Giveaway shoutout!

Don't get too excited, if anyone still reads this, I'm doing a giveaway shoutout to one of my favorite blogs- Laura



Keep posting LT!!

Memories and Hormones!

Who knew life could change so much in 10 years? Today, I guess I've been in nesting mode; I'm done giving finals and now only have to grade, so I'm taking time today to clean out my old chest of drawers and desk that are in the baby's room. I know hormones don't help, but who knew cleaning out a desk would make you cry? A little backstory...I've had this desk since moving to Starkville 10 years ago for my junior year of college. It's kind of been passed through my family since we were little. And today going through those drawers was like opening a time machine to 2000. I've found my old printer cartridges, credit cards, library cards, MCC ID cards, pictures, and old copies of Vanity Fair and Entertainment Weekly (with Prince William and Harry Potter on the covers). I've still got my teacher's license, PRAXIS scores, acceptance letter into grad school, old lesson plan assignment when I was in education, all of it. I've also found birthday cards from my parents, my friends, and Alan from when we were dating. Most meaningful, I've found birthday and Christmas cards from all my grandparent, who have since all died. Who knew that just by cleaning out ONE piece of furniture you'd find your whole past, a snapshot of who you were, who you were becoming, and where you've ended up. And now here I am getting ready for another new stage in my (our) life. Whoo...emotional overload today. So, if you've got that piece of furniture or that box or drawer that you've stuffed everything in, be careful! You never know what insights or discoveries it might lead you to. Oh, and P.S. it might make you hold on to things. I was thinking about selling the desk, but right now, I can't bring myself to get rid of my time capsule!

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice....

For those few who read my blog and not my facebook, the verdict is in! We're having a GIRL! It was so amazing watching the ultrasound; we were both speechless. It's amazing watching what goes on in there. The ultrasound tech told us we have a very active little girl, which is good because I haven't felt anything yet, so I was wondering what was going on in there. Remember I said that because in the next couple of weeks or so, I'm sure I'll be able to feel EVERYTHING! But wow, it seems so real now that we have a little person... a little girl person. Thanks for all the well wishes and the advice on the maternity clothes. I finally got some this weekend, and everyone is definitely right...at least right now, your regular size is the one you want to go with. Now we just get to focus on baby's room and names. Stay tuned for more.

The Time Has Come

Alright, my few and faithful blog followers, this is it. My last post as an expectant mother of an unknown child. We go tomorrow to find out, Lord willing and he/she cooperates, if Baby A is a boy or girl. Drumroll please... I can't believe it's already time. This is a very surreal feeling; the feeling that after tomorrow it won't be just this baby I'm carrying or this mysterious thing, but a more definite little person with a gender and, eventually, a specific name. Wow...it makes this really real, in a great way. Then, we get to focus on all the fun stuff of choosing names and colors and bedding and stuff. And when I go to Disneyworld, in 2 weeks, I'll get to buy his/her first pair of Mickey ears...love it! So people this is your last chance...weigh in now. What do you think, boy or girl? You have until tomorrow at 5 to vote. Then, we'll have the answer.

P.S. The most recent perplexing issue I've come across in pregnancy...maternity clothes. Do you buy them in your "normal" size, like they say, because they are suppose fit like that or do I not need to fall in love with the maternity shirts I have so far because I'm going to have to restock in a little while? Help!!

One trimester down...two to go!

Well in case I haven't called you personally or you haven't seen my facebook page, SURPRISE! We're expecting a baby! I'm due July 27th, right in the middle of summer...yea! Maybe it won't be too hot until August, but at least Alan and I will be off from school.

It's taken me a while to blog because I've been busy getting back into school and let's face it...I'm TIRED! Number one pregnancy "side effect" I've been dealing with, which isn't so bad considering I've haven't been sick at all (knock on wood). I've been feeling pretty good also, so that's a blessing. But first trimester down, and now I'm on to the second, which according to some sources is suppose to give me energy or at least I'm suppose to not feel AS tired as I have been. Fingers crossed on that one.

And doesn't it seem like when you get pregnant that everyone around you gets pregnant! Every stranger you see in Walmart is pregnant and every day you seem to get a phone call about another friend who has found out she is expecting. For example, right now we have 5 people in our church who are pregnant (and we go to a smaller church) and one other close friend who just found out she is expecting while another two are already pregnant! 2010 is going to be a busy year!

