Tiffani Talk

Margarita Lime Chicken

2011-11-25T20:21:00.000-06:00

Baba is visiting us for the Thanksgiving holiday. I planned a delightful menu to display my mad culinary skills. I started with sausage cheese muffins from Pinterest, made a whole Thanksgiving dinner, and tonight "Margarita Lime Chicken"! Everything was delicious! I thought I would share this yummy recipe, courtesy of my friend, Ashley F.

Ingredients:

2 chicken breast
1 small bag Mahatma yellow rice
1 can black beans
1/2 cup fresh salsa, drained
2 tostadas
1 packet powder margarita mix
1 lime
kosher salt to taste
shredded cheese

Sauce ingredients:
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp hot sauce
2 tsp taco seasoning
1 tsp horse radish
juice of 1/2 a lemon

Directions:

Cook rice according to package directions.
Heat black beans in sauce pan, drain before serving.
Mix ingredients to make sauce in small bowl.
Set aside.
Grease skillet with olive oil or butter.
Place chicken in skillet and season with kosher salt, lime juice, and sprinkle with margarita mix to evenly coat.
Sear chicken on both sides, seasoning other side when turned over.
Cook to desired temperature.
To plate: Spoon bed of rice onto plate, then layer with: drained beans, shredded cheese, chicken, tortilla chip, Drizzle with sauce and top with spoonful of drained salsa.

Guess who has been couponing!!!!

2011-05-01T21:25:00.000-05:00

I have recently started couponing. Sandy and I have decided to do a little friendly competition to see who can save the most. This is my second trip to CVS. Two Sundays ago, I did ok, but not a great job. I spend about $80 and saved $40. A good job but not excellent.

Today I spent $16.10 and saved $67.58! That's AWESOME!! Below you will find Transaction #1 which includes toilet paper, antiperspirant (two men and two women), Puffs with Vick's (which I LOVE), and toothpaste. I earned $10.54 extraBucks to use on Transaction #2. Following the first picture, you will see Transaction #2 which includes 6 Lean Cuisines and 4 candy bars (interesting combo). I received $5 extraBucks to use on a later purchase. I had planned a third transaction, but they did not have the Aquafina water so I decided to wait.

All in all, I am very excited about today's trip! I hope to do just as well when I go grocery shopping.

I'm ENGAGED!

2011-04-15T21:05:00.000-05:00

Just thought I would let everyone know that lovely little tidbit of great info :)

The date is set for December 29, 2012.

This picture is from the trip we took the week we got engaged. Yay!

Guess where I'm going...

2010-11-01T14:32:00.000-05:00

GREECE

I can't wait to go but I will have to because I don't leave until July! I'm excited about it. Now, I just have to come up with all the money... Hmmm, what can I sell?

Cuties for Cuties

2010-09-02T22:02:00.000-05:00

Well I know I haven't posted in a while, please forgive me!

I have a sorority sister who has a precious company called "Cuties for Cuties". Her merchandise is so... well CUTE!

I have a ton of friends who are having/ have had babies that need to check her page out. I think her fall appliques are AWESOME!! I want some for me!!! (I wonder if she could do that...)

Anyway, I just ordered the highly popular silicone watch with a HOUNDSTOOTH face!!! I'm so excited! I ordered black, but she also has white and red. All you BAMA fans need to check them out.

Her Facebook page is here

Her website is here

FYI, she is NOT paying me to say this!! I just love her stuff!!! SO make sure you go check it out!

As a bonus, I'm going to share one pick that I love from her fall applique collection. I just love Halloween!

Spring Break Part 2

2010-03-16T22:03:00.003-05:00

TUESDAY

This morning, I slept late. I did not set the alarm and I ended up sleeping through breakfast. Oops, oh well. After yesterday, I needed the sleep. Today, Baba and I spent the day at a resort. It was a nice day. I didn't take many pictures. In fact, I only took one...

Captain Morgan at some marina

SPRING BREAK!!

2010-03-15T23:44:00.004-05:00

SUNDAY

I drove to Baba's. We drove to Tampa... That is all :)

MONDAY

Busch Gardens!! It was so much fun! I rode all the roller coasters. Baba waited for me. Luckily, the lines were not long for the coasters. She didn't have to wait too long. We both enjoyed all the animals. I took almost 200 pictures today (197 to be exact...) Below, I chose a few of my faves.

After Busch Gardens, we drove across the state of Florida to Ft. Lauderdale. We checked into hotel. Who knows what tomorrow will hold :)

Pic of me and a Gorilla behind my shoulder

Gorilla statue

Peacock (or Pea"hen" as Miss Katie Jane would call it)

Lion outside of Busch Gardens

Lion inside B.G. (look how sweet she is with her paw on the glass)

EPHALANTS!!!! (We got to see them feed and play)

Butterfly

Happy Birthday...

2010-02-05T05:00:00.000-06:00

... to ME!

Welcome 30!

This is it!

2010-02-04T16:15:00.000-06:00

The LAST DAY of my 20s!!! WooHoo!

Welcome to the End...

2010-01-31T18:35:00.002-06:00

... of My Twenties!!!!!!

Today is the last Sunday of my twenties. I turn 30 on Friday!!

Just thought I would let ya'll know!

UPDATE: New phone!

2009-12-22T20:09:00.002-06:00

I went back to the store today. The service tech looked at it for like 10 minutes (or less) and came back out with it. He said that he ordered me a new phone but that the downside is since it's so close to Christmas, I may not get it before Monday. Who cares when I get it! I'm surprised that I'm getting a new phone for free! It doesn't replace my music and pix but that's ok. After the last time this happened, I found an application to retrieve the pix and save them on the computer.

Deja Vu?

2009-12-21T21:36:00.002-06:00

It seems that my phone has completely erased my memory card - no pics, no music, no NOTHING! Why is this happening?

I went to the phone store today and the service tech was at lunch. The guy asked if I wanted to leave it and then come back. Of course, you already know my answer.... Uh, no. I'll come back. I had too many errands to go back today. It looks like I may go tomorrow... Ugh!

Also, my phone freezes entirely too much. The guy said that he knows why that's happening and the service guy can fix it. He has no clue why the memory card was erased...

Any ideas, techie peeps?

New wallet!

2009-11-02T20:49:00.001-06:00

I found this lovely wallet yesterday at Blue Bumblebee. I am so excited. Roll Tide!!

Halloween Socks, Pt. 3 Final installment

2009-11-02T20:37:00.003-06:00

Presenting the final installment of 31 Days of Halloween Socks 2009!!! I actually have 5 more pair that did not make the cut this year, better luck next year!

Day 23 Happy Halloween with bats

Day 24 Halloween Pirate Skulls

Day 25 Too Cute to Spook

Day 26 Spidies and webs on Orange

Day 27 Halloween stripes

Day 28 Good Grief Snoopy

Day 29 Frankenstein

Day 30 Count Tigger

Day 31 Happy Halloween

Halloween Socks Pt. 2

2009-10-22T20:35:00.007-05:00

I know, I know.... I'm behind AGAIN! So I'm catching up tonight!

I would like to thank Carrie for feeding my habit! She bought me THREE pair of new Halloween socks!!! WooHoo!!!!!! She's awesome!

Day 8 Jack-o-lanterns

Day 9 Spiders in Top Hats on White Socks

Day 10 Ghosts, Cats, Candy Corn, Witch Hat, Skull (the next two pix)

Day 11 Black Cats

Day 12 Boo with Bats (the next two pix)

Day 13 Jack-o-lanterns on lime green

Day 14 Jack-o-lanterns (I have three very similar pairs, but not the same)

Day 15 Witches

Day 16 It's the Great Pumpkin!

Day 17 Halloween Montage

Day 18 Black cats on Fence

Day 19 Knee high bats

Day 20 Pumpkin Patch

Day 21 Pumpkins, Spiders and Ghosts, Oh My!!

Day 22 Trick or Treat Ghost and Frankenstein

May I have your order?

2009-10-12T20:05:00.004-05:00

As I was heading to Ozark on Saturday morning, I decided I wanted some Hardee's breakfast. So, I headed on over. I was so excited because it looked like the drive-thru line was short. Looks can be so deceiving... On the other side of the building, the line was extending to the road. NO Hardee's for me :(

Well, I decided to chance the McDonald's which is NEVER a good choice at this particular McD. Against my better judgement, I decided to order McD chicken biscuit. As I was in a hurry, I grabbed the bag and left. As I was driving, I opened the biscuit to put mustard on it. It was the darkest piece of chicken I have ever seen. I knew right then, I was not in for a good breakfast. Well, while dealing with this unappetizing piece of ... something, I forgot I needed gas. I turn around to head back into town and finally take a bite of biscuit. I looked like a dog latched on to a chew toy trying to tear the chicken away from the biscuit. Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful! I could feel the wrath of my mom bubbling through my core all the way up through my body. I never really get so mad that I make confrontations because I cry when I get mad. People really don't take you too seriously when you are babbling like a baby. However, I was DONE! I drove back to McD and took my week old leftover refried piece of... something to the manager. I proceeded to show him where I tried to take a bite out of it and couldn't do it. He looked at the chicken, took it to another manager so she could examine it and then came back to me. He said that the other manager was checking the fryer to make sure it wasn't overcooking all the chicken. ARE YOU SERIOUS???!!! That chicken could only have looked that way after being refried everyday for a week! The other manager came to me and said that it would be two minutes for a new biscuit... Now, I know they spit in my new biscuit but at least I could bite through the spit!

Biscuit #1 Notice the VERY dark breading

Biscuit #2 Notice the golden brown breading

31 Days of Halloween Socks!

2009-10-07T21:54:00.005-05:00

October 1st began the "31 Days of Halloween Socks"!! I have been a slacker and not had time to blog. SO I have 7 days to post tonight. Let's begin, shall we?

Day 1 Dancing Skeletons

Day 2 Trick or Treat Candy

Day 3 Black Cats with Hats

Day 4 Spidies in Top Hats

Day 5 Boo Ghosts (Very Special. These are my very first pair of Halloween Socks!)

