Christmas

So I made it to Christmas break!!! My class this year is really good, so it hasn't been too difficult... but I haven't had a break since the year started. I got a day at Thanksgiving, but the most time that I've had is two days in a row... this is the first time I'll have some real time to myself!

Steve got me my Sidekick III for Christmas (early) and then this last week we went and got his surround sound system for the livingroom. When we got home the system sounded great, but just wasn't perfect because of the tv. So... we went back out and we got a 50-inch flat-screen plasma television and stand. It's absolutely beautiful. It's got HD and we've got HD through our cable so we're able to see all the HD stuff now and it's amazing!!

Friday I had our Christmas party at school. Kylie and I opened the wall (probably won't happen again)... we did a pizza party and then the kids did two different ornament craft activities. They made a snowman ornament out of popsicle sticks and then they were each given a packet of Model Magic to use and create an ornament. The kids had fun.

We went Christmas shopping this morning for mom (it's our tradition to go shopping on Christmas Eve). We went to Westland mall... it wasn't busy at all. She is going to be very happy with her Christmas (at least she better be)!!

I came home from shopping and had a headache so I took a nap, and Steve's downstairs watching the Bengals play the Broncos in HD. He doesn't feel well so he's laying on the couch.

It's depressing that there's no snow for Christmas. I don't remember it being so warm in December. I was just outside with Ned and I have a tank top on and I was realitively comfortable.

Lastly, my website has been given another award. I got a gold award today... I was surprised because I don't remember submitting my website for this one, but whatever. An award is an award and it's all very cool by me!!

Talk to you after tomorrow!!
>^..^<

No time...

So I feel like lately I don't have time for anything! I was out sick last Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday... and I haven't been able to get back on track. I guess being sick does that to you. Anyway- not just at work but here at home too, I feel like I'm rushed at night and didn't get anything done that I had planned.

I completely redid my website. If you haven't noticed yet- thanks for taking the time to look at my website occasionally (lol). It looks so much nicer-- and I'm very proud of my efforts (I couldn't have done it without Steve). I have earned five or six awards so far... which is very cool.

Steve bought me my Sidekick III phone for Christmas (early). I absolutely love love love it!! He's so good to me. My new number was e-mailed out-- if you didn't get the e-mail let me know and I'll hook you up with my digits!!

I started an art club at school for Mondays from 4-5 and this last Monday (yesterday) was my first day. It was so great! I am not getting paid for it, but it was fun! I love to draw and teach and I am getting to do both! I have 27 kids in my first session (about 8 weeks long) and then another 27 for my second session (another 8 weeks). I had more than 75 kids express an interest to join-- I had to turn away kids and it made me sad, but I just can't do another day because I'm not being paid and the club isn't being funded by my school-- yeah I have SUCH a supportive principal (NOT).

Yesterday I went to Optim-Eyes for my annual eye exam. My eyes are healthy-- but my prescription changed. I'm near-sighted and I have a bad stygmatism in my left eye-- so I have a cute new pair of glasses coming next Monday. You will be seeing me wear these ones, as they are cute!! Steve liked them a lot (he helped decide which ones to get).

After my appointment, we went to Circuit City and bought a new home stereo system (surround sound). We've got one now, but it's not a good quailty... but our new one kicks some serious butt!! We used our Christmas money for it so the best part about it-- we paid for it with cash and it's ours--all ours!! I love having our finances in line and I'm so glad we've been saving all year for Christmas (we're enrolled in a Christmas Club). YAY!!!

Anyway-- I'm looking forward to being done with school for a few weeks. We've got two weeks left and I'm excited! My student teacher, Diane, has her last day with us on Friday. It'll be a very sad day, as she's been an amazing addition to my classroom!!! She is going to help me with art club on Mondays so I'm glad I'll still work with her and my kids will still get to see her!!

Until next time...

