What I Did Today...

1. 4am... woke up
2. 415... picked up my sister
3. 430ish... picked up Johnny
4. 515... dropped Johnny off for his flight to Montana with the church mission trip
5. 530-645... ate a biscuit and chit chatted with Johnnie-Lynn
6. 7-9... Baby sat while Johnnie-Lynn and Lala helped with a benefit yard sale
7. 930-1130 edged my driveway and pressure washed my house
8. 1130-3... helped my brother-in-law pick out a riding lawn mower
9. 330-7... helped my brother-in-law cut 2 acres of grass
10. 730... finally got a shower
11. 8... ate a grilled out burger
12. 857.... crashed in the bed....

Til Tomorrow!!!!
PS..... the pool is the only thing on my mind for tomorrow!!!!
Have a great weekend!!!

If....

Last weekend my mom and I went "yard saleing." For those of you not from the south you may not know that the term can be turned into a verb.... While we were out and about pillaging through people's "junk" I found this neat little book.... "If"..... I paid a QUARTER for it, and on Amazon the cheapest you can get it for is $1.13 plus shipping.....

It is full questions that start with the word "if" and it really gets a conversation going... I plan on taking it on our cross country trip.. Not because I struggle with talking, but for Matt who needs some help starting a conversation sometimes (by his OWN admission, I'm not being mean.)

Anyway, The questions in there are great for blogging too... One that I read the other night said....

"If you could work at any other job other than the one you have now, what would you do?"

I could answer that so easily... I would absolutely LOVE to be an on air weather man for the weather channel... I would want to be the one who goes to cover the hurricanes and blizzards...

What would you do?

FYI........... 2 weeks 'til the road trip... the blogging world wont know what hit it while we are crossing the nation... be prepared to tune in daily starting June 14!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Discontinued

I knew that it was coming... I cannot believe that it took this long... the ride was fun while it lasted....... today was the day it finally happened.... My school district added blogger to our district wide banned websites... I am crushed... I am devastated..... I am without words....... YEA RIGHT!!! but that sounded good.... O well I guess I will have to just update and blog read from home each night..... I hope those of you who read from my district will still stay tuned from your homes.... We will be there a lot the next few months since tomorrow is the last day. WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
sing it with me... "SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Memorial Day Cook Out

This evening we went to mama's for a cookout... What a great time!!!! As you can see we are all dressed in our patriotic red, white, and blue... We all look too good not to take pics!!!! Have a great Tuesday.... FYI.... 4 DAYS OF SCHOOL LEFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Holy.... Wholly.... A Big 'ole HOLEY!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm such an idiot... tonight I was in the attic getting all my teacher stuff that has been in storage since last year down to go to my classroom.... After I got all the stuff down I was rearranging the Christmas stuff that was up there making it more organized.... when all of a sudden.... yep you guessed I stepped off the plywood and down through the ceiling I went. I thought I was stepping on the floor that was there but it was dark on the back side of the Christmas stuff and I just missed it...... It scared the MESS out of me... Luckily... the place I fell at was over Matt's closet, and I only fell about a foot and a half before the top shelf in his closet caught me.... a few more inches to the left and I would have been on his floor, and probably a broken something... You can see what a mess it made... What a fun way to spend an evening huh??? Thankfully, I know a good handy man and I already have a new piece of sheet rock cut just waiting to be put in tomorrow.

This WIll Make You Laugh.... Hold On!!!

I saw this new Honda commercial last night... I almost cried I was laughing so hard... Its a little risque... but hey it was on channel 7 during prime time... Hope it makes you laugh... Matt thought I was stupid... and said he didn't get it... Regardless.. I thought it was hilarious!


Find more videos like this on AdGabber

Spring Storms

If you were anywhere in the upstate of South Carolina this afternoon you experienced the springtime storms that the weather men were predicting all day.... Our little neighborhood got an extra special dose of the storm... It was some of the hardest wind I may have seen in my life... Crazy wind... below are some pics from just one street over from my house....