Day 6 Trick or Treat Ghost

Day 7 Candy Corn

Yard Sale, Take 1

2009-09-19T14:07:00.003-05:00

This is my poor yard sale. It rained ALL DAY! (Except now, the sun is so bright now...) Christie and I debated on canceling but I said I would rather set up in my house than cancel. I want this stuff GONE. So, we did set up inside...

This is one wall of stuff. I took another picture, but it's gone from my camera (sounds vaguely familiar...) There was stuff ALL OVER my dining room.

BUT, I didn't want people "casing the joint" to see what I had in my house that they could come back later and steal. Sooo, Christie and I put up a sheet in the hall to block the rest of the house from view. Too Funny.

Well, since we got rained out, Chris and I decided to try again next week. But neither of us have room to store this cra... wonderful stuff. Now it's in my dining room. I can barely walk through the door. Oh my. WARNING: The next three pictures are not for the weak hearted. I almost faint just thinking of it. I can't wait until next weekend.
Please, GOD, don't make it rain next Saturday! I MUST get this stuff sold.

Grease is the word!

2009-09-18T18:03:00.002-05:00

Today, I got an email from Travelzoo. They were offering 50% off tickets to Grease the Musical! WooHoo! I totally bought two tickets for the Best Available, which was in the Grand Tier. There were NO floor seats left! This place is gonna be packed. I can't wait. The tickets are for next Sunday night.

For those of you who don't know Travelzoo, you should really make acquaintance. This is an awesome website that sends weekly airfare, vacation, show deals. I've been upgraded to a VIP and that's how I got these awesome tickets! Go to travelzoo.com and sign up. It's free. BTW, I'm totally NOT getting paid to do this. I really think this is an awesome site and you should try it.

Yard Sale

2009-09-18T07:32:00.002-05:00

Good morning, readers! Christie and I are planning a yard sale for tomorrow... Apparently it is going to rain. Oh well, I gotta get rid of all this cra.... great stuff! So come on by!

I'll let you know how we do later.

Overdose

2009-09-10T21:36:00.002-05:00

I think I may have overdosed tonight at dinner. I'm feeling a little woozy and lightheaded. My eyes are sensitive to light AND sound! I don't even know how that happens. My eyes literally started watering when a loud commercial came on tv.

What did I OD on? ...caffeine! I haven't had caffeine in a while. I've been drinking a ton of water and an occasional sprite, but no caffeine. Well tonight, I met Carrie for dinner and decided I deserved a sweet tea. Well, at this particular Mexican restaurant you can take one sip of drink and they come to refill. I have no idea how much tea I actually drank. I do know that I took a cup to go and drank a lot there. I seriously think I overdid it. My body is in shock!

I still think I deserved it... I had choir rehearsal today after school that ends at 4:00 p.m. I was still there at 5:00 p.m. waiting on a parent to come get her child! When she finally got there, she blamed the fifth grader for not reminding her that she had choir. Helllllloooooo!!!! She's 10! AND I gave every parent a schedule of rehearsal dates so they would know ahead of time when we had rehearsal... I'm sorry, parents, don't blame your forgetfulness on your kids. AND don't lie to my face and tell me you didn't know the child was at choir until 4:15 p.m. when we called to see where you were,especially when the child called to remind you during school... (It helps to be friends with the secretary in the school office. She can tell you these little gems of info). Anyway, I'm sending a little note home tomorrow telling parents to look at the schedule I sent home and make plans to come get their child on Thursday afternoon... We'll see how much flack I get from parents when the letter goes home.

Anyway, have a great night and weekend!!!

I.V. of O.J.

2009-09-06T15:46:00.003-05:00

I am SICK again!!!! What is going on here? I was well all summer (YAY!) and then I go back to school and NOW... SICK! I was not able to get in to see the Dr. but the nurse asked what my symptoms were and I told her. Apparently it didn't sound like the flu because the Dr. prescribed a Z pack, which is an antibiotic and will not touch the flu. My throat is soooo sore. It feels like a porcupine is shooting his quills through my throat. Blah.

On another note, Ryan's Memorial Fly-in was this weekend. His remote control airplane club hosted the 2nd annual event yesterday and today. I was able to attend yesterday. There was a wonderful tribute flight by two of the club members. Ryan's mom, Annette, has started a scrapbook of Ryan's life. She has done a beautiful job. It looks great just like it is, but she wants to add more. Chuck and Annette's nephew and niece came up for the fly-in. It was so good to see Brian, Krissie and the kids. The kids wanted Taco Casa for dinner last night, but Annette and I thought Dave's Dogs would be better :) Sooo, we decided to go to the mall food court where we could all get what we wanted (Dave's Dogs and Taco Casa are right across from each other). My chili cheese dog was DELICIOUS!! I just love Dave's. It truly is "all in the bun".

Thank God for long weekends because I definitely need some rest. Tomorrow, Bryan and I are smoking a boston butt. Yum Yum!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

2009-08-24T18:27:00.001-05:00

I would like to say "Happy Birthday" to a wonderful friend. She does not want to make a big deal about it, so I'm going to let her remain nameless. (Click on the word "friend" in the previous sentence)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

Really?

2009-08-03T20:40:00.002-05:00

I recovered the lost photos from my phone with a downloaded program. But now they are corrupted and won't open!!! Anyone know how to uncorrupt JPG files????? HELP!!!!!

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-08-01T17:45:00.003-05:00

I was transferring pix from my phone to my computer. My computer decided to freeze, so I disconnected my phone from the comp. The comp ERASED all my pictures!!!! I USED the disconnect button! It shouldn't have erased the pix! Now, I've spent the WHOLE afternoon trying to restore the pix. But the recovery system is only finding pix that I meant to erase, not the ones the comp erased for me!!! NOOOOOOO!!!!

This had pix from NOLA that I was gonna post. It also had bulletin board pix that I was going to share. And it had pix from today of Teacher Appreciation at Staples and Office Depot... That stinks!

I'm so sorry, dear readers. I will not be able to post such cute pix :(

Hope you are having a better day...

PROCRASTINATION!

2009-07-20T11:51:00.002-05:00

Today, I am finally at home with nothing to do!! WooHOO! Well, not really "nothing". I really need to clean my house. I left it a mess when I went to my Baba's house. So, I could do that but I am just watching my DVR! I'm so lazy... I also need to go deposit some checks for Pampered Chef so I can close my party. Maybe I'll do that and go get lunch. But I have food here to eat... I also need to get at least one of my classrooms ready for school... What to do, what to do?

Well, I haven't posted in a while and figured you would like to know what's going through my mind. HeeHee! Enjoy!

Summer School

2009-07-02T21:15:00.003-05:00

I teach an enrichment program for 6 weeks during the summer. This is week 5. Only one more week!!! Well, today was our last day of the week because of the holiday weekend.

SANDY ~ YOU NEED TO SIT DOWN FOR THIS...

I decided to give my students stickers with pictures of the American flag or fireworks. Now, this may not seem like a big deal but it is. I NEVER give my stickers away. I'm like a sticker squirrel. So, I knew Sandy would not believe me. I took pictures to prove it! Below you will see my 2nd period class. There are only 3 girls in the class and 1 is a "helper".

Sandy still won't believe that I actually let them keep the stickers. She will think I staged the picture and made them give me the stickers back! She's so silly!

On a side note, this Saturday Christie and I checked out a produce stand near Sandy's house. It was nice. He was giving free ice cream to shoppers and had a lot of samples. He was also giving away a bunch of bananas to each customer. I'm not a huge fan of bananas, so Christie and I divided our bunch. I still had mine sitting on the counter today, looking VERY ripe! Well, I hated to waste them, so I made banana nut bread from scratch!!! I'm becoming Betty Crocker. It was yummy!

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Anniversary and RIP

2009-06-30T21:17:00.006-05:00

This past weekend, Sandy emailed me a picture of my beloved bucket grill. We had forgotten to celebrate the two year anniversary of me purchasing the beauty. Below, you will find a picture of the bucket on the day of said purchasing. It's beautiful and as you will see, matches my "outside" dishes.

It is truly a great grill for one person. I've even invited friends over and cooked for them. Bryan LOVES the ribs I made on this lovely creature!

Then it happened, I went outside to grill up some pork chops for Bryan and I. I poured the charcoal in the metal pan and POOF they fell through! The bottom of the pan had rusted through! Oh my!!!! Not the bucket! Not my precious, dear friend, bucket. What am I gonna do?! How am I gonna come home from work and grill up a quick "dot dog" (hot dog for those not up on my cutesy words for random stuff)? I'm so distressed about this. And then I had to find another way to cook the pork chops! I almost gave up and just went through a drive-thru. But I couldn't let Bry down. I had to be a trooper and overcome this dilemma. I found a recipe online that pan seared the chops in butter and garlic. They were tasty but dried out :( Oh, I need my grill!

Now, I need a new grill, but I don't know how I could ever replace the bucket. We had become such close friends. We had two wonderful years together. I do know one thing. The next grill I have, will definitely come with a lid! Wish me luck!

I hate technology!

2009-06-23T13:35:00.002-05:00

Ugh! I am so over it! I checked my mail this morning (I was too lazy to go back outside yesterday) to find bills, bills, and more bills. I also had a denial letter for a medical procedure that had already been approved and I'VE ALREADY HAD DONE! In addition to that lovely letter, I had a bill from my previous dr. that I already paid! This is the "FINAL NOTICE OF DEMAND FOR FULL PAYMENT". I KNOW I paid this because I called last month to see just how much I owed them because I was getting bills everyday. I have been to the dr. alot this year so I know why I'm getting a lot of bills, but I needed to know the total amount to pay.

So, I was ill all the way to work and was not in a pleasant mood for a while. I did snap out of it.

Upon arriving at home, I had a few things to do.

1. Put rice on to cook while I do other stuff.

2. Find approved medical procedure letter.

3. Find posted check number and date for the dr. bill.

4. Call the prior approval company.

5. Call billing company for dr.

I completed 1 - 3 pretty quickly. I called #4, and they said there were actually 3 different procedures that were requested. 2 by my prior dr. and 1 by my current dr. The two from before were denied. 1 was denied very quickly and I got the letter less than a week after the request. The 2nd by my previous dr. took almost 2 months to be denied. In fact, it was denied after the third was approved and completed. So, thank God that was the case. The procedure I did have is still approved and I am covered. Each dr. asked for the same procedure but with different reasons for me needing it. My current dr. wrote it with better reasons, I guess. Anyway, I'm glad that's taken care of.

