Happy Birthday to me!

Wow - 49 years old! Yep - I admit it - freely, and honestly! After all - eventually I'll stop aging - when I get to Heaven with Jesus...as for now, I'm just going to enjoy the life He's given me and praise His name!

It's been a busy few weeks - things are progressing at a manic pace at school - I'm feeling great job security there...and home, well - home's pretty busy, too! The kids are back from their honeymoon at Disneyworld, and seemed to have a great time! Still waiting on wedding pictures to get back, though! Just wait - when they do, I'll be scrapping them, and you will have the wonderful opportunity to see them!!!!!

Anyway, back to the birthday - as birthdays go, it was pretty cool! Bo got me this very cool new laptop on which I type (whoo hoo!!!!). My married daughter asked me for a couple of ideas - so I requested a DVD movie - she got me, oh, about a DOZEN of them!!!!! And packaged it in a big bowl with popcorn and popcorn shaker flavors (she's so creative!!!!) - it was very cute! My youngest, having just been home for Thanksgiving, couldn't make it back, but she called me...just as church was about to start - and guess who forgot to put their cell on silent??? Sooooooo - as Bo stands up to do the morning announcements, "I can only imagine" busts out of my cell phone...of course, I am on the platform at the keyboard, ready to lead the welcome song - yeeeech! So I hop up, run to the purse and stick it on silent real quick :)

She called and sang me "happy birthday" - awwww - it was sweet!

I got a lot of fun loot - new towels from mom (you know how long it's been since I got NEW towels??!!?!?!), a hobby lobby giftcard from my sis, along with a mug reading: "Sisters never forget. This is both good and bad."

If you have a sister, you know JUST what that means....

TWO DAYS!!!!!

Oh, my goodness! My baby is getting married in less than 48 hours!

Scary, isn't it?

We are all pretty much ready - I have scrapped 4 more pages - that makes 34 counting my 'cult' weekend and since then (Go, ME!!!).

I made 300 hot chocolate wedding favors...reserved signs for the bridal party's tables at the reception...Kari and I decorated the arch at church this evening...should have seen us stuff packing bubble thingies under the tulle to make it poofy, lol!

Printing a few pictures to display on the table at the reception...got my outfit, shoes, strapless bra (can you believe I didn't own one? can you believe they really make them in my size??? not that i am sharing what *that* is!)

Anyway - here is one of my favorite layouts of my darling daughter in her gown...no, wait - can't do that in case Garrett decides to check out my blog (why he'd wanna is beyond me, but you know, she'd kill me!)

OK - well, then here's another layout - enjoy! (Or not, just don't throw any rotting vegetation my way, ok?)

The Cult

I spent last weekend with my cult. Did that grab your attention??? Yep, I said CULT - the Baptist preacher's wife is a cult member - what's that? You think all Baptists are in a cult??? Get real, lol - I'm talking about my scrapbooking cult...you see, twice a year we pack it all up, load up the cars and head a little ways out of Houston and scrapbook like maniacs for 3 days. We get very little sleep...I slept 6 hours Friday night, and less than 5 on Saturday night...

and I finished 18 pages (9 2 page 12x12 layouts) plus two mini scrapbooks for wedding gifts with 26 decorated mini pages for each

Overall our group scrapped over 150 12x12 pages...and I have several more layouts planned - I'm PUMPED - my MOJO is back...

but so, of course, is the real world and my job, lol! Not to mention the reality of being MOB in less than 4 weeks, with 300 wedding favors to make - everything else seems to be done though...

now, if only I knew for sure what song I am singing at the wedding!

Busy little beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Dear blog - I'm not sure if I'm coming or going...but right now I'm just sitting! Actually I am fixing to go to bed...but feel as though I've neglected you, dear blog, so I thought I'd feed you a little. Thank goodness I remember to feed Clark (the Betta my dds gave me for Mother's day last year) more often than you, my blog!

