Walking

Another day of walking is over.  I am a morning person, so I do like being up and out in the morning.  I still do not enjoy the walking part, because I hate giving up the time to do this, but, I also know I am doing something good for my health. So I keep walking and whining.
I am working on my room.  I have most of it set up and I think I will like it.  I have a large table of things to put away, I need to set up my desk, and I need to get the picket charts put up on my walls.  Then I can work on my lesson plans and getting things copied.
I am super excited about this school year.  I am part of a great team of ladies.  We have some things in common that helped us bond immediately.  Our education foundations are all from OBU, we all love kids, but best of all we are all happy people.  For the first time ever, my long time partner is in the minority. Regan, Katie and I are all more organized and we like things done in advance, someone is going to need to step up her game!  Another thing that I am super pumped about is that all four of us will have plan time together everyday.  That will make such a big difference for our planning.
In another area, my sewing has been enjoyable this summer.  I have made quite a few things and I am started on a few other projects.  I can have multiple projects going on, but I only like to read one book at a time.  Hmm. I am kind of anal, it is surprising I can work on several sewing projects without finishing them.
My mom and Bob will be through next week.  I can't wait.  They should arrive the night before my first day with kids.  The timing isn't the best because I have to be gone, but I will enjoy every minute I am with them.  I miss not being around my mom, so I enjoy the time I have with her so much.  I am so happy she is doing so well.  I hope I continue to be healthy.  That is why I am walking and whining!
I am going to go have a productive day, I hope you have one too!

Vacation Is Over

We have had a wonderful week in Colorado.  We did many new activities.  The worst was the gondola ride up the mountain.  I hated it, I can not ever imagine a reason I will ever need to do this again.  My favorite was the white water rapids.  I loved it, I will do this again!
So after eating what I wanted to and a pause on my daily walking, I am going to have to buckle down and get back in the swing of things so I don't loose the gains I have made.
I think I will try to get my room set up tomorrow.  That should keep me busy!

A Week In Texas

My sister and I got back from our vacation and I had enough time to get laundry done and repack so I could go to my daughter, Kayla's house.  She needed to work and Madison was in soccer camp.  So Macie Jane, Zachary, and I spent time together.  I had some school things they helped me with and we played Batman and American Girl.
Kayla took me to a yarn shop in Farmersville.  We looked around a few shops that were cute.  We also went to Hobby Lobby and just enjoyed being together.  I really had fun with the kids and Kayla.  Madison and Steve were gone most of the time, but I will get to see more of them later this week!
On Thursday, Ken came and we went to my sister's house.  Ken got up and worked on her chimney and Janet and I met Kayla and the kids and we went blueberry picking.  We picked blueberries, it rained, we ate our picnic, we picked blackberries, it rained again, and we went home.  We had a good day, but we were tired!
Saturday, Ken worked on the chimney more and Janet and I went shopping.  I was unsuccessful at getting a swimsuit. Ken finished the chimney and we went out for steak.  It was delicious!
We got home Sunday.  I am making lists of the things that need to be done before we leave on Wednesday.  So I have been busy today, I was successful getting a swimsuit and some tennis shoes for Ken.
Tomorrow I will be packing!  I am so excited about our week in CO.

I Am Home

What an interesting week we have had!  My sister and I have spent a week on the road.  This is our yearly week together.  We had less of an agenda this year than most.  We had some spots to visit and then we let the whimsy rule us.
First, I must say that there is never a dull moment when we are together.  We talk about everything under the sun.  Sometimes it feels like we are in grade school and others we talk like grown ups.  We hit on any subject manner that is available and some that are not.  My sister is a wonderful, exciting, practical, down to earth, loving, generous, caring, spontaneous kind of girl.  She didn't let me be the only one walking out of the many quilt shops or wine shops carrying a bag.  We both found interesting frippery on our travels and we enjoyed each others excitement!

At a park in Paducah.