Now on to #5. I called the company and explained the situation. She said she did not have a payment recorded. I told her the check number, the date on the check, and when it was posted to my account. So, she did a little more searching and found that it had posted to a different account. It is still my account but one is for hospital services and one is for something else, maybe labs or something. I don't know. Like I said, I've been to the dr. a lot lately! I can't keep up with everything, but I KNOW I paid that bill and I was correct. She said she would fix the problem and I was paid in full. WooHoo!

So, I hate computer errors. I was in a foul mood for nothing today. Good thing I snapped out of it.

Have a great day!

Let's Play Catch Up

2009-06-15T20:47:00.002-05:00

First, thank you so much for all your thoughts and prayers for my test. I won't know the results until November. I think I did ok and I am thinking positively! I WILL pass in November!

Secondly, Saturday, I was in my cabinet trying to reorganize. I decided to move the stuff from one cabinet to another cabinet. But I had to raise the shelf up a couple of holes because my stoneware is too tall. So, I cleaned out the cabinet, sprayed Clorox cleaner, wiped down cabinet, and went to raise the shelf. It was screwed in. No problem, I have a screwdriver set. Now, did you know that they make a square screw head? I sure did not! But luckily, my set had one... that did NOT fit! So, I tried everything, every screwdriver, ratchet, pliers, even a Pampered Chef paring knife (I was inspired by Sandy's grandmother, click here. It's a long post, scroll down to toaster oven.) None of those worked. I was just about to give up and take a saw to the shelf (just kidding). I gave it one last shot, a tiny tiny little flat head, much like an eyeglass screwdriver, and it WORKED! The flat head fit right in the square diagonally!! WooHoo! I was able to rearrange those two cabinets.

I'm working this summer. I teach music at an enrichment camp. It's pretty fun. I am at a different site this year and it is very different! Last year, the classes were assigned and sometimes doubled, meaning that class sizes were close to 20 - 25 students. That is a good size class because there are enough kids to play instruments, dance, and sing at the same time. This year, the students get to choose where they go and when. That means I could have 1 kid at a time!!! I can't do anything with one kid. They won't sing, they can't play the instrument parts, and they definitely won't dance! It's a pain. This week, I have pretty good class sizes. The smallest is four, which is blah, but much better than the 2 I had last week. My largest is probably 18 (two combined classes of 4/5/6 year olds.) We should have fun this week!

Not really much going on other than work... I should be cleaning, but I didn't get motivated today. I did clean this weekend though. I've got to play catch-up with cleaning since I'm done studying now...

It's Official...

2009-06-05T18:43:00.004-05:00

I have officially quit studying for my National Board Assessment. The test is tomorrow at 8 a.m. If I don't know it by now, I won't know it... So, I've decided to take some advice and take a break for tonight. (I can't promise I won't look over it tomorrow morning... Last minute cramming)

There are six parts of the assessment:

1. Diagnostic Skills (identifying and correcting choral issues)

2. Historical Repertoire (identifying historical time periods, discussing music from that time period, discussing music in relation to history/culture) EEEEKKKK!!!!! I'm most scared of this one.

3. Applied Theory/Composition (Vocal) (write a song - so easy since I wrote 1/2 of my holiday program this past year)

4. Instructional Strategies (Teach one concept six different ways, using aural, visual, kinesthetic)

5. Music from a World Sample (identify style or genre of selections of world music) EEEKKK! Again, I'm scared.

6. Curricular Applications (Given a song, describe how to teach the nine national standards - they choose four)

So I'm nervous about two sections and feel ok about the other four. I'm so ready to be done with this test. The bad part is I won't know the results until NOVEMBER!! UGH!

Have a great weekend!

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T10:02:00.002-05:00

HOT Comments Graphics Troops Images Need NEW Comment Codes?

I would like to thank our veterans and the men and women currently serving in the Armed Forces. Everyone say a prayer for our troops today, whether or not you agree with the war. They are doing their jobs. They deserve our support.

Have a safe Memorial Day!

The Japanese Quest

2009-05-24T17:55:00.003-05:00

As my love for Japanese grows stronger and stronger on a daily basis, I am on a quest to find the best grill in town. I have tried several. I prefer Sumo, but Bryan likes Stix. So, we are joining efforts to find a hibachi grill on which we can agree.

Sandy and I tried one over Spring Break near her house. We were not impressed by the disco ball birthday bash, nor the Carpenters played by pan flute, nor the fact that Sandy was not special enough to get a fork (I only got one because I chose salad over soup). Those were the least of the problems; the food was just not good at all.

A few weeks ago, Bryan and I went to a hibachi near his apt. I had heard great things about this establishment. Apparently the people recommending the restaurant had no taste buds and preferred their food overcooked. So once again, we were on the search for the perfect Japanese place.

Mr. Chuck, Ms. Annette, and I went to another steak house a couple of weeks ago while they were in town for a wedding. I liked it. Bryan liked my leftovers, but had been to that particular steak house before and thought it was dirty. I do remember mentioning that I was crunching something on the floor when I walked and the carpet was ripped under my chair by the grill. So, maybe he was right. The food was tasty though... (I think the waiter was flirting with me)

My school system sells coupon books to raise money. In this year's book, there was a coupon for another hibachi. Buy one meal, get one free (up to $13.50). As we looked at the menu, we realized that the only dish that was under that price, was the chicken. I always get steak and he always gets some sort of combo, usually shrimp and steak. So, I figured they would just take the $13.50 off and we would pay the difference, which is what they did. The soup was very flavorful, and had at least THREE mushrooms!! Wow! The salad was tasty and very fresh, but the dressing was a little too runny for me. The noodles were good too. Bryan even liked them (that's why he doesn't like Sumo - they serve noodles and he doesn't like them). I chose steak, as usual, but Bryan chose shrimp and calamari. I tried a piece of the calamari, but it was way tooooo fishy for me. He liked it. I only ate about three pieces of steak because I was so full. But those three pieces were delicious! I am so excited! Bryan and I have finally agreed on a Japanese steak house that we both enjoy!! (BTW, for those friends in my area, it was Yuki by Walmart).

As a side note, I am meeting some friends at Sumo... TONIGHT! Japanese twice in one weekend! WooHoo!!!! Then off to a bachelorette party!

Carrie!!

2009-05-21T18:19:00.002-05:00

Carrie and I decided that TODAY would be our treat day for the Fact or Crap game! We went to a local Mexican restaurant where I told her that part of her treat would be CHEESE DIP! Then for dessert, a SOPAPILLA!!!! WooHoo!! We had a great time

On the way to eat, I picked up my prescriptions from the pharmacy. I had two inhalers and 5 pills of an antibiotic. It was $90!!!!!!! What?! I better get well soon. I can't afford to be sick. I'll make sure to get a record my medical expenses this year. I may meet the amount required to claim it on my taxes.

I went to the allergist/ENT yesterday. I have an appointment for an allergy test (the one where they prick me with a gazillion needles) and a CT scan of my sinuses. I had an Xray of my sinuses yesterday and he said my septum is perfectly straight, so no surgery for a deviated septum. WooHoo! My sinus cavities are mostly clear. He has a little concern over the cloudiness in the cavity above my nose, thus the CT scan.

Basically, no one knows why I've been sick for so long. But I have three more appointments already scheduled to find out why. We'll see.

Have a great weekend!

THURSDAY THIRTEEN: Fact or Crap Edition "The Big Reveal"

2009-04-30T00:01:00.001-05:00

Last Thursday, I asked my readers to prove how well they know me. I have come to realize that they all know me pretty well!! We had a 5 way tie. Although, Bryan would like me to point out that he got all 13 correct and he was being funny on #10 where he said I "steal" the internet and not "borrow". Tough luck, boyfriend, you knew the rules, "Fact" or "Crap". So, I was forced to have a drawing. (Normally, I would video the drawing, but I am sick AGAIN and I look pretty rough and was not going to put my poor readers through that) The winner is.....

CARRIE CRUZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations, Carrie! You have won a fun-filled trip to either Sonic or the DQ for some ice cream/snackie items. Your choice or you can pick another place for our adventure! Let me know what you would like! Hopefully, one of us will remember our camera and I can share our adventure with you, dear readers.

Here is a link to all the comments, so you can see who knows me! Click on the word "link".

Now for the answers....

1. My favorite color is pink. CRAP (It is purple)
2. I have had whooping cough. FACT (Recently)
3. I have one younger brother. FACT (22 years old)
4. I once was a pre-med major. CRAP (Nope, I've only been a music major)
5. My childhood dream was to be a manager for WWF wrestlers. FACT (I blame my mother for this. She took me to my first wrestling match when I was just weeks old...)
6. I am addicted to chapstick. FACT (I have been since high school)
7. P² and I are engaged. CRAP (Uh, no. I can't believe that people actually thought we were and I didn't tell them....)
8. My fave condiment is ketchup. CRAP!!!!!!!! (I HATE ketchup! It is my least fave. Mustard is my fave.)
9. I HATE roller coasters. CRAP (I love them!)
10. I "borrow" my neighbor's wireless connection. FACT (I do "borrow". She knows)
11. I collect keychains. FACT (I have collected them forever. I have a bazillion)
12. My favorite foods are Mexican and Japanese. FACT (It's always been Mexican, and I just recently added Japanese.)
13. I want 3 children. CRAP (No way. I have never wanted kids!)

Two Days Left!

2009-04-27T10:56:00.002-05:00

Make sure you read my Thursday Thirteen: Fact or Crap edition! It is so funny to see which friends know me the best! Make sure to leave your answers in the comment section. I will reveal the correct answers on Thursday!

MAKE SURE TO TYPE YOUR NAME ON COMMENTS IF YOU DON'T SIGN IN. I HAVE ONE ANONYMOUS SUBMITTER AND THEY DID QUITE WELL!! (Shannon, I have yours.) Send me another comment if you submitted today so you can get credit for the chance at the prize.