Well, blog, my friend, I just finished watching Cleveland take the Yankees down. Whoo Hoo - GO INDIANS....yeah, yeah - perhaps that isn't the best attitude, but it is better than dissing the Yankees totally, isn't it? I just am not as impressed with the pinstripes as some are, I guess :)

Anyway, bloggie, I had my stampers over for World Card-Making Day last Saturday - we combined it with my regular Hostess Club meeting as I will be unavailable this coming Saturday (the 'usual' 2nd Saturday on which we usually meet). It seems the cult to which I belong is holding a weekend long retreat (lest you worry about the cult thing - remember, I am a believer in Christ, and a pastor's wife, etc... that's just what our hubbies call our little scrapbooking group...they said we had gone off and formed a cult - particulary humorous coming from MY husband from the pulpit on one fine Sunday morning...I was concerned that I might have to begin CPR on some of the sweet little blue-haired ladies!). So, hopefully, next week sometime, I'll have an update on my scrapbooking pages completed so far this year. My goal for the year was 52...a very REASONABLE goal for me. I have completed (drum roll, please) 79 pages...35 traditional and 44 digital. I am well-pleased about that. I have exactly zero layouts planned for this weekend, bloggie, BUT I do know that I plan to create miniature envelope scrapbooks (see the one in the margin I did for my sweet mom-in-law) for two recent brides...hopefully they will like!

I guess since it is coming on to 11 pm and I must needs get up in the morning and get to a workshop, that I probably should get me to bed, my friend blog, but, again, I was afraid you might be feeling neglected and wanted to reassure you that you are cared for...

Have a good week, blog - talk to you later!

September Hostess Club Card #1

Wow! Who would have thought that having a first-year teacher in the house would make me as tired as, well, a first-year teacher, lol! Actually, that, plus the doubling of my case load at school (but honestly, I know my boss appreciates me - she's awesome!), plus the Wedding, the mall-hopping and The Cold That Won't Quit.

ANYWAY... some of our cards this month use acetate from the office store, stazon inks, and more fun...here's the first...spreading them out over several days - just because I can (actually - can I be honest with you? Just because I'm really too tired to stay up any longer and one is all i have in me to share - they're all scanned - but I'm too pooped to upload them all here, lol!) G'night!!!!

Oh...and may I just say -

GO ASTROS - swept the Reds - WHOOOO HOOOOO!!!!!!!

I didn't go to ONE mall today....


I went to *T*H*R*E*E* of them!


However, in case either of my daughters ever discovers that I blog and reads this - I have to be honest and say, it wasn't so bad....really! Quit laughing - it really wasn't !!! (Notice the lack of ominous music???)

Went to Dillard's at The Galleria - second dress Kate tried on - that was it! There *was* a moment when I was afraid it was going south fast in the shoe department, but we managed past that, and went on to the second place...to pick up Kari's wedding dress.(Of course we managed to stop and eat at Macaroni Grill before picking up the dress). Kari looks bee-yoo-teeeee-ful in it (the dress, I mean, not necessarily Macaroni Grill...)! And if you'd seen her you'd say so, too!

Actually, we went into the mall, Willowbrook Mall this time, between eating and getting the dress. Parked at the wrong end of the mall and walked all the way down to Victoria's Secret to get Kari a good bra, only to be unable to get anyone to wait on us [sigh - I really do not like Victoria's Secret]...so we took our disposable income elsewhere...

After lunch, second mall, wedding dress....we went over to Starbucks...then, hopped back on the Beltway so Kari and I could go the the third mall and Katie could head back to College Station by way of Bo's school. We also tried unsuccessfully to go to a school supply store for Bo to get him some calendar goodies, but alas, the one by the third mall had closed...so we went into Northwest Mall (the mall I went to as a teenager, back in the dark ages...and yes, we had electricity, gasoline powered automobiles and malls back then), and found the pink champagne glasses Kari has been wanting for she and Garrett - they have a set of 4 pink glasses and a tribute to breast cancer survivors on a lovely card inside - $25 bucks - awesome price, and a great cause (sez I - the daughter and grand-daughter of breast cancer survivors).

Finally, Kari and I ran by Garrett's work and got the receipt for the wedding bands they bought earlier this week....went to pick them up, and they talked me into getting my rings dipped (If Kari were reading this, she'd say HA - who talked who into what???)...anyway - my rings are now white gold, thank you - very sparkly and pretty!

