Friday's Letters 12.14.12

Friday's Letters   12.14.12

Dear Christmas:

  You sure are coming up fast, but I'm ready. Well, I will be. 

Dear Christmas Break:

  You are not coming up fast enough. Hurry!!!!

Dear People Obsessed with being PC:
  Being politically correct is fine and dandy, but some of you are going to have to let loose a little bit. If you don't like me saying Christmas then GET OVER IT. America is the great melting pot. We cannot simply water down everything so that no one is offended. Christmas is part of my religion, culture, and up-bringing. Christmas will remain Christmas in my heart and also my mouth, and we will just have to agree to disagree. I imagine the phrase "Merry Christmas" sounds to you like "Happy Holidays" sounds to me.

Image obtained from www.masterthebusiness.com

Dear Skunk:

  I am so glad it's getting cold again. You sure are super cuddly in the winter. :)

Dear The Office Christmas Party:

  I know I'm a week late, but thanks to my DVR I just watched you. I'm so glad you decided to celebrate the last office Christmas party with Dwight's Christmas. Belsnickel was great! I'm sure going to miss you after this season!

Image obtained from www.tvfanatic.com

Dear Aubrey:

  I'm so glad you're coming home this weekend!!

Jenna, Me, Aubs, and Brandi at Bonefish Grill last year

Friday's Letters 12.07.12

friday's letters

Dear The Walking Dead,
  While the suspense is kinda fun, I really HATE that I have to wait until February for you to come back on television.

Dear Christmas shopping,
  I'm not your biggest fan.

Dear Ladies Missionary Christmas Party,
  You are always so much fun! I am so glad I took a nap after work and didn't let exhaustion get in the way of me coming. Those monthly meetings are so cathartic.

Dear Tarte,
  I cannot get enough of you. You have got me running to Ulta and then price checking Amazon and QVC. You are seriously the best make-up line ever.

Dear Skunk,
  If you do not stop screaming in the mornings when the alarms start going off, I am going to kick you out. Those precious minutes between snoozes are ultra important and you're completely ruining them. I mean it.

Christmas Shopping is the Devil

  I have noticed that I pretty much say everything is the devil. But only because those things really are. Christmas shopping goes right along in that category. Yes, Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. Yes, it's fun to give gifts to people you care about. And, yes, it is still a big ol' pain in the rear. However, I'm almost pretty sure I'm the one that makes it, as I say, the devil.

  My lack of planning is partly at fault. I don't want to designate a day/night of my weekend for this task, but I am too exhausted by the end of a work day to do it. I usually do it during those first days off of the break but that won't work with this year's school calendar. I've just been doing it little by little. I've got two gifts so far doing it t his way.

  My stubbornness is partly at fault. Unfortunately, I have this unquenchable desire to be able to tell myself, "I did that all by myself." I don't care if anyone else knows that all the credit goes to me; I just have to know it. It's pretty ridiculous. This is not just restricted to gift-giving; it takes hold on everything in my life. From gardening to cooking to working. Quite honestly, the only thing I've found that I absolutely don't mind divvying up the work for is cleaning. I can use a helping hand with that any day. So, yeah, asking someone what they want for Christmas is always a sure-fire way to ensure you get them the perfect gift, but then I wouldn't be able to take all the credit for it.

  My love of getting something new is at fault. I went to Target yesterday to pick up a couple of gifts. I wound up getting one gift for someone else and two gifts for me. Make no mistake, I had no need for my two gifts nor did I go into Target wanting these items. I guess online shopping is going to have to be the way to go this year. Thank goodness for Etsy!!

  Don't let this post fool you, I will have every single gift checked off before Christmas. I am mainly posting this to light a fire under myself because wrapping them is a whole other thing....   

Friday's Letters 11.30.12

Dear Gym,
It's so nice to see you again. I realize that I pay money to see you often, and in reality, only see you every couple of months. My apologies. Thanks for being easy on me this week; I suspect it's about to get more tough. I guess I'm okay with that.

Dear Christmas Tree,
Wow! You are gorgeous!!

Dear Mrs. Meyers Cleaner,
You have completely transformed my outlook on cleaning. Thank you!!!!! My house is clean and smells wonderful!

Dear Mom,
Thank you for teaching me to be respectful to adults. Thank you for teaching me the art of closing my mouth when an adult tells me to do so. If there were more parents out there teaching their children the same thing then perhaps this week wouldn't have been near as challenging as it was.

Dear Students,
Thank you for decorating our classroom tree. It is lovely!

Dear New Girl,
Thank you for being the funniest show ever. Your ability to make me LOL is uncanny.