So far, I have 5 comments and it is a close race! Keep 'em coming!

THURSDAY THIRTEEN: Fact or Crap?

2009-04-23T19:11:00.012-05:00

Last weekend, P² and I hung out with Sandy and Mr. D. We went to eat at the local Mexican restaurant, "The Coz", and then back to Sandy's for some gaming. We thought some Wii would be fun. But originally it was supposed to be a board game night, so I suggested we play at least one. So Sandy got "Fact or Crap". It was definitely an interesting game. Sandy and I were horrible at it. One person reads a statement and the other players have to decide if it is fact or crap.

In honor of our fun time last weekend, Sandy and I have decided to do a Thursday Thirteen: Fact or Crap edition. On each blog, you will find 13 statements. You have to answer fact or crap to each statement. Please leave your answers in the comment section. Please have all answers submitted by next Tuesday. I will not post any comments until next Thursday. There will be a small prize for the person with the most correct answers. If there is a tie, I will have a drawing. Next Thursday, Sandy and I will reveal our answers in the Thursday Thirteen.

1. My favorite color is pink.
2. I have had whooping cough.
3. I have one younger brother.
4. I once was a pre-med major.
5. My childhood dream was to be a manager for WWF wrestlers.
6. I am addicted to chapstick.
7. P² and I are engaged.
8. My fave condiment is ketchup.
9. I HATE roller coasters.
10. I "borrow" my neighbor's wireless connection.
11. I collect keychains.
12. My favorite foods are Mexican and Japanese.
13. I want 3 children.

Be sure to leave your answers in the comment section. Check back next Thursday for the answers!!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-13T13:19:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, I cooked my first Easter dinner. It was delicious, if I do say so myself. I cooked a ham, potato salad, deviled eggs, green bean casserole, orange stuff (I don't know the name of it), banana pudding, and rolls. It was so yummy! I took some pics of the spread.

Saturday night, Bryan and I dyed eggs. He is super sweet and will do cheesy stuff with me. We did all kinds of colors, it just happens that the ones we wrote our names on are purple (my fave) and blue (his fave).

We went to see "Wicked" last night. It was awesome and we both loved it!

"Are you crying...."

2009-04-03T17:56:00.006-05:00

"...Because it hurts or because you just don't like it?" What do you think, lady?

This is my arm today. Notice the lovely greenish bluish shading around the top and bottom. That is NOT lighting! That is actually what my arm looks like today.

I really wish I would have just "stopped by" the doctor's office today to visit with Miss Incompetent. I would have asked if this bruise looks like "pain" or just "dislike."

Now, I realize that bruising is common with blood draws (if done by incompetent nurses, especially) but I also know that she did not have to milk and push the blood out of my arm. That is why I am bruised. My other arm is fine (she had help doing that arm....).

Several of my friends have suggested that I should have ripped the needle from her hand and shoved it into her arm and asked if she was crying because it hurt or because she just didn't like it. I think I could have actually hit a vein... What do you think?

Oh, a quick funny. When she asked what arm was better, I told her neither and offered to show her the spider veins in my legs. I told her she could probably get a ton of blood from there... She declined. I don't know why.

2009-04-02T20:20:00.002-05:00

These are the "track marks" that I received from the incompetent nurse yesterday... Pretty nice looking. Come on, you know you like it.

97.5

2009-04-01T15:57:00.003-05:00

Really? Are you kidding me? Today, when I have a dr. appt, my temp is 97.5. But my whole body still aches and my throat is KILLING me. I have been sick since September. I do get better but not completely well. So, now I'm asking for an allergy specialist and ENT. The dr said she would do blood work and then refer me where I needed to go.

This is what was done today:

1. Nurse stuff (temp, blood pressure, symptoms)

2. Strep test

3. Dr. consult

4. Dr. stuff (look up nose, in ears, in mouth)

5. Flu test

6. Both were negative

7. Blood work

8. Nurse looks at veins and gets a worried face

9. Ask which arm is better

10. Sticks me and misses

11. Digs around to find vein

12. Can't find it

13. Tells me to go drink two glasses of water and come back

14. Nurse calls another nurse to come help

15. Sticks me again

16. Milks my arm and blows the vein

17. Doesn't get enough blood for tests

18. Moves to next arm

19. Blows vein

20. FINALLY gets enough blood

21. I leave in tears

Oh, and the antibiotic that the Dr. prescribed can affect my central nervous system! WooHoo! So if I act confused or can't remember anything, it's the medicine. So, don't tell me anything important for the next 14 days, at least.

100.6!

2009-03-31T17:24:00.002-05:00

I was hot all day today. Not just hot, but standing OUTSIDE sweating hot. I could not get cool. Finally after lunch, I went to the school nurse and she checked my temp - 100.6! They send kids home with a 100 temp. We were around the principal so she didn't say the temp aloud and asked if I wanted to go home. I told her no and so she said I better get out of the office then. I didn't want to take a sick day when I only had 1.5 hours left with kids. I debated on going to the doctor and had decided against it, but my whole body just aches and my throat is soooo sore! Several people have told me I have the flu. So, just in case, I am going to the dr. I pray I don't have the flu! I'm taking a sick day tomorrow to go to the dr. Glad I didn't go home today!

Sandy went to the Dr. today. She is not feeling well either :( Get better soon.

Hope everyone else is doing well.

Update from Spring Break

2009-03-29T17:20:00.004-05:00

I have not had time to blog since Spring Break. Here are a few pix of my day out on the town with Sandy. We went to this new Japanese place near her house. We were not impressed. They didn't even allow Sandy to have a fork, so she was FORCED to eat with chopsticks. I only got a fork because they brought it with my salad. She had soup, unfortunately. The highlight was when the music started blaring to the point we couldn't even hear our own conversation. Then a disco ball started throwing vibrant colored balls all over the restaurant. Apparently, it was someone's birthday... Wow!

The new restaurant. This is a pic of the napkin

My lunch

Sandy expertly eating with the chopsticks

So far behind

2009-03-29T17:03:00.004-05:00

I can't even believe that I did not tell you guys that I mailed "THE BOX"!!!!! I am so excited!! Here is "the box".

HD Oh MY!

2009-03-19T12:10:00.002-05:00

Well, I've had my new tv for around 3 months and have been watching the same Directv... So yesterday I FINALLY called the competitors to see what deals I could get and then called Directv to see if they would meet them. Of course, they didn't so I went with DishNetwork. Before, I had basic satellite service - no HD, no DVR, no movies... Now I have HD in the living room, DVR in BOTH rooms, movie channels for a limited time and even when the "deal" goes off I'll still be paying less than I'm paying now. So "no" Directv I don't want to accept your agreement for a free HD DVR receiver. Because then I'll be paying way more than I could with cable or dish... So much for being a "loyal customer".

Today was VERY productive.

1. DishNetwork installed

2. baked Amish Bread

3. Heath is pre-merging my yard (WooHoo. Good Heath!)

4. going to see a movie with Ashley this afternoon

I still have to finish my box but I am waiting to hear from my support person. When I hear from him, I can move ahead.

Have a great day!

Quick catch up

2009-03-18T13:11:00.003-05:00

So, I have been so busy! Mostly I've been working and doing national board stuff. This week is Spring Break. I'm trying to finish up "the box" while still having fun. Oh, and I'm sick again... So, the following is a recap:

1. NKOTB concert with Christie

2. movie on Monday night (I am planning to see two more this week with other friends)

3. went out St. Patrick's night

4. rode a motorcycle for the first time today

5. worked on "the box" everyday (organized, copied, edited, etc.....)

6. hung out with Bryan

7. grocery shopping

8. lunch with Christie

9. grilling for Bryan tonight

10. wedding on Saturday afternoon

11. baking "Amish Friendship Bread" tomorrow Anyone want a starter? I'll have 3 tomorrow morning...

I think those are the highlights. If I missed anything, I'm sorry. There will be pix coming of the motorcycle ride hopefully.

National Boards

2009-03-04T15:12:00.002-06:00

I took a professional development day to work on my national board stuff. My last entry is due to my support person tomorrow. Now, I finished the papers this weekend but I was 1.5 pages over and needed help deciding what to cut. He told me that all 6 accomplishments were noteworthy and I had to decide. So I sent it to three teacher friends who have their National Board certification. I heard back from one very quickly. I agreed with her and started working on the suggestions she made.

This is what I did today:

1. finished editing Entry 1 (I had already done 2 and 3)

2. decided (with help) which accomplishments to use for Entry 4

3. decided (again with help) what documentation to use for each accomplishment

4. edited each accomplishment

5. typed evals for students and parents

6. located documentation for each accomplishment

I'm pretty much to where I can't do anything else until I have feedback from my support person and until my concert, drum circle, and parent visitation in the classroom happen. All of this is happening in the next two weeks!!!! After that, I have to bust my behind to get it all together by March 31st so I can mail my box. I should have Entries 1, 2, and 3 done by Spring Break. Entry 4 will be mostly complete except for some documentation from parents.

Not related to N.B.:

7. picked music for children's choir tonight

8. nothing else

Still to do:

1. take shower

2. make lunch for tomorrow

3. gather stuff for meeting with support person for N.B.

4. children's choir

5. sanctuary choir

6. Clean house (I have decided it will still be dirty this summer when N.B. is over. So this is on my to do list indefinitely)

I am so grateful for my three friends who have edited for me, especially Sara for getting back to me so quickly today even though she was working and busy. She made today VERY successful.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KATIE JANE!!

2009-02-28T12:57:00.003-06:00

Just a quick update.....

I am working on National Board stuff today, but I just finished one paper and I need a little break before starting the next :)

Today is Katie Jane's bday! WooHoo! We are going back to our college alma mater for some men's bball tonight. Now, I'm not into bball, but it is not my bday. So, P² and I are meeting KJ, her sis and bro-in-law for the game. I am going to show everyone my brick that I purchased after I graduated. It is in front of the student center where the game will be played.

