Finally

For those of you who read my post a few weeks ago about my weight loss, you will be happy to know I am still trucking right along.... I have been working so hard. I have a Dr. appointment Thursday to have my blood work done, so lets pray that the proof is in the pudding. Due to a change in diet and my work on the Wii I am finally down to 184. That is just barely normal according to the Wii. In 2 more pounds I will have lost 40lbs. This life style change has become a part of me.... Not not obsessive, but a new way of thinking. Pray that I keep it up!

Before!!!

After!!!

The Marriage of Q and U

Last week I had the opportunity to visit another school to observe and "borrow" ideas. Teachers get to do this every now and then to gain insight, new techniques, and ideas to improve their teaching. I got so many ideas from this school and I have already implemented some of them in my class.

One of the neatest things I saw I will not be able to do in my second grade class because it happened in a K5 class. It was the marriage of Q and U. What is that you ask?


Picture it....

There was a little boy dressed as the letter Q.... A little girl dressed as the letter U. The boy was in a suit and the girl in a bridal dress.... U entered the room to the Bridal March.... only after their Q and U groomsmen and maids of honor entered to Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring...

The preacher, a little boy with a graduation robe and a beta club sash, welcomed everyone and began the ceremony.

He asked Q to promise to take U with him where ever he went and make the best words possible... like quick, quiz, and quiet.

He then asked U, if she would follow Q and assist him in making words like queen, quack, and quail, even though she could make her own words. (that part was hilarious!!!!!!!)

The bridesmaids and groomsmen sang a traditional K5 song to celebrate the big day.... Skidda Ma Rinky Dinky Dink..... Skidda Ma Rinky Doo... I love U!!!!!!!!

At the moment they were to be announced as Mr. and Mrs. Qu (Kwa) the preacher asked them to shake hands and off the went to live happily ever after....

All were invited to the reception to enjoy cupcakes with Qu on top. It was a fairytale of a day.

"Mighty Mouse"

Great Commercial!!!!!!!!!

Big Bang Theory

I LOVE THIS SHOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you are not watching it, you should be... Tune in on Monday nights at 9:30 on CBS. HILARIOUS!

Pet Snowball

This sounds like something I would do!

Plastic Bags

I hate plastic bags... you know, the ones you get at the grocery store or Wal-mart... I can never remember to take my reusable shopping bags in when I go, so often times, if I am not getting a lot of stuff, I tell the cashier I do not need a bag. They always seem to get frustrated with me, but why in the world would that bother them? Not really sure..

2 different times now, I have told cashiers at Lowe's and Office Max that they could keep the bag, and immediately the cashier has taken the bag she was about to give me and put it in the trash. That defeats the whole purpose of me not taking the bag, and they are wasting a perfectly good bag that the next person may want.

I wrote to Office Max after it happened and they sent me their canned email about how "green" they were, and how sorry they were.... but will it really change anything? I doubt it.

Worms

Everyday I reward my students with "worms." Not wiggly, slimy worms. They are just pipe cleaners cut in half and we call them worms. They get them when I catch them working extra hard, going above and beyond to strive for good behavior. They keep them in a chart at the back of the room, and every week I give them opportunities to cash them in for different reward incentives.

Some of the things I give worms for...

Having your book out and ready before I ask.

Cleaning your space the fastest.

Walking with a ticket down the hall. (your pointer finger over your lips.)

Helping a neighbor.

Showing good character traits.

The incentives for earning lots of wroms are not big to us grown folks, but in the world of a second grader, they are very valuable...Woody snacks and the prize box are a HUGE deal!!! Every time I allow them to cash in, I think about how great the world would be if we all would work as hard in life, as they do to earn their "worms." They just are so proud to get a worm and earn the smallest or prizes.

Nothing profound, but one of the little life lessons I get from my kiddos each day. How many worms would you earn in a day?

