baby bear

Those of you who know me well know how much of my life my dogs consume! How much they mean to me and how much I truly deeply love them.

Tank snuck out the front gate today as I was trying to leave to go to the store. I chased after him in the car until I lost sight of him. I searched the entire neighborhood by car and foot. I could not find him anywhere. (from time to time he gets out of the fence and runs, but he always comes home) I found him about 20 minutes later on the side of the road. He has been hit by a car and it looked like he had been killed instantly.

We rushed him to an emergency vet, but they just told us what we already thought, he was gone...
The vet was a nice as they could have been they wrapped him in towels and gave me time to say "goodbye." It was one of the very hardest things I've ever done.

I have had a heart for animals ALL my life! I love my dogs more than almost anything on Earth. I am so heartbroken that my baby boy is gone!

I am thankful for 2 WONDERFUL years with him. He was such a blessing in my life. He was always there and he was no doubt my "rock" during this past year and all the things I've been through! I was able to take him out of a really bad situation when I found him and give him a wonderful happy life! He went to sleep each night and woke up each morning happy and full and knowing he was loved! I did everything I could for him and gave him everything I could. I did my job and he did his. It was time for him to leave me. My heart is still broken. I am still devastated. I am still in absolute and total shock. I miss my baby...

cool stuff...

Living in the city of Orlando I have some pretty cool opportunities that I probably tend to take for granted. The past couple of days I've gotten to do and see a few pretty neat things and I'd like to share...

First of all...Orlando is now the proud home of a new IKEA store. If you don't know what IKEA is...you live in a hole... :) ...but I'll fill you in anyway...

IKEA is a Swedish based home furnishing store. Their "company vision" is "...to offer a wide range of home furnishings with good design and function at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them. And still have money left!" Here are a few facts about IKEA

"SWEDISH INVASION"

"There are 268 IKEA stores worldwide in 36 countries.

The first U.S. store opened in 1985 in Plymouth Meeting, Penn., a suburb of Philadelphia.

IKEA opened its first store in the Southeast in Atlanta June 2005.

The first Florida store opened last month in Sunrise.

IKEA Orlando is the company's 33rd U.S. location.

An IKEA store is scheduled to open in Tampa in summer 2009.

Based on catalog/online orders and store transactions, IKEA estimates they have 250,000 customers in Florida."

The store is the size of THREE football fields...I spent two entire hours inside the store and literally saw less than half of it! It's simply amazing!!! check out the pictures and videos here



The store just opened today, however, they had a "family and friends" day on Saturday. Thanks to Lisa and Mac who work at Disney...and my dear friends Ashe and Lay...I was given a ticket to go for this special day. It was truly a unique experience and I'm so glad I had to chance to be a part of this special day.

The funny thing about Orlando is that more often than not you just simply stumble upon some pretty cool stuff.
Today, on my way home from work...just down the road from my house (near the airport)...Traffic slowed down a lot in a spot where it shouldn't have. I was curious but then I saw all these signs that said not parking, standing, or watching...at this point I was REALLY curious. I looked to my right and there was sitting a brand new BEAUTIFUL Airbus A380.


This plane has been the subject of quite a bit of news since it was announced.


It is the largest commercial jet ever...it can seat over 830 people!!! Literally, it is referred to as a "cruise ship of the skies."



I had heard about the plane because my students read a really great newspaper called "News-2-You" each week. The paper teaches them about fun current events with simple words and illustrations for EACH word in the story. A few weeks ago they read all about the Airbus A380. I didn't stop...as the signs had requested...but I was able to get a really good look at this amazing machine and that was possibly a once in a life time opportunity.

School is going well. I'm on a down hill ride just trying to get through Friday. We are off ALL week next week for Thanksgiving so that's going to be REALLY nice when the time comes...but for now, it makes the kids restless and generally disobedient. I'll make it through. I'm really looking forward to Friday when we will have a "Thanksgiving Feast" in our classroom with all my students and their families (who are able to attend).

