Birthday Party

Yes I am 23 and we still have a birthday party for me. Honestly I think it is more of a reason just to get together as a family then anything else, and that is fine by me! I love my family and am so blessed to have them all. They have always been so supportive and helping through the years. I have had a lot of ball games through the years and multiple other activities and I can't remember one thing that I didn't have some family member present. That always meant so much to me. I think that is why it breaks my heart when I am coaching and I see some of my kids that their parents never come to games other than to pick them up. I understand that some parents have to work and our games do start at 5 so it is hard to make it, but then I look at where they work and I know they could make it.
I remember one of my friends in high school that his dad didn't even come to his high school graduation and acted like it was no big deal. I couldn't believe it! My dad gave up time in the fields to come to my softball games and that was huge for him! Also when I was in collge my mom would drive 3 hours to watch a maybe 2 hour game and then drive 3 hours back home. And she almost always brought some type of food. It really makes me realize how lucky I am to have the family I have and the people who may not be blood related but have become family through the years. So if you happen to be one of those people and are reading this then I just want to tell you thank you and I love you!

I have been busy!

Well for the past few days I have been taking full advantage of having a snow day!

Aunt Elaine and I have been working on getting our little books together and I must day I love them! I just hope that people have fun with them at the wedding, which I think they will. Here is a little sneak peek of what they look like.


The paper that is the background is also going to be used on some of our favors and we had that made from an amazing girl! She has been able to do everything I have asked her (she is also doing our invitations) and had dealt with us changing our minds multiple times (we just did again). It has taken us about 3 days to get it just how we like and we are still working on some elements, but for the most part we are ready to go. Today I cut out a lot of the elements now we are just waiting on the chipboard to arrive so we can adhere the papers to them and embellish!

Oh and I am almost done addressing envelopes! It really didn't take as long as I thought and I think I only have about 50 left. Some of those are because I don't have addresses and others are because I am not sure how to address them exactly. We aren't doing the inside envelope ( I know gasp!) but I just don't see the point so I have just been putting & family instead of listing all the members of the family and I'm not sure if that applies to some of the ones I have left!

Well I think that is all the exciting news for now! Have a good weekend!

Wedding Update

Well today on snow day #12 I headed to Aunt Elaine's to work on our table books. We are making little books out of chipboard to put on our tables at the reception. They are so cute and I love them. They are going to be a lot of work I am afraid though. I hope we can make all the elements seperate and then get an assembly line going to make it a little easier. We got pretty much everything decided on and got one completely put together today so that is the hardest part (we hope)!

I also have all the paper for the favors and we got a lottery ticket so now we can measure them and start making them too.

Also I am getting more envelopes tomorrow so hopefully I can get more of those out of the way!

Invitations are still a work in progress, it seems like just when we think we found something we like we find something else we want to do with them and it changes. They will all come together soon because we are going to have to send them soon!

I started to work on our guestbook pages as well and found out how I wanted to do the pockets isn't going to work so I have a new pattern that makes me cut out odd shapes and won't be as easy as the ones I made tonight, but hopefully they will work. I am wanting to have a scrapbook where people take a picture of themselves at the reception and then we will put the pictures in the book later, but to the side of the picture is a folder that people will slide a business card that they have written a note to us on.

Only 122 days left!!

Gifts

Well I guess in my last post I forgot to tell about the presents we each received for Valentine's Day. I got Pat a gift card to Woodbury's which I planned on him using at the Virtual Hunt but it was down so he ended up getting a new rest for his bow which worked out perfectly because his what about shot. I also got his a new release for his bow! I think he was pretty happy with my choice.

Pat got me a new necklace! I don't have my camera right now so I can't show you a picture of it but it looks like a combination of the Love Knot and the Love's Embrace necklaces. For my birthday he got me a picture of two black bears lying in a tree and our initials are carved in the tree. I tried to find a picture online to show you but I can't find it! Sorry! I am hoping to do our entire family room in black bear so that will fit right in!

Well no school again tomorrow. That is snow day #12 and and 11 straight days we have not been in school. I think I have done everything I can possibly do for the wedding right now except the favors but we have to wait to get what goes inside of them to start making them to make sure we are making them into the right size. Hopefully I will get them tomorrow so we can get a start on that. I was going to start working on making the guest book as well but I don't have the materials for that either and I don't want to get them until Hobby Lobby puts the materials on sale because I know it will happen soon! I got 25 envelopes addressed and ready to go and am just waiting on the rest of the envelopes to come in the mail.

So now what to do tomorrow....

Oh and P.S. I am up to 11 books already this year. LOOK!! ------->

Valentine's Day/ My Birthday

What a fun filled weekend! Ok not really a weekend more of a week. With snow falling from the sky we have still not returned to school and with new snow falling it isn't looking good for tomorrow either.

