Summer break is nearing its end....

I thought I would write a real blog instead of stealing someone else's. Hee hee. Ok. I thought I would write about the last couple of weeks and looking forward to the next couple of weeks. Married life as a newlywed is great. We are spending a lot of time together and mostly because we don't go out because we are broke!!! LOL!! The first major hump of being married. Bills have been paid and I think we have enough money for food ;-) but the rest...well there is no rest. Remember we are teachers and the pay schedule can be different from school to school. Sulphur and Thackerville have different pay schedules. I will not be getting a check in August when I start at Sulphur, like I did at Thackerville, because Sulphur already gave out their August pay checks. Thackerville gave out their August paychecks at the beginning of the school year. Therefore the effect is we are eating less and being creative with the Ramen noodles. :D LOL!! It's not that bad, but we do have Ramen noodles. We did have to break down and eat out at our favorite Mexican restaraunt last week. I think we were going into withdrawals. And I did go see The Dark Knight in the afternoon. Pretty good movie!! What else. Not much else. We've pretty much kept to ourselves and have been reading, playing games on the computer, watching TV and swimming/floating in the apartment pool. And because I'm a dork, I will tell you what game we have been addicted to. It's called Peggle and it's on www.popcap.com I will say no more.

Yes...we've even had tournaments.

Yesterday was my birthday and got a LOT of birthday wishes and calls and e-cards that were really cute! It was a lot of fun! I got a flower and two awesome cards from Jason and the deluxe version of Peggle. One of the cards was a talking card from The Office. It was AWWWWESOME!!! The other was really cute with bears on it. We also went to Turner Falls just up the road about 20 miles from here. It's a park with beautiful falls and trails and caves. We took a picnic and I climbed what I'm going to refer to as a mountain. In my definition it really was. I am so proud of myself. I actually physically got my fat butt up the side and literally had to climb up the dang rocks. At first I didn't think I could go all the way but I kept on saying "just a little more," and eventually I was at the top!!! The terrain is sooooo rocky there were plenty of footholds and handholds. But the side was really steep so I had to rest a little bit. The rock formations are pretty dang awesome. It's a lot of limestone and very craggy and has a lot of caves. I took some pictures so of course I will show you. I had to sit on my butt going all the way down and I had no problem with that. I didn't kill myself and that is an accomplishment ladies and gentlemen. Halfway down, on my butt, I hear, "If you like Pina Coladas, And getting caught in the rain, If you're not into yoga..." OH!! my phone!!! It was Ruth (Jason's sister) and her boys and they sang Happy Birthday to me. It was cool and I got a good rest so I could get down the mountain. Jason didn't climb because his toe has been bothering him, so we met up and had our picnic. Yum. Then we drove around the park and saw some cool camping sites that would be cool during the fall. Anybody interested? Then we saw a gorgeous view of southern Oklahoma. The pic doesn't do it justice.

I really don't know what this plant life is called, except gross!

Today my arms are very sore. The legs are fine but the arms...ouch. It was so worth it though. It really was exhilarating to get to the top. It reminded me of all the times our family would go to the Buffalo River and camp out and all the times we went to Devil's Den and hiked the trail and explored Devil's Den cave. Ah, the good times...and we'll have to do it again!

All in all I really did have a good birthday and now the real adventure begins next Monday with us going back to school. I will be introduced as Mrs. McMullen to the Sulphur High School and begin my orientation. I've already had dreams of my first day and they have been interesting. I will be teaching Geography, US History and Psychology. Whoo hoo!! NO cheerleading duties, NO junior class duties. I'm sooooo excited about it. This is a bigger school and therefore a little more organized, hopefully :D I love structure and perform well in such an environment. I think that's about it and I'm sure I will be posting what happens after my first day with the kiddos. I'm super excited now there is less subjects to teach and I can really focus on the classes and being interactive with the kids.

Until next time!! Syanora!!!

PS: Has anybody been watching "I Survived a Japanese Game Show?" I LOVE IT!!!

Misadventures of J & J...

Ok, it's time I told you about our honeymoon...and here we go...

Saturday 7/5: We headed up to OKC to Jason's bud Dawg's 4th of July cookout. We had a great time hanging out with old friends, catching up on times, missing friends out loud, and poking fun at each other from time to time. Good food, good times. After that, it was off to NW Arkansas to stay the night at my mom's place. We ended up driving through a downburst halfway between Fort Smith and Fayetteville...FUN. Made it safely, watched the lightning show, and called it a night.

Leaving Saturday 7/5

Sunday 7/6: Got up, went to church, ate a good lunch, took a nap, and then headed to the airport. As soon as we arrived, US Airways told us that our flight to Charlotte was delayed because our jet was still in Charlotte stuck on the ground. Evidently, a line of thunderstorms was going through at the time and the airport closed down till the weather moved through. When it finally got up in the air to head towards us, it was late enough that we'd end up missing our connection flight for Ft. Lauderdale. Soooo, they rescheduled us for a flight the next morning from NW Ark. to Chicago O'Hare to Fort Lauderdale. We called mom back to tell her to come pick us up so we can try again tomorrow. Good thing we had an extra day built in before our boat left for the Bahamas!

Monday 7/7: Got up waaaay early, got to the airport early, only to find out that this time, our plane WAS there at the airport, but was having maintenance issues! So, American decided to get us there by going from NW Arkansas to Dallas-Fort Worth (yeah, we're closer to DFW...sheesh) to Fort Lauderdale. Take off, land smoothly at DFW on a very short flight. FIVE HOUR LAYOVER....crap. Then, a 3 hour flight to Fort Lauderdale..... However, we started running into thunderstorms near Panama City and especially around Tampa/St. Petersburg, so we had to alter our flight plan a little, run down the west coast of Florida to avoid the weather, find a 'gap' in the storms, and then descend for the airport. A little bumpy, but made it with no problems. Got to the airport and waited for our hotel shuttle to arrive from just 2 miles away. Took the guy an HOUR to pick us up. Made it to the hotel, checked in, ate at Kelly's Landing (good New England food), then came back and crashed for the night. It stormed pretty heavy around 10-11 that night, but we were so out of it, we just opened an eyelid, mumbled about it, and went right back to sleep.

Tuesday 7/8: Woke up again way too early in the morning...went to Port Everglades and started checking in our stuff for the cruise over there. Waited an hour or so on the boat for departure, then finally got underway. The boat ride lasted about 5 hours or so....they fed us breakfast and lunch buffets, which were pretty tasty. Jason and I won some trivia game contest and took home a brand new water bottle! LOL Cheapskates! We were traveling against the sea current, so the boat ride was a bit choppy at times.....choppy enough to make Jason nauseous, but not completely sick. It took an hour and a half to disembark from the boat and get through government customs, then a taxi took us to our hotel....which was a van stuffed with about 9-10 of us, plus baggage, with no air conditioning.....FUN. The hotel we stayed at, Island Palms, was in downtown Freeport...right next to the Hospital and Police Department. However, if we wanted to go to the shopping, most restaurants, and the beach....we were going to have to take a taxi. Taxis run $6 per person one-way. Guess what we spent most of our money on??? The hotel was alright, but part of the deal was trying to get you to show up to some presentation on buying a timeshare at their sister resort. We told them we would try to go to the presentation tomorrow *wink wink*. We settled in, ate dinner at a nearby Wendy's, walked back to the hotel, and crashed out.