Anyway - we all made it back home on the same day we left... the Astros won last night, and are ahead of St. Louis at the moment...I'm tired, but almost over my cold, Bo, Katie and Kari are all sick.... I guess you can't win them ALL! (Keep them in your prayers, would ya?)

Well, my WHOO HOO *did* wake Bo up, but that's OK....his whoo hoo when he was offered not one job...but two jobs was so faint I couldn't have heard it if I had been standing right by him and *not* been deaf, lol...he was in a state of shock for, well...I'm not sure he isn't still a little shocky! He is such a brilliant, competent, caring person - it amazes me that he is so surprised when other people recognize that! Of COURSE both principals wanted him - they'd be foolish not to! I think he will be an awesome special education teacher!

Glad we got that whoo hoo - not much Astros activity to whoo hoo about - although as I type they are tied with Milwaukee...won't help us any - we're firmly cellar dwellers...but it might open a door for, say, Chicago, to have a firmer grasp on first place in the NL Central Division...

In other news...well, tomorrow is the day - back to the dreaded....dare I even say it? Nah - you know where I am headed with my girls...keep me in your thoughts will ya? And just say a little prayer for me - NOT FOR PATIENCE - oh, no, PLEASE not that....but that my daughters would LIKE one another tomorrow, and that I would like both of them and they me, at the end of the day! And that maybe......just maybe - we will find the perfect dress for Kate, and get the rest of the errands done we need to!

Shopping at the Mall is like being pecked to death by ducks!

ASTROS WIN in 11

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Astros win in 11 innings! WTG Luke Scott and Brad Lidge, along with the rest of the team.

WHAT a game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I'm so excited and Bo is already asleep (that is, if my WHOOOOO HOOOOO didn't wake him up, lol)

GO 'STROS!

Jobs

I am SO excited!!!! Bo went for a job interview last week in a local school district, for an elementary lifeskills classroom - seems the teacher was resigning, but still considering whether or not she *really* wanted to or not. She took off Monday through Wednesday of this week...

So Friday night, during the Astros game, he gets a phone call on his cell - from another principal...who asked him to come in for an interview on Monday after he finished subbing. Since the 1st position was 'iffy', after discussing it with the principal he agreed...he talked to the first principal on Monday and told her and was pleased that she told him OF COURSE he had to go for that interview!

It was a good interview.

He was offered the job...on the spot!

But the way it works, is he isn't really offered the job until HR calls...which they did today...while he was subbing...obviously since he was in charge of children at the time he didn't take the call, but called back later...and accepted!

So now, I have a first year teacher in the house! Me, who've been teaching for 28 years! (well, working in education that long - been out of the classroom for 16 years!)

Suddenly I feel the urge to make a bulletin board! I'm SO proud!!!!!

Showers of the Bridal sort

So yesterday was the church shower for Kari. Would have been just great, except that Kari, Katie and I were 15 minutes late.

Why? You may well ask. Since the three of us were together, we decided that it would be good to go find Katie a dress for the wedding (she's the Maid of Honor). So we hopped in my car and headed to The Mall (Ominous music here).

Katie is a dream to shop with for me - my kind of shopper - get in, find the item, and get out! Easy peasy, right????

WRONG!

Since we were in a bit of a hurry, of course we found nothing suitable... however, hope springs eternal, yes? There are more stores out there....more territory to cover, more dresses to browse and more gowns to try on....

I can hardly wait (lol)...another trip to...

aw, I can't say it again...

you know where!

I'm pooped! I mean it - really, REALLY tired!!!!!

My foot hurts! and I am cranky (!!!) - didn't even get to watch baseball tonight - Astros had a night off (not altogether a BAD thing after last night's game - poor 'Stros - but I am still and shall always be a Fan!)...

