don't normally exchange gifts with, but I'd just like to do a little something for her. What do you think? Would you like this as a gift?

My time is running short, and I still need to:

1) Clean out Matthew's closet

2) Clean off and organize my desk, which includes a LOT of filing

3) Try making a digital photo book

4) Clean out and organize laundry room (this is one that was just added in the last week!) I thought about some really simple things I could do to really improve the look of this room, so I'm going for it!

5) Paint canvas and cut vinyl lettering for wall hanging to go outside laundry room...Am I totally strange for decorating my laundry room? I just want it to look nice like the rest of the house!

6) Play with some more vinyl lettering projects, including some things for my classroom

7) Take Matthew and his friends from church to the local water park for the day

Will all these things get done? Not likely, but I know I'll manage #7!

New Trends...A Debate

A cousin sent me a link this morning that I found rather interesting. Apparently, Kate Middleton is bringing back pantyhose.

This makes me happy. I know you're thinking, "WHAT?" but it's true. Now let me clarify....I am not a fan of pantyhose ALL the time. In fact, in warm weather, I don't wear a single dress to church that requires hose. However, my point is that they do have a place. It depends on the occasion. To me, if you are going to dress professionally, and by professionally, I mean like someone in law or finance, you just need hose. For example, with a business suit, hose just finishes the look. Also, for me it's a matter of practicality....I can't stand the way dress shoes feel barefooted! (I'm talking about traditional pumps, not dressy sandals.) Probably TMI, but my feet sweat so bad that if I wore dress shoes without hose, they'd be ruined after a few wearings. The inside lining would be peeling up, etc.

I feel there are just some situations and outfits that "need" hose to complete the outfit. Business suits are the main ones. Maybe I'm so opinionated about this because I'm a business teacher? In my state, FBLA has a very strict dress code. We don't require hose, but we do require that shoes be closed toe and closed heel. We require a jacket with pants. There's a reason for this....when you start relaxing part of the dress code, like the shoe thing for instance, then it just opens the door for all kinds of issues, trying to determine "Is this a dress shoe or not?" Maybe it doesn't seem like a big deal, but our students can't get in to their competitions unless they are in dress code. You can really appreciate this when you get to the national level. Their dress code is more relaxed than my state's, and let me tell you, it's an "anything goes" almost. Two weeks ago at the national conference, I saw ADVISERS wearing maxi dresses to the competition. HELLO....a maxi dress is in no way, shape, or form, professional business attire! We are trying to teach these students about the business world, and I realize that in many businesses today the dress code is more relaxed, but if we set the standard high, basically like interview attire, they can't go wrong.

Part of the reason for my feelings is also the way I was raised....in true southern belle form. And don't get me started on our First Lady. I'm sorry, but a sleeveless dress in January for the State of the Union.....uh uh. A) It's JANUARY and B) It's the State of the Union, not a party!

And this blog post has turned much more ramblesome than I had intended, but the bottom line is, I'm glad to see that maybe I won't be considered such an old fuddy-duddy anymore!

To read the article: http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/kate-middleton-brings-back-pantyhose-bare-legs-are-so-2010-2510160#photoViewer=2

Two Thumbs Up

I'm not usually one to write movie reviews, mainly because we rarely, and I mean, RARELY go to the movies! However, Saturday night we took Matthew to see Mr. Popper's Penguins, and I felt I had to share.

This is a great movie! Normally I am not a Jim Carrey fan, and I don't care for what I call "stupid-funny" movies. This movie greatly exceeded my expectations. It was a great little story, and the best part....no profanity. AT ALL. The only questionable language was the word "freakin'" used twice. That's not really considered profanity, but it's a word I don't care for and don't let my own children, nor my students, use.

So, if you're looking for a great family movie, I highly recommend Mr. Popper's Penguins!

While we're on the subject of movies, I must also add that I can't wait for The Help!

Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!

My wonderful husband had a milestone birthday a few weeks ago....the big 4-0.

I have been wanting to do something special for him to celebrate this milestone, but also to make up for a horrendous birthday two years ago. It was that year that we had lost one of our dear friends unexpectedly on Monday of that week, he was unexpectedly laid off from his job on Friday, developed a kidney stone Friday night, and then that Sunday was his birthday and Father's Day. Talk about a crummy week! Last year, I wanted to do something really special for him, but I just couldn't get this together, so I decided that this year, the big 4-0 was definitely the year for something extra special! I arranged for him to do the Richard Petty Driving Experience at the Walt Disney World Speedway. It worked out perfectly since we were going to be in Orlando anyway for FBLA national conference. Now we are not really Nascar fans, but what man wouldn't want to drive a race car!

I was a bit nervous at first, thinking of all those people out on the track at the same time. I wasn't worried about Tracy's driving, I was worried about everyone else's! I felt much better after we got in "class" and found out that it was not a "racing experience" it was a "driving experience". Each student had their own instructor that they would follow around the track, and there were three "sets" of drivers on the track at each time. There were lights in the back of the car telling you whether to speed up or slow down....surprisingly, they said the "speed up" lights were the ones that were used the majority of the time! They started them out slow, around 110 mph, and if you kept up and were driving well, with each lap they increased the speed, with the hope of getting up to 122-123 mph. I am pleased to say that Tracy did really well, increasing his speed each lap and ending up with 121.something mph!

