Girl's Weekend in Houston

It was such a fun and exciting weekend this weekend! My oldest and dearest friend turned the big 29. Friday night a group of us met at Pappadeaux for a nice celebratory dinner. It was a nice date night, and I was excited that Todd got to come with me for a change. The food was delicious...we hadn't been there in almost a year, and of the course the company and conversation were wonderful.

The girl's and I left early Saturday morning to embark on part 2 of the celebration. We went to Houston and spent some time shopping on Harwin street and took a trip to the Galleria. Later in the afternoon, we checked into our hotel, the JW Marriott, which was conveniently located right across the street from the Galleria. Hillary and I have stayed there a few times. We had a nice big room with super comfy beds. We relaxed a while before we made our way to the Houston Pavillions. We had 8:00 reservations for Pete's Dueling Piano Bar. We thought it might be something fun and interesting to do, plus Hillary loves that kind of stuff so we decided to try it. We got there a little bit early and got a personal tour of the bar and the House of Blues next door by the very nice manager Dexter. He also took the photo of us above, gave us the best seats in the house, and stopped by to see how we were doing several times. Talk about good service!

We had a fun time at the piano bar, but after about 10:00 p.m., the piano players as well as the drunken crowd were getting a little wild and crazy. The noise was getting to me, so we decided to make our exit. We went downstairs to Guadalajara Del Centro which was absolutely delicious! A definite new favorite place. The whole area looked really nice. We will have to visit it again sometime when we go back to Houston.

The next morning, we got up pretty early and headed out for another day of shopping. We had lunch at The Cheesecake Factory and even stopped off at the famous Crave Cupcakes for a Sunday afternoon treat-Yum! My favorite new discovery was the newly opened Charming Charlie's in the Galleria. It is a huge accessories store that has EVERYTHING and it is sorted by color. It is a girly girl heaven.

We had a great time, great food, great shopping, and great bonding. I can't wait for our next trip. I think we are going to Canton Trade days for my birthday...another new adventure!

Baby Fever

"A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for."

I haven't updated in a while, but I have found myself to be sitting here alone on a Thursday night while Todd is working and rejoicing that yet another friend has announced her pregnancy. While I am rejoicing, I also find myself a little sad and wistful thinking why couldn't it be me. Lately I have been really struggling with the overwhelming desire to be a mother and absolute impatience and at times despair waiting for it to happen.
Most of you that follow me know that last February, after what seemed like years of planning, Todd and I were so excited to learn that we were expecting. The idea of being first time parents was so wonderful that we starting picking out names and nursery furniture almost immediately. We felt that finally we would begin this wonderful family and were so sure that having a baby would be one of the most amazing adventures of our entire lives.
About 8 weeks in I had my first ultrasound and the results were not good. After 3 weeks of being in limbo, many ultrasounds and dr. appointments later, and not knowing whether the pregnancy was viable, we found out that we would not be having a baby anymore. After the shock and devastation wore off, as well as the pain and discomfort of surgery, there was still the burning desire to be a mother.
So, here I am and what feels like months later still desperately wanting to become pregnant and experience motherhood. I am trying to relax and enjoy the journey knowing that in God's perfect timing, I feel sure that we will have the baby that we are so longing for. But, it is hard to not feel discouraged as one after another people all around you are being blessed with beautiful healthy babies.
I am hoping being able to blog about this may help sort out these feelings, and I ask for everyone's prayers for a healthy happy pregnancy when the time is right.

Fabulous Florida Vacation

Last week, Todd and I joined a group of our friends for a wonderful week long vacation in Seacrest Beach, Florida. Seacrest is a picturesque little community with cute beach neighborhoods, perfectly manicured lawns, and bike riding trails.


Our beach house was amazing. Todd and I had the whole third floor to ourselves, which included a big bedroom and bathroom as well as 2 decks and a sitting area. It was heaven. In fact, the plush king sized bed was so nice, that we have already started looking for one so we can sleep like we are on vacation every night!


While we were there we mostly relaxed on the beach and went to the pool. We also spent some time shopping in Destin. We decided to go on a snorkeling tour ( I would not recommend it, esp. if you have even been snorkeling in Mexico, it is not nearly as nice), and some of our group even went parasailing one morning.


Hillary and I also decided to rent some bicycles and went on several early morning and evening bike rides. We also went to two of our favorite restaurants while we were in town- McGuire's ( a Florida tradition) and Landry's. It was a great time, and we were so sad to come home. Can't wait until next year!