Did I tell you the foot story? About the same foot I broke 10 years ago (well - 3 out of 5 toes of it anyway, lol) racing Bo to his recliner on Easter Sunday when we still lived in Iola....I, um, won, I guess you could say, because I collapsed into it crying after we all heard an ominous cracking sound. The x-ray revealed two breaks and a probable crack in my 2-3-4 toes on my left foot. He told me to wear the surgical shoe for 6 weeks....then two more weeks.....then two more weeks.....close to 4 months in all....ugh! LOVELY SHOE!!!!!

Well, on Labor Day, I was a laboring...putting dishes away (trying to beat Bo to it, lol) - and once again - catastrophe strikes! The cutting board (acrylic, about 3/4 inch thick, 12x12, heavier than it looks) slipped out of my damp fingers to make a two point landing on my poor left foot. It looks like - - well - -bad!

SO, I have walked on it every day at school (and my choices are????) because we had preschoolers scheduled for evaluations, and I don't like changing people's schedules - when I say I'll do it, by gum, I *mean* it! Then, tonight, my beautiful getting-married daughter and I went to The Mall (insert ominous music here). I hate The Mall (insert ominous music here). Really - I know we aren't supposed to hate...but I choose to think that God didn't mean that about....The Mall (insert ominous music here).

Her first bridal shower is Saturday...{after which we need to go find a dress for Katie - my other beautiful daughter who will be the Maid of Honour at....The Mall (insert ominous music here)}. We have no Bridal Book in which to write gifts and for attendees to sign....so, we had to find one....at.....

The Mall (insert ominous music here).

It really wasn't too bad - managed to buy her a Christmas present (told her not to remember it - but really - with the wedding and all, that really won't be much of an issue, lol) AND a shower present, and, yes....a lovely Bridal book....at Hallmark (who told her on the phone they had none of those!).

And you know - the company was excellent, we even stopped at Starbucks after - probably because I behaved so well, lol - that trip really wasn't so bad...

even if it was to...

The Mall (insert ominous music here).

Stampin Up stuff for September!

SPECIAL FOR SEPTEMBER:

Fall Frenzy Promotion
Spend $30 in regular priced merchandise and qualify to purchase one of
each of the six promotional stamp sets at 30 percent off!

Item	Page #	Description	Discounted Price	Regular Price
105355	26	Bitty Boos Too	$12.57	17.95
109284	29	Haunting Halloween	$13.27	18.95
107383	30	Thoroughly Thankful	$16.07	22.95
109373	108	Autumn Fest	$16.77	23.95
109421	91	Elementary Essentials	$19.57	27.95
110366	17	Stem Silhouettes*	$22.37	31.95

*Holiday Mini Collection 2007

OCTOBER SPECIAL:

As an added incentive for your new and existing customers to attend your World Card Making Day events, ONLY from October 4-8, you can order all Simply Sent card kits for 20 percent off their regular price! Holler at me if you have questions :)

It's a God thing...

I am SO excited....it is just totally a wonderful thing!

You know, educators as a rule are grossly underpaid.

Now, you may disagree here - but it's my blog, and my opinion....and, of course, as my friend Cyndi says - opinions are like belly buttons - we all got 'em (well, except for this little boy named Freddie that I taught one year, but I digress)...

I got a raise this year....everyone did...but I calculated mine out...

and

like God does...
you know the verse
"good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over" (Luke 6:38)

my raise is more than twice what I prayed for...

that's God for ya!

I don't deserve it - I mean - I work hard - everyone in my profession does - we take work home, we stay late working (teachers/educators do not get paid overtime) we obsess over making appropriate recommendations for the kids we evaluate as diagnosticians - I mean, after all - these are LIFE-AFFECTING decisions we make - there are NO do-overs, no UNDELETE button, no UNDO key combo (CTRL+Z on the computer, if you didn't know), no REWIND - you screw up with a kid, you can't get that time back....you can't unaffect them (if that's a word) - but I don't deserve it more than anyone else does....honest!

But I appreciate it... BOY, do I appreciate it!


It just reminds me - that's how God works...God's system is GRACE (God's riches at Christ's expense...) - for me! The unmerited favor of God - and I so totally do not deserve it!