Dear Holiday Bazaar,
I certainly hope you are worth all this prep work.

Introducing Friday's Letters

  For those of you who do not know, "Friday's Letters" are trending in the blog world. Several friends' blogs that I follow have started their weekly postings on Fridays, and I absolutely love them. And, so, I have decided to start my own. Hopefully this will motivate me to blog a bit more.

Ahem, I am proud to announce the first edition of Friday's Letters. Enjoy!

Dear 27th Birthday:
I was so busy that you slipped up on me and I had no time to mentally prepare for the idea that I will have to say "27" in response to someone's question, "How old are you?" (Although, I'm at the age where asking that question has become taboo.) However, you were a wonderful day, and I sincerely hope you'll be as good to me as 26 was!

Dear Family and Friends:
Thank you so much for the cards, calls, texts, and Facebook posts. You made my birthday complete and I am so grateful for you!

Dear Unnecessarily Slow Drivers:
 Please speed up. You are a constant reminder that I just might need to slow my lifestyle down and be as nonchalant about time as you are, but I seriously need you to speed up.

Dear Thanksgiving:
Thanks for being such a wonderful holiday. I got to spend QT with my family, and it was AWESOME!

Dear Sickness that is Plaguing Skyllar:
 Please go away. I want my boyfriend back. (I kind of need him to help me with the Christmas tree that I'd really, really like to buy this weekend.

Dear Iron Bowl:
Hope you are worth watching!



Thankful for the Small Things

  November is the month that reminds us all of our blessings, and the big day is this week. Many people post something that they're thankful for on their Facebook status each day in November. Tried that. Many people write it down in list format on a piece of paper. Tried that. Unfortunately, my A.D.D. kicks on about two days into each of these and I somehow miss a day. Then I get back on track with my daily  listings of thankfulness--until I miss another day. And another. And then one more. You see, I'm just not good at these things. My thankfulness status tally totals up to a whopping 3 or 4 posts and I've got three items I'm thankful for written down on my paper list. I've got so much more to be thankful for then that. I'm just not great at taking time out of my day to type or write it out. I certainly do think about it. And, so, I've decided to do it all at once. Now some may say that's cheating. Well, ya know what I say to that? Pish posh. That's right, pish posh. I am most thankful for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Next, I'm thankful for a wonderful, loving, and an ever-supportive family. Third, I'm thankful for great friends and a fantastic boyfriend. 

But this list is more about the little things. If someone is fortunate enough to have the things previously mentioned then chances are they are grateful for them each and every day. This list is to remind me that I live a pretty great life. These things remind me that I'm rich in so many ways.

 

1. My electric blanket. It's getting cold out there, y'all.
2. The fact that Skunk is soooo soft. Even when he stays outside all day and all night. He's SOFT.
3. Sweets. Cake, pie, cookies, honey, sugar. I don't care about the specifics. I am just plain thankful for sweets.
4. Lotion. I sure do need it this time of year.
5. Pureology products. Enough said.
6. Fast, reliable Internet access. I remember a time when it took 10-15 minutes to get online. Those were the longest minutes of my life back in the day. Of course, there's something to be said for delayed gratification. 
7. Soft socks. Man, they feel great!
8. Rocking chairs and hammocks. They're great for relaxing.
9. Candles. But not just any candles--the kind that fill up a whole room with their sweet aroma and take a while to burn down.
10. Memory foam. My pillow greatly improved my quality of sleep years ago, and my new mattress has completely alleviated my back pain.
11. People who hang wreaths on their doors year round. It just makes you feel more welcome when you walk up to someone's house and see a wreath hanging on their door.
12. Girl talk and girl time. It's cathartic.
13. A good razor.
14. The changing colors in fall. So dang pretty!
15. A good pair of jeans.
16. Target clothing. Cute and affordable. What's not to like?
17. A free car. Thanks Mom and Dad!
18. A job. Too many people in this country do not have the opportunity to work. And too many people in this country do not realize that a job is an opportunity and choose not to seek one.
19. My cappuccino maker. It greatly improves my quality of life.
20. A good sale. 
21. Random cards in the mail. It's nice to know you're thought of.
22. Compassion. 
23. A chivalrous Southern gentleman. I'm lucky enough to have one of those ;)
24. Rummy and Tetris. They're old-school, but you cannot go wrong with a classic.
25. Laughing. It's my favorite thing to do. No joke.
26. Homegrown tomatoes. I sure am missing those this time of year.
27. The fact that my Mama was right. Me and Kelly really did grow up to be good friends. I thought she was telling a tale....
28. My Grandma's cooking.
29. Growing up in the country. Or the South for that matter. 
30. Hot rollers. 