New Orleans Girl's Weekend

I am a little late at updating, but while Todd is watching the continuous CNN coverage of the death of the King of Pop (so sad), I thought I would blog before I go out on my 45 min. walk of sweat.
This weekend, I went on a very fun road trip to New Orleans with my two dearest friends in all of the world. We visited 4 lovely plantation houses (Nottoway and Homaus House were my favorite), toured the dirty smelly French Quarter (sorry NOLA lovers), ate at a delightful, yet kind of disappointing swanky restaurant, went on the hottest and most crowded steamboat dinner cruise ever, and enjoyed out tiny and shady hotel pool. I will probably never go to NOLA again in the summer time, it is WAY to HOT to enjoy yourself, but I have to say that I had a very relaxing time with my friends, and it was a great way to laugh ourselves silly and reconnect. Everyone was also very friendly in New Orleans, which made for a pleasant experience.

Since then, I have basically laid around the house and relaxed. I went to my mom and dad's on Tuesday to hang out with my niece. Auntie Hill. joined us and we had a lovely afternoon in the pool. I think it def. helped out tan out. I have been dropping Todd off and picking him up from work (his truck is in the shop), cooking, and cleaning. He is going to be very sad when I go back to work, lol. I also went into work for a few hours this morning. We are testing next week, so I have to get everything together. I don't mind work nearly as much when I only have to work a 1/2 day. Our staff is a little stressed out right now. They were in the middle of doing schedules when they were told that we are losing two core teaching positions...which of course puts more work on everyone else. So, keep your fingers crossed that I really won't have to teach a class next year. I may have to suck it up and be assigned to help out a little. Blah.
I have also decided that I am going to start working on my principal certification through SFA. I think it is a good idea to go ahead and get it, although I don't think I would pursue an actual job as a principal for a while. I would like to go ahead and do it now before we have a baby. It is a little stressful, especially to think about the financial aspect of it, but I think if I stay in education for life, it is probably something I will want to do at some point in my career. Plus, the program seems to be pretty flexible and I should be able to take some classes online as well as some classes in Jasper (hopefully).
I am still working on my diet and fitness plan. I have lost another pound, bringing my total to 9 so far...and I am trying to keep working my hardest. It is getting easier now that I am in the habit of exercising and watching what I eat, but the weight still comes off slowly. I am proud of myself for working out both days that we were at the hotel in NOLA. I think it helped me not gain any weight while we were away eating fattening restaurant food.
I have been a little sad the past few days...it seems like there is so much sadness and grief in the world. Maybe I have been watching too many sad movies and too much t.v., but this week alone, there has been the dissolution of Jon and Kate, the death of Ed McMahon, Farah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson, sad topics on Oprah, as well as sad news about one of our dear family members. It is a natural part of life, but sometimes you just get bogged down. But, what does not kill us will make us stronger and tomorrow is another day. I know it is important to appreciate every day we are given and spend our time making the most of it with the people that we love.

Summer-Week 3

Oh, I had a lovely 2 days off this week. I enjoyed sleeping late, playing with the dogs, leisurely shopping at Walmart and cooking on Monday. It is so nice to be on my own schedule for a change. It was such a relaxing day. Tuesday, I did some cleaning. Hillary came over a little after noon. We tried out her new workout videos and she was right, they do kick your butt. I think I am still recovering today. Then we shopped around a little and rounded the night out with a delicious turkey burger dinner. Then, that came to an end...

I went to sleep last night dreading the 5:45 a.m. alarm clock. I had agreed to do summer school Wed. and Thurs. of this week for the extra money, but was not looking forward to going back to work, even if it was only for a few days. I didn't sleep well last night and woke up off and on. When the alarm did go off this morning, I had to drag myself out of bed. I have to say the kids were very mello today, and weren't any problem. But, I still had a splitting headache by the end of my classes. I planned to stay at work a while and eat lunch. But, after glancing at my mailbox full of phone calls to return, and a pounding headache, I decided it was in my best interest to catch up on work tomorrow and go home and rest today.

Miraculously, I felt so much better when I pulled out of the parking lot, lol. I came home and made a nice lunch, then proceeded to take a 2 hour nap. I felt better, still a little sluggish, but well enough to make dinner and go walk to dogs and myself for exercise and all I really have to say is it is REALLY HOT outside..even at 7:00 p.m. We are going to have a heck of a summer.

So, I am hoping that tomorrow is quick and painless, and that I can get all of my stuff taken care of at work, and have a fabulous weekend in NOLA with my besties, lol.

Fun Summer Saturdays

Today, Todd and I got to sleep in together, which never happens. After a delightful breakfast of coffee and Fiber One pancakes (they really are good-and very low fat), I started getting everything ready to go over to mom and dad's for an early Father's Day celebration. We were on time for once (thank you Todd for cooperating) and my enchiladas turned out very well, so did the cheese dip (thanks to Laura), and the yummy dessert (thanks to Mom). We had a very relaxing afternoon swim-later we realized that we look like 2 crispy red lobsters, but we enjoyed it while it was happening.