It's just, well....a God thing!

i hate making people cry

- I made two moms cry today - I didn't mean to - I was doing my job - I can't break the law.......even if they cry....

but man


I


hate


making


people


cry...


however - they both have the power to change their situation - I hope that they will take the steps they need to do so!

Now, in other news - the Astros beat the Cards again tonight - Go 'Stros!!!!!

preferences

What a day!!!!! Even though the preschooler we had scheduled to evaluate this morning stood us up, I was busy every second of the day...then I come home to some controversy on one of my news lists. What caused the controversy is not that important - just call it preferences ...what matters to me is that one of my friends was hurt by it, hard feelings were stirred up by it, and it is just unnecessary. Even more unnecessary was that my co-mom on the list is dealing with the illness of a close family member and really doesn't need this sort hassle on the list and in her inbox. It hurts my heart when something like this happens on a list, and then people start trying to stir the pot. I think it hurts my Heavenly Father's heart, too.

As a Christian woman, I believe that I am accountable for my words and actions - even though you reading this probably do not know me personally, it is up to me to let Christ show through my actions. I just pray that in my REactions to this situation today, that I did that. I didn't want to...to be honest, my humanity and flesh just wanted to jump up in someone's face...but by God's grace I didn't. That's one of those things I also have to credit my husband for being part of. When something like this happens and I have to deal with it in an administrative capacity, after venting at my computer a minute, I settle down and pray about it. I formulate my response, reread it, pray over it, and then, when I am wise, ask my husband to read it.

I thank God for my Godly, beautiful husband. His kindness and thoughtfulness has tempered my impetuosity more than once and kept me out of deep dog doo (weren't expecting that, were ya?).

Astros....changes - finally!

I like Phil Garner.....*really* I do - I admired him as a player, and like his personality and style...but as a manager, sometimes I had a really hard time understanding him....And don't even get me started on Tim Purpura....oy.

Morgan Ensberg would start getting a hot bat - he'd sit him down....what's up with that? And when Morgan struggled, they eventually ended up getting rid of him, and he got two homeruns in ONE game (however I do believe this move was God's will for the Ensberg family - the interview I heard him in he sounded so excited about going back *home* - they are such a sweet Christian couple, though; his wife has been a guest host on the local Christian radio station here in Houston - you can listen to it on the web, by the way - ksbj.org - AWESOME station!).

It got so that for a while you couldn't count on the line-up looking anything like it did the day before ....now, there's shaking things up, and then there's making people so insecure that they cannot do their jobs - creating tension...unfortunately, I think this was a by-product of some of the management decisions that were made. I do know this....the new management team has a hard row to hoe...but really, when you're in the cellar, there is only one direction that counts, at least - and that's up. I still have confidence that they can at *least* haul themselves out of the cellar before the end of the year! It will take more time, however, to build our minor league feeders into strong potential major league players.

(And whether they do, or not - I will still remain an Astros fan!)

Garrett really seemed to like his card. Kari caught on real fast that I had bought that set just for the tractor...for Garrett. He's such a sweetie.

I promised some time back (I went back and read my own blog...) that I would share what we made at stamp club this month...I always try very hard to keep my promises. It used to drive Katie crazy (my youngest, almost 20 year old beautiful daughter - Maid of Honor in her sissy's wedding in 2 months 2 weeks and 1 day) because she'd ask me to *promise* to do something and if I was not sure I *could* promise that, I'd always tell her I didn't know if I could, but I would try... because, you see, if I promised her I would do something, she would NEVER forget that I had promised...

it's important to keep your promises....even if it's *just* to share art work.....

SO, here is what we made!



Scrapbook page is Garden Green, Summer Sun and Pumpkin pie...lots of punches and lots of fun...do you know how HARD it is to do a buggy page with my girls???????


This is one of my favorite cards ever....got the idea for the punch art bug from a couple of folks, but changed it to make it ALL punchart (yes - I *am* the punchart queen, lol - don't ask how many punches I own...you really do NOT wanna know!). We used the slit punch to make the border the ladybug is flying over. Another idea I used with the extra kits I made up to replenish my card supply - Curvy Verses and the StampAMaJig also work to make a lovely curvy trail....ink CV with the black Stampin Write, one phrase at a time, and use the SAMJ to place it - it turned out really cute!!!!!


