Everything But the Kitchen Sink.....Literally

So I'm back and sad to say that I'm focusing this post on food. I tend to think of random topics throughout the day and today as I passed Waffle House on the way to work, I thought of their delish hashbrowns. Let me 'splain more....

Growing up, I was not a fan of breakfast. I didn't (and still don't) like cereal. Wait, let me clarify that...I don't like cereal for breakfast. When I eat it in the morning, I am hungry like 30 minutes later. I do enjoy the occasional baggie of dry cereal for a snack (Cracklin Oat Bran is pretty tasty). When I was a kid, I ate breakfast and for the first 10 years or so it was cereal. At some point in my teens, my mother figured out that I'd prefer to eat "dinner" food for breakfast, which I did, and I was happy. I'd raid the fridge with whatever we had leftover from the previous evening and would resort to hot dogs if the fridge was bare.

I also wasn't a fan of traditional breakfast foods: eggs, bacon, toast, grits, sausage, waffles, pancakes, or hashbrowns. What's weird is that I still don't enjoy cereal but have totally switched sides on my opinions of traditional breakfast food. Somewhere in there I started eating scrambled eggs and bacon. From there, my breakfast choices transitioned to eggs over medium with sausage and toast to sop up the yolk. Yummy....and I'd also take hashbrowns if they were offered. (Another thing I enjoy is eggs benedict, but since it's hard to find, I'll stick with the eggs over medium.)

But plain ole hashbrowns won't cut it. Waffle House (and Huddle House) offer their hashbrowns with all sorts of bells and whistles. Given that I like hashbrowns and other "regular" foods for dinner, it only made sense for me to become a fan of the hashbrowns from Waffle House.

As a kid, we didn't have a Waffle House in Key West. We didn't go out to eat much either, so I only got to experience the Waffle House breakfast when we traveled. I can remember ordering an omlet and having them put chili on top and enjoying it. So, it only made sense to take it a step further. Let me lay it out for you.....

At Waffle House their hashbrowns can be ordered with the following toppings:

*Scattered (this means they throw them on the grill...I think this is standard)

*Smothered (covered with onions)

*Covered (cheese)

*Chunked (diced ham)

*Diced (chopped tomatoes)

*Peppered (jalapenos)

*Capped (mushrooms)

*Topped (chili)

* Country (white sausage gravy)

I have to admit that I have the above mentioned items (except for the mushrooms) put on my hashbrowns. It's a wonderful thing. This would probably be enough but I usually add two eggs over medium, sausage (I love sausage), grits, and toast to my order. And I wash it all down with a Diet Coke. The good news is that I don't feel hungry for a LONG time afterward. Thankfully, I don't get to treat myself to this heart attack on a plate very often.

Side Note: The reason I don't add mushrooms to my hashbrowns is because mushrooms are a fungus. A fungus, people. That's just wrong. I also don't eat fried mushrooms, raw mushrooms with dip.....If I order a supreme pizza with the works, I usually don't take the 'shrooms off. Don't know why..... My family argues that I like bleu cheese crumbles and dressing and that's also a form of fungus, but since it's in cheese, I don't count it. I could eat my weight in cheese. I love it. There's no such thing as "bad" cheese. When I order a sandwich and I have a choice of cheese, I just tell them to pick any of them, because I'm a fan of all cheeses and love them equally. I wouldn't want them to get jealous or get hurt feelings.

So why the focus on food, and food that's bad for me? I don't know....I just know that I had those hashbrowns on my mind all day and I wanted to encourage you to try them if you haven't yet. And as for the mushrooms....well....put them on your hashbrowns if you want, but don't say I didn't warn you about the fungus part.

A Potpourri of Topics-By Request

So I've not been blogging as frequently as I should. I blame the fact that I have to work on that. It seems I go into work earlier, get out later, and make less money than I did in Florida. The good news is that I feel like I'm a better teacher. But that still doesn't give me the time I need to blog and put my thoughts out there.


A few days ago, I asked my Facebook friends if they had any blog topic requests via my status. I got several responses, and I'm going to try my best to hit all of them, albeit briefly. In just a bit, I'll need to get ready to start the insanity again tomorrow.