Out of the Mouths of [Semi] Babes--Round 3

So we're about a month into the new school year, and I've already heard some interesting things out of my not so young lil' babies. Here's a few to make that will do one of the following (a) bring a smile to your face, (b) make you laugh out loud, or (c) shake your head wondering who's gonna take care of you when you're too old to do it yourself.

• I was in an e-mail conversation with my mother. I was telling her about an unsure thing that I was getting pretty excited about. Her response was, "Don't get your hopes up just yet. I hate to see you disappointed." Upon reading this, I giggled out loud because that was such a Mom thing to say. One of my students asked what was so funny and I replied with, "Oh, just read an e-mail from my Mom. Isn't it awesome that our moms are always there to keep us grounded?" The child responded with, "No! I hate when my Mom grounds me!" It took me a second, and then I realized the word "grounded" means something totally different when you're their age. :)
• I told the kids that the cadavers in the Body exhibit that we will be visiting on an upcoming field trip were all Asian cadavers. One of the kids pointed to a little girl who is Asian. When I told him that was inappropriate and rude, another child stood up for the girl and said, "Yeah, she's not even Asian anyway. She's probably from Korea."
• A student is making a crazy cat-like noise. I ask her why she is making that noise, and she replies that she does not know. I ask her to stop and tell her that she's distracting me. She obliges, pauses, and then asks, "Can I still make the noises in my head?" Ummm, go right ahead....
• There is a spot for students to write their middle names on today's test. A sweet little girl asked if I could look up her middle name on the computer and tell her how to spell it. I obliged thinking it was going to be some crazy name. Nope, it was a five-letter all-American name. I thought it was a fluke. Next class: another student tells me she doesn't know how to spell her middle name. Again, it was a generic all-American name. For goodness sakes people--it's your NAME. You should be able to spell it by the time you're TWELVE!!!
• Same test; new class. There is also a spot at the top to write your teacher's name. Students always have trouble writing my last name so I reminded the students that if they were having trouble with the spelling of my name they could look at the back wall. There's a big banner that has my name on it. Also, my name is in BIG letters on my desk. A student raises his hand and says, "Is that the correct way to spell your name or did you make a mistake because that's not how I spell it." No, sweetie, I know how to spell my name. Of course, I didn't say that. I just smiled and told him that was, in fact, the correct spelling.
• I cannot take credit for this one because it didn't happen in my room, but this one just had to be included. The teacher decides to give a student  a visual so he can see that there are, in fact, 3 ft in 1 yd. After showing him that, she left the yard stick with him to remind him of the conversion. The student raises his hand and says, "this ruler ain't got no minutes on it." Nope, sure doesn't.
• My birthday card from a student. She loves me in spite of my country accent.

• A semi-new to America student asked me what Thanksgiving is. I explained the holiday's origin and what it means to us in the present. Finally, he said, "Ohhh, I understand. We should have a whole summer break of Thanksgiving." Yes, we should.
• Student: "Miss Floyd, my uncle told me to get a mouthful of Skittles, find a pretty girl, and tell her to come taste the rainbow." Me: "Please don't do that. Also, does your mother know your uncle told you to say that?" Student: "Oh no ma'am!". 
• "If I chew gum then I won't get caught. That's why I don't chew gum."
• "Pork brains. What kind of brains are those?" Okay, Jessica Simpson.
• Me: "Did you get a hair cut? It looks nice." Kid: "Yes. My dog chewed my hair." Me: "I'm sorry, did you just say your dog chewed your hair so you had to get a hair cut?" Kid: "Yes, I gave her a treat and she was in my lap and some of the treat got in my hair." Me: "Wait, how did you get some in your hair if she was laying on your lap??" Kid: "She's a messy eater. I fell asleep and she started chewing on my hair to get the treat." Me: "Did you wake up?" Kid: "No, my Mama walked in and saw it. She just left though. She told me about it when I woke up and it was all uneven." Me: "So the dog literally chewed the hair out of your head and you didn't even wake up?" Kid: "No, I was really sleepy. But I had to even it out so I got a hair cut. I love my dog."
• Me: "You people are crazy. I'm just going to put that out there." Kids: "Well, when we have a teacher like you what do you expect. You teach us things."
• "I don't know how to add letters."
• Kid: "You don't have makeup on today, do you?" Me: "No, not today." Kid: "Aren't you leaving for the beach tonight?" Me: "Yep! I'm very excited!" Kid: "Don't forget your makeup."