I like this one a lot, too - one of my favorite color combos - Bashful Blue, So Saffron and Certainly Celery. The Priceless stamp set is so cute! We used the Cropadile to set those eyelets - way easy!


Kari found this design on SplitCoastStampers by a gal whose name eludes us...I'll be glad to give her credit when I find her name again! It uses Carte Postale and French Flair stamp sets...

We also used a very cool tool - the SCOR-PAL (http://www.scor-pal.com) - to score all these cards....we made over 200 invitations...it took a while, but the S-P made the scoring an accurate job since we didn't have to measure and remeasure to score the pieces... can you tell I really like this tool?

Here's the inside... no offense, but not knowing who may run across my little boring blog, I expunged the names and locations...

Whew - I'm tired...tomorrow's the first day with kids, and I've been fighting migraine all weekend, so I'm quitting for the night. Y'all have a wonderful, blessed week, and, as someone challenged me to do:

make a difference in someone's life this week, will ya?

Garrett's Bday card

OK, finished the bday card for my SIL2b...


I'm pleased with how it turned out - it got a wow from Bo, so that works :)

I appreciate the girls at SUDEMOSONLY, my Castaway group and KraftingKarensStampCamps for their color suggestions...I went with Wild Wasabi for the base, Green Galore for the tractor and darker square, and Yoyo yellow for the yellow....a little punch here, a little snip there...voila! John Deere, look out!


(the inside - made a little pocket in the pocket so the money would be accessible...)


(Happy Birthday, Garrett! Love ya, son!)

I love Saturday!

WOW - have *I* been bad or what! It's been days - almost WEEKS since I last was here...hmmm, wonder if school starting could have anything to do with that!

I got my office moved back to my old school (hurrah!) and have already had 3 IEP meetings... yep, hit the decks running.... And the other diags have all already had more of those than I have (but they didn't have 3 and 4 year olds to test, come to think of it, lol - I *love* the little ones!!!).

sorry - Garrett (SIL2B) just dropped off keys to Bo's truck...

I'm fixing to work on some stamping and some prom scrapbook pages for a gal. Since my blog is largely undiscovered, lol, I'll share some of the stamping in a bit...can't share the prom pics as they aren't my kids :) Gotta make my future SIL a birthday card - tomorrow's his day! Hope Bo remembers he's supposed to get him something while he's out....hate to call him *again* as he is getting certain personal products for his cranky wife...and likely needs a break from her (me)...

I called him...walked out into the garage to check and see how many diet cokes there were at *his* request - don't you love a man who SHOPS...he also COOKS, VACUUMS, PUTS GAS IN MY CAR *and* he remembered that I was almost out of Diet Coke! I know...I know - I am SO spoiled...but I digress...the garage door was up and I thought G had left it that way...I turn around and Bo is talking to me on the phone and is *right behind me* - nearly scared the peewadoodling out of me, lol...

back in a minute...now the laundry is calling....

ok - I now have clean undies put away for the next week or two or three...I hate doing laundry, but gotta have clean undies!!!!!

well, *now* it's the phone....I give up....maybe I'll catch ya later!

Today, part C

Forgot one really, REALLY important thing....

Astros won AGAIN last night

(get out the brooms, we swept 'em! - now - to take on the Brewers!)

SU stuff

Today, part B

so, I am sitting here, procrastinating...I have my stamping club on Saturday, and (thank God!) am off tomorrow so can get ready for Saturday. Usually - I hate to confess this - I always told my daughters NOT to procrastinate - but usually, I stay up til about 2:00 on Saturday morning finishing cutting cardstock and getting the little kits of stuff together....but

you


won't


believe


this...


I have TWO projects designed and cut - it's THURSDAY, people!!!!!!

and once I clean off my work table a little, plan to head to bed...leaving only 2 more projects to finish getting ready tomorrow - surely that won't take me til 2:00 a.m. THIS time!!!!!!

