Uh-Oh...

Those were my exact words today when I proceeded to throw away my engagement ring/wedding band. On accident.

As soon as I said it, I had two ladies helping me dig through the trash can to find it. Thankfully (I think..) I was in a bathroom so the only trash in there was paper towels. It took about 5 minutes, but we found them.

Seriously? Could that be any more disgusting? Digging through a trash can? In an airport? Gross.

But they are safe and sound right back on my fingers. Don't worry, I soaked them in ring cleaner for no less than 30 minutes.

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve is a pretty special day for me. It marks the celebration of our wedding. We were married December 19th in Aruba with only close family and friends. Upon our return, we had a grand celebration on New Year's Eve with all of our family and friends. It was a pretty special day for us.

I'm happy to report that tomorrow I will be celebrating two wonderful years of marriage. Let's get a little run down of those two years:

• Moved 500 miles away from our families
• Adopted our first puppy, Leila- MANY adventures with her.
• Had our first fight as a married couple.
• I took my first teaching job
• Hubby took a new job
• Bought a house
• Adopted another puppy, Zoey- LOTS of cuddling with her!
• Re-did our guest bedroom, master bedroom, and living room
• Traveled home approximately 20 times!
  
• Drove home, with two dogs in tow, 5 times.
• Hubby took another new job
• I took a job in a new school

I'd say we're doing pretty well. I think I wanted to punch him only once or twice during these two years!

ESPN....

Dear ESPN,

Although I think you're good at babysitting my husband, sometimes you get in the way of things. Like Saturday night, for example. I was happily dancing with my husband and started serenading him. He was completely unaffected by my singing and when I asked why he was not paying attention to me, he proudly stated..."I was watching ESPN on the big screen behind you."

Seriously? Do you have to follow me to the dance floor?

We're going to need to talk about this. I can't have you crashing the sweet moments I have with my husband. It's not often I get him to dance.

Sincerely,
Moi

Marley Shout Out...

Just went to see "Marley & Me" and in the first five minutes of the movie, they give a little shout out to my hometown newspaper, The Kalamazoo Gazette and my Alma mater, Western Michigan University.

Pretty cool, eh?

And, for those of you wondering.. I did not cry. My cousin says I'm cruel-hearted.

Snow, snow, snow.

We're here. Finally.

Only 10 hours of driving with two dogs in the backseat and tons of snow crossing the Michigan border.

The dogs love the snow, we're happy to be with family and it's Christmas Eve. What could be better? Don't worry, I'm not a scrooge anymore. The first sight of snow made me feel all Christmas-like again.

I'm home for a while, so blogging may be slim. Hubby just came in to check on me, asked what I was doing and I stammered... "Um... nothing." He laughed when he saw the website. I stammered again, "I don't want to lose any readers because of my absence!" He proclaimed, "I thought absence made the heart grow fonder?"

What does he know?

Anyway.. if I don't get back to you for a little while, don't leave me! I'll be back full of tales of the kiddies and the same old wit, just after the Holidays.

Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas.

Vocabulary Lesson

My kids were talking today about a donk. I thought they said dump. They giggled at me and then whispered, "She doesn't know what it is!" They were right, I didn't.

I asked them to explain and they erupted into a fit of giggles.

One brave soul finally said, "You know, Mrs. L, a donk.. a bottom... a big bottom!"

To which I reply, "Like a ba-donk-a-donk?"

Even more laughter.

Oops. Silly white girl.

Zoey

Sage & Ashley tagged Zoey in this fun little meme.

Here are the rules...
1. Link to the person that tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.



Here goes!

1. My name is Zoey, but my parents call me a lot of nicknames. I answer to just about anything, but they usually call me Zo, Zo-bo, Zoers, Little Dog, Zoey Boey, Schmoopie, Schmoops, and Stinky. Sometimes when I'm naughty my Daddy calls me sh!t ass. But it's only when I'm naughty and I'm not naughty all that often.

2. I am part cat. Not really, but I act like it. My favorite thing to do? Jump on the back of the couch and look out the window, while taking a nap in the sun. If I can't look out the window, I'll just take a nap.

3. If it weren't for my sister, my parents would let me run around the house all day long by myself. But, it's not fair to my sister and we can't be out together or we'll play WWF.

4. I am a mixed breed and I don't really know what I am. The shelter said I was Beagle/Whippet mix... but my parents think I look like maybe I might be some Jack Russel Terrier. I don't know what I am, but I'm pretty darn cute!