I took Winston to the vet yesterday. He had "the works". That includes annual shots, a physical, a bath, toe nail clipping, worm/flea preventative, and of course antibiotics. What trip to the vet would be complete without them? I am a horrible mother and forget to go buy the preventative after I've used the first six months, so this year I bought a year's supply! OMG! It was $170 - more than the other stuff combined! Winston is fine, just has a little infection in his paw from a cut which is the main reason we went to the vet yesterday. He wasn't due for shots until the middle of March, but while he was there anyway I got it done. So after all that, I walked out with over $300 less than I walked in with :(

Not much has been going on this week... Ash Wednesday church service, National Board writing, P², school, Black History Programs, choir.... Same old stuff.

Congrats to Sandy's students for winning the People's Choice Award at her school's Chili Cook-Off! If you click on her name it will take you to her blog and you can read about the cook-off. Scroll down a little, she had a lengthy blog :)

Happy Mardi Gras

2009-02-24T19:38:00.001-06:00

Happy Fat Tuesday! I am so sad that I was not at home this week for Mardi Gras. I have been home the past two years for Fat Tuesday, but since I took my personal leave last week to see my brother, I couldn't go this year. An easy decision to make, but I'm still sad I wasn't there today. There's always next year :)

One Year Ago

2009-02-22T17:01:00.002-06:00

This week has been weepy for me. One year ago today I went on my first date with Ryan. We went to a restaurant named "Firebirds" and then to a movie. This past Friday, I had a dinner meeting with a music organization at "Firebirds" and it was really hard. I'm glad I was with a lot of great girls who took my mind off the situation. That was the first time I had been back.

Today has been a hard day too. I can't believe it's been a year since I met Ryan. It really has flown past. It seems like everything happened so long ago yet like it was only yesterday.

UPDATE

2009-02-15T20:14:00.002-06:00

Well, I had an unfortunate change of plans. Last week, my cousin passed away and I had to go to my hometown for the funeral. I went home Wednesday night after choir rehearsal. I had planned to go home on Sunday after church to see my brother for a few days. SO, I didn't think it would be smart to drive home on Wed. night and drive back on Thur. for school and then drive back home on Sunday. So, I stayed the entire weekend and will be here through Tuesday or Wednesday.

So don't worry, dear readers, you still have time to suggest recipes for me to cook for Valentine's Day. I'm glad I wasn't depending on your suggestions because NO ONE left a comment. I would've starved. Thanks, guys!

Well, I have no internet access while at my mom's so I will update when I get back to my house.

Roger says...

2009-02-08T16:12:00.003-06:00

Roger left me a comment on my FB wall. He wrote "Try ctl-apple-plus for superscript and ctl-apple-minus for subscript." Well I tried but it didn't work :(. BUT I went exploring and came across "Special Characters" in my "Edit" toolbar. So, I went on a search for the superscript and found it!

Allow me to introduce "Prince Pookie" as "P²". Yea! I did it!!! WooHoo! It is a great day!

Make sure to read all my blogging adventures from today. I've posted four entries, so don't stop here!

Calling All Cooks!

2009-02-08T13:57:00.003-06:00

Ok, so this year is the first year in a LONG time I will have a boyfriend on Valentine's Day. However, Prince Pookie has to work that night until 6 p.m. So I am planning on cooking. But I don't know what to cook. I need ideas! So, dear readers, I am asking for your help. Please post a comment with a link to your fave recipe or if you created it, post the recipe in the comment. I really want this to be a nice dinner... Keep in mind, I am no gourmet chef. It doesn't have to be simple, but don't get too crazy!

I will let you know which recipe I choose and maybe even take pix of the whole process. It should be interesting.

Be sure to check my other two posts from today below. I've been a blogging fool today :)

Prince Pookie

2009-02-08T13:48:00.003-06:00

Ok, so before I get any hateful comments about not knowing "Prince Pookie", I will introduce him to you...

So, we've been chatting since before Thanksgiving. We finally met the Monday before New Year's. I know, I know what you are thinking.... And you haven't discussed him on the blog yet? No I haven't. I needed a good nickname before I could talk about him. But I just couldn't think of one :( So, I started calling him Pookie because that is funny and then after he gave me the frog for my bday, he became the Prince. Well it morphed into Prince Pookie because that is super fun! I really want to call him Psquared but I don't know how to do a superscript on the Mac? Any ideas of how to do that?

So P.P. and I have officially stopped dating other people and are now only dating each other. I know you missed the whole dating other people thing, but it was happening. And now it is not.

Now for your visual enjoyment, I will post a pic. P.P. hates this pic, but he will have to deal. It is the only one I have of us and I think it is cute. It was taken by Mr. D at the Super Bowl party last weekend. That is when P.P. met the friends... He got the thumbs up, by the way :)

Catch Up!!!

2009-02-08T13:23:00.002-06:00

Hey Hey! Well today is Sunday and I have not blogged since Tuesday, I think. So I am a little behind. So today, we will be playing catch up!

Wednesday was a day like any other Wednesday, very busy. School, school choir, church children's choir, and sanctuary choir rehearsals. There was one exception to the monotony. I had an i.m. discussion with a certain someone about becoming exclusive... There will be more on that story, just a tease for now. So after all the choir rehearsals, I drove to see this person, whom I shall call "Prince Pookie" because I love nicknames and that one is HILARIOUS! Then I headed home for some much needed rest!

Thursday, the big day, I turned 29! I slept in, yea! My dad called and wished me a happy bday. We talked a little and then I had to go get ready for work. Heath texted and told me to check my mailbox before heading to work. Well, I finished getting ready and took some stuff out to the car to load before checking the box. On my car window was a large bag and a card. I opened the card and it was from my 'prince'. The bag contained a large stuffed frog (he is sooo soft). I guess he thinks I like them because I had to kiss so many... How precious. Sometime during the night Prince Pookie drove 20 minutes one way to deliver my present so I would have it on my bday. He is incredibly thoughtful. I almost forgot about the mailbox! So I walked over and looked inside. There was a WATER BOTTLE inside! WooHoo! Heath came to the rescue again. I guess after the great wet t-shirt debacle of '09, I needed a new one. I have two of the best men in my life. I am truly blessed.

All that was before I even went to work. The kindergarten classes sang to me, the K teachers gave me an itunes gift card (yea!), I celebrated with the choir. Heather even bought me lunch. So much fun.

Thursday night, I headed to Jim N Nicks with Christie and Emily. We loved it! And the waiter gave me a piece of pie for my bday. MMMM, yummy! Afterward, we went to "Ain't Misbehavin". It was good but not what I expected. I probably wouldn't see it again, but I'm glad I went. And our seats were right next to Brian and Jonathan's. Crazy!

Friday, one of my school choirs sang at a local college basketball game. So I was there at 5:15 p.m. but left as soon as the National Anthem had been sung and all the kids were with their families. I met Prince Pookie at his apartment and he took me to Stix for my bday dinner. It was so delicious. I love it. I just LURVE Japanese food.

Saturday, I had to work on national board stuff :( That is enough of Saturday. Although I did meet Sandy, Mr. D, Prince Pookie and roommate, Josh for lunch.

Today, I went to Prince Pookie's apartment before church and he went with me to the early service. My church children's choir sang the Call to Worship and the sanctuary choir didn't sing until 11, so that meant I got to sit in the pews rather than the choir loft. Prince Pookie and I got to sit by each other during the service which does not happen normally because I have to remain in the choir loft. After the early service, we went to Jack's for breakfast and then he dropped me off at church so I could sing with the sanctuary choir during the second service. After church, I came home and finished my paper for national boards. I emailed it to my support person. I am updating you guys and then I am going to clean the house.

Tonight, I have tickets to the Comedy Club. I love the C.C. It is so much fun!!

Oh and sometime yesterday I did three loads of laundry and lesson plans for the week.

Tomorrow, back to the grind....

2009-02-03T21:29:00.002-06:00

As I mentioned in my last post, I am sick :( I went to the doctor today. I relayed my symptoms, which sounded oddly like the symptoms I had back in September thru November. I can breathe through my nose fine. I have a lot of drainage apparently because my ears and throat are so red. But when I breathe, I just can't get enough air. This is a problem for everyone, but especially a music teacher. I literally can not sing a line of music without running out of breath. Of course she listened to my chest and said I was "very tight". Well, I need to be untight, so how can you help me, ma'am. So, she decided that I needed a steroid shot (to get my voice back, which has decided to take a vacay right when I am video taping my National Board entries), an antibiotic (to clear up any lingering infection from November...), an antihistamine (because I may be allergic to work. I knew it! Seriously, she said there might be an allergen at work!), and an inhaler (twice a day for THREE MONTHS!!!) WHAT?! I can't remember to take all that medicine... Excuse me, could you prescribe something to help my memory too?

And fun little fact of the day....

A 1st grader puked in my room today, just inches from where I previously was standing! Thank God I felt the need to point something out on the board. That safely moved me away from spewing zone. And without warning, the child vomits all over the floor... And makes no move for garbage can that was located two feet from him.... Lovely. "Clean up, aisle 1" Thank God for WONDERFUL custodians. (Who by the way, saved my life yesterday after the wet t-shirt contest. She fetched a new shirt for me)

Well, goodnight, dear readers...

Wet T-shirt Contest

2009-02-02T19:47:00.002-06:00

Backstory: I am sick. For my family, this will come as no surprise to you. It is close to my birthday, which means, I must get sick :( It's a rule.

I was video taping for National Boards this afternoon. I have four second grade classes in a row. I did not have high hopes for the first two classes and the last class is always horrible. So I was placing my eggs in the third class basket. Well, the lesson was grand, the kids were involved, I was rocking.... Then it happened! I had a coughing fit. The kind where I can't catch my breath, I can't sing. I'm turning red and tears are streaming down my face. Lucky for me, I have a bottle of water (if I can just quit coughing long enough to get it to my mouth) on the table beside me. I pick it up and pull on the nozzle with my teeth only to remember that the nozzle was clogged and that I had left the cap unscrewed. Down pours all the water on my shirt... Yep, dear readers, I was having my own personal wet t-shirt contest in front of a class full of second graders. Now they do tell us to keep going no matter what happens in the videos. You can always explain and tell what you would do differently next time. However, I just can't see myself turning in a video where I had to wring the water out of my shirt.... So, I stopped taping. But don't worry, I do have it on video. Just not for your enjoyment.....