{I'll show you what I made....later!}

ah...i love my job

Alarm went off at 4:20 yesterday and today. See, my hubby has this thing about me being TOTALLY awake before I head out of town on 290 to Waller... go figure. Guess he loves me or something, lol!

So, my alarm goes off - don't remember if I've mentioned, but I'm pretty hearing impaired...I have an estimated 75% loss in left ear and 70% in right ear...so without my bionic ears {well, ok - hearing aids} - you may as well not bother talking to me! Anyway - my alarm goes off - this wonderful invention called The Sonic Boom (hearingsystemsinc.com) - it has what is called a bed shaker [get your mind out of the gutter, would ya?] - a disk about 4 inches across and an inch or so thick that fits under the mattress and literally shakes the bed (think small earthquake :)....meanwhile, the light flashes and the alarm sounds - it is pitch adjustable so I have it set to a pitch I can hear if I am not laying on my left ear (for some reason I discriminate sound better on the left - have to do with being left-handed? I wonder...). I hit snooze ONCE yesterday - a couple of times today....hopped in the shower, then dressed and went and made my morning double latte (only Starbucks coffee goes in my espresso machine ;). By the time the latte is made and I sit down and check my email (I am on some very high-volume groups with other chatty crafters!)...i manage to wake up enough to go dry my hair and apply some make-up - then hit the road. I was so proud - managed to be the FIRST one at Special Services yesterday, and at my campus today (go, me!). Hope I can keep up the trend of being EARLY for work...If I leave on time (normally that will be 7:15-7:20), that will be great!

Anyway - after visiting both my campuses yesterday and finding neither principal there...I was told at BOTH campuses that my office (from last year) had been given to someone else (hello? testing kids...where? holding IEP meetings...where??? keeping confidential student records....WHERE??????). I was royally POed when I headed home yesterday - blessedly it was massage day (that's another story)...so I was in decent enough mood when Bo got home from church - I was running late and got home after church had already started...

So...this morning, get to my (new) main campus - well, new OLD main campus - I used to be counselor there and they like me for some odd reason...at 6:45....finally, around 8:00 heard other signs of life, and about 8:30, my principal arrived from having a conference with Transportation...and we talked. I'm no longer office-less - but I did get to be the one to call my speech path and tell him he couldn't have my office....however, since he's a good guy (most of the time :), he approved of where I had recommended he be moved, since they took over his room for a mini computer lab....I told him he could have either one - my office or the other larger room with the WINDOW (wish I had a window!) and built-in bookshelves and cabinets! It all worked out - God has a way of doing that....but my stress level last night - well, let's just say there was a great reason why I didn't post then!

Have a good one - be a good one!

Back to work!

OK, so there's good news and bad news...I *thought* I had to go back to work last Monday (the 6th) - GOOD NEWS - not til Wednesday (the 8th)......BUT (didn't you hear that coming???) I have to be there at 7 in the morning - I am SO not a morning person!!!!!

So, right now, when I finish today's blog, I'm going to finish packaging a wish gift for someone on one of my groups, then work on the maps for Kari's wedding invitations, watch the Astros (we won last night, Go 'Stros!), and hit the sack early! Oh, and I need to repack my work cart so I can actually LIFT it into and out of my car, lol! Right now it holds the stuff from all my summer workshops, plus the office supplies I bought to replenish my school stash, and such...I think I'll have to have an extra box to get it all there tomorrow...

I found out that I will now have an additional campus. My boss is super and assured me that if my testing becomes overwhelming that she'll secure reinforcements for me (I do all the preschool and all the bilingual assessments for my district - since I have little or no control over these things, I could have a dozen due in one week, or one due in a dozen weeks, KWIM???). Good news of this, though, is that this is really a TINY change for me, because the campus added to my caseload is my original campus - they know me there, and most days, LIKE me, lol!

SO, not sure what my schedule looks like, but if it is like in the past, I'll have some control over that, and can decide where I need to spend time and when...since I do all the bilingual assessments, that means I hit all the campuses at some point more or less...