We made our way to Beaumont later in the afternoon. Todd went to the Verizon store, but having sat in there for 3 hours last Saturday, I just couldn't do it again. I went shopping instead, so we both got what we wanted, and no one had to sit around and be miserable : ) We then had a lovely dinner with our good friend Hillary and even made a stop out to visit Todd's mom and her husband at their "river camp". It is not a fancy place by any means, but it is right on the water, and they seem to be enjoying the heck out of it. She also made the best hamburgers ever. We felt guilty because we ate before we went, even though we knew they were having hamburgers, so we shared one...and OMG, it was delicious! They are supposed to be building some steps that lead down to the sand bar for easier access to the water. So, I look forward to going back down there when that happens. They are having a big fish fry on July 4th. So, maybe by then it will be done. His mom gave me a Relay for Life cookbook that has all of the "old home food" recipes of the ladies of Evadale in it. So, I am going to try out a few of their recipes for Todd over the summer...although I am quite sure that anything that calls for a stick of oleo is not going to be low fat.

Tomorrow I am off to Crosby for Hunter's birthday party. I hate the drive, but it should be a fun time. I am also excited that I am supposed to be off on Monday and Tuesday- back to work Wednesday and Thursday, and then leaving town for our NOLA adventure on Friday. Busy but fun week up ahead. I am going to go curl up in bed with Todd, Bits, and my book. I know I am going to sleep good tonight.

Summer-Week 2

So, I am finally home from my 3 day trip to Austin for a conference. Overall, I have to say that the conference was boring, but I did enjoy the hotel and Austin. It was interesting to get a little glimpse into life as an administrator. I went in place of my campus principal because she was at another conference. I learned a little bit about RTI, and I got to know some of our district administrators better, both of which are probably good things.

We shopped while we were there. We also ate out every meal. Plus we had a buffet of fat laden food and drink provided to us twice a day at the conference. So, I am hoping I didn't gain any of the 7 lbs that I have lost while I was gone. I did get up at 6:00 each morning and went down to the hotel gym and got a good 40 minute workout on the treadmill. So, I feel like I did my best. I should have stayed away from the desserts, but I guess you only live once. I am back home and back on track. So, I am excited to get back to my "new routine" tomorrow.

I have to go back to work tomorrow, and I also have to work on Friday. Then I think I may have most of next week off, which is super exciting. Then, we are on our way to NOLA next weekend for our great adventure. Yah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Summer Continues

So, it is only 2 days from my last post...and I am already tired of 6th graders and of summer school, lol. It didn't take long. Not that I don't love children, but it makes me really glad that I will not be in the classroom next year at all. I am really glad that I am going to a conference next week so I can get a break from them. Is this what being a stay at home mom feels like? I just finished making up progress reports to hand out tomorrow (something I was not aware that I would have to do as a "sub") and I am officially ready for a vacation!

But, on the upside, I got on the scale this morning and I have lost 7 lbs so far, and I got my hair hightlighted and cut today, and it looks and feels much better!

Summer Begins

Well, it seems that everyone is blogging these days. Usually I am way to busy to even think about it, but I guess the summer is a good chance to give it a try.

School officially let out for us on Friday. I have to work a couple of extra days anyway, but ended up subbing for summer school this week for a teacher that had to be out to have surgery. It was actually a nice day. I left work at 1:30 and still got paid...and I got a lot accomplished. So, I will be working all week this week. I am also going to a conference for two days next week. So, maybe after the next few weeks, I will actually have some time off. I am planning a fun trip to New Orleans with my best pals in a few weeks, so that will be the summer vacation kick off. Until then, I suppose I will be working around the house and be at Todd's beck and call, lol. He loves it when I am off in the summer.

I am trying to cook more and am looking around for some healthy recipes. I also started my diet kick off last Monday. I've lost 5 lbs. so far, so the plan is to lose as much as possible this summer. Todd bought a bike today, so we can go riding around the neighborhood together now. I got one about a month ago, but it has sat in the garage most of the time. Alot of our neighborhood is uphill (although it deceptively does not look so) and it is hard to get motivated to tackle a long ride alone. I told him that he could be my "bike trainer". I am trying to get in a bit better shape for our week long Florida trip in July. It is going to be a blast, so I am looking forward to that. I am also hoping to be able to see a bit more of my family this summer. We were so busy last summer trying to sell our house and moving, that I didn't get to see anyone unless they were helping us move. So, I feel free and ready to enjoy the nice summer days! I also can't wait for the first day that I get to sleep late. It's the little things in life that we appreciate, lol.