Wednesday 7/9: We decided to avoid the timeshare presentation and went shopping. First, we went to the Port Lucaya Marketplace and browsed around the shops there. They had little boutiques that reminded me of state fair-type vendors and some nice jewelry stores and things. Jason's favorite find was the Harley Davidson store! :-) We had a nice breakfast at Cally's, got our drinks on at a corner bar, and scoped out the marina. We then headed out to the International Bazaar, which was another large marketplace. However, this place was nearly a ghost town. Two nearby hotels were fenced up and boarded up and the marketplace itself was over half-abandoned itself...only a handful of shops open. It was nearly creepy how quiet and sparse that place was. There was one Asian shop open that did make the trip worthwhile...stocked up on our Bruce Lee memorabilia. :-) We then decided that we were close enough to our hotel, so we decided to walk the nearly 1-2 miles back to the hotel. High 80s...high humidity....mmmhmmm....that was a workout. Made it back, swam a little, then went out to a Mediterranean restaurant to sample some good seafood and try out a local delicacy called fried conch. Pretty good. Walked over to the Isle of Capri casino and wasted 5 bucks or so, then headed back to the hotel and crashed out.

At Port Lucaya Marketplace after our
Bahama Mama and Peach Daiquiri

Thursday 7/10 (Bahamian Independence Day): Most places were closed, but a good handful of shops were still open. Tried to go snorkeling, but found out a bit later after our arranged time that not enough people signed on to make the trip. Our guide felt bad, so he picked up us, and took us to our hotel's sister resort on the beach for free. He told us he would get us set up for tomorrow before we had to go back to Florida. Kewlio. The beach was nice.....it was cool to look out there and see nothing but ocean in the horizon, with a cargo ship thrown in here and there, and walk in a grit-free sand. The water was as warm as I thought it would be, but in all honesty, a lot of it reminded me of my trips as a kid to the lake. However, Mr. Numbnuts himself...(Jason called himself this), didn't but any sunblock on his pasty white legs. Yep, he paid for that mistake and it took over a week for it to go away. We took a shuttle back to the hotel, swam in the pool a little bit, then decided to save some money by walking to KFC for dinner, then crashed out for the night.

The beach at our sister hotel.

Friday 7/11: Got up, packed up, and checked out. Waited on our guide, called, found out that this snorkeling trip didn't make either. CRAP. Ate breakfast at the hotel, sat around, read by the pool, played ping-pong.....killed time basically. Took a taxi to the port, went through customs, and waited awhile till we finally left. The trip back was much smoother since we were traveling with the currents and the cloud cover made for a great sunset. Dinner was good and we enjoyed this cruise more than the first. Played 4 bucks on the slot machines in the boat's casino and came out with 40 bucks. That would come in handy for our flight tomorrow. Made it to the port, waited an hour before we could disembark, then FLEW through customs, waited 20 minutes for our hotel shuttle, then finally made it to bed by 1 am. That was good because......

About to get on the boat to head back to Ft. Lauderdale


Sunset from our boat.

Saturday 7/12: Got up at 4:30, left at 5, got to the airport 10 minutes later. We walk in and there is a HUGE LINE at the US Airways counter. This can't be good. Find out that all the computer terminals are down and they're having to write boarding and luggage passes by hand. (wait for it....) She sees that we are flying from Ft. Lauderdale to Charlotte to NW Arkansas in Fayetteville....she notices the Fayetteville on the paper and writes FAY on the luggage and our passes. We do make our flight to Charlotte with no problems and by the way, their airport is super nice. Rocking chairs all over the place, a NASCAR store, heck, even a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory! We notice as we are walking to our flight all the way on the other side of the airport that US Airways also flies to Fayetteville, NC. Hmmmmm.... After a short layover, we fly out to NW Arkansas and make it back safely with no problems. Boy, are we glad to be home! My dad comes to pick us up and all we need now is our luggage. Bet you can't guess what happened?!?!? Yep. We're in Fayetteville, AR (XNA). Our luggage is in Fayetteville, NC (FAY). They tell us that they will send the luggage tomorrow on the next available flight over. So, we stay at my mom, go visit dad and have a cookout for his birthday, dodge some rough weather, then go back to mom's place and crash.

Sunday 7/13: Slept in.....we needed it. Snuck in some breakfast and had a good lunch as well. Called, called, called, got the runaround....found out they didn't send our luggage yet. Why in the heck not?!?!?! They tell us that they'll try again tomorrow and hopefully we'll get it. Grrr.....they're about to get something from me.

Monday 7/14: Slept in again...trying to find out information....find out nothing. Get a call from US Airways around noon. They tell us that the luggage should be in Charlotte for the last flight to XNA and that it'll take two hours to deliver it to us so we should have our baggage back by midnight. We decide to chill out and catch a matinee: Hellboy II. Decent movie. Go to Backyard Burgers for dinner. Get a call from US Air. The peeps at Fayetteville, NC got our baggage to Charlotte faster than they expected, got it on an earlier flight to XNA and it was there at the airport waiting to be delivered to us! FINALLY!!! CLEAN CLOTHES!!! That dood delivered it to us at 8:30ish that night, dropped them off, and hightailed it right out of there. Guess he knew better than to stick around and try to answer our questions. Finally unstressed and finally get a decent night's sleep.

Tuesday 7/15: Leave Fayetteville, AR and make it to McAlester to eat lunch with my parents. Spent a good hour with them, got back on the road, and finally made it back to Ardmore by 4.

Summary: I don't think we will be using US Airways again. I'm more of an American Airlines girl, just because I've used them so much. They were pretty decent to us....the US Airways people at XNA were top-notch despite the other junk. Timeshares and people that try to sell them stink. Grand Bahama Island was nice and relaxing, but the aftereffects of previous hurricanes are taking a long time to heal. The taxi drivers were the nicest and friendliest people we met there on the island, but they got expensive really quick. When we go back, we'll probably go to Nassau instead. This was the first time I've ever had my baggage lost, and I pray to God that it will be the last.

All in all, it was eventful. It was stressful. It was aggravating. It was relaxing. It was comical. It was a blur. It was a good time. Thanks to our family for making this vacation happen for us!