Thats all for now...thanks for reading!!!

days like THESE...

today was truly one of "those days"...one of those days when I literally have to give myself a ten minute internal "talk down" when I get in my car to leave work. I have to tell myself all over again why I do love my job, why I love my students, why I get up everyday and do it all over again. I have to remember the jobs before. I have to remember summer. I have to remember what it's like to have a random schedule. What it's like to wake up dreading work each and every single day. I have to keep all that in mind. Because I really do love my job. I really do enjoy what I'm doing. I really do love my students. I really am thankful that I finally realized and gave in to the fact that the ability to teach these children is my gift and my purpose in life...
Now, why was today one of those days? Well, today was the second day of our 2nd 9 weeks at school...so that means report cards come out next week and we have a teacher work day this week...we also have an inservice day so the students only have 3 days of school this week. That never makes for good behavior. They have this way of simply going CRAZY when anything is out of the routine. Today, they were simply terrible! So much so I would ask/tell them to do something and they would look right at me, acknowledge what I had said, and then directly disobey me. While I'm still watching. This, mind you is a normal occurrence in my classroom. However, usually one or two of my students chose to act in this manner at a time. Today, it was 12 students at the same exact time doing NOTHING that I asked them to. We literally had about 10 minutes of productive time all day. The rest of the day was spent yelling and chasing after them. It's just discouraging when it happens! I really really truly pride myself on my ability to handle my classroom. I'm proud of the way my students love, respect, and listen to me. When I have days like this, it's just a let down.
Tomorrow is a new day...and it HAS to be better. It literally can't get one little bit worse! :) I'm not trying to write a blog just to gripe, just really needed to get it all off my chest and now I feel better!
Still exhausted...still stressed...but better none the less!
Over all, life is good. I know I've been terrible about updating...sorry...
thanks for reading and hope you are all doing well!!!

Back by popular demand...

Ok, ok, I know, for those of you out there in the blogging world, I've pretty much dropped off the face of the earth! :(
I've been so busy trying to get everything in order for school starting back and trying to be able to enjoy the last little bit of my summer, my little blog here has been...well...a little more than neglected. I do have several posts I need to put up in an effort to catch up on the last month, but my goal for this is to just check in and be brief. I do NEED some serious rest!
I had my students back for the first time today. It really went well, all in all. It was a day full of stress and confusion that is beyond the control of anyone, but we did the best we could and it made for a decent day. I have to say, it is SO nice to be able to have the same students again this year that I had last year. It really is like picking up right where we left off. They seem to have grown a little and some of them are acting a little more mature. However, the key is they are accustomed to me. They know what to expect from me and know what I expect from them and that is what leads to a successful classroom situation. They are all glad to be back, I'm sure they won't be all that thrilled when I start to introduce all the more "advanced" curriculum we are going to be using this year. I'm trying to bring everyone in my class up to a 2nd grade level. In the past, they have been taught Kindergarten and First grade material, over and over, year after year. There is no room to grow or advance in that situation. The majority of my kids are in the Fifth grade (I have 13 total students this year), and they have the capacity to perform on a Second grade level, provided the right pace and support. I have faith this is going to work. I am also confident it is not going to be easy! :)
I'm looking forward to the challenges of the year to come. I'll be updating more often I hope, I've just got to get life back on this "normal" schedule and get into the swing of things.
Thanks for reading!!!

Thunderstorm

We had a really "great" thunderstorm today!!! It was really exciting! I know I'm weird...however, those of you who know me best know how "obsessed" I am with the weather! We had wind gusts of 60 miles an hour right at my house, about 10 minutes of steady hail and I'm 99.9% sure that a funnel cloud passed right above my house...you could just feel the pressure dropping, EVERYTHING outside was spinning and the wind was being "sucked" right out of the house, through closed windows...it was SO loud...needless to say, I was cowered in the central hallway of my house...but as the storm died down I took some videos and pictures of the aftermath. Sorry for the poor video quality...I had to use my phone because my camera battery was dead but you can hear the thunder and all the "bouncing" things you see are actually hail stones.

my front yard, as the rain was really dying down

Close-up of a hail stone

All the water collected in my driveway

Some of the hail stones in the grass in front of my house

my front door mat, which is about 5 feet in from the edge of the roof that covers the front of the house...you can see, from this, how much the hail blew and bounced!