This tree below is in my backyard... It shows you how hard the wind blew... The right side of the tree is soaked while the left side is dry as a bone!!!

To Buy or Not To Buy???????

Recently I have been addicted to shopping online.... There are so many things out there that I would like to have... I know....materialistic... but we all buy stuff don't need right??? Most of the stuff I want could be bought at a store, but I have found some stuff online that I just haven't seen anywhere.... Besides, there is something about ordering online and it coming to your door in just a few days that gives you a thrill.... Below are 9 things that I have scouted out for purchase.... You tell me what think and that will determine if and when I get them!!!

1. The first 3 pics are all the same thing, but different styles... These are car decals and I cannot decide which one... You vote... 1, 2, 3 consecutively.... I am leaning towards the black one...
Cost: $3.99


2. I love T-shirts, especially ones that make people laugh or cause some stares... I have one that I wear around Christmas that says, "Be Nice, I Know Santa." I love to bust it out around July... People just stare and stare... It's Hilarious!!! I saw this one people on this websit full of "jed" merchandise... What do you think??? Is it me??? Cost: $19.99


3. I love RED.... It is pretty much my favorite color on anything... I love these red shoes I bought at a yard sale for 50 cents, but now I am ready for some more... Do these look ok??
Cost: $70.00

4. This is GPS that Oprah recommended on her favorite things show... I am NOT and Oprah fan, but she knows whats good to use... A friend at school introduced me to this gadget and I am thinking it may be invaluable this summer as cross the country. Do any of you guys have one of these or one like it??? Let me know if it worth the money..
Cost: $276 @ Target.... $181 @ Amazon

5. Control your laughter on this one.... but... for Halloween I want to be my favorite movie character, Elf..... I know it's early to be thinking about Halloween... but the early bird gets the worm.... Should I be bold and go for it or leave it on the web???
Cost: $49.99

6. The Cricut..... This is an amazing machine.... It is a favorite of scrapbookers everywhere.... It automatically cuts out shapes, letters, and anything else that is allowed by the cartridge you put in it.... It really could add great detail to my scrapbooks as well as my bulletin boards at school... The cost is the only thing keeping me from this... This version is the smaller of 2 possible machines... The other can hold a 24 inch piece of paper....
Cost for the small one: $250 large one: $300 (these are ballpark figures. it can be cheaper on ebay)
7. iPhone..... I WANT THIS BAD!!!!!!!!!!! I found out from a friend that works for Apple that the phones are going down in price in the fall, but the rate plans are going up... Should I get one now and pay the higher price with a lower rate plan or pay the cheaper price for the phone and more for the rate plan.... Ill probably end up paying more with the higher rate plan.... regardless.... I need a new phone.. the one I have now is a piece of junk!!!!
Cost: $400.00

Coach Jed

Many of you may not know that Matt and I have been coaching an Upward Soccer team at church for the past 6 weeks... I know what you are thinking... Jed + Sports= Disaster..... well you are wrong about that... I absolutely had the best time coaching this team... Saturday was our last game and we did a great job... It was the best they had played all season... Upward does not keep score or record wins, but our season was a nice finish: 3 wins, 2 loses, 1 tie..... These girls were absolutely GREAT!!!! Thanks to all of them for entertaining me through games and practice for the past 6 weeks. Enjoy the pics!

Taylor the Tapper

Today is Taylor's first dance recital... and BB is gonna miss it... I am so sad, but I cannot be there because I am coaching Upward Soccer at church and today is our last game and awards banquet.... Thankfully, the dance company had a dress rehearsal last night so I got to go... The recital was is in Columbus, NC.... who knows why there.. but it is....

We went up there last night and I snapped some pics along the way... Ain't she cute in her little outfit... Afterwards we ate at Brick's Pizzeria in downtown Columbus.

Taylor did a fantastic job... BB is so proud. She got 2 trophies too... one was the trophy that everybody gets for participating, and the other was for being the most improved dancer!!! Check out the pics... It was a great night!!!

Taylor and the T.P.