*This is an edited piece that actually Jason wrote but I edited to make it sound like it was coming from me. :)

Live in the Moment

Sometimes I feel like I'm living for the next thing that happens...something that will be happening in the future. I should live in the present, don't you think? I'm happening now...not 10 minutes from now. Anyway...a lot of things will be happening in my future, and I feel like I'm just laying around waiting for them to happen. Don't worry out there in blog land...I have a list of things to do, like always but, not too too motivated to do them right now. PLUS I felt just awful yesterday and didn't do diddly squat. Tuesday night, I felt really sore and achy, almost like flu symptoms...well when I woke up yesterday...more flu symptoms so I just laid there for a good while. Lunch helped a lot, especially when your husband brings it to you!!! :D Then I dragged myself into the shower and felt a little better too. Guess what...I'm good to go today!!! Weird, huh!?

So what's been going on since the wedding? Well...I got a new job. I've been hired on at Sulphur High School to teach Government/Geography (one semester each), a US History course and Psychology...better get ready kids...the psycho is back!!! (and better than ever!) I've cut down on my preps (THANK YOU!!!) and don't have to do cheerleading or Junior class sponsor! Sounds like a dream job, but wait!! it gets better! Jason teaches at Sulphur too!!! *woo wooo* He's gonna let me ride with him!!! *woo wooo* We will save on gas!!! *woo wooo* We are both super excited. Eventually we will probably move up there and that will save on even more gas. Let us do one thing at a time, people!!!!

I got my ring back. It makes such a difference!!! It's weird, but it is awesome to wear the ring your husband gave you. I went and bought stuff from Bed Bath and Beyond with all the gift cards we got. That was fun!!! Didn't have to spend a dime and I still have a little left on the card! Yippee!! I HAVE to write my thank you cards...Its a monumental task and I just am dreading it but I want to have most of it done before we go to the Bahamas....which we leave on Saturday for. Eeeeek!!!

Yes, we are definitely ready for the Bahamas, whether the Bahamas are ready for us or not!!!! So instead of blogging about all the stuff I haven't been doing in the now...why don't I go do it...now!!!

Love ya,
Jessica

PS: Wedding pictures are in so if you want to take a gander, click here.

...Cause I'm a Dork Fish....!!!

You are asking your self....why would she call herself a dorkfish? Yeah, well here's the reason...I decided to go lay by the pool for a little while to get some sun before Jason and I go to the Bahamas. You'd think that after years of burning myself I would know better but apparently not. I thought I wouldn't be out there too long so I wouldn't put any sunscreen on except my nose and knees. 50spf. I'm a cooked lobster. My arms, upper chest and legs (except the knees)!!! OH!! and half my face....the lower half. I wore sunglasses and a hat and sunscreen on my nose...don't forget that. So right now I'm in a little bit of pain. I've aloed up and tried not to wear anything on the legs and other burnt parts of my body. I'm a dorkfish!!! and there is NO WAY I'm going to shave my legs for a few days. Sorry, Jason!!!

Speaking of Jason...he's my husband now... :D Cool to say!! I'm a wife!!! Yippeee!!! I do feel a little different. Except my ring is being soldered together so I have a temporary one on my finger. :( Hopefully it will be done by this Saturday. Here's what our rings look like:

We are also waiting on our wedding photos and they should be online very soon. We will let you know so you can look!!! Here's a group shot of our wedding party!!! FUN!!!!

We did have a blast and it was a little bit of a blur and not enough time with family and friends!!! But here's how the whole shindig went down:

Tuesday, June 10th:
Mom arrives and we hang out and have pot roast.

Wednesday, June 11th:
Mom and I go crazy shopping. Got some goooood stuff including shoes, capris, dress, sunglasses, purse and shirts...
Jason, Mom and I went to El Tapitios for some good Mexican food. We also rent some movies: Charlie Wilson's War and Juno; both were good.
While watching movies, Mom and I tied little ribbons on the bubbles and made a list of things to do on Thursday before we left for Arlington.

Thursday, June 12th:
Mom and I leave for Arlington after doing all the things on our list. I'm having a little bit of anxiety over the "rehersal" dinner. I wanted to get everyone's order in before we got there so we wouldn't have to wait so long!! People also started to arrive, which was fun. Mandy and the girls got there and we all went swimming. Pat and Alex got there soon after. So much fun!!! Pat got a portable internet device and played with it A LOT!!!! We decided we needed to go to Wal-Mart and so he found one but it actually took us a lot longer than we expected. It turns out there was a Wal-Mart about 5 minutes in the opposite direction that we could have gone to. Oh well...it was an adventure and I got to hang with my brother and Alex!!!!

Friday, June 13th:
Actually didn't do much in the morning....I laid there texting Jason every five minutes asking him to bring stuff :D I didn't mean to forget some clothes and contacts...honest!!! He arrived around noon and Jason and Drew (who arrived Thursday night) went to go pick up my Aunt Paula and Uncle John. Angie and Chris arrived and then Angie, Mom and I went to go get nails done...Mandy came a little later! That was fun but I still had some anxiety about this dinner thing!!! I still needed to come up with some orders. I actually got everyone's order except, get this, JASON's!!!!! I felt really bad!! How could I forget him??? I honestly don't know. But by the time we got to the restuarant and I got to direct the waiters at who had what, everything was fine! It turned out extremely well and so much fun!!! It was great to have so much family there! After the dinner there was a girly get together in my room. We had a blast and laughed a lot!!! I got some really nice things and just had a special special time. THANK YOU, ANGIE!!!!

I didn't have too much trouble getting to sleep, the only thing I regret was not washing my hair that night because my hair was not all that great the next day for up-dos. Oh well, it's over and can't do it again!!

Saturday, June 14th:
The big day!!! Got up and went downstairs to get some breakfast and Jason was there, so I sat with him. My cousins were there too so I got to visit with them for a bit. After breakfast the girls getting their hair done all piled in the car and went to the salon. That was fun (except my crappy hair thing). Then we went straight to the chapel where we stood around and then rehearsed (girls first, then guys), got dressed and got married!!! The reception was fun and beautiful. It went by very fast!! We walked out under bubbles...very fun...and got into a car with several sayings on it... such as GO HOGS and HONK!!!, JUST MARRIED and BRIDE AND GROOM. So much fun!!!!! We dropped off the tuxes and headed for our hotel near Six Flags. Wish we had the Garmin thingy cause we could see our hotel, we just couldn't get to it. We finally did and literally crashed into bed. We were so tired!!! We did get up to Jason's stomach alarm clock...we did plan on going to a German restuarnt in Ft. Worth, called Edelweiss. It was good and had good atmosphere, I just wish Jason was willing to go out on the dance floor and do the chicken dance with me!!! ;) Oh well....we still have the Bahamas...