So I'll try to keep up posting some of my "discoveries" of pregnancy and my pet peeves. For instance, must everyone who has ever had a baby tell you her horror story of her pregnancy or how they "like" your doctor, but he's not their favorite because he did something to tick her off. If you can't say something nice...

Happy Friday!!

I know I haven't blogged in forever, but I'll catch you up on what's been going on later. Right now here are some happy thoughts and realizations for a good Friday. We're leaving this afternoon going to Nashville to support our Bulldogs against Vandy. Go DAWGS!! P.S. I copied this post from LT.

-More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my ownstory that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.

-Nothing stinks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

-I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the lighter?

-Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like checkyour watch orphone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

-I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

-Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magicallyfix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all knowhow to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards orFAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

-There is a great need for sarcasm font.

-Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.

-How in the world are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

-I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags up my forearms than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

- I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

-The only time I look forward to a red light is when I trying to finish a text.

- A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you s*ck at it.

- Was learning cursive really necessary?

- Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else tosay".

- I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

- How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

- I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a moron from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

- Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in'examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said"Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"

- While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

- MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

- Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

- I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.

- I would like to officially coin the phrase 'catching the swine flu' to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with an overweight woman. Example: "Dave caught the swine flu last night."

-I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

- Bad decisions make good stories.

-Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that theirprofile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if Ido!

-If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring wouldprobably just be completely invisible.

-Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to goaround and say their name and where they are from, I get so incrediblynervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be aproblem....

-You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at workwhen you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anythingproductive for the rest of the day.

-Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.

-There's no worse feeling than that millisecond after leaning your chairback a little too far when you're sure you're going to die.

-I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear Idid not make any changes to.

- "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this, ever.

-I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dangit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goesto voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

- I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

-When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.

-I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, thenI like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

-Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speedfor pedophiles.

- As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

-Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

-I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

-Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.

-Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey -but I bet my a - - everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...

-My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what wouldhappen if you ran over a ninja?" How the heck do I respond to that?

-I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

-I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

-The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimated that there must be at least four people eating torequire such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There's nothing like being made to feel like a fatty before dinner.

(I did not write this, but I wish I had.)

C is for Cookie

Shannon AKA "Cookie Mama" is giving away more cookies. Go over to her site and register NOW!! I had her delicious cookies at a lingerie shower, and they were the cutest things! They were heart shaped cookies with bras and panties on! If nothing else, you have to go over and check out her designs!

My Header!

I finally have a header that I made! *smile* Ever since I started blogging, I would see people with all these cute headers, and I had no idea how they would create them. I would read about people using photoshop, which I don't have, and all these other programs, but alas, I could never figure it out. Thanks to Ashley W., I have been inspired and led to a program I knew about, but didn't know how to work- Scrapblog. I know this is probably years behind everyone else, but my next favorite thing currently is scrapblog and my new header! Let me know what you think.

Raindrops on Roses

These are a few of my favorite things. I promised I would blog more if I had something to talk about, and well, I'm doing better. At least this is the second blog in the same month! Maybe I'll finally start blogging every week...gasp! In honor of today and tomorrow, my next favorite thing is....RAIN!

I love rain! Thunderstorms or just a spring shower, I love it! I like rain better when I'm lying in bed, and I don't have to be anywhere and the sound just rolls off the roof and keeps me dreaming...sigh. I don't like driving in a heavy downpour, but after the last few summers with little to no rain, I am not complaining regardless. Right now I'm loving rain because it gets rid of all the nasty pollen! What's the point of washing my nasty car if it's just going to become yellow? I'm on carwashing strike! This time of year (baseball season) I also like rain because it gives us a relief, usually in the form of a night off during the week to just be, right Ashley W? When you have 5 games during a week, sometimes you frankly pray for rain. Of course, you have to make them up, but mostly the break is worth it! P.S. I'm praying for a rainout tomorrow!!

Just in time for Spring...My favorite thing.