After I added the pics of my new nephew I was looking through the pics from my birthday party back in April and I found these 2 pics that I meant to tell you all about then, but in the business of life I forgot... Below you will see 2 pics of Taylor, Johnnie-Lynn's Daughter..... When she got to my birthday party she pulled out this roll of toilet paper... It was so hilarious that she brought it.... but the reason she brought it was even funnier... She said she brought just in case we ran out of napkins we would have something to clean up the mess with... Ain't kids funny!!!

Joshua Colt Whiteside

My sister Jessica (my dad's daughter) had her first baby, a boy, today at 1:55pm.... Joshua Colt Whiteside... He weighed 7.5lbs and was 19.5 inches long.... He scared us at first because he wasn't breathing right and they took him away kind of quickly... They had to clean his lungs out and they put him on a respirator for a bit and kept him in the NICU for several hours. It was almost 8 tonight before I got to see him. He is very cute... Did you doubt??? It runs in the family!!! Enjoy the pics!!!

My dad and his first grandson!

Me and my first nephew!

"Colt"

Me, my sister Jessica, and the baby.

Kyle, Jessica, and Colt

The Cow Jumped Over the Moon and Sat on a Tuffet

Ok... The title has absolutely nothing to do with today's post.... I am a bit delirious with boredom right now and that was the first random thing that popped in my mind.... You see...I am trapped in a computer lab with no windows, with my 9 students for the 3rd day in a row.... My classroom is being used for the statewide PACT test so we had to move out... 2nd grade doesn't test, but the lack of testing can some times be as painful as the test...Why you ask??? Because if you are not testing you have to be EXTRA SPECIAL quiet until everyone is finished... You cannot go outside... you cannot go to the library.... they really don't even want you to take your whole class to the bathroom... yes emergencies can go one at a time, but not the whole class....

Anyway, that's not the point of the post... the point is... I'M BORED!!!! What do I do??? In this room, there is nothing to do but surf the web.... that's fun and all, but on the 3rd day at 2 hours a day, I have looked at all I can stand to see... I have made stuff for next year... I have cut out laminating... I have emailed everyone in my address book... (ok not everyone but those i haven't talked to in a long while... I have read magazines, books, and catalogs... Ive looked for pl[aces to go on the cross country trip.

Help!!! Give me ideas how you pass the time... websites to check out.. doodles to draw... lists to make... blog ideas to research... Anything you think of... There are 3 more days of this next week!!! I expect at least 10 comments... A.R.... Juju... Joye... TML.... Matt... Tim(my new commenter)... KJA(where the heck are you???) BETH RADFORD... Megie (are you alive?) Karen, Emily's friend...Emily.... Lori Rickards... Jen B. Wade... Heather Ponder (my long lost girlfriend) and all you other lurkers from across the country!!!

PS... A special shout out today to my good friend TML.... IT IS ABOUT TIME YOU POSTED A COMMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I expect them often... and thanks for reminding me of "plumb tuckered out."

Funny Things We Say!!!

The other night when I went out to dinner with my friends from work, I made the comment that something was "Dumb as a box of Rocks." A couple of people at the table had never heard that saying....

Yes they all grew up right here in Spartanburg, or at least the south... but never heard that phrase... I was really in shock that they had never heard it, but that got me thinking about other funny things I say that you might not have heard....

Sometimes when I am mad about something not working right, I might say... "I swanee." Matt had never heard this one ......

Sometimes when it is cold outside I say, "It is colder than a witch's _______ (that word may not be appropriate for small readers.... :0)

Sometimes when something is not going right instead of saying a bad word, I say, "sugar." This is one I just picked up from my friend Teresa!

Sometimes when I want my students to play fair, I pull the old Grandma line.. "Play Purdy." They don't get it of course, but I laugh when I say it!!!!

I am sure there are a ton more sayings that we all say that others haven't heard... Share them with us so can laugh at ourselves... Have a great Wednesday!!!