Sunday, June 15th:
We got up, did breakfast and waited for Pat and Alex cause they were going to go to Six Flags with us! That was very very fun. We lathered up on the 50SPF and I missed a spot but didn't fry too bad. It was freaking HOT!!! That was a lot of fun... Jason and I had reservations for Texas de Brazil in Ft. Worth that night so we got cleaned up and dressed up and ate up, cause it was GOOOOOOD!!!!! Yum!!!!

Monday, June 16th:
We packed up all our stuff and headed home to recoup before Jason had to go back to summer school on Tuesday (he was teaching...). We did open all our presents and that was fun.

Now it's on to married life...and what that will bring...I'm excited about it! However, I have come to realize that having nothing to do at home while your husband is at work is very boring and I've had some depression about it. I'm not sure what to do. I need things to do and NOT housework. I do go swimming so that is good (but not since the sunburn...ouch!). I definitely think I will do some volunteering/working part time next summer. I need to get back into some hobbies that do not require TV or computer, something outside the house...

Anyway...I know this was a long blog, but it was really for me to remember everything so I wouldn't forget!!! I'm super excited about the Bahamas for our real honeymoon!!! You can bet there will be blog about THAT!!!

For those of you who were at the wedding and in the wedding....THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. It was sooo very special that you were there and I couldn't have done it without you! You all looked fabulous!!! Love you!!!

She posted another blog...

I know, I know....it's like I have more time or something!!! Well this week was interesting!!! I'll have to tell you about Monday a little later...I'll keep you posted...!!!

Tuesday I started a teacher institute called Great Expectations, which I loved!!!! Great Expectations is a professional development program that provides teachers and administrators with the skills needed to create harmony and excitement within the school atmosphere, elements that are basic for inspiring students to pursue academic excellence. With a focus on the human quality of teaching and learning, Great Expectations provides renewal and inspiration for teachers who may have lost their way and forgotten why they became teachers in the beginning. (I didn't write that, the website did.)

Anyway, in a nut shell, GE taught me how to be humane to younger humans!!! It's weird but that's essentially it. AND also how to teach any subject matter using different methods. It was awesome since I was a first timer, I had to go to the methodology class to get the foundation down before I can take elective classes which focus on very specific subjects. Anyway, the methodology classes usually have 30-40 people and we only had 4 which was AWESOME!!! We really got to know everyone on a personal basis and heard some great stories. It's also a small world because our instructor, Tim, is from McAlester, OK where Jason is from. I mentioned Tim's name to Jason and he started laughing. It turns out Jason's sister is very good friends with Tim's sister. It was a cool connection. It was also an emotional experience. Tim found out his mother has breast cancer this week. Keep him and his mother in your prayers. That aside, I'm really excited about starting the new school year!!!!

So that took up some time this week. It was all day from 8-4, Tuesday through Friday. Today we got to sleep in and rest. I had a lot of things I wanted to do, including swim but that didn't work out. I did get to run some major errands. I was going to get my dress to the cleaners but I got there too late so I decided to make an appointment to get my hair trimmed and highlighted. She couldn't fit me in until next Thursday but that was pushing it. I got in my car and stopped and went inside again and said if she had an opening today and she said yes!!! Whooppie!!! So I got my hair did. We were the only ones in the salon and I think she talked more than me!! No big surprise, though. I told her I was getting married and she said she was too. We both met our future husbands on eHarmony... and so that was a big talking point!!!

Speaking of hair. The thing that was a realization was what my hair dresser said. She had already been married twice. The first divorce being her mistake and the second, the husband was apparently just awful. What she said about the first divorce being her mistake was this. She believed that the husband was there to take care of her and that's the way she acted. She was the one who left him. She learned that she had to chip in too. But she realized that way too late and has actually apologized to her kids dad. I thought that took guts. I may not have agreed with her on everything she said but I understood that expectation. While watching Return to Me tonight, I realized I too want to be taken care of. This is not a bad thing. But if you don't reciprocate, then there's a problem. I can't be waited on hand and foot. I wouldn't actually want that either. I want to be able to do things independently too. However, one of the greatest things that Jason does for me is carry in the groceries. I can totally do this. I brought in my own groceries for over five years up the stairs in Waco!! But it is great to have someone else do this for me! Thank you, Jason!!!

But wait!!! Hold the press!!! Before I even got out of the apartment with my dress to go to the cleaners, something else exciting happened. I open the door holding my dress above my head and for some reason I look down to my left and I see a tail wiggling. I'm thinking to my self, that's one big lizard! It had faint orange markings like diamonds on it. I step out a little more and realize it is a GIANORMOUS snake. I calmly step back inside the apartment and freak out. That's what Jason would call it. I put down the dress and told him. He said he couldn't see it. I was trying to call emergency maintenance. He still couldn't see it. I cautiously opened the door and it wasn't where I left it...it had moved down a little further and this time I could see its head and THEN Jason saw it. Maintenance calls back and I tell him about the problem and he says he will call animal control. I told him it looked like a two footer. The snake proceeds to crawl further out into the open and it is not two feet long...it's more like three to three and a half feet long. HOLY MOLY!!!! I still wanted to get to the cleaners (before I found out it was already closed) and it was far enough out for me to walk in the opposite direction and that's what I did. I let Jason deal with Animal Control. Whew!!! That was exciting!!! Drew, my brother would have freaked more than I did!!! Animal control came while I was getting my hair done but they never found it.

I know what I'll be dreaming about tonight!!! AND I'll be alone. Jason is in OKC having a bachelor party. That's why I'm writing this at 12:45am, plus I drank some caffeine today. I'm probably going to play a round of Age of Empires III after I post this too. So I think that's it for now. I'm really excited for the festivities to begin!!! It will start with my mom coming Tuesday night, and then shopping on Wednesday and then to Arlington on Thursday! Yay!!!!! What else...I dont' know...I'm getting a little nervous I think. It might be the snake and it might be the fact I watched Silence of the Lambs tonight and then Return to Me while flipping to My Big Fat Greek Wedding. I'll keep you posted whether or not I dreamed about anything...

Toodles!!
Jessica

The Weekend...

Well hidyho!!! Can you believe it? I'm writing ANOTHER blog!!! Friday was a big day for us. We traveled to Arlington for a couple of things: the marriage license!!!!! That took no time at all, Jason getting his hairs cut, and me looking for a place to get our manis and pedis taken care of the day before the wedding!!! There were some interesting conversations throughout the trip and I think Jason forgot about looking for a nail place and that frustrated him a tad bit.

