Monday, August 30, 2010

Monday!

Boy, am I glad its Monday! Want to know why? Because it means that I finished tiling my back porch last night! Hurray! I tell you what, I NEVER want to tile anything again. I am SO glad it is not my daily job to tile houses. My knees are killing me (I even wore knee pads) and I think I took a layer of skin off my hands and arms from the thin-set and the grout. That stuff really dries out the skin. BUT, it looks BEAUTIFUL! I haven't taken any pictures yet because it still needs to be mopped and cleaned up a little, but I'll post some when its all the way complete. (Btw, big shout out to Mom and Dad and Amber and Julian for helping get the grouting done!)

Today, I am trying to get everything ready for my classes tonight. I completed the extra-credit quiz for Human Development and finished reading the chapters. I have also read some more, but not all of the chapter I need to read for Anatomy. Man, that book is dense. Plus, I find sensory receptors boring. Really boring. Snooze-worthy.

Let's see, what else is going on? I told the children's minister at church that I would teach a rotation of a little kids class, so we'll see how that goes. I am going to a MOPS Meet and Greet tomorrow morning, so that should be interesting. Um, I guess that's it!

Friday, August 27, 2010

Lord, help me to see past the detours in my journey and the things I don't understand so I can follow Your leading without worry. Help me realize that detours are simply a part of the process of trusting Your Spirit's leading each day. I pray this prayer in the name of Jesus, my merciful Savior and Lord. Amen.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

First Day Back

I know a lot of teachers and students had their first day back at school yesterday, and so did I! Although this year, it was not as a teacher. To my dismay, I did not get rehired this summer. However, I am taking a couple of classes at TCC, so started back as a student yesterday. Because I did not get a teaching job (at least, as of yet), I get to spend my days at home with my super cute little boy. We get to play, make messes, run around, go to the pool and park, and just enjoy each other! How fun, right?

Then, on Monday and Wednesday nights, I drop Colin at my mom's work, she takes him and goes to pick up Keith and zoom them home, while I rush across town to sit in classes from 5:30-9:45pm. "What am I taking?" you ask. Well, let's see, I am taking Anatomy an Physiology II and the Lab and Human Development. They are the last two classes I needed as prerequisites to the nursing program. I figured if I couldn't get a job in teaching, and I need to have a job, then it is time to change careers.

I am rather nervous about all of it, taking classes again, finances, etc, but am really happy to stay home with Colin. I love not having to put him in daycare (although I really was happy with him at Trojan Tots while I was there). I am sad not to be teaching anymore (and would jump at a chance for a good job), but nursing was my second choice of professions, so am excited about those possibilities too. I just hope I am making good choices.

Ok, my boy is up, so I guess I better go get him up and give him some breakfast! :)

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Busy Thursday

I made a bacon cheeseburger meatloaf and a potato casserole for dinner tonight. I've never been a meatloaf fan and, because of this, I've never made it at home, but I decided to try out a Paula Dean recipe tonight. It actually turned out really good! Even Colin ate a whole plate of meatloaf and potatoes, although he took off the bacon from on top of the potatoes. WHO DOESN'T LIKE BACON??? Crazy kid.

In other news, I got a call from two schools today about jobs! One of the schools was a high school looking for a part-time position - 9th and 11th grade. They were going to call my references and check out my portfolio and then call me about an interview tomorrow. The other was from a middle school for a full-time position - 7th grade language arts and reading. They are going to call tomorrow about an interview also. SO, I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but it sure was nice to get those calls today.

Oh, and I had another MRI for my back today. Ashley was nice enough to come over and go with me to the MRI, both for moral support and to watch Colin. I was so appreciative. The MRI went ok, even though I freaked out a little bit at first because of the tight space and I had to have an IV, which was no fun. I go back to the orthopedic surgeon on the 31st to see what he has to say. Lets hope for no surgery!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Anniversary Weekend

Keith and I just celebrated our 10 year anniversary! I can't believe it has been that long. The time has flown by and we have had so much fun. To celebrate this anniversary, we took a trip to Orlando to visit Islands of Adventure and Sea World. It was super duper hot but also really fun. We had a fabulous time exploring Wizarding World and Keith even got his own wand! We got Colin an owl so that when he gets a little older and its his turn to go to Hogwarts, he can be sure to keep in touch with his mommy and daddy. Here are some pictures from Islands of Adventure:





First View of Hogwarts Castle

Hogsmeade



Yay! Butterbeer!

First Sip

Yum!

Pasties for lunch at the Three Broomsticks






Sorting Hat!



The next day, we went to Sea World. It had been a very long time since I had been, so I was really excited. We rode both roller coasters and, let me tell you, the Manta was COOL. You get in it like a normal roller coaster but as you are about to take off, it flips you so you are hanging face down. You ride the whole roller coaster suspended from the rails, facing the ground (or the sky if you flip), and it feels like you are flying. Quite an interesting experience.