Dinner With Friends

Since joining the staff at my new school, I have made some really really great friends... These are friends I have only known now for just a few months, but it feels like I have known all of them for years.... I cannot imagine not having them around... One of them is leaving the school this year so we all decided to go out to dinner to Steak and Ale last night and take advantage of their teacher appreciation deal.... I want you all to know that we had the BEST time... We laughed and laughed and laughed.... The funniest conversation was about "getting leverage." Ask one of the ladies in the pic below to find out more about that one.... To any of you ladies who may read this, please know that you are already some great great friends in my life and I am SOOO thankful for all of you... It has been great getting to know you all this year and look forward to getting to know all of you even better.... Thanks for a fun evening!

You Decide... What Should I Put???

Let me begin by saying that I realize that I am opening myself up to endless criticism by posting this pic, but according to my site title.... I am here to entertain.... I bought this hat to use in my classroom while I was in Little Italy on my spring break trip to New York..

I do lots of cooking type activities as enrichment lessons often, and I thought this would be great to have..... For example, next Thursday we are having a Pancake Party to add to our story for the week... I was wanting to have it embroidered along the flat part at the bottom, but I cannot decide what to have... Mr. Dearybury... Mr. D.... or what???

I also wanted to use it at home if I cooked with my nieces... so then I thought about BB or Brother... I am torn.... so... I want you my readers decide!!! Post a comment and let me know... After I get it done I promise to post and updated pic of me wearing the improved hat.

Remember... you can post by checking the anonymous box, but please sign your name at the bottom so I will know it was you!!! Let me know......

Mother's Day Eve

Since tomorrow is Mother's Day and mama has to work at the hospital, we decided to go out tonight instead. We went to Side Street Pizza in Tryon, NC. It is a great little pizza place with a nice atmosphere... I have been there several times and the food is really good... I was a little miffed though because they charged me $1.75 extra for cheese and bacon on my salad...None the less it was good.... Below are some pics from our evening.

May 9th, 2005: A Day I Will Never Forget

3 years ago on May 9th, I lost one of the most special people of my life... My Great Grandma Maudie. I was with her when she died...It was late...just after midnight, just minutes after Mother's Day.

I will never forget the moment that she left to meet Jesus. It was the most peaceful moment that she in a while. She struggled to get her breath for days due to congestive heart failure, but those last 3 breaths were just as clear and full of air as any of the world's most fit athletes. My Grandmama Doris (Maudie's daughter) and I were the only ones there...We waited for her to breath again but she didn't... I was so sad... I wanted to shake her... to breath for her... but I knew at that moment she was seeing the face of Jesus and nothing in all the world could have brought her back......

I knew she was with the Lord because I had ask her about 2 years before that day to tell me about how she met Him. She told me she was 18 at a revival at Mt. Olive B.C. near Cowpens...

She walked with Him for a long time... she was 93 when she died... She raised 4 kids, basically alone... Her husband died when he was just 27... She worked til she was 87... at the dry cleaners none the less... She was the hardest worker I know...

I LOVED to spend the night with her... Every night she would say the prayer, "Now I lay me down to sleep...." with me and then I would see her reading the Bible while I feel asleep.

The pic above was the last pic I took with her... It was Christmas Eve... Man if I would have known then that it was my last Christmas with her, I would have probably went to spend the night with her...

I am so glad I asked her to tell me about when she met Jesus... That conversation gave me so much peace as I sat there and watched her leave. I would not have wanted to be anywhere else in the whole world. I sure do miss her, and I cannot wait to see her again... Even though my eyes are filled with tears even now, I am comforted by the scripture that tells me that one day Jesus will wipe away those tears...

I am so glad that Maudie is not crying today, but worshiping at my Savior's feet.

Teacher Appreciation Week

I don't know if you know this or not, but today starts the first day of National Teacher Appreciation Week... When you think about teachers...whether you like them or not, they have a great impact on your life... When you break down the daily hours of your life as a child..you spend more time with your teachers in a school day than your parents.. They are pretty important people. Now that I am a teacher, as I reflect on school years, I really appreciate my teachers all the more....

In honor of my favorite teachers during this week, I wanted to tell you about my top 5 teachers of all time... I'll start with 5 and work my way to the number 1 spot.