We then headed down to Waco for two events. The first being one at the Dr Pepper Museum. Jason and I didn't go to the night event because 1) we were too tired, 2) it cost $200 per plate, 3) we wanted to go eat with Angie and Chris. So that's what we did! We met Angie and Chris at Carino's (not Johnny's anymore, apparently he left the company). Good food, great conversation!! Afterwards we went to Starbucks to get something and not a second later after we sat down with our drinks did we hear a screeeeech, BANG! I was in the position to see most of the terrible car wreck. After the bang I see a white van flip over and land on it's side, only stopped by an SUV who was waiting at the stoplight. I caught a glimpse of a green car careen over the curb and almost crash into the Jack in the Box fast food place. OMG!!!!! This took place in a matter of three seconds. I stood up and said "Oh my gosh! Someone call 911!" This was a huge intersection and and there were a lot of people outside who already had their phones out. Hopefully they were calling 911 instead of their friends. The police, firefighters and ambulances all came within in a matter of minutes and we rubbernecked for the next 15 minutes while drinking our mint frappachinos.

So after that Jason and I went back to Mary Beth's place to crash because the next morning was the main event. Ribbon cutting of the new exhibit that I helped begin. Breakfast and tours. I talked about future exhibits in the new building. Keep in mind there were past presidents of the Dr Pepper Company and multi-millionaires peppered about the place. This was a BIG shindig!!! Not only was it a ribbon cutting but also a fundraising opportunity. The Friday night gala we didn't go to had Lee Greenwood there for entertainment. God Bless America!

Anywhooo, it was awesome to be there and see all my friends from work and talk, talk, talk talk... :D The other part of the weekend was to go to a wedding that afternoon. It was for a PEO sister and therefore I got to see all my PEO sisters and that was a lot of fun!!!! Some of them are coming to our wedding only 13 days away!!! AAAAHHHHH!!!! So after that, we came home and talked furniture, as in we need a new bed kind of thing.

The End!!! The weekend is not over yet, so I may update this later on...if anything exciting happens!! Don't get your hopes up!

Later taters,
J

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... ;)

A Different World...

...from where you come from!!

Remember that TV show? It was a spin off of The Cosby Show when Denyse went to college. I thought it was pretty cool. However, the different world I'm thinking of is something entirely different. This weekend Jason and I went around Oklahoma City, doing things we haven't done. We went to Pops a convenient store that has over 500 sodas in it and a great diner. Yummy.

I also wanted to see a movie so we went to the theater. There wasn't a whole lot of choices at the time we went except Street Kings with Keanu Reeves and Forest Whitaker. I heard it was intense and good so we went to see it. I knew it was going to be intense and violent. After all it was about dirty cops and seeking "justice." While I was coming out of the theater I said, "I'm glad I don't live in that kind of world." It's odd, though, I actually like seeing those kind of movies. Not because I think they are cool but just because they are out there. I've seen Hustle and Flow which is a rough movie and others like 8 Mile, Crash, etc... again not because they are cool but because it's a dose of reality. I know they are movies but they are based on experience. If someone thought it up, then someone has seen it or heard about it. This evening, for instance, I watched Law & Order: Special Victims Unit where there were people selling children from Africa as slaves to the United States. How can someone think about doing this? It boggles the mind, or at least my mind.

I think my point is that sometimes I can't believe the things people do to people and how blessed I am personally to not be in or even touch some of those situations. I'm talking poverty that can lead to prostitution, drugs, violence, etc... I thank God everyday for the home I grew up in and the influences of my parents and grandparents and friends. Granted not all my experiences have been great but not so terrible I couldn't ever recover. I don't know if I'm making sense to anyone, but it makes sense to me. I can't be naive about what's going on out there but I can't let the world burden me either. We live in a chaotic, crazy world. I'm glad I know someone who has already taken care of my life for me and the lives of others and that would be Jesus Christ. I am an empathetic person and I cry every time I watch Extreme Makeover: Home Edition because I can feel for those people who deserve a new home. I do NOT, however, know how Jesus can stand just watching us do the things we do and not banish us all. He is the most empathetic and experienced one out there who has had all the world's hurts on him. WOW! I can't even fathom that.

That leads me to the next thing we went to see which was the Oklahoma Memorial. I have never been there and I wanted to see it. It was one of the most peaceful places I have ever been, especially in a city. The event happened 13 years ago yet still impacts people today. The monument is beautiful but what I really liked (if you can like that sort of thing) is the the statue outside of the memorial. It is of Jesus weeping.

Again, how does someone think up something to do like blow up a government building and kill 186 people including children. It is something that should make us all weep. Look how far we've gotten in the quest for humanity!!! But all that to say once again. I am at peace (most of the time ;) because of what Jesus said to his disciples (us included):

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

Look folks!!! He says he's already overcome the world. He said that 2000 years ago in the past tense. He's already taken care of all the bad stuff. What hope and peace that brings me. Yes, there is still suffering out there and there is a reason but I won't reiterate about why we need to suffer. You can read a previous blog for that here.

We just need to believe and be reminded of that daily because we are reminded daily of how awful life can be. Don't worry, I know life can be awesome too. I just need to look at Jason and my nieces to be reminded of that too.

Peace in Christ to you and yours.

Love,
Jessica

An interior view of the exterior walls.


Can you see Jason? He's that short dude in front.


Close up of the bottle.


The happy couple!

Blah....

Well there are a lot of fun things going on in my life, but I feel pretty blah at the moment. It's a come and go thing but it's a pretty constant come and go. Here's the thing. I've gained a lot of weight and it's because I'm bored and lonely. Yeah, lonely. I need some girl friends. I need a hobby that doesn't involve the computer, cooking or watching TV. I used to have a lot but it involved people. Mainly girls. I used to have a list of things I wanted to do in my life, but I can't seem to "find the time" or "have the money" to do them. I've always wanted to learn how to paint with watercolors and other mediums. I started to knit about 1000 years ago but I tackled a huge project and I now don't have the motivation to finish it. I've always wanted to learn karate/self-defense. I want to do a lot of things with my life but I can't seem to get off my lazy butt and do them. I have realized I am a people person. I need people. Yes, I have Jason and he's great and I love him. But he has his hobbies and he's not so much of a people person. I used to go to the movies and rent foreign films to "broaden my mind" but I don't do that now. I'm still reading though!!! Just finished a "preview" book for the school library called A Taste for Rabbit. It's very interesting. It's in a world where foxes, badgers, weasels and rabbits are sentient, or able to think and talk like people. There is universal law that says one can't eat prey who is sentient. The plot is about wanting to eat something but shouldn't because it has human characteristics...there's a moral in there somewhere. It's pretty cool. I think I will recommend it to the library.

Anywhoooo....I didn't write this blog so people can feel sorry for me. I've already gone through the "I feel sorry for myself" phase. What I need to do now is find something I enjoy doing so I won't get bored and won't be lonely so I won't eat!!! It's a vicious cycle!!!

Here are some things that have struck me recently (aside from all the lonely and bored crap):

• There have been some MAJOR wildfires in Oklahoma. It's incredible and I've never seen anything like it. Driving home from school about once a week I see the ominous smoke "signals" and sometimes I've seen two or three in the same drive. Well, yesterday I had the day off and I drove over to Comanche to see Ruth and the boys and when I was on my way back I could see the smoke for miles. I kept getting closer and closer and realized that I will be driving by exactly where it will be (thank goodness not through the smoke, the wind was blowing it away from me). I actually got some pictures on my cell phone.