Super Bowl XLwhatever it is

2009-02-01T15:34:00.003-06:00

So I am no football fan. I didn't even know that the Super Bowl was this weekend until late this week..... But I have been invited to Sandy's Super Bowl Extravaganza! WooHoo! What this means to me is WONDERFUL food that Sandy has so lovingly prepared for all the guests.

I just finished lesson plans, so now I am getting ready to head to Sandy's house! Yea!

Chinese New Year

2009-01-31T19:52:00.003-06:00

Happy Year of the Ox!

Carrie and I went to the Chinese New Year celebration today. Brian, another music teacher, met us there. Originally, I was meeting my bro's girlfriend, Krystal, and her friend, Jill. We did meet up, but I got there before they did, so I was done looking and eating when they got there. We chatted a little and watched a couple performers. Then they went to eat. We had a good time. The food was not outstanding.... Oh well. Nothing can be as good as the Greek Fest....

We did get our names written in Chinese! WooHoo!

Carrie and I left and went to a little bag/monogram shop. Carrie found a black duffel bag that had pink music all over it! I had to have it! So I bought it and had it monogrammed. It should be in on Tuesday after 5 p.m. I can't wait!

Then I went grocery shopping.... Blah!

Now, I'm about to start lesson plans, cleaning, and putting away groceries....

The Triad

2009-01-29T23:06:00.002-06:00

Ashley, Katie Jane, and I met up tonight at the Barnes and Noble. We sat and caught up for a little while and then I got a strange text from Heath... It read 'What are you talking about?' Now I had not talked to him in a couple of days. So this was an odd text until I realized I was being STALKED! So I informed my friends that I thought we were being stalked and they started looking around for Heath. And there he was, at the table diagonally behind us. He had been there the whole time and I never even noticed him! I'm so observant. So, Heath joined us and we all chatted for a while.

Afterward, the girls and I went to Jim N Nicks for dinner. It was delicious! We laughed so hard at everything. It was so much fun. Then we headed to Hobby Lobby. It was great fun. I wish we could spend more time together :)

Ok, I hear ya

2009-01-28T08:42:00.005-06:00

Well, apparently I'm slacking on the blog again.... So, I have been informed of the last time I blogged :) So, back by popular demand.... (I think I may just blog on Wednesdays from now on. That is the trend lately...)

Last week, I was at a music conference. It happened to be held at The University of Alabama! ROLL TIDE! Thursday was ok. I really only enjoyed one session, about National Board Certification. The presenters were both certified and were talking about what to expect. It was very informative, especially to those who have not started the process. I did appreciate some advice they gave, as I have started the process. Friday, was AWESOME! We did a lot of drumming with Jim Solomon. I loved it. He is a wonderful clinician. We even had a drumming session Friday night! Saturday was not good either. We had two reading sessions. But I think the clinicians didn't realize they were presenting to elementary music teachers. They brought in music that my kids could NEVER sing, even if I had them everyday. It was just too hard. Oh well. I did enjoy seeing old friends and I even got to see a few professors from college. All in all, it was a great week. One other thing to note, was the FABULOUS recorder group. They were absolutely amazing! I've never heard children play recorders so well. I'm only a little ashamed that they play better than I do....

Now, on to the best part, the food! Thursday, I had to introduce the presenter right after lunch. SO we couldn't go too far. We went to Newk's. I had never been but it was delicious. I had a white bbq chicken sandwich and pasta salad. YummO! That night, a few of us went to the original Dreamland for some ribs and white bread. Super.... Friday, we ventured to a little hot dog shop that Ms. Annette told me about. OMG! Those are the best hot dogs!!! In fact, Carrie and I went back on Saturday for lunch too. Their slogan is "It's all in the bun" and they are right! It's like texas toast.... MMMMMM! Carrie and I went to Japanese on Friday night. It was yummy too. Overall, the week was filled with excellent food.

Ms. Annette and Mr. Chuck let me stay at their house during the conference even though they were out of town. This was a tremendous help because the hotel was about $160 a night! And I stayed 2 nights! I could not have done it! Crazy! So, thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Jones for opening their house to me!

Well, I do have some other stuff going on, but I gotta save something for later. And this was a long post...

But I will say, my mom had a birthday Sunday. So.....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!

I know, I know

2009-01-21T23:15:00.004-06:00

I should be posting more than once a week. BUT I have a good excuse...

The charger for the laptop MELTED! Thank God it did not start a fire! Apparently some wires frayed and it melted the charger. So, no charger means no power. No power means so laptop. No laptop means no blog.... The good news... I got my new charger today and it was covered by AppleCare! WooHoo! That stinking charger would have cost me $80 without AppleCare. Apple sure does think highly of their chargers...

Well, tomorrow I head to the state music educators workshop. It lasts through Saturday. We should have fun! I'll be glad to have a few days away from the lovely kiddies...

I hope you enjoy the rest of your week!

Good Morning, World

2009-01-14T08:34:00.002-06:00

So, it has been a while since I posted.... Sorry, dear readers.

I just haven't had much to blog about. Yesterday, I went to work, only to have to leave at lunch because of a terrible migraine. I went home and went to bed. I slept all afternoon and most of the night. I woke up for brief periods but went back to sleep. I hate migraines! I wish I knew what triggered them, cuz I would not do that anymore! I might even give up cheese (some of you know how big a deal that is) if it would make these things go away!

Today is my long day. I have my regular schedule of classes, school choir, church 5 yr old choir, and sanctuary choir. I get out a little after 8 p.m. Then I have to drive the 30 minutes home. Wednesdays are so tiring!

Good news! Tomorrow, Ms. Annette and I are going to the Celine Dion concert. That should be a ton of fun. I can't wait. WooHoo!

Well, I gotta get ready for class. Have a great day!

Gotta Love It...

2009-01-09T23:48:00.003-06:00

...When you are so old that a "big night out on the town" has you in bed by 11:44 p.m. That's right, dear readers, I went to see a friend from grade school thru high school sing tonight at a bar! And I'm still in bed right now, checking email and blogging to you. I'm telling ya, I'm getting old. I remember the days when I was just leaving to go to the bars. Not anymore. We'll leave that for the college kids. By the way, check my friend out of myspace, Kristy Lee. She is amazing!

Have a great weekend!

Don't miss the winner of the one year blogiversary contest. I announced it in the previous post.

And the winner is....

2009-01-09T16:10:00.003-06:00

Watch the following video to see who won the One Year Blogiversary Contest! Thanks to all who entered.

CALLING ALL ENTRIES!!!

2009-01-08T19:10:00.002-06:00

Ok, tonight is the night! All entries for the One Year Blogiversary must be turned in by midnight central standard time! I will be drawing a winner tomorrow after school sometime.

For a complete list of rules, please click "here".

Best of luck to everyone. I have had some GREAT entries!!!

Now on to other great news!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SHANNON!!!

Don't Forget!

2009-01-05T18:57:00.002-06:00

ONE YEAR BLOGIVERSARY CONTEST!

Make sure to enter the contest. You can read the rules and enter, by clicking here! Make sure to do it!!!

Ready, Aim, FIRE!

2009-01-01T22:10:00.004-06:00

As I mentioned before, I did get to shoot my gun last week! Yea! I do have a few pix to share. Ignore the white bag tied to my belt. It was holding the shells. And I've since been told that I'm too tense when I shoot. So, I've got to relax! Imagine that, Ms. Highstrung needs to relax :)

Are my eyes even open?!

Look closely. You can see the three cans flying apart. They were sitting together in a pyramid.

My can and I

Fine in '09!

2009-01-01T11:18:00.003-06:00

My motto for the last month has been "Hate 2008, Fine in '09!"

So far, we are off to a good start. I had a wonderful time yesterday with some friends hanging out and then ringing in 2009 with a few friends (KJ, Christie, and Mike) listening to an awesome band. My friends and I decided we were not starting '09 the same way we started '08, so we went out. I hope a fun time was had by all, even though we had to drag KJ kicking and screaming to get her to go with us. However, no butts were grabbed and no hair was chewed. So, all in all, that should have been a positive bar experience for KJ. I don't know about KJ and Christie, but I had an AMAZING time!

Now for the part you've all been waiting for....

The one year blogiversary contest!

The rules are simple. Leave a comment on this post stating your fave blog entry from the whole year. Make sure to put your name in the post if you usually post as "anonymous". I will put all names in a container of some sort and pull one out randomly. That person will win.... SOMETHING! Yea! I don't know what that something will be yet. I'm still thinking. It may depend on shipping prices and who wins. Also, if I don't know you personally and know how to get in contact with you, leave an email address just in case you win.

The contest ends on January 8, 2009! Make sure to have all entries submitted by midnight central standard time on January 8, 2009. I will hold the random drawing on Friday, January 9, 2009 and post the winner. This will all have to occur after work, so don't look for it too early in the day.

Good Luck to all contestants!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year's Eve!

2008-12-31T08:32:00.002-06:00

I hope everyone has a safe and happy new year's eve. Enjoy your festivities, however you choose to celebrate.

See you in the new year!!!

Oh! I almost forgot. I have a contest planned for tomorrow to celebrate my blog's one year birthday! Be sure to come back!

I know, I know!!!

2008-12-29T18:15:00.002-06:00

I haven't blogged in a long time! I know! I've been away from internet access for a very long time. I will try to catch you up on things.

1. The funeral was the Friday before Christmas. It was a nice service.

2. My dad got engaged.

3. Mom, Richard, and I went bowling.

4. I went to a Christmas party with dad and his friends. We played dirty santa and I got two University of Alabama ornaments. Roll Tide!

5. Mom and I sang the Chipmunk Christmas song at church the Sunday before Christmas. We gave out hula hoops.

6. Sunday, I went to Ella Grace's bday party. Happy 2nd Bday!

7. Monday, I met Beth and Amanda and their kids for lunch at the Mexican restaurant.

8. Visited with Amanda Monday after lunch.

9. Tuesday, I got four new tires and 1 new rim. Merry Christmas to my car.

10. Christmas Eve, we had snack foods at mom's house with her husband's family. Good thing we are not Jewish cuz all we had was pork, pork, and more pork. It was delicious.