The Big Picture
My friend Barbara V. said I should write about "the big picture." She said I should write about forgetting the small stuff and focus on the big picture. Jeez, if only I could. I tend to run high stress or full-throttle....all the time. David says that if I learned to let stuff go, I'd be stressed about that. I think he's right. Having said that, I realize that I don't get uptight about everything. There are some things I have to just go with....when a co-worker seems "snippy" I don't always take that personally. I try to think of the baggage that person is carrying around so I can see where they are coming from. So far, I think I'm doing an okay job with that. When things get hairy at school, I try to remind myself that "This isn't my life." But the truth is, from 7:15-3:30 it IS my life. Thankfully, I have an understanding husband to vent to, so I can step back and see the big picture. This is something I continually work on....I was reminded of this as I saw a magnet that a friend gave me a couple of years ago that says, "If stress burned calories, I'd be a supermodel." That pretty much says it all.


Sonic
My friend Martha M. suggested I write about the joys of Sonic. Being raised in Key West, I did not experience the bliss that is Sonic. Once I moved here, I got what it was about. The first thing I love about Sonic is the fact that you can order ANYTHING on the menu at any time of the day. So, if for instance, I feel like having a cheeseburger at 6:30 AM, I can get one. Another thing that's fabulous about Sonic is the ice. I'm a HUGE fan of ice and believe me, I've checked out everyone's ice. In Starkville, Sonic ranks in my top 3. I love the small pellet ice cubes. If you add the fact that they serve their drinks in Styrofoam cups (sorry that's not "green") and they are the only restaurant in town that serves Diet Sprite, well....that explains why I'm a fan. Also, in case you didn't know....everyday from 2-4 Sonic puts all their drinks on sale for Happy Hour. I'm all about that.


Taco Bell
My friend Brandi H. suggested I write about Taco Bell consequences. I have this to say....outside of a enlarged waistline, I have no Taco Bell consequences. I know many people that love the taste of TB but feel sick afterwards. Not me. I could eat there everyday and not get sick of it. The service at the local TB isn't the best, but that's about par for any fast food place around here. If you can stand dealing with that, you're in....no problems. I really enjoy their Volcano menu items. And once a long time ago...they offered a Black Jack taco that had a black taco shell (I heard on the radio that they got the black ink is from our friend, the octopus) and had pepper jack cheese and special sauce, YUM-O. Of course, they don't carry it anymore. The Taco Bell in Key West, as well as the one in our neighboring town of Columbus, have gone under. How is that possible? There's no competition! I must say though....I've never seen so many Mexican restaurants. In Key West I think there was one in old town (I never went to it) and Chico's on Stock Island. I went there a couple of times, but the places here are far superior. Bottom line here....I love Taco Bell and I have no "consequences" from visiting there.


Sock Monkey
My friend Kellie A. suggested I tell about a sock monkey story. A little background here....I attended the Mississippi Writing for Thinking Summer Institute a couple of summers ago as part of my masters degree. My work with them has led me to be a part of the Rural Voices Radio selection team. Basically, past institute fellows have their students write pieces that then get recorded for radio. Several times a year, the team meets to go over and choose the pieces for recording. This past Saturday, that's where I was. There was a story written by an eighth grader that got me tickled. This student wrote about a trip to the zoo where he went to monkey cages and saw this monkey that was playing with a sock. The monkey was tossing it up and playing with it, when the monkey threw it and it landed out of the monkey's reach in between the bars of the cage. The student wrote that he was going to be nice and get the sock and toss it back into the cage since the monkey didn't seem to be able to reach it. Wrong. The monkey ended up smacking this kid right in the forehead, grabbed the sock, and continued playing with it. The student ended the piece with "And then I wondered, how did the monkey even get the sock?" It was a cute story and I got tickled when I read it. Too cute.


An Update on Dad
My friend Monica H. asked about how my dad was doing. Back in January, my father was taken to the hospital in Jackson because he suspected that he had a heart attack. My dad has had a couple of heart attacks, a stint, and quadruple by-pass surgery. It's taken a couple of months to figure it all out. He's been to see several doctors and they've run many tests on different body parts. (For those of you not aware, my dad suffered an optic stroke back around Labor Day and is now blind.) The heart doctors have given him a clean bill of health, so he's in the process or reapplying to go to Blind School in Jackson. He still is busy as ever, he just relies on my mother to be his eyes now. I'm so blessed to have them as parents.


So there you have it.....topics by request. I hope this finds everyone well and if like what you read, leave a message. I get excited thinking that people read my blog and ever more excited when people like what they read. If you don't like it....lie.....like me and potpourri. I can't stand the stuff, but I'd never tell you that.


Toodles!

Rhinestone Bangle Bracelets Do Not Dress Up an Outfit...They Just Make It More Tacky.