• Now, there are going to be some major black spots left on the ground BUT it's so amazing that after a couple of weeks the grass has grown and it's greener than the other grass around it. That gives me a little hope for some reason. It tells me, yes, you might have to get burned sometimes but afterward you're stronger for it, or prettier or whatever...
• Almost two months until Jason and I are married. I'm really excited about this!!!! Except the bridal portraits are giving me some trouble, but I'm sure I'll get it worked out.
• What else...I'm sooooo excited about school being out!!! Don't get me wrong, I still love what I'm doing but I'm looking forward to this summer....hmmmmmm, don't have a clue why!!!!
  
• I can't wait to go to the Bahamas!!!! AAAHHHHH A new adventure!
• I got a hair cut...it's different and I like it. (Not right now, I haven't fixed it).
  

I think that will do me for now. Signing off!!!

Later taters,
Kitty

Grandma

Just thought I would let you all know that my grandmother passed away this morning. The services will probably be on Thursday and Friday.

Impatience and Grandma

Howdy people! It's been a month and I thought I would just write. Well, let me see...in random order. I bought Jason's ring last weekend. We also went to the OKC Auto Show. That was fun. And we also signed him up for his tux and the rest of the guys' tux. I've scheduled bridal portrait pictures in May. My dress is supposed to come tomorrow. I have my veil and headpiece. Invitations are done, just need to address the envelopes. Need to do a few more things such as thank you cards and stamps....BUT I'm on Spring Break and there will be time to do a few things.... YAY!

I am an impatient person, I have discovered. I guess I really didn't "discover" it, but may have just forgot about it. I, like many people, like to have things perfect. Perfect in the house, perfect in my life with Jason, but sometimes I forget that there are other people involved in my "perfect" life and they may not be at the same place I am and I get frustrated when they aren't!!! I need to remember I have to be patient for them to catch up or me to slow down or vice versa. That's probably the hardest part of being in a relationship, so far. But on the other hand I see people, namely Jason, being patient with me. :D As far as I am concerned he's been so patient with me, it's a wonder that he hasn't gone crazy yet!!! Either he has and hides it well or his pressure cooker takes a longer time to boil. Anyway, the point is that he is the best and willing to work with me, even if I think I'm the only one "working" on life issues. Men and women work differently. Whereas women are multi-taskers, in general, men tend to concentrate on one thing at a time. I read that somewhere. So, maybe none of this makes sense or even relative to you, but it does to me and therefore therapeutic to write.

Other things: My grandmother is doing poorly. She was put under hospice last week. She just doesn't want to eat or take her medicine anymore. She sleeps all the time, has no energy. Very unlike the grandma I used to know. But she's still my grandma and I feel guilty sometimes when I don't think of her the same way. I've been writing a poem about her and I'm not sure it's done yet but here it is. Disclaimer: She hasn't passed on yet.

Grandma

What can I say about her?
She was simply the best
Joyful and laughing
She now is at rest

One of my favorite things
was her carefree view
and zest for life
and her famous "whoo hoo!"

Art and books she loved to partake
Her pottery she didn't want us to break
Her poetry is truly inspiring
and takes me spiraling!

Grandma was, like all Grandmas, soft to touch
but when you did wrong, watch out
you might give a shout
when she took you to Yardstick City!

Grandma was full of energy
and created a lot of synergy
to do all the things she did
for me and her family.

The main thing I learned from her
and that you can be sure
is just to be yourself,
to laugh and play
to make a better day
for one another.

I will miss her.

History, epiphany and happy hearts day...

Well, I had sort of an historical epiphany on Wednesday, I think it was. I was driving to work and I was thinking of why I love history so much and realized it has to do with people, really. I'm so intrigued at how events change peoples' lives but in reality it's people who change peoples' lives. No event in our history has effected or influenced no one. (Is that a real sentence?) Do you get my meaning? I'm not a big fan of when people say, but I'm just one person, what can I do? Every historical event in the world's history began with one person. Seriously, think about it. Eve influenced Adam, Ester influenced a king, Jesus influenced the entire world (one way or the other). Gavrilo Princip assassinated the Archduke of Austro-Hungary, which began World War I. If you think about it, your character, your personality is based on historical events from thousands of years ago and those events will shape your future too. World War II effected my grandfather, his character and because of that event, influenced my father, who in turn has influenced me whether I know it or not. And it's not just one singular event. It's multiple events. Like Shrek said, "I'm like an onion, I have many layers." (Hopefully, I don't stink!) I don't know if you can feel how I feel about history. It's hard to explain but the world's history is about people influencing people and those people making decisions based on that influence positively or negatively. I love it. We are so intricate yet so simple at the same time and that hasn't changed over time. I believe it was like this at the beginning of time as well.

Anyway it was pretty emotional for me to realize that (and I could have been hormonal as well, so....). That's why I went into the education business. I love to teach people the interesting things as well as the important things and try to persuade those bored kids that history from a hundred years ago actually does have some bearing on what they do today. That is my mission in life...so there ya go!

Valentine's day was fun, although the last half of the school day was a waste. Students getting their valentines delivered to them and I'm anxiously waiting for mine which was supposed to be delivered to me too. It's been a long time since I got excited and felt it in my stomach. Ya know what I mean? I've never really had a Valentine's Day where I got something significant from a male (except my father). So this was fun. I got flowers, a teddy bear and some chocolate from Godiva. Seriously...ya can't go wrong with that combination!! I planned a themed dinner of Asian cuisine, and I was excited to cook it. Spring rolls, fried rice, Chinese spareribs, steamed fresh green beans and green tea. I think it was a hit. We also had some sparkling grape juice. Yummy. I wasn't feeling great, but all in all it was a pretty good day!!

Friday was Jason's last basketball game of the season, so I drove up to Sulphur and learned how to really shoot a basketball. Then I sat up in the "pressbox" with Jason while he announced. Both boys and girls won. Woot woot!

Saturday was pretty relaxing. We didn't do a lot. We watched the "We" channel which is having a wedding weekend, so I was pretty excited. I also finished the Save the Date cards, so I should be mailing those out tomorrow. Yippee!! One of my students asked when I was getting married last Thursday and I said June 14th and she said, Exactly four months from today!!" I'm sure my eyes got wide. AAAAHHHHHH!!!! It's less than four months from the wedding!!!! Oh, by the way, I was watching platinum weddings on "We" and I feel really good about how much our wedding costs. Seriously, $40,000 just for floral centerpieces on a couple of tables? Wow! Well, I guess if they can afford it....?

What else, not much else but laundry and, oh yes, the beginning of the NASCAR season today. Well laundry and lesson plans are calling me, so I must depart, for now....

