2 post 1 day...

UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!

Not that I have anything more to say, I've just had
one super relaxing day. The kind of day where I'm
sure my butt expanded from sitting on it all day.
Seriously, it's 10:55 and I don't have to get ready
for bed, I've been in my jammies & robe ALL day!!

Well I did 2 load of laundry, changed my sheets and
watched 6 episodes of Sex in the City.

I post a layout that I did earlier, now here is another one.
I love this one so much more than the one I did earlier
today, but the one in the last blog entry is not the one
I am talking about. I love that one below a lot too!

First draft is DONE!

Yesterday morning, I printed out two copies
of my first draft of the case report I have to
write for my class. Technically I'm not done
because I know it will come back needing edits
but I think it is pretty good for a first time ever
of writing it. Next week is supposed to be the
last week of classes. YAHOO!!! But we got
an idication that the research/statistics
professor might tack on a couple of writing
projects because summer grades aren't due until
August..what's that about...done is DONE!

After being super stressed about the dumb
case report so I've not been doing too much
scrapping, but I pulled my laptop into the living
room, sat my big butt in the rocking chair and
turned watched The River Wild which is quite
suspenseful then Finding Neverland came on.
I had never seen that before and I thought it
was going to be quite boring from the beginning.
Then I had to leave to watch Doug play
softball with the church so I missed the last
20 minutes of the movie GRRRRRRR!
I found it on cable again when I got home so I
watched the entire movie again with Brian.
It is really becoming interesting when Brian
starts to notice foreshadowing. That is one of
those skills you can really refine when you've
seen a movie before.

Ok, now that I mentioned that I was
scrapping, here is my page!

She's grown up

This is a photo of my cousin's daughter.
She is about 2 weeks older than my son.
This girl went from being a bit ackward to beautiful.
She is very smart, she's at the top of her class. She's in the band and was selected to go to some super great writing program over the summer.

I think she was a bit camera shy, but on the third picture her personality popped right out.

I can't believe Doug and Callie will both graduate next year.

I hope she knows just how special she is.

This blog desperately needs attention!

But until classes are over, it just isn't going to happen.

I need to figure out how to put links down the side.
I'd love to put one of those gallery slideshows in.
I really would love a more up to date header.

I would love to learn how to put links in my posts.

Oh so much to learn and such high aspirations, I'm lucky
if I visit my own blog, not to mention wondering if others
ever visit. I know, if I think it looks way to boring why
would I expect others to visit.

So look for an update, a new decor, a better, new and
improved blog coming in July!

A couple of new layouts

I want to share with you a couple of new layouts because that has been my day today.
I stayed in my jammies and enjoyed the art of doing nothing. Literally NOTHING!
Except for these two layouts.

One Hour!

One hour! 60 minutes. 3,600 minutes.

Yes that is all that is left of school.
The room is stark naked again, it looks pathetic.
I have to put some paper over my bookshelves,
grab my fan and cd player and pass out those
report cards.

I most certainly will NOT miss the heat and the
unbearable sweltering conditions of that room with
23 sweaty bodies and only one window.

I wonder how many days there are of vacation??
Not enough, definately not enough!

Summer vacation...HERE I COME!!!!!

Home!

To market, to market to buy a fat pig.
Home again, home again Jiggity jig!
To market, to market to buy a fat hog.
Home again, home again Jiggity jog!

Oh this nursery rhyme fits me perfectally today.
A quick road trip to Ohio to celebrate my aunt & uncle's
50th wedding anniversary I ate like a pig and wanted to
get home fast.

Actually it was record time getting home.
Yes, I have a lead foot!
The trip usually takes between 5.5 or 6 hours.
My trip 4.5 hours!

Yes sign me up to drive Nascar next year.

SLACKER!!!

I know I'm way behind. These pictures should have been posted almost 2 weeks ago.
I should have been so excited that they were up the same night. I was excited but was
under so much stress with my class I just wasn't functioning too well. I'm a bit better now
and glad I am able to post a few of the prom pics of my son and his date. He was actually her date and it was the prom from her school. My son is not a senior and cannot go to his school's prom. She's such a cute girl that he's friends with from a church group.


This is so my favorite photo! He looks so handsome, so old, and so sophisticated!

Today is a Special Day!!

Today is my 19th Anniversary and my son's 14th
birthday. I don't feel old yet with him turning 14.
I feel like I've been married for more than 19 years
sometimes.

We've decided to go out for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.

Ohhhhh so good!!!!
My dinner is already planned out in my head
Sweet corncakes (an appetizer)
and some delicious, scrumptious cheesecake!


Oh Don, get home so we can go eat!

Mother's Day weekend

It's been a long week and I'm hoping for a quiet, relaxing weekend.

I've been challenged to try my hand at a digital card.

Here is what I've created.