>^..^<

Music: "Me and You"-- Kenny Chesney :)
Mood: Happy

So... it's been a few days since I last wrote. This was such a fast week (I loved it). On Tuesday I had my Annual Thanksgiving Feast with my 5th graders. It was so nice!! We had turkey, ham, chicken tenders, green beans, stuffing, mac-n-cheese, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, rolls, apple pie, cherry pie, pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, baklava, some Romanian dessert, chocolate-chip cookies, whipped cream and punch. I'm sure I'm forgetting some additional food items... but you get the point. It was soooo good. There were about nine families that came and just about everyone in class brought something in for the party. We then watched the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving... and then Over the Hedge. It was a nice day!! Mom brought me the tickets that she was given for the Thanksgiving Parade and breakfast at the Tiger Club.

On Wednesday, we had a half day and it went by so fast! I had a 1:00 nail appointment-- so after I dropped Victoria and her sister Nicole (they're twins) off with the tortoises (they're taking them for the holiday break), I went to Subway and grabbed lunch. I ran into Mrs. Swidan... I had her son Ryan in my very first 3rd grade class... he's like 14 now (yeah I feel old). It was nice seeing her... then I went to get my nails done. Dreama completely moved all her nail stuff and they're remodeling the place-- it looked really nice.

I got home and soon after Steve came home. He's so good to me... he had Thai for lunch with Jack and Cindy-- and I begged and begged for him to get me some to go, but he said no. Well... wouldn't you know that he brought me some!! It was sooo good!!! I love me some Thai food!! Anyway, we cleaned the house (it took ALL night) and then my mom came over. She stayed the night so she could get up and make the turkey.

We got up at the butt-crack of dawn, I was sooooooo tired. Not feeling the waking up early thing. Anyway, we got our showers and got dressed and dad and Dan came over... and we decided to go to Fairlane Mall and catch the shuttle to the parade. We got downtown relatively quickly without many problems. We headed over to Comerica Park to find the Tiger Club... and then we went inside. There were a bunch of people waiting, they hadn't opened the doors yet. We finally went upstairs and it was sooooooo nice!! We had an amazing breakfast buffet... and then on the way out they had hot chocolate!!! It was so nice!! We then went downstairs to leave and there were people giving gifts! We each got a Macy's scarf... a box of Frangelico chocolates and a necklace thingy (it glowed). It was so nice... we were all very impressed!!

We headed to the grandstands for our seats and they were awesome. We sat between the Fox and the State Theater (directly in front of Comerica Park... on the Comerica Park side of Woodward). It was a great day-- mild weather... great crowd... and my dad loved it!!! He had such a great time. It was nice to share the moment with my dad and Steve.

We got home and I started making my Zinger cake and cheese ball and 7-Layer dip. Steve napped while mom and I watched The Polar Express. Mary Breeding came over and so did Dan. We had a nice dinner... turkey, ham, stuffing, Grandma Ghrist's green salad, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberries, rolls, and green-bean casserole. For dessert we had Zinger cake (so tasty), cherry pie and pumpkin pie.

We watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (my favorite Christmas movie)... and then everyone left and Steve and I cleaned up and then we went to bed... exhausted.

This morning we slept in, then we went to see Deck the Halls. It wasn't worth the money-- not very good. We had seen the previews and the movie looked so funny-- the preview parts were just about the only funny parts. It was very predictable. We gave it 2 out of 4 stars. Mom met us for the movie, I think she liked it, but it wasn't terrific. Anyway, we then went to IKEA and got some cd/dvd shelves, rugs, a clock and I think that's all we got. Steve is downstairs attempting to put the shelves together (they only give pictures-- no written directions), so I came up here to avoid being in his way. :)

Tomorrow, Steve's dad and his girlfriend are coming to stay for the night. We're going to dinner with my parents and then going to see Haywood Banks at the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase. We're excited-- we've got really good seats. Sunday, Steve's dad is leaving and maybe we'll put up the Christmas stuff. I just wasn't feeling it today.

Black Friday is about over-- I'm going to go for now-- talk to you later.

>^..^<

Current Mood: Estatic

Purse Party...

Okay... so my friend Jenny from work had a purse party last night at her house. I wasn't too sure what to expect, since last weekend when I went with Aimee to the home-based-business party there was a purse lady there and her selection SUCKED. This party was a cash only deal (kinda sucked) but I was able to get some cash. I wasn't sure how much to bring, since I didn't know how great the selection would be.