Sorry my few but faithful blog visitors for the extreme delay in updates, but as I said last time, I'll try to do better. For a quick recap, my spring semester has begun and is in full swing. Spring break is a week away!! Yea! Baseball season is also in full swing, so we've been super busy with that. To inspire me to blog more often I think I'll start or end each entry with things I like. This will help get to know me and my many eclectic tastes better, and it will give me something to blog about when times are slow. Okay...ready? My first favorite thing is....

Yes, EBAY! I'm completely obsessed about what I can find on this website! My husband has even questioned this to the point of suggesting addiction...hmm. But really, I don't buy off of it as much as I LOVE to browse. Need to find another place setting of that china you didn't get at your bridal shower 5 years ago? Check Ebay. What about finding some Mccarty pottery that they don't sell in your area? Check Ebay. Shoes, baby clothes, posters, jewelry, and junk , they have it all! If you ever need any help trying to locate something on ebay or need tips, just let me know. I'll be happy to help!

It Getting To Be That Time of Year...

And no I don't mean the holidays...yet! It's almost time for....FINALS!!! Yea! The time of year every teacher loathes and looks forward to. The time of year my skin breaks out in a rash at just the word "paper". The time of year that every student (even those that I haven't seen since the first week of class) is suddenly the model student and very concerned about his/her grades. The time of year that I go cross-eyed and blind looking at so many papers, but after it's all done, I'm free! Free to enjoy the holidays! I blame finals for my Christmas decorating not getting done until a week or two into December although I may get lucky this year and have them up the weekend after Thanksgiving (fingers crossed). Maybe this year I'll actually decorate my mantle with more than just stockings...maybe. Thanks for giving me some venting time, and I'll be sure to post more updated pics since I finally have my computer back. Until then...it's the most wonderful/stressful time of the year :)

Where has the time gone? Part 2

Two posts in one day? That's like a sighting of the Loch Ness monster or Bigfoot! More catch up. The week after my mamaw past away for some reason I was on the Starkville Humane Society page and saw a puppy I just had to meet. Now remember, we put a fence around our yard, and I've always wanted a dog, but I didn't know if I was ready for one this soon. But there she was a Blue Heeler/Australian Shepard mix, and I fell in love. We named her Belle. Then, I swear I went through what I can only imagine it is like with a child: what do I do now?; I don't want to screw her up!; what if I'm a bad owner?. I kid you now this went on for a couple of days, and now she is in to everything. We have gotten the walking on the leash down, but if you have any tips on dog training or raising, please let me know. Here are a few pics I got off my facebook page, and if you want to see more there are more on Facebook.

Meet Belle!


Here's a side shot to show her markings.

Can I chew on the camera?

Where has the time gone?

Okay, so my plan of keeping an updated blog over the summer and into the new school semester has failed miserably, but at least this gives me a good reason for a nice catch up blog. Therefore, beware, this might be a long one.

In May I made a list of to dos over the summer, so let's see how many I actually did.

1. Strip the border in the dining room and get it painted this week.
I did this one!! I thought the border would be easier since it wasn't double layered like the rest of the wallpapered rooms, see below to the pictures of the foyer. The dining room also looks great if I may say so. Pictures to come when I get my computer back.

2. Go see April, Robert and Duncan in Natchez
This one unfortunately we didn't do :( But I hope to change that soon.

3. Have a great time teaching Intro to Lit in June
This one came true. I had a great time teaching a bunch of great students in June!

4. Celebrate Joshua Patrick's arrival on June 4th (give or take a day)
This one didn't happen on June 4th, but on May 30th! Little man is not so little any more and so precious. Again, I'll post pics later.

5. Paint the 70s poop brown trim on the outside of our house to a nice pleasing tanish and paint our garage so it doesn't feel like your driving into a dungeon
Alas, we still have our dungeon, but we do have the paint colors ready!

6. Put up a privacy fence in our backyard! (Hopefully, this may get moved up the list)
It did get moved up!! And we finished it by the first weeks of July working off and on between my teaching and Alan's baseball practice.

7. Read for pleasure
This I definitely did! Nora Roberts and I caught up on a little quality time.

8. Paint our bedroom (The first room to paint with no wallpaper to take down
9. Get our kitchen painted (There's lots of wallpaper, so I'm calling in professionals this time!)
Alas, 8 & 9 didn't get done, but hopefully, soon.