Still praying about Bo's work - he did the alternative certification for teaching and passed his tests with flying colors - now just to find a job - our little church is really struggling and he needs to go bivocational at least for a time to help out.... some people are having a hard time with this and the rumours are flying, but, I can't help that. People will gossip and stretch the truth until it no longer resembles itself! The truth really is (in case you care) - we have no intentions of leaving our church at this point - God has not given us permission to do so yet...so we are in it until we know we have to go!

GO Astros!!!!

Wow - my Astros are on a ROLL!!!!!!! After a 14 inning marathon game last night in which a PITCHER (who got shelled in the first inning of the last game he pitched), pinch-hit the winning run in....Go Jennings!!!!!!!

While they were marathon-ing, so was I....I managed to print all the pink pieces for Kari & Garrett's wedding invitations last night - took for-EV-er! I am using Stampin Up cardstock ( the highest quality available, in my humble opinion), and it is thick enough that occasionally my printer got a little tired and had to be cajoled into grabbing it and feeding it through to print it! Of course, we have had this printer several years...my first HP-PSC - I have now bought, um....three of them - since I am on two different campuses for the majority of my school job, I have one at each school. At least my district provides the ink, which is nice!

Read this carefully: I LOVE MY JOB! I really do! I can't imagine anything I'd rather be doing right now! Actually, I pretty much love ALL my jobs, lol - pastor's wife, church worship leader, Educational Diagnostician.....and Stampin Up demo! Of course, the last one is therapy when I get stressed over the other ones, lol!

Anyway - I hope you are doing something you enjoy as much as I enjoy the things I do.

Be blessed!

I loathe spam!

Whether it's email spam, snail mail spam, or the kind you eat....can't stand the stuff. So, imagine my dismay when I get a notice from Google that my blog may be a spam blog!

I am no spamblogger....I won't even eat a spamBURGER!

Anyway, enough of that! We are home again - ah - NO place like home....looks like my Astros feel the same way. Poor Wandy Rodriguez - gave up 7 runs in the first inning.....Phil...Tim...can we talk? Wandy is NOT feeling the love!

Worked on Kari's wedding invitations some tonight...placed a huge SU order for myself - preordered some goodies from the new catalog...but you'll have to wait and see what when I get them! Let's just say: fun stamps, beautiful paper and RIBBON!!!!!!

Ribbon is to cards and layouts like cheese is to a casserole - if it's there, it's really good!

Night all, and God bless our troops!

on the road to a wedding...

So...hmmmm - never blogged before, so I am really winging it here, but then, I find myself doing that a lot these days. My baby is getting married. Yes, I am the dreaded MOB (Mother of the Bride, to the uninitiated). So the FOB and I decided that, since the Event is coming up in November, a scant 3 months from now, with all the stresses that go with, and I have to go back to work next week (I'm an educator IRL...an educational diagnostician, to be exact - sounds really FANCY doesn't it?)....to take a short vacation.

Very spur of the moment, this vacation...but that's OK. The nest is empty....the baby getting married (24, living on her own a couple of years now) and her baby sister (my other baby, known as bebe so as to not confuse, and also living on her own, going to college) are both - dear me, I'm being redundant - living on their own, going to college, working, etc... and since said nest is empty (except for the two dogs, one cat and one betta fish), we can do spur of the moment.

So, we packed our bags, snagged some sunscreen, and headed south to Galveston to see some friends, take some pictures, and just be with one another (and a cast of assorted tourists from across the world). So, be looking in a layout soon to come for some touristy photos of Galveston Island, Texas...as for me, I'm headed to bed, slightly creaky in my bones from all the walking and sun I've absorbed today (and God bless whoever came up with SPF 60), a tad depressed from watching my Astros play baseball (Bye-bye, Morgan Ensberg - do well in San Diego, I'll always be a fan! What on earth is wrong with Purpura and Garner??!??!!!?), and ready - yes, after just 2 nights - to be back home in my own bed, with the two dogs, one cat and the Betta fish, although they each sleep elsewhere, thank you, not in MY bed...and then, Thursday....I might think about scrapbooking something....maybe something touristy.....maybe something from the pictures of my sweet future SIL proposing to my baby....oh, dear....would you please pass the kleenex?