To say that it was like a kid in a candy store would be an understatement. As I walked up her sidewalk, I could see inside and there were HUGE garbage bags... bag upon bag upon bag. When I went in, Jenny greeted me and was super excited that I was there (I was the first to arrive). She got me a drink and I patiently waited while the purse ladies unloaded all the garbage bags FILLED WITH PURSES!!!!! They were done and the lady told me to just start looking and when I found something, to just hold on to it. THAT WAS THE KEY.

So... I started to look and literally, my heart was pounding so fast! I was beside myself with excitement as I looked at these beautiful purses! It was unlike anything that I'd ever seen. I saw so many cute purses!! I spotted this super cute Kate Spade so I grabbed it and put it on my arm while I continued to look.

Here's where the drama begins. You knew there'd be drama... it's a purse party-- tons of purses-- tons of women. Anyway, I spotted one of the parents that I had two years ago (her son Josh was in my 5th grade class), and I said hi to her and she said hi back, but she sees my purse. She comes over and says, "I want this purse!!!" So she asked the lady if there was another one, and of course, there wasn't. So she totally starts throwing a temper-tantrum about my purse and how her experience is ruined because there's someone here that has the same taste in purses as her, and she isn't going to get anything that she wanted. (Yes... I'm being serious).
She followed me around the entire party and kept asking how much I wanted for the purse. She wanted it because it came WITH an additional purse inside it (it was a killer deal). I tried to laugh it off, because I honestly thought she was kidding. Anyway- everytime I found something cute she'd say, "It is cute... you should get it and give me the Kate Spade." To say it got old would be a HUGE understatement. I actually had to tell her to back off and leave me alone because I wasn't putting the purse down and I wasn't going to give it to her.

So... I ended up getting the cute Kate Spade (with the bonus bag) and a really cute Coach with a white Coach wallet that has flip-flops on it (very cute). If I had known how much great stuff there was going to be... I would have brought more money. Also-- people brought check books and were writing the checks payable to cash (I didn't know I could have done that either). I know now... ;)

I'm going to have a purse party of my own. I got the business card for the lady and I'm going to make arrangements for her to come to Canton and host a party here. She's in Flint... so it's a drive for her, but she made a butt-load last night. Just about everyone there bought at least two purses... Jenny bought four and there were people with both arms full.

Amazing! I'll keep you posted about when I'm having the party-- just make sure you come early so you can get the best purses and hopefully avoid a crazed purse purchaser...
>^..^<

Currently listening : The Captain By Kasey Chambers

I don't really have a lot to blog about today... so I'm going to just make it short. I have parent-teacher conferences today-- we had them last night also. I taught all day and then from 4-7:30 we had conferences. I have this morning off and then from 1:00-7:30 we've got the rest of conferences. Bla. Then tomorrow we have a staff development day. It made for a very short week. Then next week we've got school Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (only in the morning) and we're off for Thanksgiving. I'm having my Annual Thanksgiving Feast on Tuesday. I'm pretty excited about it. I had a parent tell me last night that they'll make the turkey for us so I am totally excited about it!!!

Okay-- I'm going to go shower and eat lunch and head back to school for conferences. I'll talk to you later!

>^..^<

Happy Halloween!!

Tuesday was Halloween and boy was it fun!! We had the MEAP Tailgate at school at lunchtime and then after that we had our Halloween parade and then our party. It was so much fun! The kids had a great time and there was a ton of candy!! I came home and Steve and I sat outside and passed out candy. We only had 45 trick-or-treaters this year. I was slightly disappointed, but we had left-over candy so I was happy!!

On Wednesday, my student teacher Diane started teaching full time. She is doing a great job-- I feel a little weird just sitting around-- so maybe this week I'll go and visit other people and see what they're doing. She's being observed on Monday-- should be interesting. It's a cooperative lesson... and she's having them make terrariums for science to teach them the water-cycle. She's very creative and brings so many new ideas to the room!! I love it!