Have you ever....

stuck gum where it didn't belong?

got caught opening your eyes during the prayer?

had a Freudian slip at an inopportune time?

ripped your pants while in a public place?

sneezed and spit out your food?

hid a bad piece of meat in a napkin only to have the waiter clear the table and fling it across the room?

got caught ignoring someone on your cell phone when they were calling from the red light beside you?

gotten really mad at the dumb driver in front of you only to realize it was someone you knew?

called someone and hung up because you changed your mind and didn't want to talk?

given a gift just because you got one?

Just wondering.....

Christmas Clean Up

I finally got around to cleaning up Christmas today... It is quite a chore! In many ways it is harder than putting it all up because there is no holiday excitement to motivate you when you take it all down. I guess that is why it took me so long to get it down this year.

Every year I am amazed at many fake pine needles make their way to the floor. This was the pile I swept up. I wonder how many more years my tree can actually have when it has lost this much every year since I bought it 8 years ago... Crazy thing is the tree still looks great!

IKEA Sofabed

Last week I made a trip to IKEA with my mom and sister... I have been wanting to get a small sofabed for quite some time to put in my front bedroom to use when friends need to stay over. I did not want to spend too much money on it and thought that IKEA would be the perfect place to look. Sofa beds can be quite pricey so I decided that IKEA was the place to buy.

I looked at and sat on every one at the store and decided that this one below was the right one.... Well... I was WRONG! I got the thing home and put it together, and I just did not like it in the space. It looked so small in the store and I just never imagined how big it would be in my room. Of course I measured it, but it just fooled me.

I called that very same night and asked IKEA what was the best way to return it... ALL OVER THERE STORE, there are signs with their return policy saying "It's ok, you can bring it back." Well let me tell you, that they don't really mean that you can get your money back.... Yea you can bring it back but all they will give you for it is a store credit... UNLESS................

It is unused.... I was so excited, because I hadn't used this couch... It was the very same day I got it and I was taking it all the way back to Charlotte the next day.... The RUDE salesman informed me to read their policy closer... It says they will gladly take back any unused item....

Apparently the moment you take it out of the box, it is used.... who knew? I asked the employee on the phone, How in the world can I know what it looks like in my room without taking it out of the box???? He said, very rudely mind you, "That is why we have a display." I asked him, "Sir, does your house look like the display?" DUH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I asked him to speak to the manager, he said that they were all very busy and I would have to wait, but there was no negotiating. After 15 minutes of waiting, the manager was just as rude.

I have learned my lesson the hard way, and unfortunately had a terrible experience at an otherwise good store. I know they will thrive and be fine without my business, just like Wal-Mart, Garfield's, Atlanta Bread Company, (these experiences will have to be explained on another post.) and all the other places where I have received horrible service, but I do not have to go back...

So, what did I do with the sofabed? I put it on Craigslist and am hoping someone will bite! If you are interested let me know!!! Remember this story for whatever you buy at IKEA

Wii Fit

I have been doing my Wii fit now for 2 weeks and it helped me to lose 8 lbs to 190 and maintain it over Christmas. The pic above is my Mii....

My favorite thing is the step aerobics and believe it or not the hula hoop.... I have unlocked the 10 minute hula hoop and I am gonna try it tonight... Wish me luck. It really is not an easy task to hula hoop for 10 minutes solid without stopping... Maybe one day I will be brave enough to post a video of it... I am sure you will get a kick out of it.... Anyone else doing the Wii to get fit? I would love to hear from you.... when you do it, what activities you do, how often??

Happy Birthday Dear Mama..... Happy Birthday to You!!!!!!

Today is my mom's birthday.... I won't tell you how old she is, but I will tell you the Lord has blessed me with an awesome mama for 31 years and she is 20 years older than me today!!!.....

I am so grateful and proud of her. She is just about to finish up college this spring semester. She started a while back and has been determined to finish. Aren't you proud of her too??? I mean not many people go back to school after years of not going... Leave her a birthday message here and tell her how proud you are... It will give her a bit of encouragement to finish this last semester!!!

I hope she has a wonderful day!!!!! We went out last night to celebrate because she has to work today. We got her a Wii and a Wii Fit to go with her new TV she got. I will be over there this afternoon helping her hook it all up.

Happy Birthday Mama... I love ya!!!!