Auf Wiederhoren!!!

Peas and carrots,
Jessica

Mid-February Update and some new finds!!!!!

Hello one and all!!!

Hope you find yourself well. I'm pretty good right now. I'm waitin' on my fiance to come home so we can go eat! He's been battling parents at the always popular parent-teacher conferences. I experienced this last week, so I feel his pain.

Let's see...I think I will start off with my new finds. Well they aren't exactly new but they are to me. First, E.S. Posthumus is a pair of brothers who create this INCREDIBLE music but the only problem is they had only one album out for like a century!!! They kept telling us fans that there would be a new CD coming out very soon. Well it sorta dropped off my radar for awhile and yesterday I got an email (I'm on their list :) saying they had finally released it!!!! OH MY GOSH!!!! So I bought it today and am listening to it right now and it is heavenly, literally. The sound is like heaven if I could actually describe it like that. E.S.P. is orchestral in nature and chorale and world beat and contemporary all at the same time. It sounds weird, but I promise you it works!!! You probably have heard some of their stuff, you just didn't realize it. For you sports fans, they composed the theme song to the CBS NFL Sports (Rise to Glory). Also, if you watch the TV show "Cold Case", the theme song is called Nara from their first CD. They also have quiet a few movie previews showcasing their music such as Spiderman 2 and XXX: State of the Union. Yes, I know way too much. I don't care!!!

Artwork for the CD

Ok so go check them out!!!

The other two finds is actually what I thought was one person, Brett Dennen. He has awesome music with a great message. It's perky and folky and that genre makes me happy. His most popular one is Ain't No Reason. Well I got him confused with another artist who is on the new Kia Spectra commercial. Can't Get It Right is the song and Joe Purdy sounds very similar to Brett Dennen. So I'm going to have to invest in both these artists soon.

Those are my new music finds!!! Yay!

As far as my other life. It just seems like I go to work and come home, eat and veg. That's pretty much it but there are other things I've been doing too. Here they are in random order.

• Patrick called me from Iraq on Tuesday! YAY!!! He seems to be doing all right, considering. He didn't talk much and so I rambled and that probably helped him just listening to "normal stuff." I hope so.
  
• Mandy and the girls went to see Drew at Ft. Hood, TX where he is stationed. It sounded like they had a good time!!!
• I've been getting some wedding stuff done, like printing out Save the Date cards, which hopefully soon will be mailed out!!! I've also been actually printing out the invitations. Now if I just can get the addresses of the people I'm supposed to invite!!! MOM!!!!
• School is fine. We are definitely back in the swing of things. Waitin' for that Spring Break!!!
• Updating my iPod as I type....
• Dad came for a visit and we went to Turner Falls, bought and ate some fantastic fried pies off of I-35, and went through the Arbuckle Wilderness (tour of the exotic animals in your car). No exotic animals in the car, just drove through their habitat and feed the ones roaming around like the camels, deer, burros, geese, ostrich (very greedy) and so forth....very cool!!!!! It was like I was a little girl all over again.
  
• I've started waking up at 5:30am to walk on the treadmill at the apartment complex. I've gained SEVERAL pounds since I've stopped swimming. I'm also trying to cut down on the portions of what I eat. Since I've started walking, I have noticed a slight change in the way my pants are fitting, so that's encouraging!!! It's incredible that I can even get up that early but apparently I can!
• What else...nothing much else that I can think of at this moment...

If I think of anything I'll let you know!!!

Love ya'll and happy Friday (tomorrow)!!

Peace and Love,
Jess

December Wrap up and a Brand New Year!!!

Happy New Year folks!!! It's been awhile since I've blogged but, hey, I've been busy, dang it!

Let's see, let's see.... December was a blur. Semester tests for the kids and basketball homecoming AND dance. Let's just say that 6th-8th graders are funny to watch. Semester tests rolled around and it was crazy trying to figure out who was exempt. It was sorta nice though, not as many students. HOWEVER, I took one of my students to the principal's office for the first time. Anyway, the day after semester tests is basically a free day. The students can show up if they want to, it doesn't count against them. I thought I would be cool and bring some movies to school and let them choose what they wanted to watch. I thought Star Wars would be a number one but nooooooooooo, it was SpongeBob SquarePants that they wanted. WOW!!! In the afternoon some the high school students brought their XBOX 360 and played Call of Duty. That was fun to watch. So when the last bell rang it was like being free of something and I skipped out to my car and drove merrily home. I baked a lot of cookies.The next day started our Christmas activities. We got packed and wrapped last minute presents and headed out to Comanche, OK to Jason's sister's place. We all piled in to their new van and took off for Wichita Falls, TX to do some shopping and it was crazy!!! But I enjoyed it. We ate at Olive Garden and had fun with our waiter. Drove home and fell promptly to sleep. The next day, I'm not sure what we did. We did go to Wal-Mart, twice. Also went to see National Treasure. Very fun! The next day Ruth got the boys and we went to church. The boys are always fun and we have a good time together. We played video games (Star Wars Lego).
We actually had Christmas on Christmas Eve morning and it was a blast. I thought Devon and Bryce were going to pass out. They got a Nintendo DS and they were pretty quiet after that. (Preoccupied, ya know). I made a haul, too. Da ng, I love Bed, Bath and Beyond!!! Our gifts we gave were our engagement pictures. I think that went over well.

TC in a Reindeer outfit eating my chocolate tin!!!

We drove back to our apartment that night and got ready for the next leg of our Christmas vacation on Christmas Day by doing laundry and what not.... The next day we drove to Fayetteville and spent time with Mom and Aunt Becky. Mom was having some outpatient surgery the next day so that's what I did. That night when Mom was all tucked in, Jason and I moved our headquarters to Dad's house and stayed there for the rest of the time. We were anticipating Pat's arrival for R&R on Saturday but had no clue when he would arrive. We actually got an update from him pe rsonally while he was in Ireland so we knew he was at least out of the Middle East on Friday night. In the meantime, Mom and I went to David's Bridal and ordered my shoes and got some swatches of the bridesmaids dresses while Jason went to Best Buy. Patrick arrived about 5:25pm at XNA regional airport and we were all there to greet him. It was awesome. That evening Jason and I went over to Drew and Mandy's to watch UFC on paperview. It was interesting. But it was really fun to be with same age people (even if we were the oldest people there). Pat and Alex stopped by and one of Drew's co-workers was there. However the girls had already gone to bed....dang...I really wanted to play with them. But oh, well. We were going to see them the next day.

Patrick arriving home. YAY!!!

Apparently Drew had a little too much to drink that night (after we were gone). We'll just leave it at that. Sunday was the big Christmas/Birthday shindig at Dad's. It was fun. Lots of wrapping paper. Here are some photos.

Emma, that's for catching butterflies, not Emmas!!! See, Alex is doing it right!!!