Wednesday was also the two year anniversary of Grandma Burney's death. It was sad... I thought about her all day long. I miss her so much... and Grandma Ghrist. I know they're both watching over me, but I still miss seeing them and hearing their voices and laughter.

Yesterday I went to Your Comfort Zone and got my hair highlighted by Trish. I was nervous because I have not found a good hair dresser since Rochelle... and I hate it when the person that does my hair makes it look stupid. However... Trish did a great job!! My hair is lighter (yay) and she did my eyebrows too!! She thinned out my hair and straighted it for me. It looks very cute today!!

Today Steve and I got up pretty early (8am) and we had breakfast (bacon, eggs and toast) and then we went and saw Open Season. It was absolutely hilarious!! It's been a while since I laughed so hard at a movie! We then went to Target on the way home and I got the Tayler Swift cd and the Weird Al cd. I was very excited!!

We got home and then mom came over and stayed for a bit. We called dad and asked if he wanted to meet for dinner and to our surprise he did! We met at the new Mongolian BBQ here in Canton and it was soooo yummy!! I was worried about dad because mom said that he didn't like Monglian BBQ (she didn't think he'd want to go there for dinner)... he went up for THREE bowls!! He loved it!!

We just got home (not too long ago) and now we're just about ready for bed. Tomorrow I've got my EC meeting at 4pm and then it's back to work. Next Saturday we've got Main Dish... and then we're supposed to go out with Aimee and Matt. It should be fun since I feel like I haven't seen Aimee in forever. I used to see her all the time over the summer, but now that we're both back to work-- I don't see her as much as I'd like.

Until next time...
>^..^<

I can't wait until Thanksgiving!!! Only 19 days!!!

This was our first weekend home for more than a month!! On Saturday we watched some movies... we saw Poisidon (not very entertaining if you ask me) and I finally watched Hoot. It wasn't as good as the book, but I didn't really expect that anyway. We didn't do much else on Saturday.

Today we slept in (it was so nice) and then set all the clocks back an hour (I LOVE Daylight Savings Time)!!! We ate breakfast and showered and headed off to Costco and Kroger for the weekly shopping trip. We got home and then I had to leave for Gen's house for the Junior Circle event.

We made cookies (from scratch) for the ZA and AB actives for Halloween. It was fun... but was a lot of work. I stayed until 5:15 and even that at (4 hours and 15 minutes) we still didn't have all the cookies done. We definitely could have used some additional hands to help.

Anyway- the cookie making was exciting and fun. It was nice to hang with the girls for the afternoon and talk about girl stuff. The next JC event is going to be December 2nd and we're going to have dinner and then go to the comedy club for some laughs. Should be a good time!

That's it from me..

>^..^<

Last Friday (October 20th) Steve and Aimee and I went to the ZA Alumnae BBQ at the house. It was a very cute house... and it was nice seeing people that I had not seen in a long time!! Sara and Ryan came, Christy and her new boy were there, Shauna, Diana, Andrea, Miller and Beth, Recker, Holly and of course Melissa Brown. We got there around 7ish and ate, went outside for a bit and then decided to head back inside. There were a lot of people there. The only weird thing about these events is that the alumnae talk to each other and the actives talk to each other and then there's no inter-mixing of the two. Anyway, I had a good time.

On Saturday morning we got up early and drove to Indianapolis, Indiana for a BBQ at Steve's dad's girlfriend Sue Ann's house. It was enjoyable. Steve and I were wearing our Tiger gear (the Tigers were playing at night) and we were excited to meet Sue Ann's friends and family. We had a "Low Country Boil" for dinner (kielbasa, potatoes, shrimp and corn all in a pot with spices and stuff and it boils for a few hours). It was the same stuff that Steve and I had when we went camping in May.

We got to Steve's dad's house kinda late on Saturday night (after the BBQ). We went straight to bed. We got up very early on Sunday and went to Bob Evan's for breakfast. Then we headed home to Michigan. It was a quick weekend.