Happy Mother's Day to all!

National Scrapbook Day

Today is National Scrapbook Day which means if you are a scrapper you should be scrappin!

Since I've moved, I've also change the way I scrap. I'm pretty sure I'll be 80-90% digital, for a while. I have had my friends say my style has changed a bit since I've gone digital. Hey, change is good!

So I'll show you a couple of my newest pages, not created today, but not too long ago.

Let me know if you like my stuff!

The first REAL day of my vacation

Today is what I'm considering the first REAL day of my vacation.
It is the day that I only had 3 things planned.

1. Take Brian to school
2. Go to Brian's volleyball game
3. Go to my hair appointment

Sure there are about 1000 things I should do to get caught up with, but I decided that it was do whatever I wanted day.

So I.....

1. Took Brian to school
2. Went into the school to discuss something with the psychologist.
3. Went to the high school to change our address
4. Bought musical tickets while at the high school
5. Got the registration forms for summer school and summer sports camps
6. Went to the library to get new library cards for me and the boys.
7. Picked out some books on Southern California
8. Went to my mom's for breakfast
9. Took my mom shopping at TJ Maxx where I ended up buying 2 pair of capri pants, one shirt and a new pair of Born sandals.
10. Went to Michaels to look for a cute little vase (which is why I originally went to TJMaxx) and some happy, spring gerbera daisies for my dining room table.
11. Went out to lunch with my mom.
12. Came home and had to deal with the phone call issue that Brian's wallet was stolen at school and I had to deal with the police.
13. Went to Brian's volleyball game.
14. Took Brian home.
15. Went back out to have my hair colored, cut and my eyebrows waxed.
16. Went to the doctors' office to pick up a prescription.
17. Went to get stamps
18. Went to take the taxes to the post office
19. Went to Dairy Queen and finally home for the night!

Ok, someone told me today that I had done a lot and had accomplished a great deal. They said that if I made a list of all I did I'd be shocked.

OK...I'M SHOCKED!

Now tomorrow's the one day of my entire vacation that I've been totally looking forward to.

It is my pedicure with a good friend and then lunch at the Cheesecake Factory.

What could be better????? A nice relaxing pedicure with freshly polished pink(maybe) toenails and then followed up by mouth watering cheesecake??? Nothing I say, NOTHING! It is a teacher's dream vacation day. Well no...my Mirival spa trip from Oprah was my Ultimate Teacher's Dream Vacation day. But tomorrow should come in a close second.

I hope that tomorrow's list does only consist of:

1. Take Brian to school
2. Relaxing pedicure and friendly conversation
3. Cheesecake and more good conversation
4. Pick up Brian from school

and...

5. NOTHING ELSE!!!

Hey I'm a mom; there's bound to be more and I'm a woman...it's only natural to change my mind!

Ahhhhhhhhh Vacation

It took so long to get here, now I know it's going to fly by
but for now, I'm officially on vacation!!

I was supposed to get my hair done yesterday
but my girl had the stomach flu.

Vegged out today. Did do one digital scrapbook page
though.

Tuesday is my pamper myself day
Pedicure with a friend and lunch at Cheesecake Factory.
Thursday is the dentist. UGH


Here is my page!

A Sad Day

We received a phone call at 2:00 am from Don's mom saying that
her mom had passed on. I knew that Memaw (a very southern term
for grandmother) was special, but for the few times I saw her I didn't
realize how with it she really was. She was 96 and live a good, full life.
96 is amazing. My grandmother passed on about 6 months ago and
she was 85 I think. She was 11 years younger. Eleven never really seemed
like a lot until you think of it as a difference in age when you're 96.

I always thought calling your grandmother "memaw" was quite strange.
Not growing up in the south and all...it did sound a bit unusual.
My mother-in-law always said, I want to be grandma, not memaw.

Well when Doug was learning to talk, he was babbling mommy so fast it
got turned around into memom. That was it, my mom became Memaw
and by shear luck, my mother-in-law also became Memaw. Quite an
unusual term for us northerners, but unique. My kids have given their
grandmother a name filled with love and affection. Not something everyone
hears everyday.

So today as I was telling co-workers about our loss, it dawned on me
that I would never again hear her southern drawl. That enlongated vowel sound
when saying Laura. It was more like Laaaaaaaaaaaoorrrrrrra. She would
always tell Don "Now Doooooooonnnie, you make sure to tell Laaaaaaaaaoooraaa that I said hi."

Memaw Funderburke, I hope you have your vision back, that you've seen Big Daddy, and they have McDonald's apple pies in Heaven. Peace to you. You'll be missed.

The official blog countdown until Spring Break

4 More School days until Spring Break

YIPEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tonight at class was one of those nights you sit on the edge of your chair. It was the first night back after the midterm, so we were getting that test back. It also was the night that our advisor was coming back to return the dreaded portfolios.