Starting on Wednesday Darcy and I decided to have a movie marathon because we were bored. We ended up renting 5 movies and got through 3. We watched Love Happens, All About Steve and Julie and Julia. Here is my take on each:

Love Happens: It was an ok movie. I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much if Jennifer Aniston hadn't been in it. The story didn't really evolve and I was expecting more romance so it was a bit of a disappointment.

All About Steve: Do not watch this. I had heard it wasn't the best movie but with Sandra Bullock and the other guy (I can't think of his name, the cute Matthew McConahey looking guy from Hangover) I figured it couldn't be horrible. It may not have been horrible because I did laugh at some parts but I'm not sure if that was because it was truly funny or if it was so stupid it was funny.

Julie and Julia: My favorite movie of the night. At points it did seem to drag out and this was not my favorite of Amy Adams movies (I don't think she can top Enchanted) it was still good. I also didn't realize it was based on a true story which I think made it better. We actually fell asleep during this one and didn't see the end but when I got home the next day and went through the mail I saw my new Netflix movie and low and behold it was this movie so I got to watch the end.

Then on Thursday we went to see Dear John. Great movie! I have been hearing a lot of negative comments about this movie and here is my theory why: This is one of the first movies that I have seen and heard a lot of people actually reading the book before they went to see it. NEWSFLASH, when they make a book into a movie they leave things out and change things. I know it is hard to deal with it but I have gotten to the point where I am expecting things to be different and have fun seeing how they fit it all into a movie. OR people didn't like the ending because it didn't end how they thought it should. That is what is great about Nicholas Sparks, he doesn't write for the happy endings, he writes how it usually ends. Most of his books follow that pattern.

Friday came and Pat came up. He had said for a while he wanted to go on a "fancy" date so I gave in. We went to Maria Adonrettos. It didn't have much of a selection but what we got was really good. Their soup of the day was Lobster Bisque so right there I was pretty happy.

After dinner we decided since we were already in Zanesville we would go to Kohls and register. WHAT FUN! Pat wouldn't let me hold the gun but we did pretty good. We had decided we were going to ask for whatever we wanted because if people wanted to get it for us they could and if they didn't we weren't out anything. This is probably the only time we could do this so why not. Plus I hate when I go on registries and they don't have very much and most of it has already been bought! I also like that we can get online and change things, which we already have.

Saturday we met with Suzanne our caterer and got our menu set for the wedding so another thing checked off the list! Yay! Then we went to Luke's basketball game. It is so much fun to watch them evolve and get better. After his game we headed to Newark to register at Target. We didn't think we had much more to get but ended up getting quite a few things! It was fun again! The only problem we ran into was not knowing where we are going to live so we don't know what all we will need but again we can always add things later!

Sunday we went to church and then made a lunch of BLT's and Jalepeno Poppers. We usually don't do well in the kitchen together because we tend to get in each others way but this time we did pretty well. I think it was because we each had our jobs and just stuck to those. Sunday night we went to see Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. Pat wasn't real excited to go but I think he still liked it. Another movie based on a book and they changed A LOT. I still enjoyed it though.

Today was a pretty lazy day and really didn't seem like my birthday other than the phone calls and messages on Facebook. Lora and I were talking on the phone and this is the first birthday in 4 years that we haven't been together. We hadn't talked for two weeks which was really weird but we both just kept missing each other.

Well I think this is probably long enough and if you have even made it to this point you are probably waiting for me to end it so I will!

Tabbed

Well nothing too exciting has been going on other than 10 days since we have been in school. While it is nice to have some time off I am not getting paid. Also I don't have any days scheduled next week yet so that isn't looking good either! Oh well.

I have been spending a lot of time getting wedding stuff organized and seemed to have gotten some things done (we now only have 13 addresses to collect and I met with the florist!) but I know there is still a lot to do. I was hoping to meet with the girl that is doing our favor paper and invitations to get the envelopes so I could be addressing those, but because of the weather we were never able to meet. She did send them UPS today so hopefully I will get a package tomorrow. Even if I don't work next week I can address and start making favors! I kept looking at how many days we have left but then I was thinking, it is only 4 months away. That doesn't seem nearly as long as the 129 days! I am sure we will get it all done. Or that may just be wishful thinking. The main thing right now is finding tableclothes.

So I guess I had more to say then I thought but when I started this I was planning on talking about my tabs. On the new Windows Explorer (well I guess it isn't that new anymore) there are tabs to open new windows and when you open a new tab it tells you your most frequented websites. Well here are mine:


Yes Facebook is first. It is sad I am trying not to check it as often and have been doing decent too because honestly it is a little boring.

Yahoo is next because that is my email.

In 3rd place is Blogger because well I have now started to check blogs more than Facebook.

4th Coshocton Tribune, usually to check to Obituaries. I know that is morbid but honestly very rarely do they have a story I am interested in!