We had such a grand time in Paducah, KY.  It is such a neat little town.  We found lots to do and such wonderful food available.  We ate our way around Paducah, then we visited some wineries, and we shopped!  All in all a great place to visit.  We made a side trip to Patty's 1800's Settlement, there was lots to see, shop, and the eating was well an experience!

The Man of Steel in the town square.

We found out about a place called oddly enough Metropolis, where a Superman Celebration was going on.  We found out because there was a man with socks that had a cape on them.  We had to talk to him.  He and his two buddies were so nice.  They told us all about the celebration, well how could we pass that up?  We couldn't and didn't.  So much FUN in one place!

Beautiful horses!

On to St. Louis.  Grant's Farm was different than I remembered, but we enjoyed all the animals especially the Clydesdale Horses and the weather was perfect.  We stepped in a quilt shop or two and saw more of the city and we were tired.

We had a good day here!

Our final destination was Quincy, IL.  This is where our parents grew up and out aunt still lives.  She will turn 92 this weekend!  We made a visit a couple of years ago, but she is having some issues with dementia and after a fall a couple of months ago is now residing in an assisted living home.  The place is very nice and she seems very content, because she has her cat with her.We were able to spend quite a bit of time with her.  I think it was mainly for us, I am not sure she will remember our visits.  We were able to enjoy one of our all time ever since we can remember foods.  Maid Rites are in Quincy and we have been eating them all our live when we would visit.  They were a favorite of our parents and we do not miss a chance to get a couple of these loose meat sandwiches that just melt in your mouth!  Oh they are good! Two people I know each had six in a little over the day we were there!
We arrived home at my house last night and sis will go to her home today and we will pick up our daily lives and enjoy life even more, because we had some wonderful time together, but mostly because we can!

It Is A Wonderful Wednesday

Wow! It isn't even 8:00 and I have been busy.  I came downstairs and started the dryer.  I went and walked my 40 minutes.  It was a very comfortable 63 degrees to walk at 6:00 this morning.  I actually walked about a minute or two faster than I have been walking.  I walk out around the track at the airport, I walk for 20 minutes and turn around.  Usually I am back at the starting point and I have to walk around for a minute or two until the entire 40 minutes is up, but not today!
I came home and before I went in the house I weeded the flower bed by where I park.  I started out dead heading the flowers and it turned into weeding.  I am on a roll, if I can just keep moving!
I came in and got some cold water to drink and let the dog out.  Then I thought to myself this would be a good time to move the containers.  What containers you ask.  Well, several weeks ago I brought 4 tomato plants and to bell pepper plants home because I wanted Ken to make home made salsa.  He makes the best, full of flavor, but not hot or spicey!  So they have been sitting out on the patio just out of Rusty's reach.  But they don't get a lot of sun.  So I have been pondering where I could move them where they would get sun, but also out of Rusty's reach.  It hit me on the bench around the deck.  So they have been weeded and moved!  Woohoo!  Oh I am happy to report I have 5 tomatoes. I also noticed a flower on one of the pepper plants.  A couple of tomatoes are about the size of a marshmallow (not the tiny ones) and the rest are the size of tiny marshmallows.
The dryer that I started earlier is now finished.  So I hang and fold the load of colors in the dryer.  Which brings me up to this point.  A deep breath some fizzy water and I am thinking about the rest of the day.
I have quite a few things on my agenda: I need to get a few groceries and a prescription filled, I need to make some copies, I need to laminate some things, I need to pack, and I am going to lunch with the girls from school.  We are going to do a little bit of planning.  We have a new gal in our neighborhood and she hasn't heard all our great ideas we have been throwing around.  Well, we will just all get on the same page.  I need the copies to take with me, so I can shop for material, copies are patterns.  I need the laminating to take with me, so I can cut out stuff for school.  It all goes hand in hand.
Oh! I almost forgot, Ken and I went to see Chef last night.  It was a great movie.  I loved it!  The language could of been toned down.  I loved the story line.  There were so many twists and it was such a feel good movie that I left feeling happy and filled with hope that all things are indeed possible!  Go see it and enjoy the stories in it.
I think I will go clean up so I can get started on the rest of my day! Well, after I let Rusty out again!