This USED TO be a really cute little humming bird feeder that was on my front "porch"
And here is the video that I took of the storm with my cell phone as the hail was still falling

My visit with Mom and Warren

I went to Bradenton today to visit with Mom and Warren (she's keeping him because Ashley and Tyler are on a cruise in Alaska.) I took loads of pictures today. I'm a little too tired to put captions with each of the picture so I'll just give you the rundown on all of them here...
We attempted to take Warren to the Hug a Puppy at "Southeastern Guide Dogs, Inc." But we learned, when we arrived at 10:40 that they put the puppies outside at 10:30. (During the summer, that is. In the winter season, the puppies stay inside until 11.) So, we got to see the puppies, but didn't get to "hug" them.
We stopped by Ashley and Tyler's new house to check out the progress. The brick work has been completed around the edge of the hot tub and the pool and it looks beautiful. I put of pictures so Ash can see the progress while she's in Alaska.
I took some pictures of Warren back at Mom's house as I was feeding him and as he was playing with his CiCi.
Then we took Warren to the mall and I took him on a ride on the carousel. He was a little fussy at first but seemed to enjoy it when the ride got going.
I also took a picture of the neat moving Manatee fountain they had in the mall.
I liked watching Warren while he was drinking out of my water bottle. He's actually really good at it...

updates and such...

work work sleep...work work sleep...
this seems to be all my life is involving right now. But that's really ok. It keeps me busy and it more or less gives me something to do. Work forces me to be productive, and no matter how much I SERIOUSLY dread it some days, I always do feel accomplished by the time I finish a good shift. It's still going well. I'm really getting the hang of serving and actually enjoy it just as much as being in the kitchen (which was not true at all when I was starting out). I'm much more confident now about how well I am able to do my job, and that does a lot to boost my performance. Overall, it has been a positive experience...but more than anything, it makes me so happy to know that this isn't my "real" job! I can't wait for school to start again! I'm really starting to seriously miss my students! I'm so excited to see how much they've all grown and changed over the summer! And about school starting back, I'm planning to take off shortly after August 1st so I have a few days to recharge and get my internal clock back to a setting that is more appropriate for the schedule I will be keeping! (I start back to work on August 14th if you were wondering)

I know I emailed a picture to Dad about a week ago that he has been so proud of, he's shown it to pretty much anyone who'd look at it. So I'm going to put it up on here and do some of the leg work for him...just incase he left anyone out :)
At this point in time, I have officially lost 45 pounds since before the move to Florida (in December). Here are a couple of "before and 'After' " pictures. The word "After" is not the truest of statements because I still intend to lose about 15 more pounds, but obviously, you can already see a big difference!





I also want to take a minute to say "THANK YOU!" I have always known that I have been TRUELY DEEPLY BLESSED with the very most supportive family and friends in the WORLD! But we often don't think about how much those around us love us and support us until we have a time of need. I cannot being to express how much the cards, letters, and phone calls I have received have meant to me over the past few weeks. I am so thankful to be surrounded by the love and support of so many people! I don't know how I would have gotten through this without you! It has not been an easy time and it will continue to be a challenge for many days, weeks, and months to come. However, it does get "better" with each passing day. Someone told me at some point this week that they have always heard that "Time heals hurt" but that they believe it is not time that heals, but rather what you do with that time. I truly believe this in every way! I strive to be positive each day when I wake up. I strive to be kind and caring rather than bitter and filled with regret. I must admit by the end of each day, it becomes increasingly harder to be positive, but I'm still fighting. Each morning is a fresh start and each new day is an opportunity for growing, healing, and changing. I will not lay blame. I absolutely will not. I really truly want for each of us to be able to lead a life of happiness and belonging. I have said it before and I'm sure I will say it again that I don't want for either of us to ever look on the past with disdain or regret. I want to focus on the lessons we have both been forced to learn. I want nothing more than for us to both emerge from this as "better" people who realize their flaws and now have to time to make the necessary changes to eventually live full and happy lives. So again, thank you for your undying love and support. I will never be able to express what it truly means to me!!!