Netflix follows and I love this site! Not only is it great to get movies in the mail but you can also watch them online. This has helped to feed my recent Office watching spree!

River View: Hopefully my future employer. I kept checking it for the employment opportunities and now it is to see if school is cancelled.

Hotmail is my other email and also my homepage so it actally opens everytime I open the internet but it must not count that, just when I revisit it.

Good ol' Rio. I like to get on here and read the news stories to see what is going on.

Coshocton Public Library comes in last. I have been spending a lot of time on this site ordering book and also renewing books!

Well there ya have it, my most visited sites! Hope everyone has a great Valentine's Day and long weekend!

New Show

I don't know if I have written about this before or not, but lately I have been watching The Office A LOT. Last time I was down at Rio Val brought her collection of the show over so Andy could watch them. I had never really watched the show and honestly had no desire to watch the show. Well after about 2 episodes I was hooked. We spent a good portion of that weekend watching episodes and when I got home....jackpot! All the season were on instant viewing on Netflix! So needless to say I have been watching The Office just about everyday since. I finally made it through Season 5 and now am watching re-runs on TBS. If you haven't watched the show here is one of my favorite clips!


Ok so I couldn't find my favorite clip but this is up there! And bonus, NBC has season 6 episodes. I know what I am doing today!

Read Read Read

I have been busy reading this week. Since I have been subbing I have a new system of reading as well. I always keep one book in my teaching bag and then read another book when I am here at the house. Sometimes the book from my teaching bag does come in the house with me, especially if it is particularly good or if I am close to the end but usually I will have two books going at once. Since Thursday I have finished three books. Here is a brief summary of each and what I thought of them. Oh and one more thing these are all from the YA section in the library because I am on the quest to find books to teach in the classroom!

The Last Book in the Universe by Rodman Philbrick

It's the story of an epileptic teenager nicknamed Spaz, who begins the heroic fight to bring human intelligence back to the planet. In a world where most people are plugged into brain-drain entertainment systems, Spaz is the rare human being who can see life as it really is. When he meets an old man called Ryter, he begins to learn about Earth and its past. With Ryter as his companion, Spaz sets off an unlikely quest to save his dying sister -- and in the process, perhaps the world.

My opinion? Honestly not a good book. It took a lot of willpower for me to finish the book. It had an interesting take on the future but there was so much new vocabulary it was hard to keep it all straight and then at the end the author did the whole Star Wars "Luke I am your father" bit that came out of nowhere. The good part of the book? When you are done!

The Rag and Bone Shop by Robert Cormier

Twelve-year old Jason is accused of the brutal murder of a young girl. Is he innocent or guilty? The shocked town calls on an interrogator with a stellar reputation: he always gets a confession.

My opinion: WOW!! My master teacher during student teaching kept recommending the book to me because she teaches with it and said how much the kids love it. I think it would have taken me maybe a night to read if I would have sat down and read it. It only took me two nights reading right before I went to bed so it is an easy read. It is really a great book about perceptions and human nature. The end has a great twist!

The Girls They Left Behind by Bernice Thurman Hunter

Like any teenager, Natalie wants to have fun. But it's 1944, and almost all the boys she knows have signed up and are being shipped overseas to fight the war in Europe. Too often she takes the trip to Union Station to wave goodbye to another friend, wondering if he'll ever come home again. And like her other girlfriends, Natalie is getting tired of waiting for the war to be over. There are still dances at the Armories to meet handsome boys in uniform, but is that all a girl can do for the war effort?

My opinion: Great read. This one was pretty easy and I got through the whole thing this afternoon. It is set in Canada which I wasn't expecting but that doesn't change the story much. I don't think boys would enjoy this as much but it was a nice snowy afternoon read.

Next books up: Hot Fudge Monday (A teaching book about grammar) and Al Capone Shines my Shoes (a sequel to Al Capone Does my Shirts)

Percy Jackson- Sea of Monsters

Well I just finished reading another book. This book was actually the 2nd in a series that I love! It is a kid who finds out he is the son of Posiden and is set in modern times. This book talked a little more about the threat of the rise of the Titans and Percy and his friends trying to save their camp.

I think I love these books so much because I have all these ideas in my head of how to use them in my classroom! The author does such a great job of putting ancient myths that most kids don't know about and places them in modern times. He also has all kinds of teaching materials on his website to help out. It is just wonderful.

Well a wedding update...we are having the favor paper printed this week so we can start on that. I am going to over Aunt Elaine's tonight to help a little with the invitations because they still aren't turning out I guess. Hopefully we can make something work tonight so we can get started on them. I appreciate Aunt Elaine so much, she has been working so hard on all of this. Once we get that decided we also need to do something with the programs (or brochures as Pat's calls them) and talk a little more about decorating! We are getting there but it is creeping up on us. Only 137 days left!! Seems like a lot but once softball gets started it will seem like tomorrow.