Ken's Last Day Off

Ken's last day off.  He went to the doctor about his knee that has been hurting.  He will go to an orthopedic doctor on Monday.  Th bad news is his blood pressure is high.  His doctor gave him a blood pressure medicine and for the next month he is suppose to take his blood pressure in each arm each day.  He has to turn that in at the end of the month.
We got his medicine and went to eat lunch.
We have had a relaxing day together!  Tomorrow he goes back to work.
I got the Chick Chick Boom Boom unit all organized.  I have some laminating to do and then some cutting to do.  I am excited about next year!  Looking ahead is so much fun!!!
We had a great time in Eureka Springs.  It was nice to get away and relax.  We just had some time away from the usual.  Ken was very happy to pick up Rusty from the dog hotel.  Rusty seemed equally happy to see us.
I walked later than usual today, but because it rained I wasn't too hot.  It was only about 68 when I started.  There was a lot of water on the track.

It Is The Middle Of The Night!

Well, it is the middle of the night. We are in Eureka Springs on a little celebration getaway! I am wide awake! Ken is blissfully asleep. I was very tired and I conked out early, but he stayed up to watch tv. It really doesn't bother me, I was sound asleep for 3 hours then it started bothering me. The noise or something, I was hot, needed a drink, too much light, etc. So I decide to give up and watch with him and he turns it off! Now I have tossed and turned and I am wide awake!

Lots of Thinking!

I had a lovely walk this morning.  I saw the sun come up and then disappear into the clouds.  I was the only one I saw out at the track. During school I was walking there before school began.  Now I am still walking at 6:00 ish, but I come home and shower and change.  Last night I decided to get the sports bra out and wear it.  It has been awhile.  I forgot how difficult it is to get it off.  But the girls don't move, gotta love that part of it!   My mind was racing with ideas for school.  Ideas how to start so the year will be successful.  It is so easy to have the perfect class in the summer.  I am making headway on the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom unit I am working on.  Things will be going into the binder soon.

I have taken over the table.

My fingernails are flaking and splitting easily again.  I had this problem for about a year after I was off the chemo drugs, then it went away.  Sadly, now it is back.  I must be lacking in something in my diet, but what?  Hmm!
I have a lot to do today.  I need to do some dishes, laundry, and making up the guest rooms.  I want to sew, work on the sorority scrapbook, and organizing school stuff.  We will see what gets done.
For now, I am off to do some volunteering.

Summer is Here!

School is finally out. We missed 9 days of school. We added 20 minutes to the day beginning in March to make up 3 days and the rest we painfully made up.  I was sad to see this group go, but I could send them knowing they were prepared.  I will miss this group they were very fun and for the most part always pleasant.
So, I am continuing to walk each weekday.  I have upped my time to 40 minutes,  I don't notice a lot of difference.  I am trying to walk outside, I enjoy the breeze, but I do get hot.  I have learned that I really don't enjoy the sweating, or the actual exercising part of getting healthy.  Speaking of getting healthy, I go for another 3 month check up with my regular doctor today.  I hope he has a good report for me.
Monday I went and volunteered, Tuesday I had a home health type visit for this sister study I joined when my sister got cancer.  Then I got cancer as well, which shifted me into another study of sisters of women with cancer who got cancer.  I got to do things such as collect toenail clippings, dust samples (not hard!), urine samples, measurements, blood pressure, give blood, and get weighed.  It was laborious.
I have so many projects that I will be working on this summer, just to name a few:  my sister's quilt, sorority scrapbook (for last year), sorority yearbook(for next year), organizing units for school, and just sewing/quilting in general.  I am always doing something, but I don't seem to stay focused and on task.  Hmm!  Maybe that is why kindergarten is so natural feeling!
I am about halfway through organizing my Chicka Chicka Boom Boom unit.  I plan to use it during the first 5 weeks of school.  Along with it I think I will fit in a new unit King/Queen for a day, then for good measure I will add Brown Bear Brown Bear activities, just to add a little color!
I have to get ready for the doctor.
Toodles!

