Twister Tuesday...

Here's a mind twister for you! Good luck...

Try to guess the word letter by letter.
My first is in water but not in tears
My second in listen but not in hears
My third in three but not in she
My fourth in clear but not in tea
My last in hang but not in grand
My whole assembles in a band.

Solution (scroll to the bottom of the page)

One of those weeks...

• Monday: Testing started. We discovered Tipin wasn't fond of being left alone in a cage. Mom's car decided to quit working all together, and we got stranded on the side of the road for an hour waiting on a tow truck.
• Tuesday: Still testing, and I took Mom to Centerpoint to get a rental car. They only had a smaller car. So, we waited to see if something bigger came it. Nothing bigger ever did come in. I found out at 10:40 I had a PEPE observation at 11:00.
  
• Wednesday: Testing. Also, I had an incident at school with a student threatening me.
• Thursday: I felt as if I was going to puke all day. Of course, we were testing that day too.
• Friday: I ran out of gas on the side of the road, my phone died while waiting on Mom to bring me gas, AND I've currently locked my keys and cell phone in my car. So, I'm stuck at home with bad weather and NO PHONE TO SEE WHEN DANIEL WILL BE HOME. SIGH. Oh, and we tested today.
  
• By the way, we are still testing next Monday and Tuesday too.
• AND... I haven't had a prep period in over a week! But I get one next Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday! I also finished my second round of the PEPE cycle (for all you educators you know what that means!!)
• OH, and I have one of the cutes puppies in the world!!
  

Favorite Sites

Sorry for my absence lately. I've had a little bit of a stomach bug and we got a new puppy this weekend. So, I've been a busy bee!! I'll post pictures soon. I'm staying in Oneonta until Thursday afternoon so look for new pics on Thursday or Friday of the new puppy!


In the meantime, I've been making a collection of my favorite websites. Here are my top five favorite commercial websites in random order:

1. Martha Stewart- The lady may not pay her taxes, but she sure is creative. (Or at least her design team is!) You can always get cute craft ideas or yummy recipes off her website for any season!
2. Tip Junkie Blog - This site is a commercial based site, but is ran by a lady who is crazy about creatie ideas!! She has cool free give aways too!
3. HGTV's Rate My Space - People post their home, and you can rate and leave comments on their design ideas! Very interesting and always something new!
4. ALEX - Alabama Learning Exchange This site is ran by the Alabama Board of Education and has awesome lesson ideas for any age level! I have some printed off to do with my kids at home someday!! You can search any age for any activity!!
5. Hobby Lobby - I love seeing what they have on sale each week!! I'll post my latest "great deals" soon. They have a 40% off any regular priced item coupon this week!!

Check out one or more of my favorite sites and tell me what you think!! Also, what's your favorite commercial website?

I'll do a post sometime soon about my favorite person websites or blogs to lurk!

Spring has Sprung...

Well, I didn't get a chance to post my pictures from Lads To Leaders because I've been in Oneonta since Sunday night trying to help reduce our expenses. I spend about 400 dollars a month on gas just to get back and forth to work! My parents live 20 mins from my school and it's ridiculous not to take advantage of that opportunity from time to time! So.. here are some pictures I took of the kiddos and scenary at Opryland. The picture of the waterfall is so peaceful looking! I sat and listened to the water for a little bit, and it was so relaxing. I should do that more often. Also, this picture of Levi was absolutely too precious not to share! He was playing pee-a-boo with Hannah!!

Pi Day!

Yesterday was Pi Day at Locust Fork High. Being the good sport that I am, I volunteered to participate in 2 events: Oatmeal Creme Pie Eating Contest and Pie A Teacher. I ate 4 Creme Pies and was pied by 6 students! It really wasn't that bad. I had a shower cap on to keep the whip creme out of my hair and a towel to keep it off of my clothes!

Before:

After:

Blogger Strike?

Okay, I try to post everyday, and I know people visit my site because of the live traffic feeder. However, I am not as sure what you think about my blog, what you like best, and what you dislike. So, I'm am going on strike until I get five comments on this post. Only kidding. However, I do love to hear from you!

In Loving Memory

My heart is oh so heavy as I type this post. Today has been a solemn day for me as I remember the life and devotion of Judy Smith.

When we first came to Glencoe almost 2 years ago, I was instantly drawn to a soft spoken, generous lady. She became my adopted grandmother very fast. She spoke nothing but kind, pure thoughts. She has always been weak and easily tired due to a heart condition; however, she was always at services. Judy Smith passed away and her life was honored today in Jasper, AL at her funeral. Her life will be remembered as a positive experience for everyone she came into contact with. She had a "tea party" at her house annually to celebrate the Holiday Season even when she probably didn't feel like having company. She worked on this special occassion year round. The second picture above was taken at Christmas 2006. I was blessed enough to participate in this lovely occassion for two years. No one went home without beautiful handmade treats and a nice Christmas gift. At the party this past year, she had a beautiful, child's farm (full/queen size) themed quilt on one of her beds upstairs. I asked her where she had gotten it hoping to get one for my nursery for my children someday. She said she'd bring it to me on Sunday. I didn't think much else of it. Sunday at services she brought me the blanket! Turns out it was a gift from her daughter, and she wanted my children to use it someday. I was speechless. I couldn't help but feel guilty; I just wanted to know where she had gotten it. I honestly figured she had it specially made. That blanket is one of my most prized material possesions today because of the lesson I learned from her sharing her quilt with me. It is truly a "quilt of love." I will share the blanket AND story of Judy Smith's life and example with my children in the future. I hope I can be as generous, kind, pure, and selfless as she was.

Thank you Judy for everything you taught me. I love you and miss you dearly already. I've thought of you everyday since I last saw you in mid-December, but I know I will see you again someday.

Judy is the first person to pass away since we began worshipping at Glencoe that "hit close ot home". Please, please, please keep her husband, Jim, in your prayers in the upcoming months and years. He also means as much to me and Glencoe as Judy did.