I've never fooled myself into believing for a moment that I have anything even close to fashion sense or style. For the most part, I get dressed in what is clean and comfortable. I'd be a perfect candidate for "What Not to Wear." At my old school in Florida, dress was real casual. When you live on an island and everything is laid back, you get very comfortable in your style. Having lived there most of my life, "casual" is how I viewed everything. I guess I fit in around Key West. If someone saw me out and about, they probably thought I was on my way to work in the yard. Not so. I detest yard work. But I digress...... So I would wear skirts and such to church and shorts or capris to work. The dress code was very casual pretty much everywhere.


So fast forward to moving to Mississippi. In my mind, most people here were more conservative and not as nearly as casual as I was. To some degree, this is true. My dress code at work is more strict than I'm used to (no jeans or shorts) and the weather changes actually required that I get some closed in shoes. (When I moved here, I mostly had Teva sandals or Birkenstocks.) I've adapted, I guess, although I still go for what is clean and comfortable. I've watched enough "What Not to Wear" episodes to know this isn't what I'm supposed to be doing. I hope that I haven't gotten stuck in some decade of distasteful fashion and no one has told me. No one from "What Not to Wear" has shown up at my door, so I'm taking it as a good sign.


I started wearing glitter makeup on Fridays as a way to celebrate the end of another week I'm made it through. This didn't help me overcome my fashion woes, but more or less said I wa ready for Halloween...year round. Somewhere since I moved to Mississippi, I've added rhinestone bangle bracelets to my wardrobe. I realize, of course, that the bracelets don't really dress up the outfit that I wear, but it makes me feel better. To the point that if I go to work and I'm not wearing one, it feels weird. Like not having a watch weird. I'm not sure how I got started or where I found my first bracelet. The bracelets have made an appearance in my daily wardrobe to work, in addition to the glitter makeup which has spread from Friday to days ending in "y." I'm all about shiny and sparkly.


I've acquired many of them over the years, and I'm always keeping my eye out for them. So far, I've not bought any online and I don't do Ebay anymore. (I was a victim of stolen identity several years ago.) I've managed to acquire them in most every color and sadly....I get excited when I find new ones. Excited like I need to call someone and tell them excited. Excited like I want to make it my Facebook status....."I found some new bracelets! Yay!" I don't do those things because no one seems as excited as I am buying these bracelets. Go figure.


This week, Raelynn and I went to Columbus to go to the book store in the mall and I stopped over at Accessory Corner. They have bags, jewelry, belts.....basically they carry accessories...hence the name. Anyway, I found some bracelets with matching rings and was so happy that I wanted to call someone....anyone.....but I didn't. Have you ever gotten excited over something small like that and wanted to share it but didn't? But....I'm blogging about it so I guess I am fulfilling the need to share. Just pretend to care, please. After all, my current total of bracelets is up to 35 and I'm looking to add to this total. If I do, I promise not to post it to facebook or call you....but blogging about it....well...there's no guarantee there.


Toodles!

Pinching, Leprechaun Traps, and Reuben Sandwiches--My Convoluted St. Paddy's Day Traditions

Top of the mornin' to ya! Today is St. Patrick's Day. I'm a fan of holidays, as anyone who knows me will attest to. At one point in my career (before the stress of state testing), I had started to develop a comprehensive curriculum based solely on holidays. Not just the big ones like Christmas and Halloween, but the other ones that most are not aware of. (Did you know that October 15 is National Grouch Day?) But since I've moved to Mississippi and the evolution of high stakes state testing, my celebrations of all things holiday related has sadly been diminished. On an interesting side note....since I've moved to Mississippi, I've not celebrated St. Patrick's Day at school. It has fallen during our spring vacation each year. It seems that when I lived in Florida, our spring break was around Easter. Oh well, to each his own......

Which brings me to today's post. My family does the normal St. Patrick's Day stuff: we wear green and eat a special St. Patrick's dinner at my mom's consisting of corned beef, cabbage, and potatoes and carrots. I'm not a huge fan of any of those items together, so Mom is making Reuben sandwiches, which I love. Interestingly, I don't like sauerkraut or corn beef, but put them on a sandwich and I'm in.

So....checking facebook this morning, I saw that a friend posted the question, "Does anyone know why we pinch people who aren't wearing green on St. Patrick's Day?" Thanks to the Internet, I have an idea. (What did we do before the Internet?) According to several sites, the pinching may have started in the 1700's in the Massachusetts colony as a reminder that people that wore green were invisible to leprechauns (who pinch by the way). That "tradition" has filtered down and turned into the current day "Get pinched if you don't wear green" tradition that is carried out by elementary aged students. As a teacher, that's one holiday tradition that you don't look forward to. I teach fourth grade, which is just old enough for them to know EXACTLY what they are doing. So I'd always be prepared by cutting out some construction paper shamrocks in advance for those that forgot to wear green.