5. I can run REALLY fast. Just ask my mom when she had to chase me once to catch me after I jumped the fence. Ha.

6. I love to cuddle with my mom. My dad doesn't cuddle very well, but I love cuddling with my mom. If it weren't for my daddy, I'd get to sleep in the bed every night with my mommy.

There you have it! Straight out of the Little Dog's mouth!

Now, I tag...

Kristi from ...and baby makes 3!

Monogrammed Teacher

The Pink Putter

I know it's not 6, but I can't think of anyone else!

Best.Husband.Ever.

Last night he took me out for appetizers, drinks, and dinner (this is VERY rare for us) to celebrate our anniversary. Tonight? He's bringing home Chipotle, which is my absolute favorite take-out meal ever.

Seriously? I love this man. He knows how to keep a girl fed!

Dear Driver....

If you were sitting next to hubby and I tonight at a light digging for gold picking your nose, please don't wonder why we were both staring at you. It's just a little odd when you see someone picking their nose while driving.

And don't worry, we didn't laugh at you (much).

Sincerely,
L

Ugh.

Hubby's computer kind of crashed, so we're sharing a computer. This might be grounds for divorce. He was on my computer for about 30 minutes today and the entire time was spent with me sending him dirty looks, wishing that he would hurry it up so I could get on it.

Seriously, if his doesn't get fixed soon.. we might be headed for divorce court. I.cannot.share.

Thankfully, though, he's a good sharer. And, he's smart enough to remember that it's mine and I don't share well.

Anniversary/Christmas...

Hubby and I weren't/were very smart when planning our wedding two years ago. You see, we got married December 19th and that's just too close to Christmas to do two different gifts. He says we were brilliant (he LOVES that he can get me just one gift!) and I say it was a bad idea (I want two gifts!).

Well, we already got and exchanged our gifts. Yes, I realize it's early... but we both are horrible about surprises and LOVE instant gratification.

Here's my gift:

A pink ipod shuffle. Hubby thinks it will get my butt in gear to do some more working out. I think it's a great excuse to buy the new Britney Spears CD (I don't have a CD player in my car...).

Here's hubby's gift:

Sunglasses. He's a big time runner and these will come in handy when he's running or when he's driving.

Happy Early 2nd Anniversary/Merry Christmas, Hubby!

I've Been Busy...

Today has been a busy, busy day!

What started out as just a quick trip to Michael's turned into a full fledged shopping spree! You see, the Michael's by my house didn't have what I needed. So I had to run to the next town over to check out their selection. Well, that store happens to be right next to a Linens 'n Things which is going out of business (read-- HUGE sales) and I just had to stop in.

Here's a run down of my purchases.

Two dining room chairs. Original price? $99.99 each. Sale price? $49.99. Actual price? $24.99

While they didn't have a complete set, I'm cool with it because I figure we can find a set of 4 chairs that compliment them and use the two of these on the end.

New bedspread, pillow shams, and decorative pillows. Original price? $99.99. Sale price? $49.99

What a deal! And it matches perfectly with the room.

(Notice Big Dog in the middle of the bed- she loves to destroy make the bed) And no, that's not an inappropriate bedroom toy in the bed with her, it's her bone that just happens to look like a sex toy. Hubby and I make fun of it every time we see the dogs playing with it.

And, another view. I can't ever decide if I like the curtains opened or closed. What do you think?

I did make it to Michael's to get the canning jars to make homemade hot cocoa mix as gifts. I'm pretty excited about how they turned out. I'll post pictures of them later.

Hubby LOVES the new bedroom set as much as I do. We both crawled in bed and invited the dogs to have a little middle of the afternoon slumber party! I'm actually pretty excited to go to sleep tonight. There's nothing like clean sheets and a new bedroom set.

Can't Sleep...

Okay, I was just wandering around some blogs out there and came across something that really bothers me.

Typos. Seriously? Blogger has spell check. How do you have spelling errors on your blog? I can attempt to ignore the grammatical errors, but I cannot forgive the spelling errors. It takes an extra two seconds. Hit the damn ABC check button at the top before you publish.

I found a blog I really thought I would like. The girl was witty, snarky, and preppy- just how I like my blogs. But she had grammatical errors AND spelling errors. Un.for.give.able.

I Love Him, But...