On Monday Steve came home from work and I begged him to take me to Outback for dinner. We went because he was leaving for Savannah, Georgia on Tuesday for a conference. He left Tuesday morning for the conference and arrived around 1:00 or so. He e-mailed me at work to tell me that he arrived and that he'd call me later. When he called around 6ish he said that he felt terrible and was going to stay in for the night (instead of going to dinner with some colleagues). We said goodnight and then at 7:15am on Wednesday he called me to tell me that he was coming home. I was shocked! He said that he felt absolutely awful and wasn't going to stay there all week feeling like he did.

He called me at work on Wednesday around 5:45 and asked if I was on my way home or not. I said that I had more work to do and he said that he was going to go to Canton's Urgent Care. I said I'd come home right away and take him. We got to Urgent Care around 6:45 and we were there past 8:00. We went to fill his perscription and then we stopped and got Chinese carry-out. We have no idea what Steve has... but the doctor prescribed the Z-Pack (Zithromycin) and said that regardless of what he has, the Z-Pack will knock out anything.

We watched the Tigers lose the World Series last night (Friday the 27th). I was sad, but very proud of the Tigers. They have had one hell of a season and I couldn't be more proud of them. I would have loved to see them win, but honestly, St. Louis hasn't won a series since 1982... AND they've been to the World Series THREE times and didn't win any!! I was glad to see them win, knowing that our time is coming again. Everyone deserves a happy ending right? I just hope that all the fair-weather fans fall off the bus and leave us TRUE fans alone. I like being able to get tickets and enjoy myself at the ball park!!

Anyway, I can't believe that Halloween is Tuesday!! We're having the MEAP Tailgate (all 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders) from 12:00-1:30 and then from 2:00-2:15 is the Halloween parade and then 2:15-3:45 is our party! We're going to watch Monster House (maybe) and then party!! Should be a fun day!!

Until next week...

>^..^<

Steve took this cute picture of me and mom. Too bad she isn't smiling here!! I think she looks a lot like Grandma Burney here... 

This is Steve and I at Plymouth Orchards in Plymouth. It was a great day!!

 

This is Steve and I at the Lions game on October 15th. Don't we look cute!! 

What A Weekend!!

Steve and I had a great weekend! On Friday night we went to dinner with the Mossers. I had Addison in my 3rd and 5th grade classes and I got pretty close to her family. Steve and I met them in Ann Arbor at Mongolian BBQ. It was sooooo tasty!! We were supposed to go to the corn maze after, but it was too cold and Steve chickened out.

Saturday we had Main Dish at 3:00 with Aimee. We had a good time... made our food and were out of there in 45 minutes. We got home and then mom came over and we headed over to Plymouth Orchards for our annual cider mill trip!! We took some pictures of the animals and then we went inside and had some cider and a donut. We were going to go shopping, but mom wanted us to drop her off so she could drive home. Steve and I headed to Target and got some stuff (a cat gym thingy, Skittles for my math lesson on Friday and other Halloween goodies). Then we drove to the AWESOME Halloween store on Michigan Ave. While driving we were listening to the Tiger game and THEY WON!!!! It was awesome!!! Completely swept the A's!!!

On Sunday we got up super early and went to the Lions game. We had lunch at the DAC (Detroit Athletic Club) with a guy that is an associate of Steve's. We walked over to Ford Field (right next door) and then headed to our AMAZING seats!!! We were sooo close to the field! The Lions won and we were super excited to be there to watch it!!

This Friday I've got the ZA Alumnae BBQ at 7ish and Aimee and Matt are supposed to come over here and we're going to carpool together. Then on Saturday we're driving BACK down to Ohio for Steve's dad's girlfriend SueAnn's barbecue. Not sure what to expect from that... but we'll see. I'll be sure to post some pictures!!

>^..^<

Me and Sara at her reception. 

Sara and Ryan Cullin!! 

Sara and her dad... 

Steve and I 

Tailgating before the UD game. 

Some of the boys... 

Some of the girls... 

The kids on the bus to Greenfield Village on Friday! 