But this makes me think of the St. Patrick's Day holidays of my youth. I can remember picking out my most green shirt in anticipation of St. Patrick's Day so I wouldn't get pinched. Then, as a middle schooler, I purposely DIDN'T wear green so I WOULD get pinched. Apparently I don't put out the "Hey, check me out vibe" because no one pinched me. Which was probably a good thing since I'm not sure what I would have done if I had gotten pinched. My experiences with boys was sadly lacking.

I also saw during my Internet search that people in Ireland think that Americans are nuts for the way they celebrate St. Patrick's Day. It seems that they don't celebrate the holiday nearly as much as we do. As best I can tell, the highlight of most adults on this holiday is an excuse to drink beer. For kids, it's fun to talk about leprechauns and lucky four leaf clovers. Back in the day, I had my students construct leprechaun traps using what we had learned about them in class. In case you weren't aware, leprechauns are related to fairies and most are pretty grumpy. They are very greedy, always looking for more gold and fiercely protecting their own pot of gold. Legend says that if you catch a leprechaun, you must keep your eye on him or he will escape. It was neat seeing students incorporate an eye into their traps. Of course, during special class when they were out of the room, I'd sprinkle gold glitter around their traps that we had set outside. They loved it. And no one pinched each other.

In observation of St. Patrick's Day today, I'll wear a green shirt and some shorts (the high today is supposed to be 74-yuck) and if I'm feeling festive...I'll don my green glitter eyeliner. I'm not sure I'll venture into town today but either way, I'll be festive.....and no one will pinch me

Shucks.

Tik Tok- On the Clock, But the Party Don't Stop...No.....whoa whoa whoa

That's some catchy title, right? Let me explain.....


I have to start by tooting my own horn for a moment.(indulge me please) I have skills. Dancing skills to be exact. For those of you reading this that are familiar with Key West High School (and what...that's like two of you, right?) you've heard of the Conchettes. For those of you not fortunate enough to be familiar with this organization, it's the dance team for Key West High. Back in the day, it was an elite group of girls that performed at the half time football games in a variety of dance styles: line routines, jazz, hip hop, etc..... I am proud to say that I was a member of this organization for three years. I've danced my whole life. My mom told me that I needed to learn to be more "graceful" as a kid so I took ballet, tap, and jazz dance lessons for many years. In a weak moment or two, I wanted to be a dancer, but I realistic enough not to pursue that career path. But I digress......


I say all this so you'll know that I can dance. I was never one to go "clubbing" in my single days but it wasn't because of the dancing element. I just have this thing against being approached by drunk people in the middle of dancing with my friends. There were a few times in my single days that I did go dancing and even then, I did okay. Like I said, I'm skilled.


But.....I miss dancing. There comes a point in your life when you start dancing and people stare at you, not because you look so great dancing but because you look OLD and you're dancing. For whatever reason, old people aren't supposed to dance. I think that's retarded. I say if someone's granny can get out there and cut a rug, you should let her. She'll reap the health benefits and you'll probably learn something new.


So, I'm married now. I love my husband and I love my life. Having said this, you know what I'm about to say....David doesn't dance. He and I danced at our wedding reception, and he did fine. I can't say that I've seen him dance hip hop before, but he does so many other things so well, that it doesn't matter to me much. Here's something else to ponder....I live in a college town but there doesn't seem to be any decent dance places. I'm guessing there are some places, but like I said, I'm married now and a little past the clubbing scene. But dancing.....well.....I still like to and I miss it.


Fast forward to a month or so ago...my friend Wendy's daughter, Katie, was having her 12th birthday party and she invited me. Wendy is one of my best friends and Katie was one of my students for both fourth and fifth grades, so of course I went. I knew all of the kids there and my other best friends Kathy and Kamille were there. The kids were entertaining themselves with the Wii game "So You Think You Can Dance 2." I've never played any Wii games before. I've seen the video game "Dance, Dance Revolution" at the local bowling alley but never had the nerve to play it. The kids asked if I wanted to play so of course I said yes. They played the song "Tik Tok" and I loved it! I played it several times and beat at least one of the 12 year old birthday party guests. This was great, but it made me miss dancing...so.......