The boys

Most of you know it's been a rough week or so for me around here, but I'm not ready, just yet, to write a fully public blog about all that's going on.
Just know that I'm doing well. I'm working hard and spending most of my time tired and trying to recover! However, I am doing ok. I was lucky enough to get 3 WHOLE days, in a row, off this week. So yesterday I took advantage of the time and headed down to my sister's house to spend the night. I slept at Mom and Dad's, because no one was there. It was nice, quite and relaxing. I'm so blessed to have a neighbor who is willing to keep my dogs on very short notice. (He even took my trash out for me because I forgot it was trash day!) Of course I took pictures of my beautiful wonderful nephews, so here they are...





Warren is still crawling. He's walking too! However, crawling is SOOOOOO much faster!!!


Ben has a brand new Lighting McQueen towel...he's a little proud of it!


We went to the pool...and, as usual, a good time was had by all!


Ben decided he was "sliding" around CiCi's house...with coasters on his feet! :)

I'm exhausted...and Chris is at the beach!

I'm thrilled with my new job but I'm pretty tired. Getting into the swing of working at night and being on my feet the whole time is a little harder than I expected. I've really enjoyed it so far though.

When they hirer new servers, they place them next to the prep table in the kitchen for the first two nights. They want you to learn what all the food looks like. I think it's a pretty neat thing to do. Apparently, most new hires just sit and watch what's going on. I couldn't just stand and watch. So, I jumped right in! By the end of my second night, they've hired me to work in the kitchen on the days I'm not serving! I guess the good thing is that I'm getting as many hours as possible...and that's probably the bad thing too. I have to go in again today at 4:30. I've yet to see a schedule, so I'm really just playing by ear.

Chris left, to go spend the week with his family at the beach, at 4:00 this morning!!! I just talked to him and he's in South Carolina, his drive seems to be going well. He'll be back some time next Friday. I have no doubt it's going to be a long week with him gone and me trying to take care of our "zoo" as well as my two jobs.
Well, I need to get going and get my errands done before it's time to go to work again! I'm going to try to get off a little earlier tonight! I've stayed extra late two nights and I think I should get to head out early tonight!!! Well, at least I hope so!

have a great weekend all!
Thanks again for reading!

!!!my new job!!!

Hmm...what are we looking at here? Oh, yeah, that'd be the place I that just hired me! YEA! So excited! I got the job. I'm going to be serving at the Fish On Fire! The restaurant is just down the road (literally...7 tenths of a mile!) from our house. I'm just so excited to get a job I don't think I could care where I'll be working! However, I do like the restaurant and when Chris and I go out to diner, it's generally where we go so I know most the faces and some of the names. I'm going to be working part time to start...they would have offered full time but they just don't have enough room on the schedule at the minute. In all honesty, I'm ok with that. I still have my workshops for school and some other obligations I need to fulfill. So I'm not worried. I just wanted to let you all know the good news. I start this Thursday at 4:30!

Our little trip...

We just got back home from Parish, Florida...visiting my grandparents, nephews, and brother in law (my sister was out of town) We had a lovely time visiting with everyone (and playing BINGO last night :) ). We didn't get to stay long because we had to hurry back to take care of our dogs. However, it was still a really nice break...Thank you guys again so much for having us...and, of course, for feeding us so well!!! :)
My youngest nephew Warren wasn't feeling well so I was only able to take pictures of Benjamin...So I'm going to post the pictures I took of him last night while he was playing with his "Tow Mater" toy. He wasn't in the mood to have his picture taken so I had to fight for what I got!











I'm sure if you've turned on the TV in the last 24 hours you've heard all about Tropical Storm Barry! Just so you know, we have REALLY needed some serious rain for about 3 months now...we we are generally thrilled to get anything we can! So this storm has given us at least a little bit of exactly what we needed. It has rained off and on all day today and rained all night last night we are pretty happy about that! No wind...well, no more than usual...and no severe weather (at this point)...I'm sure that having our first tropical storm hit on the second day of hurricane season is probably a pretty good indication of what's to come. Those of you who know me well know that I'm absolutely obsessed with weather and storms so I'm sure I'll be blogging all summer about our storms and changing conditions!

As always, thanks for reading! Have a great weekend!