I hate when he runs errands with me.

Seriously, the man thinks it's cool to be in and out of a store in under 5 minutes.

Actual conversation in Tarjay today...

Me: Honey, isn't this fun?
Him: Ugh.. what?
Me: Look at these pj's.
Him: They look like something my grandma would wear.
Me: Okay, maybe.. but I would like some new pj's.
Him: How about you just wear my old t-shirts to bed?
Me: Seriously?
Him: Are you ready to go?
Me: Um.. no. This is fun for me. I love to wander around Tarjay and dream.
Him: You dream in Tarjay?
Me: Ugh. Never mind.

He doesn't get it, probably never will. I love Tarjay. I love wandering and looking at everything. I enjoy just thinking about things I want, need, or hate. I make fun of things while I'm there. You know, like who uses the tacky hot pink Christmas lights? Or who buys a pumpkin wreath? I just enjoy wandering. I can often be found attempting to build an outfit and then putting it back. It's relaxing to me, I'm out of the house, and I'm doing something I enjoy: shopping. Even if I don't buy anything, it's still fun for me.

Not so much for hubby. And he rushes me and then I just get annoyed with him. It's a good thing he's cute, otherwise I might trade him in for a gay man who could join me on shopping sprees.

Random

Today is going to be pretty random. For that, I apologize. Here goes....

• I'm not scrooge anymore. Hubby decorated my laptop by adding a holiday background.
• Hubby made me clean up Little Dog's leg after he made her poop on herself. (he was running and made her start running before she was, ugh, done)
• I haven't even started Christmas shopping. Oops.
• I just thought of a great gift for my dad and hubby shot it down. Here I was all set to get my Christmas shopping started.
• I've been sick for two days, so I think that explains my foul mood and relatively negative posts prior to this.
• I'm thinking of hosting a giveaway because that seems to be the only way to really find out who is stalking reading my blog.

One more thing

I was told today I have an issue with confidence. While I totally agree with this (in my current situation)... I'm not sure where it came from.

Ask anyone who knows me in real life, I'm cocky. I'm arrogant. I think I'm top sh!t.

Why did this confidence go away? When can it come back so I finally feel like my old self again?

Sorry.. this is a "I'm feeling sorry for myself" post. But anyone else out there been through this before? I'm talking, a complete 180 degree turn around. One day I think I'm pretty awesome, the next I feel like I can't do anything right. Ugh.

Almost there...

Tomorrow is the day.

Presentation day. I have to present my portfolio to my professor that demonstrates that I've met 3 out of the 6 standards for being an administrator. Holy cow. I'm not sure I'm ready for this.

For those of you who know me in real life, you know I'm the epitome of a procrastinator. We're talking waiting until the last minute for everything. I work best under that pressure. But, I've been done with this project since Monday, with the exception of a paragraph describing my last paper.

I'm almost feeling too prepared, which worries me! What if I haven't met these standards? Eeks. This is all I've wanted for the past six years-- to have my master's and be an administrator. (Don't get your hopes up, I'm still 18 credits away from completing my master's AND one test away from being certified as an administrator)

Think of me tomorrow at 5:15, will you? Thanks.

Rhyme Time...

The following is a glimpse into my rhyming lesson today...

Me: I sat on a rock. What rhymes with rock?
Kid: C*ock. C*ck, rock.
Me: You're right, c*ock rhymes with.. wait, did you say c*ck?
Kid: No.. c*OCK.
(at this point my assistant is dying laughing at me for repeating the word c*ock twice)
Me: Ohh... clock. Yes, clock rhymes with rock.

Fast forward about 20 minutes later... working with my 2nd graders on making words.

Me: Let's think about the -it family. Give me some words with -it in them.
1st kid: kit.
2nd kid: pit.
1st kid: lit.
1st kid: fit.
2nd kid: mit, rit, dit, bit, sit.
1st kid: (laughing to himself) I have one!
Me: Oh yeah? What is it?
1st kid: I bet you can't guess it!!
Me: Try me.
1st kid: (sounding it out...) it starts with shhhhhhhhhhhh... and ends in...
Me: Don't you dare, dude. Not cool. Curse words are ugly words. We only use kind words in this classroom. Now what's another word you can come up with?
3rd kid: Mrs. L.... he's trying to say sh!t!

::rolls eyes::

Me: Okay, we're not studying the -it family anymore.

Utterly Embarrassed...