5. Mr. Johnson: 9th Grade Algebra; He was probably the smartest teacher I ever had... He knew everything there was to know about Algebra, but more importantly he knew how to teach it. He was an extremely nice guy and took the time to get to know his students. I got to know him outside of school at church too. I don't really remember all that much Algebra, but I sure remember him...Great Teacher!!!

4. Mrs. Blanton and Ms. Jackson (now Mrs. Ramsey) Both of these ladies, like Mr. Johnson, were math teachers. Blanton taught Algebra 2, and Jackson taught Geometry. They became like mothers to me at school, even though Ms. Jackson is just like 5 years older than me. Both of these ladies were fantastic.... When I had Mrs. Blanton I was mixed in there with juniors and seniors while I was the lone sophomore...She knew I felt out of place and made me feel right at home.... Ms. Jackson was my 11th grade Geometry teacher...She just made it come alive for me... Any kind of math other than Algebra by this point was great... I had been doing Algebra for years so it was easy to like here!!!

3. Coach Fisher: 9th Grade World Geography; This ma was THE BOMB as we used to say in high school. He was one of those rare football coaches who actually considered it an honor to teach instead of a burden. He took such pride in his job and he made EVERY SINGLE DAY worth coming to class... We had these really super duper hard map projects that we had to do, but because of him I know where the Ural Mtns. and the Ganges River are. He was tough but I learned SOOOO much in his class. When my grandfather died that year he even came to the mortuary because he read about it in the paper... The funniest thing I remember about him was that when we would get ready to take a test, he would tell us to take out our "writing sticks."

2. Mrs. Cannon: 1st grade; I LOVED FIRST GRADE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everything was did was the coolest ever.... I am SURE that I was in THE BEST class in the whole school. NO ONE could have possibly been better than Mrs. Cannon.... My favorite thing about her class was "The Busy Box." She put all of our extra, left over worksheets in there and when were finished with our work or during free time we could get whatever we wanted... I remember taking lots of them home to play school with when I got home... I have even used this idea in my own classroom.. Hopefully my kids love it as much as I did!!

1. Mrs. Garrett: 6th Grade Band; I don't even know if I can type this one without crying. Mrs. G, Mama Carrot, Roseanne, whatever I called her, was HANDS DOWN the most influential teacher of my entire life. I was in her first class ever and when she first came none of us liked her...but she quickly won us over. At the end of 6th grade NONE of us wanted to leave her... Thankfully since the band program is like family, we didn't have to go too far... I only missed her for one year then when I was in 8th grade and got to march there she was as an assistant.... Again in 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th.... Each and every year she encouraged me to play up to my potential with my trumpet... I remember my senior year I was really struggling and she pulled me aside and helped me with my solo.... The best part about Mrs. Garrett does not stop at my graduation though.... Since then she and I have become GREAT friends... Every year we get together at least once or twice... She has officially asked me to call her Roseanne, but it just about kills me to do it... If you read my New York Blog you will see that I recently got to go to New York with her and some other former band members... It was the GREATEST TRIP EVER!!!!!!! We made some new memories and the ones we have already are just too numerous to share!!

Mrs. G, I don't know if you will read this, but if you do I can never say thank you enough... 6th-12th grade were the hardest, most awkward, trying years of my life... So many times I wanted to run away from all of it but you were a constant source of encouragement and help to me... Even as an adult you have been there to spur me on to do my best in everything... You are the GREATEST TEACHER EVER!!!! Thank you so much for choosing teaching as your life. God has used you in ways you will never know. You have done exactly what you were called to do... I love ya!!!!! Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!!!!!!!

Friday Night Monopoly

After a long day of shopping in Pigeon Forge with my friend Pam Ray for items to support my new hobby, Matt and I went over to my sister and brother-in-law's house to honor a promise I made to Lawrence to play Monopoly. He is obsessed with the game and loves to win... This time however......

Believe it or not it was an exciting game and took many unsuspecting terms which is not usual in Monopoly. We had a great time. Hope you enjoy taking a peek into our evening!