I found out that my teacher friends Stephanie, Julie, and Beth also had a Wii game system and the "So You Think You Can Dance 2" game. (Side note here....all of them are in their 20's and I delude myself that I'm as young as they are) I arranged a dance night at Julie's place one night and we had a blast dancing. Of course, I made everyone dance to "Tik Tok." I rocked it and beat them all! It was a fun night.....but I still miss dancing.....


Another thing to note....I'm cheap. I just can't bring myself to buy a Wii game system for this one game. David doesn't play video games and Raelynn has a Nintendo DS that she plays sometimes, so it would be up to me to get my money's worth. So that idea was out. I considered joining a gym so I could do some Zumba classes, but again, to me...I can't pay someone else to let me exercise. It will be wasted money. So, that leaves me at an impasse.


I tried to creatively solve this problem by buying a DVD called "Ten Minute Hip Hop Dance Mix" a couple of weeks ago. I tried it today for the first time. The introduction "Hip Hop Basics" was all I got to try......in my defense I've already run 1.6 miles today and done some weight resistence training at home. But please know that the introduction was not bad and I was able to keep up with the hip hop moves. I told you I was good. So, for the moment, I don't miss dancing so much.


I danced to "Tik Tok" so much on the Wii game those two nights that I downloaded the song to my iPod and now I do the dance (which I memorized) in my kitchen. It's not as much fun as dancing with my friends but it'll do in a pinch. No one in my house stares at me....they already know I'm weird.


So, yes....skills.....I've got 'em. Another thing I'm skilled at is roller skating...but that's another post for another day.


Toodles!

Sleep 'Til It Hurts

Good Morning Faithful Blog Readers!

Yes, it's me again....pick yourself up off the floor. I gotta tell ya....it's been so long since I've regularly blogged, that I had a hard time remembering my user name and password combination for blogger.com. That's pitiful. I did persevere through it and here I am.

So I'm currently on spring break. For all of you "haters" out there...let me explain something....there is a reason that teachers get two weeks off at Christmas, a week off at spring break, and two months off in the summer. It literally takes that long for to "reset" yourself. I've had regular jobs before and believe me, there's no comparison. I'm not saying that I'd like to dig ditches or anything, because I recognize that's a hard job, but I don't think the ditch digger brings his work home, nor does he ponder endlessly about how to be a more effective ditch digger. This is what teachers do. They work at home (many times to the neglect and detriment of their families), spend their own money for items in the classroom, go to training they pay for themselves in order to improve their craft, and think endlessly about how to do their job better. All of this on top of massive amounts of papers to grade, parents to contact, lessons to plan, and various things to cut, trace, or organize. I'm not complaining here...I'm simply laying the ground work for why spring break is so valuable and necessary.


Now don't misunderstand me....Since school got out on Friday afternoon, I've spent all day Saturday at school working (9 AM - 4 PM), and many hours on Sunday and Monday organizing and grading a mountain of papers. I say all this for you to understand that although I'm enjoying my time off, I am by no means "off" of work. I told the bank teller the other day that I work 365 days a year. That's a true statement if I ever heard one. Which brings me to the title of this post.......


When I was a kid, I remember not really wanting to go to sleep. I can remember sneaking out of bed and laying on the floor just outside of the hallway to my bedroom and if I situated myself just right, I could watch TV. Some people say that little kids fight going to sleep because they don't want to miss anything. I'm not sure if that was me or not. But I do remember being a teenager and listing my hobbies as sleeping and eating. So, somewhere between my childhood and being a teenager, I started liking to sleep.


As a grown-up, I've continued to enjoy sleeping. David likes to sleep too, but he's a different bird. He tends to stay up late and tries to sleep in the next morning. I can't do that. I remember when we first were married, we'd wake up and I'd immediately get out of bed to start my day. Lingering in the bed made no sense to me. David, on the other hand, had no problem dozing on and off and lingering in bed until late morning. Of course, this was before we had Raelynn. But looking back to that time in my life, I'd have to attribute my early rising to being raised by my parents. They were the type that felt that if you slept past 8 on a Saturday morning, you had wasted the whole day. I'm happy to say now that the urge I felt to jump out of bed and get started on my day has slowly dissipated. Now that Raelynn is old enough to get up and entertain herself (thank goodness for TV and video games!), I can "relax."