I had a bit of an upset tummy today at work. I'm pretty sure that's an understatement. I felt like my stomach was going to explode at some point during the course of the day. So I did what any teacher would do.. just ride it out because there's no one to cover your class while you take, um, a bathroom break.

While working with a small group I felt really horrible. I felt a little rumble and then it happened. A little gas escaped. It wasn't planned. It wasn't forced. It just came out. You could definitely hear it. My face turned bright red and I immediately said, "Um.. excuse me. Sorry, Mrs. L has an upset tummy."

Little guy next to me says, "It's okay Mrs. L, you don't have to be embarrassed, it happens to everyone. It's natural."

Seriously, dude? You made me want to cry. That was just what any embarrassed teacher needs to hear, a little one sticking up for her and using the same lingo I use when any of my little ones lets out a little gas and everyone is listening.

Me = mortified.

On the home front.. I definitely went to the store wearing my slippers inside my crocs. I was too lazy to run upstairs and get socks on, plus I knew I'd just come home and put my slippers back on. I'm pretty sure the makers of crocs made them just big enough to fit my slippers in. It was fate. I suppose it's no different than the crocs with the liners in them. Mine just happened to not go with the shoes I was wearing.

I know, I'm super-embarrassing today.

And, once I hit spell check before posting this.. I realized I spelled embarrassed wrong every.single.time.i.typed.it. Ugh.

Bah Humbug!

I'm pretty sure that I'm Scrooge this year. Before you judge me, let me explain.

• I'm super busy at school.
• I've been working really hard on my papers and projects for my grad classes.
• I have been sick, sick, sick.
• Up until yesterday, it didn't even feel like winter here. I mean, I'm from Michigan.. it's winter when there is snow on the ground. Not when it's 40 some degrees.
• I won't even be here Christmas-New Year's.. so really, what's the point?

If I put the stuff (the tree, decorations, etc) up, it'd be up for a total of 10 days. Is it really worth it? I don't think so.

So yes, I'm scrooge this year. But I'm okay with it. You should be, too.

Poor Me...

I'm beginning to get a complex, again.

It says I have readers. Like 15 a day. But NOBODY comments. I'm sure some of you are like me, reading through google reader and you're lazy.. so you don't want to have to click on the page to go to comment. But please... it's starting to hurt my feelings.

I'm going to have to break out the bathroom humor again and I'm sure nobody wants that.

It's a Lost Cause...

At least he's cute. Or he'd be kicked to the curb by now.

The following is our convo just a few minutes ago... baking break & bake cookies.

Hubby: Please help me, I can't bake like you can. (suck up.. it's not really baking) I just don't know how to bake cookies!
Me: Seriously? You break them apart and put them on the baking sheet.
Hubby: How far apart? What cookie sheet? Help me.

Me.... utterly annoyed, walking into the kitchen...

Hubby: Want a glass of wine?
Me: Sure.
Hubby: Only if you help with the cookies.
Me: Seriously? (Reading the package) Preheat oven to 350. Break apart. Place 2" apart... could this be any easier?
Hubby: I just needed your help.
Me: (Laughing at his horrible lying/baking skills) You know I'm going to blog about this, right?
Hubby: Yup.

I'm pretty sure it's a lost cause. Don't be jealous ladies, I know you want a helpless cook for a husband.

Seriously?

What would your response be to the 5 year old child who walks into your classroom and says, "I'm beginning to turn into a man!"

Um.. I'm not quite sure how to take that, little dude.

What about the little guy who is sobbing in your lap, snot dripping down about 2 inches, and he sniffs it back up? (He was crying because someone called him Mr. Smelly-feet) His feet do smell... I'm just saying...

Sometimes I wonder how I can keep a straight face when these kids are so upset about the awesome put-downs they are receiving.

Seriously? Man-boy and Mr. Smelly-feet... I do love that you provide such awesome blog material when I'm not feeling so well (stupid cold) and I can't even pretend to be humorous.

Bathtub+Bone=Happy Big Dog

Big Dog decided that the best place to eat her bone while I was using the bathroom was...

the bathtub.

Now, you must know that Big Dog has an insane obsession with the bathtub. But she took it to another level when she was eating her bone in it. Weird.

Does anyone else have pets out there who think they must join you in the restroom? Or a crazy dog who thinks the bathtub might be the coolest place on earth? (unless the water is running and I want to give her a bath, of course)