11. Christmas, I went to dad's friends' house for lunch. It was so good.

12. Christmas night, I went to visit with Ryan's family. We had seafood. It was good getting to see everyone again and I even met more family members.

13. Friday, mom and I went to Walmart to buy Christmas stuff 1/2 off. I bought a purple Christmas tree. Super fun!

14. We drove to Baba's after the Walmart trip.

15. Friday night, we had Christmas with mom's side of the family. It was great.

16. We went to Christmas City (miles and miles of lights and Christmas scenes.). They have a little village with shops, food, and even a train ride. I got us a group rate for the train ride and everyone got to ride for 1/2 price. Sometimes, all you gotta do is ask.

17. I bought a new Bama koozie at Christmas City. It is houndstooth with an embroidered 'A'.

18. Saturday, we went to Walmart again because mom's tire blew on the way to Christmas City. She decided to buy 4 new tires.

19. I went all over town trying to find ammunition for my gun.

20. Bought ammunition.

21. Went to Pa's and fired my gun.

22. Gun rubbed blister on my thumb.

23. Went to Ms. Evelyn's for dinner.

24. Fell in love with "Pedro", a mini chihuahua. I so want one now.

25. Sunday, I drove home.

Now you are all caught up on my vacay. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.

Arrangements

2008-12-18T22:08:00.002-06:00

Visitation is at 10 a.m. tomorrow with the funeral following at 11 a.m. Dad wanted it on Saturday, but the funeral home could not do it then. So Dad decided to do it on Friday.

Thank you to all my friends who have sent emails and text messages. I appreciate all your prayers and thoughts.

UPDATE #3

2008-12-18T06:19:00.003-06:00

First of all, I would like to thank all of you who for your prayers and concern.

I just received a call from my Dad. Granny passed away this morning around 2:30.

I am going home today and will be home through Christmas. Dad wants to have everything arranged so we can have the funeral on Saturday.

Thanks again for your prayers.

UPDATE #2

2008-12-17T18:32:00.003-06:00

My dad called me today and told me Granny was awake (she had been out for several days). I got to talk to her for a few minutes. She tried to talk back but only grunts were coming out. But she could hear me and understand me. My mom told me that Granny's organs are starting to shut down. I just can't believe this is really happening.

I am packing tonight so I can go home tomorrow morning. I just don't think I can drive down tonight. It's dark, I'm crying, and it's raining. Not a good combination. I need to spend some time packing because I have a lot of National Board stuff to do while on Christmas break. I don't want to leave anything I need to work on that.

Update

2008-12-17T06:28:00.002-06:00

My Granny is still hanging on. Now they don't know how long it will be. They were so certain she wouldn't last through Monday night. She's still the same as Monday. Every time a hospice nurse comes in, they comment she won't make it through the hour they will be there, but she still keeps hanging on. I talked to Dad this morning and he told me to go to work and that he would keep me posted throughout the day.

I am so torn about what to do. I know I need to go home, but I just don't want my last memory of my Granny to be of her dying. I can not sit and watch her die. That's what I would be doing if I went home right now. My dad is surrounded by his aunts and uncles and his girlfriend. He is not alone. I have substitutes on "stand-by" and they will come in as soon as I need them. Right now, I think the best thing for me to do is go to work. I hope it is the right decision.

Once again

2008-12-15T21:50:00.002-06:00

I come to you with a request for prayer. My grandmother is not doing well and the doctors do not expect her to make it through the night. I am asking that you pray for:

1. comfort - my Granny has been in a lot of pain and she just needs to rest and not hurt during this time

2. peace - for my family.

This is a hard time for all involved, but especially my brother, who is stationed in Alaska and can not get home during this time. Please pray for him.

Keep my dad in your prayers, as well. He is my granny's only living child. So, he is having to do everything and make all the decisions about her care. I know this is hard for him, and he kept comforting me while we were talking on the phone. I pray God will grant him strength, peace, and the wisdom to do what is best for Granny.

As you may recall, my program was rescheduled for tomorrow night. This is a job requirement that I can not put off on someone else. Literally, there is no one else who can conduct this program. I wrote over half the songs for it. They are still on notebook paper with my notes all over it. So, I will be here until I finish the program. Then depending on how late it is, I may drive to my parents or I may leave on Wednesday.

Please keep my family in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you.

Who knew?

2008-12-14T21:01:00.003-06:00

Who knew it would take all day to wrap gifts?! I started wrapping at 4:30 p.m. and I am just now finishing at 9:00 p.m. I did have to take a break to glaze my rum cake but that didn't take too long. Wow! Wrapping really takes a while.

Here is the before pile of presents (notice Winston in the back looking on)...

And here is the finished pile of wrapped presents (notice Winston looking on from his bed)....

Who is this?

2008-12-14T14:04:00.003-06:00

Last night, I went to Ashley's to her "Trim the Tree" party. She invited her friends over for "big girl" drinks, snacks, and to decorate her tree. I am so doing this next year! The tree was decorated in less than ten minutes! I don't even have my tree up this year, let alone decorated. We had a great time visiting and decorating.

While at Ashley's, I received a text message from a number I did not know. The text read, "Hey is this tiff". Well, as you know, this is Tiff, but I don't know who that person is, so I replied, "Who is this?" To which I get a reply "Is this Tiffany (insert last name)". Ok, you're freaking me out now... Again, I reply, "Who is this?" Then I get a name, Mike, and that he found my name and number in his coat pocket. He had not worn the coat since last year. Now good friends, I am not in the habit of giving my number out to random people. In fact, I never give my number out, so therefore, I would remember this person, right? I did not remember this person, so I must not have given him my number.... How did he get it and who is he? Unfortunately, he doesn't remember me or how he got my number (obviously, he's never met me. I am not easily forgotten). No help there. So we're texting back and forth to figure out how we know each other. He sends me a pic to jog my memory. I do not know this person! Never seen him in my life. So I ask him what he does, thinking he might have gotten my number through work. He told me maintenance and then asked my what I did. I replied, teach. He then sent me a message saying he thought he knew how he got my number. His mom is the mail lady at one of my schools. I vaguely remember the secretary saying something about the mail lady wanting my number for her son because she thought I was cute. I thought "yeah, whatever". I never thought I would hear from him and I didn't until over a year later. Crazy, huh? So, ladies at the party, the mystery is solved. Case closed.

I have gotten almost all of my shopping done. None of it is wrapped :(

Today, I am baking a rum cake for the school Christmas Party. Yea for the teachers!

Rescheduled!

2008-12-11T17:00:00.002-06:00

Ugh! My program was rescheduled for next Tuesday night!!! I am so upset. I wanted to get it over with!

So, now I have another 5 days to look forward to my program :(

Good news though. We don't have to go to work until 9:30 am tomorrow.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow - NOT!

2008-12-11T07:26:00.001-06:00

I have my final program tonight and the forecast calls for snow! No way!!!! I want this over! Don't snow. Snow tomorrow. Snow over night, but don't snow today! Let me finish this last program.....

Pray for NO SNOW!!!!!

No shopping for me

2008-12-10T21:42:00.002-06:00

So, I did not finish early enough to go shopping :( I DID get to sleep late though.

I had more to get done than I thought I did. I still have a few things to finish tomorrow before the program. Right now I just finished making some flower clips for my hair. I think they are cute! I also need to find something to wear tomorrow night. After last night, I know I DON'T need to wear long sleeves to conduct. I was so flipping hot last night! So, I'm going to find a plain shirt to wear with my hula skirt and lei. Maybe I'll get some cute pics to post for you.

Well, I gotta go find something to wear.

Good night!

Two down, One to go

2008-12-09T19:48:00.003-06:00

Tonight was number 2 of Christmas Programs. I now have one more on Thursday night. Tomorrow I am taking a sick day so I can go work on the stage. I know, I know. That's ridiculous. But it's the only way I can get it done. I am sleeping late and then going in to do the stage. Hopefully, I can get it done quickly and then I can go Christmas shopping before church choir rehearsal. That is my plan. We'll see if I succeed....

I hope everyone has a great Wednesday!

Good night!

One down, Two to go

2008-12-07T22:35:00.002-06:00

Today started the week of Christmas Programs. I have three this week. The five year old church choir program was tonight. Tuesday is K - 2 at one school and Thursday is K - 5 at the other school. Friday, I collapse.

Today, the church had the Kirking of the Tartans. One of our members is the president of the local Scottish society (I think) and he got to have the Kirking at his church. So, the society came and got blessed. We had a professional bagpiper. He was great. The sanctuary choir sang at both services today.

After the second service, I went to Wolf's house for lunch. He cooked for me AGAIN! This makes two times in a week. How sweet. Today was hamburger steak, gravy, black-eye peas and homemade mashed potatoes. Super yummy. And he doesn't just slop it on the plate (like I would). He makes it look like it could have been served in a restaurant. Thanks for cooking again. I had a great time!

Christmas at the Castle was awesome again this year. I decided to wear jeans, boots, red tank, black sweater. Now, you couldn't see anything but the boots and the bottom of my jeans because I NEVER took my jacket off. Oh and I had a scarf and gloves. It was FREEZING! Below freezing, actually. Thank god for outdoor heaters and firepits. I did have one letdown. Raven did not perform this year :( She is my fave performer. It truly is a shame that she wasn't there.

Off to bed for me. Good night, everyone. Have a great week!

Christmas at the Castle

2008-12-06T15:10:00.003-06:00

The Christmas party of the season is tonight! WooHoo!

I have no idea what I am gonna wear. What do you wear to a party where most of the attendees are homosexual men? On one hand, they are not looking to see what you have on (well they are not looking at me at all, right?). They probably couldn't care less. On the other hand, you will be compared to all these men and what they are wearing. Such a dilemma. I better hit the closet.

Right now, I am watching the SEC Championship kick-off.

Roll Tide!

Have a great night.

Oh, we have a new reader. I will call him Maximus Wolf for right now. Welcome, Mr. Wolf. I hope you enjoy the blog.

If I only had a brain...

2008-11-22T21:49:00.003-06:00

I would be dangerous.