Jason and I came back on Monday. Happy New Year!!! Jason was not feeling well at all, lots of congestion AND he had to go back to work on the 2nd. :( While Jason was at work I played my Christmas gift, Age of the Empires III. It's awesome!!! and I just piddled around the apartment not really doing much of anything. I did finally take down all the Christmas stuff...the apartment looks bare now. OOOOhhhhhh!!! I got a really good handmixer for Christmas and I used it to make some terrible chocolate cake, but the process was fun. By the way, as much as I like to watch Iron Chef America....I am NO Iron Chef. Just don't have the knowledge... Oh well, I'll just watch it. It's the weekend now and I must get some lesson plans together for next week!!! and psyched up for the semester. I think it's going to go extremely fast and then extremely slow too. We'll see... The countdown continues to the big wedding day!!!! June 14th if you forgot already.

Hey, how did that get in there!
That is a mistletoe picture, so we just had to, ya know, kiss!!

Peace to you and hope you had a wonderful Christmas.

Irony, Wedding stuff and it's getting cold!!!!

Well, let's see. I had a great time during Thanksgiving. Good food...yum yum. Got to talk with Pat!!! He seems to be doing ok. You know, it's not all that fun or even exciting, what he's doing. Maybe on occasion. He's looking forward to receiving some packages and coming home for R&R and see family AND Beowulf (his Siberian Husky). I don't think he's going to reenlist when his time is up ;)

What else...the irony? I don't know if you read my last blog but it had to do with death and how desensitized to or how we move on from it. I found out the Monday we got back to school that one of our senior students was killed that Sunday afternoon in a car crash. Talk about a wonderful way to start the week. Needless to say the week was not all that productive. I only had Justin in class for a couple of weeks before he requested 7th hour to work instead. But I have Justin's girlfriend in two classes and juniors who were majorly effected. I went to the funeral on Thursday. It wasn't pleasant. I really didn't know what to do when I heard the news. I felt like crying but I really didn't know him personally but I had a few interactions with him just because the school is so small. He told me one time he wished he could have stayed in my class (Ancient History) and whenever I saw him he was always bright and cheerful. There isn't really any profound thing to say after a kid/student/child dies like that, you just can't. Just cherish the time you have with your friends and loved ones. You never know when it will be your last or someone else you love. This isn't the thing you wish on students to learn how fragile life is, but I sure hope our students realize it.

The other bad thing that happened last week was that I got sick and I mean 100 degree fever sick. It started about noon on Monday with major headache, aches, hurting throat... Well the next morning I woke up and there was no way I was going to school, which stinks because then you have to take care of your lesson plans for that day and call the school for a substitute and then pray that your kids behave. Well of course some didn't...(another story). Anyway, I was fortunate to get into the doctor's office early and get a shot in the behind to help speed up the getting healthy process. Dang, it hurt. I'm still taking the huge pink pills. It really helped though. I was feeling much better that evening. Jason was so sweet and helpful. He even said he would stay home with me. Awwwww! He called and checked on me after work and asked if I needed anything. :D I'm so lucky!

That's about it except I ordered my wedding dress on Saturday!!! After I paid the bill, it hit me that it was done!!! I got so excited!!! Ruth, Jason's sister, went with me and that was fun...a lot better than going alone! We went down to Denton and had some lunch, Pei Wei, as a matter of fact and it was SOOOOO GOOOOOD!!!!! (We don't have wonderful Asian food here in Ardmore.) Anyway! It was a good day.

It's finally getting cold!!!!! No sweating but now Jason hears, "I'm freezing!" "I need my jacket!" "Where are my slippers?" etc... while he is just in heaven. He's a cold kinda guy. Weather that is. I like it too because I like to be wrapped up in blankets... Anyway, I'm looking forward to that first snowflake!!! Come on winter, bring it on!!!!

Peace to you and yours and be nice in the stores!!!

Love,
Kitty

Death....and being courageous!!!

How's that for a title!!!

Well this is a blog sorta in response to a blog written by an excellent writer who should be doing it for a living....

In general, the blog was about hearing about death and then moving on from it. Especially when it personally does not effect us.

I think we are so flippant about death sometimes, is because it wasn't us. "Perpetual care and perpetual denial today." When Drew was in Iraq, and now Pat, I rarely watched the news but when it was unavoidable and I heard that some soldiers had been killed, I sorta stuck around to see where and who. I remember distinctly one time when I found out the latest batch who had been killed were British I was so relieved it wasn't Drew; then I went on. But a few hours later, I just broke down and weeped for those soldiers whom I flippantly passed over. Not because they had died exactly but about my attitude when I found out I didn't know who they were.

Yes, we are to move on and live life fully. I recently sent Patrick a package with a recorded message from me, and I read him two verses.

Deuteronomy 31:6 "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

and

Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

The same should apply to us. Why not live courageously and boldly even, no matter where we are. Look who is on our side!! It seems to me a "duh" statement, but so hard to live by. We...or, I get so caught up in the "woe is me" attitude and that is just not pretty to be around, let me tell you. I usually get despondent and isolate myself, without turning to the one being who can actually do something about it. Or I forget what He has already done for us and is still doing for us. I get too comfortable in my own pain and wallow in it. It's hard to climb out of that sometimes. And even when I know the solution to the problem, I find it very difficult to just reach out for the very easy, ergonomic step ladder that is right there for me to grab. See, it's even easier for me to write about pain than write about Jesus, our Savior who is the ultimate healer and protector. That's why there are so many songs that are wonderful that deal with pain and not necessarily the solution, or the solution is not a wonderful one: drinking, drugs, sex, death, even. We can totally relate. Well I can't really relate to "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd, except that I have been comfortably numb but not because of drugs...but it sure is a cool song.

ANYWAY!!!

Enough! Let's talk about being couragous!!! Why not!!! Beautiful things happen when you are couragous. Like the first time someone says, "I love you," to another or giving a helping hand to someone you dislike. Those are personal, how about taking a personal couragous step with another and changing history. As a history teacher, I see many of America's leaders who were couragous to fight against tyranny, otherwise we may be talking with a different accent right now. Samuel Adams comes to mind and Thomas Paine (sounds intellectual, right? well we just studied it in US History...don't get me started). I am amazed at what it took for people to speak out for what they believed in, such as Thomas Paine who wrote Common Sense. In his own "blog," he wrote that is was "duh" not to break away from Britain and that historical document was the precursor to the Decleration of Independence.

This may sound corny but you should try "breaking away" from a life filled with such a careful life...if that makes sense.

Jesus said, "I have come so that you may have life, and live it to the full." (John 10:10)

Wonder what that means? Maybe it means we need to quit tip toeing around and actually live. Experience life...fall in love, go to school, have a career, travel, be with friends and family and don't get caught up in petty issues that we think are huge drama.

OK. Enough...go out there and live.

Happy Thanksgiving!