Music: "Travelin' Soldier" by The Dixie Chicks
Mood: Thankful

I haven't posted for a week... and we have had just the busiest of weeks!! On Friday, my 5th graders went on their first field trip of the year to Greenfield Village. It was a ton of fun! I had more than 12 parents go, so there were a lot of really small groups. It was a great day too-- very crisp, cool weather! The village wasn't too busy or crowded and it was really enjoyable.

Friday night Steve and I drove down to New Paris, Ohio and we stayed the night at his dad's house. His dad is in South/North Carolina with SueAnn (his lady friend) so it was just us there. His dad has a new kitten and we had fun playing with her and trying to sleep while she attacked our feet. We got up very early on Saturday and Steve had to go to some recycling place to take some pictures and do a evaluation for Federal-Mogul. His boss even reinbursed him for the travel down and back!!

After the evaluation, we drove to Dayton for the University of Dayton football game. We tailgated from 11 to about 1 and then we headed inside for the game. UD ended up losing... we stayed there until 3:30ish and then we had to leave to go to our hotel. We stayed at the Hampton Inn in Springboro, OH. We checked in and Steve was able to get our room upgraded to a suite! It was sweet!! He took a shower and then we got dressed and headed to Sara's wedding in Cincinnati.

I had never had Skyline Chili and we stopped there on the way because I was starving! I wasn't impressed with Skyline. I had the tiny chili-dog and it was okay. The chili has cinnimon in it and I didn't like it. Steve was in 7th heaven eating his chili-cheese dogs and chili-cheese fries. So... I can say I've had the infamous Skyline... and wasn't impressed.

We went to Sara's wedding and it was fun. She looked so nervous!! It was a very sweet ceremony and short and to the point. She looked beautiful and the outdoor ceremony was perfect. The wedding started at 6... right as the sun was setting. It was beautiful.

We stayed there for a few hours... and left around 9:45 to head back to the hotel. We slept in on Sunday and drove to Dayton to see Steve's first house... it was pretty run-down. He was rather surprised at how bad it looked. I guess that's what happens when someone else takes over... you never know how it's going to go.

Tonight Steve and I went to the union meeting at school and then we picketed and walked with about 120 other teachers. Then we went to the board meeting and packed the room. We were very fortunate that the meeting had a closed session called... and we were out of there by 7:30! So we were able to get home at a decent time. There was a proposal made to the board and they were going to be voting on it tonight-- we'll see tomorrow if it passed or not!! Keep your fingers crossed!

I feel so very fortunate for having Steve in my life. He's so supportive of me and does anything he can to show me that he loves and values me in his life. I can honestly say that not everyone is lucky enough to have a person in their life that is so willing to show their love. He's definitely one in a million and I thank God for bringing us together. We talked about all of this while driving to and from Ohio this weekend. We're so lucky...

Until next time...

>^..^<

Cindy and Bob's wedding 

Fr. Terry and his sister Maureen 

Me and Aimee 

Scott-- being Scott 

Steve and I at my birthday dinner. 

Music: "Light Up My Room"-- BNL
Mood: Happy

So today is my birthday and I'm 30!! As a kid 30 always seemed so far away... and here it is! It was a pretty good birthday all things considering. This weekend Steve planned a nice dinner with my family and it was very nice. Aimee came and totally surprised me and it was so great to see her. We went to J. Alexander's and I wasn't too impressed. Very expensive and not my kind of restaurant at all.

Sunday we went to Cindy and Bob's wedding. It was unique... that's all I'll say about that. We got home kinda late last night so it felt like our entire weekend was blown.

Today was "Hat Day" and the kids all wore their favorite hats. Diane brought in her birthday cake hat for me to wear and it was a BIG hit! One of my students brought me three roses with babys breath and then another student gave me a dozen wildflowers in a pretty boquet and a card. Then they signed a card for me and then two of my girls drew me a picture with frogs all over it for my birthday. It was very sweet. I brought in Star Crunches and Oatmeal Cream Pies for my birthday treat and the kids sang to me. :)

When I got home Steve and I went to Chin Express and got take-out and we just finished a tasty dinner. I just thought I'd blog since it's been a while.

Talk to ya later!

>^..^<

Getting ready for Open House (9/6/06) 

Classification Activity during Science