He said it was a blast and is already wanting to do it again! Note in the photos that these are REAL race cars, and the only way in and out is through the window! That, too, was a point of concern for me!! Ha!

Luke-isms

A few funnies from recently that I don't want to forget...

Upon drinking Sprite for the first time...."This Sprout sure is good!"

Seeing the UPS truck driving back into the terminal..."There goes the PPS truck!"

and best of all....

In response to, "Luke, why are you jumping on the bed?"

"'Cause I never tried it before!"

Running Behind

Really, is it June already?

I don't know where the last four or five weeks have gone. Finishing up school (which is STILL not over, by the way) has seriously limited my blog time, both for my own blog and for reading and commenting on others! So for the grand total of four of you who read this, I apologize! I still need to blog about Matthew's birthday party, and that was in mid-May!

School was over for the students on Thursday. I'll be there until Tuesday. I've been on a cleaning and purging binge, filling one of those huge garbage cans with papers, junk, etc. I am finished with everything in my classroom, just waiting on report cards to be printed so that we can get them ready for mailing, put copies in the permanent records, etc. I'm really, really hoping that can all be finished Monday, and if so, I'm taking off Tuesday!

In addition to all this, I'm just crazy enough to be doing Vacation Bible School starting tomorrow night. I'm the co-director, so I have been up to my ears in Oriental Trading and Lifeway orders, decorations, you name it! In fact, I'm heading up to the church in a little while to finish up the final details. Pray for a good week....strength for the workers and open hearts for our little students! Luke goes to VBS for the first time this year, and he's beyond excited!

Okay, I'm rambling, so I'm signing off...

Happy Weekend!

Mother's Day--Part 2

On Sunday night, we were honored to perform our church's Easter play once again. This time, we went "on the road" to a neighboring church, about 20 miles away. Going "on tour" certainly presented a few challenges, as we had to adapt our sets to another facility, this one much larger than our own. As always, though, God worked everything out and we had a wonderful service.

I so wish that I could show you the entire video, but given that it's an hour long, I don't think that's an option! However, I managed to get someone to take some photos during the dress rehearsal, and I will give you a little synopsis of the play. Our pastor wrote it himself, based on a verse in Galatians that mentions that Paul went to visit Peter for 15 days. Paul wasn't there for the events surrounding the crucifixion, and you can imagine that during that visit with Peter, Paul wanted to hear the stories surrounding those days. So the play was written like a conversation between Peter and Paul, with flashbacks to the events surrounding the crucifixion. We used a lot of familiar songs, as well as a couple of new ones.

Here's the condensed version of the scenes and songs:

Opening Song--"His Life for Mine"

Meeting the Woman at the Well

Song--"There is a River"

The Garden of Gethsemane

Song--"For What Earthly Reason"

The Story of Barrabas (Soliliquy)

Song--"The One I'm Dying For" (I sang in a trio on this song.)

The Crucifixion

Song--"Mary, Did You Know?" (I sang this as a solo.)

The Resurrection

Song--"Then Came the Morning"

The Ascension

Song--"Because He Lives" (chorus)

I really can't put into words just how powerful this play has been, not because of anything WE have done, but because of what God did through it. We all had such a good time preparing for and performing it, and we all received such a blessing from it! Then, on Easter Sunday, six people accepted Jesus as their savior! God is doing some mighty things in our church, and we praise Him for it!

Mother's Day Weekend

We had a very nice Mother's Day weekend. On Saturday night, Tracy's dad's side of the family to take Grandma out to eat. Then on Sunday, Tracy grilled and my mom and his parents came to eat with us. I'm really over the whole going out to eat on Mother's Day thing. It's just soooo crowded everywhere. I'd prefer to just stay home and go out to celebrate the weekend before or after!

I did receive a very nice Mother's Day gift this year. The Sunday prior to Mother's Day, Tracy was teasing me, saying he was going to buy me a vaccum cleaner. I informed him that I already had a couple of things in mind, and he'd better not come home with a vaccum cleaner! He said, "Well what if I'd already thought of something else?" He eventually told me that he had thought about getting me a Nook. I was tickled, because that is something that while I've kind of wanted one, is something I'd never buy for myself. I didn't get the color version, because I figured I'm not going to use it for the tablet PC features. I have a smart phone, so why do I need another "computer" to carry around? Anyway, so far I'm loving it! My favorite aspects are the fact that I can get a brand new release for what it would cost me in paperback, without having to wait a year! I also love that I can browse at home, anytime the urge to read strikes me, rather than having to wait until I have time to go to the bookstore.

Here are a few photos from dinner on Saturday night. There was more to Mother's Day weekend, but that deserves a post all its own. Be back with that one soon....