17 Days and Counting...!!!

Ok...it seems like a lifetime from now but there are only seventeen days till the wedding... EEEKKK!!! There are a couple of things I still need to do, but I've pretty much wrapped up the major parts. I'm hoping the cake looks nice and the bouquets turn out nice too. There's really not much I can do about it now!!!! As you may know, I am a list person and I've created lists out the wazoo. I now need to mail them to the parties who need them. I'm also listening to the reception music and I'm smiling...it's going to be a lot of 80s music, but also a mixture of all genres.

So what else has been happening....well, SCHOOL'S OUT!!!!!! YAYAAY!!! Don't get me wrong, I loved teaching but, dang, you've got to have a break from all those whiny, impatient kids sometimes. The last week seemed like it draaaaaged along. We made it through, though! All in all the students I taught were very good. There are some I worry about though. That's what happens when you invest in their lives. Sometimes you can't help but say, "I can't wait until they are in the real world because THEN is when their education starts." Some just don't have a clue. But then again...I was probably a little bit like that too. Ok, so school is semi out of the way...there are a couple of things I still have to do such as cheerleading stuff and a week long seminar called Great Expectations to help my interactive component of teaching.

What else...I FINALLY joined the YMCA so I can start swimming again. I miss it and my body misses it too but my body has decided to revolt for a little bit. I went swimming last Thursday and Friday and I think I pulled my neck muscle. I have to admit I did not stretch very well on Thursday and I think that's what did it. So I've been an "invalid" taking ibuprofen and sleeping with a heating pad. It's been pretty painful...it's getting better, I hope!!!

Last Friday started Memorial Day weekend for us and we trekked on up to McAlester, OK to have a huge family reunion on Jason's Dad's side. Both his brothers came in from Texas and California and their families too. All in all there were about 31 people at my parents-in-law's house. Fortunately they didn't all spend the night...that would have been interesting!!! We had a lot of fun just sitting outside under the trees in the countryside talking to cousins and aunts and uncles. The bad part was, of course, bugs. Honestly they weren't bad. I didn't really spray the last day and that's when I got most of my chigger bites and one tick which I didn't find until Tuesday!!!!! I'm sure I didn't look very appealing with my hair up because it was hot and humid and the bug bites on my FACE!!!! Ugh!!! They're still there, too. They better disappear soon or I'm gonna get REAL depressed!! Anyway!!! We had great food, played washers with nephews, fished in the pond they have, and ate...did I mention that already? There was also a joint birthday party for Jason's mom and Uncle Ricky who are both turning 60 this year. That was fun. There were a lot of gag gifts I was even embarrassed about!! Anywhooo we had a blast and it was great to see family together.

The next few things on my agenda...and there is an agenda/list is mostly wedding stuff. I like taking a break from school but I need things to do...there just isn't that much on TV that is enticing and I'm starting to feel like a slob. I'm going swimming again this morning so pray that my neck will work itself out!!

LAST BUT NOT LEAST!!!! Pat is in the good ole' US of A!!!! He landed at Ft. Dix early this morning from Kuwait via Hungary and Iceland...praise the Lord and Hallelujah!!! :D

Here are some pictures from the last couple of weeks:

At the Sulphur Prom

T.C. the center of attention.
His shirt says, "Yes, girls. I'm single"
He won't be single for long...he's so cute!!!!


Here's TC and his momma, Ruth!


Watch out TC, you got some competition!!!?!!!


What a loving uncle, ya'll have!!


All the kiddos that were there!


The three brothers and sister!!
Ricky, Brenda, Archie and Don

Ticked and ticking down the days...

First of all I'm ticking off the days until school is over and then the weeks and days until the wedding... I'm very excited. I went to bed early tonight but woke up about an hour later and couldn't get back to sleep so I decided to listen to some music and look at my bridal portrait pictures. I've decided that I am pretty and sometimes even beautiful!! Thanks to Jennifer who took my pictures. You will have to either email me to get the link or wait until after the wedding because I don't want Jason to see me in the dress!!! :D

Anyway, the reason I'm ticked or I guess offended or bothered by the fact I had a student call me hateful. Not to my face mind you, but rather I heard it from her mom this afternoon. Great way to start off the weekend. Without going into too much detail I will just say that I had a student who, in my point of view, did not make the effort to find out when cheerleading tryouts were and came to me this afternoon and asked if she could tryout. Today was the day of tryouts!! I told her no. I didn't see any effort or responsibility on her part to find out the information. Especially when I had given her all the information the day after the announced informational meeting which she missed due to another school activity. It's not a problem if someone is going to miss something for another school related activity but one should make arrangements ahead of time and not the day after. Then she tells me this afternoon that she didn't have time to read the information (in the two week period she had it). So that took all of 60 seconds to tell her no and for her to storm out of my classroom. It was another thing to have her mother come (in the middle of tryouts) and have very strong words to say to me in front of all the other candidates and accuse me of intentionally trying to keep her daughter from trying to tryout... Ok, so I went into more detail than I said, but I could write more, but I won't. I ended up "solving the problem" by putting it back into the hands of the student. If she wants to tryout, she's going to have to come to me and ask. We'll see what happens next week.

In my other life....Mary Beth called me from Denver on Thursday to tell me a funny incident that occurred at the annual American Association of Museums conference. This is a national conference , by the way, that thousands of people go to. Ok, so she tells me she attends a session about technology and museums. This is what both of us did while I was at the Dr Pepper Museum. Remember the video blogs? Ok, now the people who chaired and presented at this session were some major players in the museum field. One from the Cleveland Museum of Art, a lady from the Weatherhead Experience Design Group, Inc., Seattle, WA and a gentleman who is the Head of Administration from the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, CA. Yes, well to make a long story short, we made it into the session. Yes, they showed our first ever video blog we created for the museum and the blooper reel from the movie we made for the 10-2-4 Dr Pepper Collectors Convention. Oh...my...goodness.... I laughed so hard, Jason came rushing in the office because he thought something was wrong. Yes, folks Mary Beth and I have made it to the big time. We are ready to sign autographs and any acting contracts that I know will come our way. Yeah, right.....LOL!!! Mary Beth thought she should say something so she stood up and introduced herself and everybody loved it. She said the chairperson saw Mary Beth walk in to the session and almost fell out of her seat. She had no idea MB would be there. I would have given money to have been there!!!! Oh My! THAT made my Thursday.

So this weekend will be wonderful, if I can get to sleep that is...I don't have to be anywhere or go do anything. All I need to do is rest and grade some papers. Yup. That's it. And that's all I'm going to do. Well, let's try working on this sleep thing. I will talk with you later!!!

Later Taters,
Jessi

PS: Don't be hatin' because you haven't been the star of a museum conference session... ;)