I don't know which I was more worried about. After all, I did study as much as I could for the midterm. I also worked my butt off on that portfolio for almost 3 weeks straight. I felt confident about the midterm, well pretty confident the night we took it. I wasn't sure what to expect the night we turned in our portfolios. I was relieved to have it done and turn it in. It felt like 2 months would take forever to get here. It really was quite fast. Yikes 2 months have passed since my birthday then, crap then only 10 more until I turn 40.

Ok, so I know you're dying to know.

On the midterm, it was worth 100 points. Well I scored 97/100 and got the 3 point extra credit problem correct. So I truly got 100/100!!!!

Ok, one down one more to go. It was at the end of class when our adivsor came in. If you're not sure about the portfolio, scroll back and see the monsterous binder. Ok so 2 different people had to read and score it. All together, the portfolio needs to have a large number of Target approvals. The maximum it could have is 45 Target approvals. You know like what you wrote is "right on target". The choices they could score are Target, Acceptable, and Unacceptable.

Out of the 45 of the areas that were scored... I received 43 Target and 2 Acceptables. OMG I was so amazed. There were only 2 small areas that I need to tighten up and make stronger for next time. Make a stronger point that what I believe in my educational philosophy is documented within my project. Not really within my project but within my brief 1 paragraph statement that basically defends my project.

I'm so FREAKING HAPPY!!!!

Now the stinky news...we found out that we will not be done with the program in May 2007 as earlier expected. We will have to take the last class in the summer of 07. That means that we won't walk through the graduation ceremony until December of 07. I really don't care about the ceremony, I care about the pay increases and being done. I'm getting burned out and the classes from here on out are only going to keep getting more and more difficult.

Thanks to everyone for your support while I did this huge undertaking. I'm so glad the portfolio is done and safe, back in my hot little hands. Now I'll tuck it into a safe spot in my closet or on my bookcase and take one more peak at those Target scores and get cracking on my next project that's due soon. I will not be putting off having the next portfolio artifacts done until the very end this time either!

Wow...I'm a bad Blogger

I see it's been since March 4th since I've updated. I'm a bad, bad blogger. Since then I've been giving some required formal reading tests, 8 in all. I also had a midterm to study for. We've had some heartache, Doug did not make the volleyball team. Don has had his identity stolen and we've been fighting with the bank to get all of our money back. I've also upgraded to PSE4. I really can't wait to start doing some amazing digital pages. I've got a lot to learn though.

This is testing week at school. Since I teach 4th grade, we have the most tests now. So I lose all my planning periods this week. UGH, I say. Don doesn't say it but he enjoys seeing the extra $250 on the pay check in a couple weeks. I guess I could buy a few more digital kits!

So I'll give you a sneak peak of what I've started working on.
This is my mom.



The paper is Jen Wilson. The flowers are Holly McCaig.
It still needs some work. I need some insides for all those flowers.
This is based upon a the Autumn Leaves 2005 calendar.

My new favorite breakfast

My new favorite breakfast is healthy! Believe it or not, I've found a healthy alternative to Lucky Charms. This is it. It is a mixture of vanilla yogurt, strawberries and Cherrios. This morning I felt really crummy because I'm getting sick but had enough energy to cut up some strawberries and mix up my breakfast. I actually had two bowls it tasted so yummy!

Other than my breakfast, and getting sick, I have Monday off. Casmir Pulaski Day. It figures I'd be getting sick. Brian is sick and coughing all the time. We'll be going to the doctor for his physical on Monday so I hope he's better, if not we'll probably be getting some medicine too.

We are still unpacking boxes and trying to set up this house. Still waiting for the washer... yes I do need to do laundry! ={

I've also started some digital scrapbooking and trying to decide upon a program..Digial Image Suite or Photoshop Elements. I am leaning towards elements I think.

Were in...finally

It has been a long 2 weeks. I've never cleaned so much in my entire life. Spring cleaning in aout 5 days in a house where I don't think they've ever cleaned in at least 6 months.
So I've shown you some before, well you can't clearly see the dirt but you get the idea.
Now let me show you what some paint and some good furniture can do. This place had potential and now it's starting to shine. A bunch of boxes left to unpack, the garage is full and still have to paint the bathroom and over the summer I'll strip wallpaper from the kitchen to repaint but here is what it has gotten to so far.



1. living room
2. my room
3. Doug's room
4. Brian's room

call me Cinderella

1. dining room
2. Brian's room
3. living room
4. view out my dining room door
5. my room


I've cleaned so much that I've used 3 full bottles, large bottles of Pine Sol. I've never EVER cleaned so much before in my life. I've done spring cleaning in a week to 10 days time.

I'm adding some before pictures so you can see what I have been trying to clean. Nope it's not even done yet.