10. Go to the beach with my family
11. Go see Travis, Julie, and Addison in Jacksonville
These two were done in the same trip (pics to come). We went down and spent four days with my family and then drove on to Jacksonville and spent 3 days with Travis, Julie, and cutie pie Addison. We had the best time!

12. Go see Keith in Boston
Unfortunately and luckily, this one didn't happen. I'll explain the luckily in a minute.

13. Go see Alan's summer ballteam (mostly in June)
14. Relax
These two were done, but not always together. The Green Wave did pretty good this summer. They're really coming together as a ball team.

Now to the major happening this summer. I said I would tell you why luckily we didn't go to Boston. Well, the only week we really had for out of town travel was the week we went to the beach and Jacksonville. We had orginially thought to then leave Jacksonville and go up to Boston and then get back before Alan had to be back at work. It would have been a push, but in the end we didn't want to stretch ourselves too thin. Well, the last week of July (when we would have went), my grandmother died. My mamaw, Mary Lucille Moore, was the grandparent I was closest to. She and Dada (my grandfather) lived next door to us, and I would always go over and play in the garden or with the dogs or play dress up in her old clothes. They were part of our everyday lives. After my grandfather died in 2001 and Mamaw had fallen a time or two, she moved in with my parents. She was 92 years old and still very sharp. Back in May, she had a light stroke, which she bounced back from pretty quickly, but the after effects to her body really weakened her. She had trouble remembering for a little while, but got that back. It was her mobility that really got her down. She was in a nursing home swing bed for rehabilitation, and she hated it there. She said she didn't like being around all these old people :) That was Mamaw's humor! But the last week of July, she got pnemonia suddenly and past away that same day. Luckiy, my parents were back from the beach and we had just gotten home from Jacksonville; in fact, I was planning on going to see her that weekend. So, she certainly will be missed even though I know she up in heaven with Dada now and all her friends. They're probably having a big time like always :)

That's all for now, but I'll be back soon with another edition. I promise.

Welcome Back!

Sorry to the few faithful that stopped by my blog only to be sorely disappointed to not find ANYTHING new. The end of the semester was wicked crazy, and I've be taking my time and enjoying the start of my summer. Of course, I'm about to go back to work since I'm teaching summer school in June. Instead of trying to rehash the last couple of months how about starting anew and looking forward to summer. Here's my summer wishlist:
1. Strip the border in the dining room and get it painted this week.
2. Go see April, Robert and Duncan in Natchez
3. Have a great time teaching Intro to Lit in June
4. Celebrate Joshua Patrick's arrival on June 4th (give or take a day)
5. Paint the 70s poop brown trim on the outside of our house to a nice pleasing tanish and paint our garage so it doesn't feel like your driving into a dungeon
6. Put up a privacy fence in our backyard! (Hopefully, this may get moved up the list)
7. Read for pleasure
8. Paint our bedroom (The first room to paint with no wallpaper to take down)
9. Get our kitchen painted (There's lots of wallpaper, so I'm calling in professionals this time!)
10. Go to the beach with my family
11. Go see Travis, Julie, and Addison in Jacksonville
12. Go see Keith in Boston
13. Go see Alan's summer ballteam (mostly in June)
14. Relax

I admit it's an ambitous list, and I'm realistic enough to realize not everything will get done, but that's why it's called a wish list. I'm hoping we'll at least get to see everyone this summer even if all our projects don't get finished. I have completed my first summer painting project. I've liberated our foyer from the evil hold of ugly tie-dyed wallpaper! Hooray! As you can tell from the pics, it was very trippy wallpaper and even the lightswitches were wallpapered. It was a pain in the butt to remove, but this is the last area I'm removing our two-layer thick wallpaper. We started last year on our wallpaper removal crusade in our master bathroom. We figured if we screw that up only we'll see it. That's when we discovered that we were dealing with TWO layers of wallpaper. The bottom layer being 20 years old. The wallpaper itself peels off okay, but that bottom layer leaves its backing on the wall. So you have to primer over it. I also discovered if you spackle over the lines it makes the wall a lot smoother. So, here are the before, during, and after photos. Not only do I love the color, but by painting the walls, I think it completely changed the look of the tile on the floor. Orginially, the blue wallpaper really made the floor look blue, but now with the gold color, I think it really brought out the different colors of the floor. Let me know what you think!
BEFORE: It's bad lighting because of the sun, but hopefull, you can see to full effect.
Here's a close up of the pattern and a shot of the lightswitch cover.
DURING:Here's what it looks like with no wallpaper and just the backing and spackle on the wall. You wouldn't believe the mess when you have to sand the spackle because then the wallpaper backing gets standed also and makes a huge mess!
AFTER: The final color. Hopefully, you can see the difference in the floor.
I just realized on the pictures it almost looks like the wallpaper backing and my paint color are the same! I promise they are most definitely not! Here's a close up, although it might not help much.
I also want to give credit to Tori because I used the color from her house, Gold 4,although I think hers is actually Gold 3. I loved how her walls looked in this color, and it definitely doesn't disappoint, so thank you Tori!
One painting project down, Four more to go. I'll keep you updated!