Writing Folders

We got four+ inches of snow yesterday. So, you guessed it no school today. That makes 5 snow days so far this year. I was scheduled to go to Norman for the first of two days of the kindergarten conference. I was not sure we (Charme' is the other part of the we) would go, but we did get to go and we had a good day. Now depending on the storm that comes into tonight we will see if we can safely drive to Norman tomorrow. I saw some new ideas and learned a few things today. The presenters were some I had not seen before and I enjoyed them. I am looking forward to Wednesday when I get back to class. I have a new writing activities for the rest of the week and I want to start writing folders for the kids. The folder will be a place to keep their writing projects. I am so excited!

New Groups

What a relief! We had a heat wave in Oklahoma! We made it up to freezing today. We were at 70 degrees on Sunday and now we are so cold. This drastic change in temps is not helping my kids attention span. This is the second day for the new schedule. There are 80 students in our neighborhood and the goal is to help each child where they are now and get them to learn the most they can. So we put all the kids in a pot, checked their scores, then we discussed the kids and their abilities and broke them into four new groups. There were 14 students with the least abilities in all areas with the most room to increase their abilities. So we decided they needed the most concentrated effort. So my teaching partner took on this group with the two reading specialists for an hour each day. The next group has 19 in it and will have an assistant with them. The next group also has 19 in it and will also have an assistant. Both of these groups will have one of the two new teachers. Both of these groups are struggling a little, but have somewhat of a foundation. If you are following you realize that leaves 28 for me. There are no more assistants, so I am one busy teacher! I am pushing this group to do more in writing and reading, so they will be very strong and confident. So far, so good. I really enjoy this part of my job. It is exciting and so rewarding! We need to have a catchy name for this hour each day. Nothing has struck us as fun or catchy yet.

Connected!

We have been without internet since the 9th. That has seemed like a long time. AT&T called and said we needed to update from DSL to Uverse. So I agreed to it. Our new router would arrive on the 9th. Well, it didn't. Then we get a call that we missed our appointment. Now, Ken gets involved. He sets up a new appointment for Tuesday, they offer 8-8, so Ken gives out his cell phone and asks that they call it before they come. Well, they don't. He calls and sets up for Wednesday, the next day again asking that they call his cell phone. Again, they call the house number. Now he is definitely not happy. So, another call and appointment is set up for today. To insure we get it set up he took a vacation day. Feels nice to be connected!

The Holidays Are Over!

We had a blessed Christmas. We had a wonderful New Year's eve with several of my sorority sisters, a delicious dinner cooked by Ken, and a Red movie marathon. The girls brought some snacks and we laughed a lot. Over the break I have gone through some clutter areas of the house, sewn, worked on things for school, done a lot of laundry, and started a knitting project. Today we got the Hopper! Ken was not thrilled, it is change. Haley showed it to us when we were in Houston. We had a great installer come out. By the way, Haley the change was free and no payment to the installer. Next week we will get an upgrade on our internet. Next, I am going to try to work on getting our phone cheaper. Ken is working on a rent house. He finished one up right before Christmas. He got it rented the first of this week. Now, he is working on a two bedroom. He is getting it ready to rent again. Then he has a foundation to finish, a roof, and flooring on another rent house. Then he will be able to do some Honey Dos! Yeah! I have spent a little bit of time at school trying to get ready for going back to school. I have missed my kids. I have to go to a district wide workshop on Monday and a workshop in Midwest City on Thursday. I wish the workshop was another day, I don't want to be gone right away. It is time to start tracking my eating. I need to get in control of my weight. I will go in the morning and see what the holidays did to my weak willpower. Then I want to track each day and try to get more exercise. I go back to the doctor in March and I hope to get another good report. Maybe I won't have to go back for 6 months. That would be super! Back to the evening with Ken! I love being with this man!