I say "relax" because it's not truly sleeping/relaxing. During the work week, I wake up at 5 AM and am walking out of the door for work at around 6:15. Doing this for a number of years has trained my body to wake up early. On Saturday and Sunday, I'll wake up around 6 on my own, go to the bathroom, check on Raelynn, and then go back to bed. There, I'll doze off and on until 8 or 9 or until David wakes up. When we were first married, David could sleep until noon. I can't do that. Now that he's "seasoned" (I don't call it old) he's up and moving around 8 or 9 on the weekends too. But I was proud of my sleeping hours Saturday, the first official day of spring break.


My usual bedtime is 10 PM during the week. For whatever reason (probably because there was nothing decent on TV), I went to bed Friday night at my regular time. I did the whole get up at 6, use the restroom, check on Raelynn thing, and then returned to bed where I slept until 10 AM. That's right people, I slept for 12 hours. What's awful about that is the fact that the more "seasoned" you get, the more sleeping in like that starts to hurt. I can't explain it, but there's something about lingering around in the bed after a certain time that makes my back and legs hurt. Maybe it's because I sleep with about 4 pillows at different heights and my back isn't aligned, or perhaps it's a sign that I'm supposed to get up....I don't know. But suffice it to say, that when I got up on Saturday, I was both pleased with my 12 hour sleep record and stiff from staying in bed so long.


But really, if I have to suffer some stiffness and soreness to sleep that long, I'll take it. After all, my hobbies are sleeping and eating. And how am I supposed to get better unless I practice? Anyway, enjoy your day today whether you are working or not. Some of us are in the process of "resetting" so we'll more effective next week. If you get tired, take a nap. I hope you sleep 'til it hurts!!!


Toodles!

I'm so so so sorry.........Forgive me?

Hi....It's me again. For those of you new to this blog (and those that aren't don't remember me because it's been so long since I blogged....) Welcome. This is a place where I like to unload all of my random thoughts about this and that. I like to think that I'm humorous, so if you don't agree, please lie to me.

Here's a quick recap of important facts:

* I am a teacher. I've been doing this for about 19 years. When I think about that number, it floors me. In my mind, I look and act like I'm about 27. It's hard to believe that I'm working with college students that were born when I was leaving college. Don't get me started..... I mostly enjoy my job, although as of late, it seems to have gotten so much more stressful. I think it's a combination of factors that is leading to this stress: the expectations of what I'm supposed to do (I call it "making miracles happen") is always increasing and I'm basically the stress out type. I think that it wouldn't matter what job I'd have....I still would be stressed out. I really care about what I do and that the pressure I put on myself never ends. But enough of the heavy.......

*I live in Mississippi....and yes out of choice. My parents and my husband are natives so when my parents decided to move, we moved too. I've been here 8 years. It doesn't seem that long. I don't regret moving here. That's something I thought I'd never say.

* I am a mother and a wife. My husband, David, is incredible. We've been married for 15 years. We have a daughter, Raelynn, that just turned 10. I love them both and am so thankful for them everyday.

* I'm what you'd call a "fan" of the Twilight series. I've seen the movies (all at midnight showings prior to release), read the books (and refuse to loan them), been to an official Twilight convention.....you name it...I've been there, done that, and got the t-shirt. (literally and figuratively!)

That pretty much covers the basics.......so on to the main event.

I'm currently enjoying the bliss of spring break. I'm not going anywhere interesting. I'm staying home. There's something to be said for home. I went to bed on Saturday night at 10 PM and got up on Sunday morning at 10 AM. And I loved it. I never get to do that. Today, I went to Columbus with Raelynn to Books-A-Million to see if we could find Disney World travel guides, which we did. We are planning a trip to Florida this summer that will include Key West, Disney World in Orlando, and Cocoa Beach. I was born and raised in Key West, and this will be the first time I've been back since we moved here. I'm hoping to see some old friends and enjoy some Cuban coffee!

Being the OCD person that I am, I am sitting on my couch surrounded by all the papers that need to be graded. That's a snowball that never stops rolling down the mountain and getting larger. I spent Saturday at school, working on things from 9 AM until around 4 PM. That time didn't even put a dent in all I have to do. I'll get around to it, I'm sure, but since I'm watching "Eclipse" for the millionth time, it'll have to wait.


I'm so sorry for that length of time that has lapsed since I last posted. I'm thinking now about what to write about and I'm coming up blank. I think that I've gotten out of the habit of blogging, so I'll have to blog more regularly until things flow again. I'm sure my distraction has nothing to do with the fact that "Eclipse" is on.


Hopefully, I'll be able to blog some more this week and have something witty to share. In the meantime, keep checking back in. And if you have a request for a blog topic, let me know. I'm currently out of ideas.

toodles!