Whew!

Can I just say how fast 3 weeks pass? It doesn't seem like that long ago that I posted the countdown ticker for Disney World and now it's just a few days away!! I love spring break! Of course, I could use a week to recover from my week off and catch up on my papers, but spring break isn't for grading papers! It's for catching up the sanity that you've lost so far during the school year. I'm hoping to find some of the sanity I've lost down in Disney World, but for right now I just want to take a breath, whew. It's finally almost here.

Countin' Down the Days

As the piles of papers keep coming in, I'm sitting at my desk not thinking of the test I have to make out, but of how many days are left until I get to go to DISNEY WORLD!! I'm going with my sister, nephew, niece, mom, and brother. Notice that except for my brother, all the men are staying in Mississippi. They don't know the fun they'll miss. Of course, my brother-in-law and father do because they have been before and have "politely" declined going back. Alan has to work since baseball season doesn't stop for spring break, but I think he would like it if it were just us and some friends. I'm not quite sure he's ready for the Disney trip with an 8 yr. old and a 4 yr. old :)

Not to go off on a tanget, but I want to mention a website I'm just hooked on: www.woot.com. I bought Alan and me two MP3 players for just under $10 each! They spotlight one item a day, usually electronic, but not always, at a low price, and regardless, of the item, shipping is always $5. Fabulous! These were the first items I've bought from them, so I'll let you know how it goes!

Jackson's B-day

Here are some photos from my nephew Jackson's 8th birthday party! I can't believe he is already 8! I feel so old! He has come a long way from the little preemie who was in the NICU! He had a rodeo party where the kids rode a mechanical bull, chased chickens, and rode a horse. It was so much fun!! The chicken chases were hilarious, about 15 kids that have never seen a chicken in real life trying to catch them! Good times.

Snow Days?

I can't believe the freaky weather we have been having lately. By the end of school on Friday, everyone was gearing up for snow. Saturday morning, we were awoken by a phone call from JD, who was in Vicksburg, asking if we were getting any snow. To add to my disappointment of being awoken early, I looked outside to see that we didn't have a drop of snow!! This is Columbus, which is north of Vicksburg, how the heck did we not get snow?! And to rub in the irony even more, my parents, and everyone in Collinsville, got about 2-3 inches of snow, not a light little dusting. The last time I saw snow was in 2000; Starkville got more than Collinsville, but I was down home then. Ever since I've become a "northern" Mississippian I have yet to reap the benefits of the "northern" weather. Not only was it freezing cold this weekend, but we had no snow to play in :( At least it was a long weekend! :)

Tornado experiences

If you live in Mississippi, you've been under a tornado watch today. If you're in the Golden Triangle area, you know that not only were we under a watch, but that watch turned into a warning. There was some damage to the Caledonia schools, but as far as I know, no one was hurt. Thank God, but not to play down the seriousness of the situation, but guess where Ashley got stuck during the tornado warning? WALMART!! My friend Shelly and I were going to make a quick run after we were at Belk's, and right before we got our last item, it was announced for all customers and employees to move to the middle of the store. We were there for at least 45 minutes in the middle of the lingerie section, listening to some very annoying employees for 45 minutes. Now, Walmart's not my most favorite place on most days anyway, a necessary evil, but it is certainly the last place I want to be put on lock down in!! If there is a next time, I'm going to the camping section for a chair, then run by the magazines, then I'm going to get me some chips and dip, and have a little party in the lingerie section, and maybe go get a UNO deck too! Don't get me wrong I'm glad they were safety minded, but 45 minutes!! This definitely goes down as a new experience for the new year!

Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

As you can tell from the time that has passed from my last blog, once I finished my papers and turned in my grades I was MIA for the rest of the break. We had a great Christmas with Alan's mom and then down in Collinsville with my family. We played WAY TOO MUCH Guitar Hero on Christmas day at my folks. I now think of guitar solos that I hear in songs as colors and not notes (if you've ever played Guitar Hero you understand, if you don't, let me know and I'll explain). The weekend after Christmas we went to the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, which if you haven't heard the news by now, where have you been? GO DAWGS!! We had a blast; it was the best experience, and I froze my butt off and almost got into a fight with a smoker that sat in front of us at the game. Good times :) I'll post some pictures when I get them downloaded, but right now, I'm sure all good educators know what I'm getting ready for,yep, the return to school. I'm getting my classes in order and fixing up a new batch of syllabi for next semester. And since it's the new year, I catch myself trying to remember all that happened the previous year, and I find I can't quite remember it all. Don't you hate when that happens? So here is a questionnaire that I found on another website I love to look at. Some of the questions I changed to work more for me.

1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before? Painted pottery, was a matron of honor (Amanda's wedding), painted a room by myself, went to Nashville and the Grand Ole Opry, bought a car, and went to a bowl game.
2. Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions and will you make more for next year? I didn't really make any last year, but this year I'm going to work on not procrastinating and sticking to working out :)
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Oh yeah! JD and Rachel had John Micheal, Travis and Julie had Addison, Tori and Bo had Brayden, my cousin Tori had Cade, Haley and Patrick had Grayson, and Morgan and Matt had Ella.

4. Did anyone close to you die? Not closely related, but a very nice man, Mr. Cecil Fitch, that helped us cut hay passed away this year.

5. What countries did you visit? None

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007? a vacation during the summer and more time

7. What date from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Right now it's Dec. 29th because of the Liberty Bowl, but there is also Amanda's wedding and John Austin's birth

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? I got a permanent position at MSU as an instructor.

9. What was your biggest failure? Allowing myself to get so stressed out about work and other people

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Nothing more than a sinus infection or 2.

11. What was the best thing you bought? My car!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Alan! He got back into teaching and coaching.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? The President and some of the world's leaders.

14. Where did most of your money go? Mortgage!

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Going to see John Mayer, going to Nashville and the Grand Ole Opry, and going to Memphis

16. What song will always remind you of 2007? "Go Rest High on That Mountain" I know it's an older song by Vince Gill, but he sang that when we were at the Grand Ole Opry, so I'll always remember that trip when I hear it.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: Happier or sadder? Thinner or fatter? Richer or poorer? About the same in all categories, except a little richer.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? home improvements and just chilling with friends

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Getting stressed

20. How will you be spending Christmas? We spent Christmas with our families

21. Did you fall in love in 2007? Oh yeah! with my husband

23. How many one-night stands? Zero

24. What was your favorite TV show? CSIs, Starter Wife

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? I try not to hate, but I really dislike that smoker guy at the football game :)

26. What was the best book you read? Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling and Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
27. What was your greatest musical discovery? John Mayer and Josh Turner

28. What did you want and get? Job security for the both of us!!

29. What did you want and not get? A million dollars

30. What was your favorite film of this year? Transformers, Bourne Ultimatium, Order of the Phoenix and The Queen.
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I was 27, and Alan had a surprise birthday party for me with some of my friends in Columbus and my friends from back home
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Tivo

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007? Tried to develop a better work wardrobe and better shoes!

34. What kept you sane? God, Alan, and my friends and family

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Harry Potter

36. What political issue stirred you the most? War and the upcoming elections

38. Who was the best new person you met? A couple of people through church and work

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007.
Enjoy the quiet moments in life. You don't always have to be doing something to have good time. Sometimes the best moments are when there is nothing to do. So, enjoy those times that you have and enjoy every day.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
"Good friend and a glass of wine, Someone to say it's going
to be alright...Evey now and then Every girl needs a good
friend and a glass of wine" - Leann Rimes