But, what I really loved, was the Shamu show. It was so fun and the whales were amazing. I would love to work with them. What a cool job. Here are some pictures from the Sea World portion of the trip.















Whew, what a fun, whirl-wind, anniversary vacay!

In other news, no good news on the the job front, or maybe I should say no other news at all. Just going to concentrate on enjoying spending time with my boys.

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Yummy Dinner

OK - time for another dinner post! Tonight's dinner was especially scrumptious!! We had lightly-breaded, Italian-seasoned chicken breasts that were sauteed in olive oil accompanied by salads. But, if you check out the pictures, you will see that Keith and I each had different variations to our meals. My chicken and salad was also paired with sauteed red onions and yellow and red tomatoes, where Keith went with craisins and croutons.

There was also some Tuscan garlic sourdough bread, sauteed in olive oil on the side but, again, we ate our bread differently. I topped mine with some of the tomato and onion mixture and Keith dipped his bread in an olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Tuscan Parmesan herb mixture. Both equally yummilicious!! (Oh, and Lucy and Leo's cupcakes were BOGO today, so....dessert!!)

Here are the pictures:

My delicious dinner

Keith's delicious dinner

Here's what else is going on, besides great food:

Colin was sick last night. He had a temperature of 102 and was making all sorts of whimpery sounds from his room, so we decided to let him sleep with us. Maybe that would make him feel better. Man, was that a stupid decision! It was like he was on sugar crack. Instead of being all comforted and sleepy, he got WILD. He was jumping all over the bed, getting really close to our faces with his face and then laughing, climbing all over us, and just being insane. Stupid, stupid, stupid. No wonder we never let him sleep with us. It took about a half an hour to wear me down, but finally, I couldn't take it anymore and took him back to his own room and his own bed, where he promptly fell fast asleep and didn't make a peep till morning. Whew.

I am watching my 3 month old nephew tomorrow! It will be interesting to balance two kiddos, especially since my own is so clingy. I am hoping for a smooth and easy day.

PLUS, tomorrow is my 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!! I cannot believe it has been that long! I guess time just flies when you are married to your best friend! Keith is taking me to dinner at Shula's 347 Grill tomorrow night and then we are going to travel to Orlando for a weekend of theme parks! Harry Potter World - here we come! We'll make sure and say hi to Shamu for everyone too! I love you, Keith and can't wait for ten more years of adventures!!

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Lovely Saturday and Sunday!

What a nice Saturday this has been! Colin was at his Nanny's house, so Keith and I got to sleep in, which was lovely. I had gotten canollis for us the night before but we never got around to having them so we had the for breakfast in bed. Then, after quick showers, we headed to Lowes to pick up wood stain and to check out tile for the back porch. We picked out a really pretty tile that looks like stone and the grout. It was funny, all the tile and materials were so heavy that our car couldn't carry everything in one load!

We brought everything home and then headed across town were we met Keith's family for pizza at Hungry Howies. We had a really nice time eating and hanging out. Colin was crazy and excited at the restaurant. He enjoyed running from Daddy to Nanny to Aunt Julie, with some Austin thrown in there too! He was really upset when we got in the car to head home.

The rest of the night, Keith had to work on the sermon that he would deliver in the morning, tweaking things and getting his Keynote presentation perfect. SO, because I am usually a huge distraction to him, I took myself, some dove chocolate, new nail polish, and a movie into our bedroom. I had a nice time giving myself a pedicure (I even tried out the PedEgg and it surprisingly worked really well!) while I watched Pillow Talk. It was very relaxing!

Sunday morning was very nice also, although a bit more stressful. Keith preached a really encouraging sermon about God's remembrance. It was a good to revisit the chaiasms in the bible and the message "God remembered Noah". Especially since I have been feeling so frustrated and uneasy about job prospects,  it was good to hear that God has an amazing, steadfast love for me and will always remember me.

From church, we headed to "Fan Day" at FSU and got to meet a bunch of football players! He, cousin Eli, and Papa also hung out with some cheerleaders! Check out the pictures: (they were taken on my phone, so aren't the greatest.)

Go Noles!
Cheerleaders at Fan Day
Eli and his girlfriend!
Grandma scored Colin FSU balloons!!
What a lovely weekend!

Monday, August 2, 2010

I Write Like

There is this cool website where you can put in a sample of your writing and the site tells you who you write like! Well, I did it and guess what???

I write like James Joyce!!



I write like
James Joyce
I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!



I'm awesome!

Wanna try it? Here is the link.

Dinner

I made dinner the other night for Keith's mom - steak and egg salad. It was REALLY good, so I took a picture of it and thought I'd post it here.


I marinated the steak over night with a garlic spice rub, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. Then I grilled it over low heat so that it was nice and tender. Yum! Then I added it to a mix of romaine and radicchio lettuce, red onion, tomato, and boiled eggs. The salad was topped with an Asian sesame dressing. It was SOOO good.

I didn't feel like cooking tonight so Keith is going to get Five Guys takeout. Yum again!