Tonight, Ashley and I went to the mall. We were doing some Christmas shopping. After we visited a few stores, had dinner, and visited some more stores, I took her home. On the way to my house, I got on the interstate, headed AWAY from my house toward the mall! What was I thinking?! So I drove to the next exit and turned around and headed to my house. Now I am safely back in the house and blogging for your enjoyment.

Twilight

2008-11-21T02:28:00.002-06:00

It is FABULOUS!

I just arrived home (2:25 a.m. on a workday) from the 12:05 a.m. showing of Twilight. Amazing! I am so Team Carlisle right now! Or maybe James (I know he's the bad guy, but oh so pretty).

I am loving that there is a new movie theater 2 miles from my house. It was awesome being able to see this movie and then not have to drive 30 minutes home.

I am going to collapse now. My alarm clock will sound at 5:30 a.m. Doubtful I will get out of bed then...

Explanation

2008-11-19T05:39:00.004-06:00

*WARNING* If you've ever dated me, you probably don't want to read this. You're not going to like it. You've been warned. Don't come crying to me when your feelings get hurt...

For those of you who wanted details...

It's not just the last boy. It's the last couple of boys (with the exception of Ryan) that have me baffled.

I'm sick of hearing...

1. I don't want to get married, date, etc
2. I think we need to take things slow (when we're not taking it at all!)
3. I hate you met me at this time in my life. I'm just not in a place for a girlfriend (Quite frankly, you shouldn't be dating, then!)

Really? I'm just over it all.

Guys, please get your crap together! It's not like I'm trying to date people younger than me. I'm dating people at least 2 years older, some much more older. One would think they could get it together. I look at myself and see that I have my stuff together (pretty well, I think). Maybe I'm too independent. Maybe if I didn't own a house, a car, have a job, couldn't pay my own bills. Maybe if I NEEDED a guy to take care of me and couldn't take care of myself. But I'm not needy. All I ask is for a guy like me. GET YOUR CRAP TOGETHER!!!!!!! And leave the drama for someone else.

If you have one of the above excuses or one just as grand that I haven't heard yet, keep it to yourself. I've heard enough. Thank you.

Can anyone explain...

2008-11-18T20:09:00.003-06:00

...why I only meet guys with issues? Are there any guys that are "normal"? Guys that want a real relationship? Guys that are not afraid of commitment? Guys that have their crap together? I mean really! Am I asking too much?

That is all...

Pic from Bama game

2008-11-16T17:18:00.004-06:00

Brandi sent me a pic of the two of us from our very first Bama game! Roll Tide!

He's the Best!

2008-11-16T12:00:00.002-06:00

I have the bestest friend ever! Heath fixed my broken kitchen drawer for me. He also kept Winston for me while I was at the conference. I only asked him to do the second. He saw that my drawer was broken (a casualty of Prom 2008) and he fixed it! I can only assume this is how it went down because I have not actually talked to him today. He's great!

Thanks, Heath!

Ma'am, could you please follow me?

2008-11-15T14:30:00.003-06:00

These are not the words you want to hear when going through airport security. However, those are the exact words I heard upon entering the area and my backpack went through the x-ray machine. They swabbed it, for what I don't know. It passed that test, so then they went through it and put the contents in three buckets. The item was still in the backpack. I had no idea what it could have been. So she pulled the contents out, found a mechanical pencil in the bottom, and sent it through again. Here is the culprit!

It turned out to be a pen that lights up. It was a promotional item for "Spotlight on Music", our new music series. Can you believe that?! A pen! Oh well, I finally made it through and now I am sitting in the airport blogging to you.

We had a wonderful trip, but I am ready to come home.

AOSA Pt. 2

2008-11-13T20:09:00.001-06:00

Today was the first "real" day of the conference. I am so tired!

Now, we are headed to a drum circle. Gotta go!

AOSA

2008-11-12T08:38:00.003-06:00

I am in Charlotte, NC at a music conference until Saturday. I arrived yesterday around 1 p.m. Eastern. I had to wake up at 4 a.m. Central to get to Karla's so Bradley could get us to the airport on time. On the way, I poured grape juice down my shirt TWICE and Tide to Go does not get grape juice out. So I borrowed a shirt from Karla. Then we headed to the airport. Upon arrival, we went to check in but the kiosk said there were problems and to see an attendant! Then the attendant tried and it did it again. We waited and waited and waited! It was awful. We finally got checked in about 10 minutes before boarding.

We had a small layover in Memphis and then off to Charlotte. We checked in at the hotel and then went in search of lunch. I had a cheeseburger. It was good.

So far, so good. I'll keep you posted. The conference actually starts tomorrow. Registration and exhibits start tonight.

I'll keep you posted.

Happy Birthday, Ryan

2008-11-08T09:17:00.003-06:00

Today is Ryan's 29th birthday. To celebrate, his family is having a balloon release at the cemetery. (I am not with them today because my church kids choir is singing tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m.) I am having my own release at home. His mom purchased blue balloons with his name and birth date printed on them. We are releasing at 11:00 a.m.

After the release, I am headed to Christmas Village with Christie. We should have super fun, especially since I am trying to save money for my trip to Charlotte this week and Georgia for Thanksgiving. No really, we should have fun looking. I am trying not to buy unless it's gifts.

Tonight, I am headed to Mr. D's (Sandy's husband) birthday party. It is at his fave Mexican restaurant.

As mentioned above, my children's choir is singing at the early service tomorrow. I am excited. I know they will do great!

I leave Tuesday for Charlotte with Karla and Theresa (music teachers). We are headed to the National Orff Schulwerk conference. I can't wait. I bought the plane tickets the morning of the crash. That is the only reason I am getting on the plane. Otherwise, I am so excited about going!

Have a good weekend!

ROLL TIDE!!!

Pumpkin Carving

2008-11-07T00:01:00.005-06:00

While I was borrowing pics from Ashley's camera, I took these too. She had forgotten to send them, so I took charge and did it myself! Enjoy!

The unsuspecting pumpkins

Ashley with the weapon

Ashley takes her top off

Me scraping the top

Me picking out the guts. Super gross!

Pumpkin guts

All clean now

Rhythm and Boos - Me

Kool-Aid Man - Ashley

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Prom Night 2008

2008-11-06T23:24:00.008-06:00

I have been trying to post this for days! First, I couldn't find my card reader. Then I didn't have time. THEN blogger wouldn't upload the pics! Now finally the universe has come together to reveal the pics of "Prom Night '08" on Halloween.

Tiffani as Prom Queen

Katie Jane and Tiffani

Tiffani and Ashley

Tiffani and Anna (Skinny!)

Tiffani

Ryan

Katie Jane

(Her dress is so large she had to wear something underneath in case it fell off)

Heather and Todd

Heath(er)

David and Sally posing for Prom picture

Christie

Carrie and Felix

Brandi

Aarion (Batman) and LaToya

Anna as "Wonderwoman"

I need to collect pics from all the cameras present at the party. I stole some from Ashley's camera because she accidently left it at my house. So I took the liberty of borrowing from her card. However, I didn't get any great pics of Brandi (hint, hint). I need for someone (Brandi) to send me her pics.

A fun time was had by all!!!!!!!!!!!

I voted!

2008-11-04T20:17:00.003-06:00

Today, I went to vote this morning and the line was wrapped around the building, down the sidewalk, down the front lawn, across a parking lot, and down a road. I did NOT have time for that before work. So I just went to work and voted after work. When I got there this afternoon, there was barely a line. When I got to the room, I had to wait behind one other person with the last name in the same section as mine. Technically, I was the second person in line :) I voted and went on my merry way.

Then Carrie and I decided to partake of some freebies for voting. We went to eat Mexican where Katie Jane met up with us. We decided to head to Starbucks, Krispy Kreme, and Ben and Jerry's. We went to Starbucks. I don't drink coffee, so I bought a hot chocolate. KJ and Carrie got the free cup of coffee, Thanksgiving blend. KK's line was too long, so we headed off to B&J. B&J was way too long. I decided that I wasn't waiting for ice cream in a line longer than I did to vote. Of course, I left it up to Carrie, since she did want ice cream. She said no too. So we headed back to KK, where the line was still long, but the "hot" sign was on. I really wanted one. So we did wait in that line. I waited longer for a doughnut than I did to vote!!!! Crazy. KK was offering a free doughnut and B&J was offering a free scoop if you voted.

On our way back to KK, KJ said the Thanksgiving blend was too hearty. Then she proceeded to ask what was in that particular blend... Pilgrims? She actually asked if there were Pilgrims in the coffee!!!!!! I busted out laughing. She is so hilarious!

Happy Election Day!

6 months

2008-11-03T18:01:00.002-06:00

I can not believe it has been 6 months since the plane crash. It feels like it happened just yesterday. It's crazy how time has passed so quickly.

Ryan's birthday is Saturday. His parents are planning a balloon release at the grave. My children's choir is singing at 8:45 am on Sunday, so I can not go with them. I am going to release some balloons up here at the same time they release there.

UPDATE: BAMA GAME

2008-11-01T21:10:00.002-05:00

We won! 35 - 0!

I had a great time at my very first college football game. Thanks to Mr. Chuck for taking me. I headed to T'town this morning and met Mr and Mrs Jones and the Turks before heading to tailgate. We had some delicious burgers, hot dogs, and sausage dogs. We walked to the Quad (which was entirely too crowded!) and looked around and then the guys and I headed to the game. Mr. Chuck and I sat 9 rows back from the field on the east side of the end zone. We were very close! It was so cool. I was the "one" in the crimson shirt. HeeHee! Maybe you saw me if you had pay-per-view. I am so glad that Ms. Annette let me borrow a visor. The sun was sooo bright today. It was a beautiful day.

Brandi also went to her first Bama game today. We didn't even know that we were both going until last night! Then we were sitting 6 rows apart in neighboring sections. How crazy!

ROLL TIDE!!!!!!

University of Alabama Homecoming

2008-11-01T07:44:00.002-05:00

I am headed to the Bama game! It is my very first one ever. I am headed to meet Ryan's family for tailgating and then I become "one of the guys" because the guys are staying for the game and the girls are headed back home. But they had an extra ticket and I'm gonna get to go to the game!!!! Yea!!!!

I'll have to be sure to call my dad and make him jealous! HeeHee!!

Have a good day!