so i bent down to pick up my pen...

...and I ripped my freaking pants!

 

 

Seriously?!

Dropping that dang pen proved to be a mistake.

The pants weren't even too tight!

In fact, they were too loose!

 

Luckily, this happened at 3:55, and I'm allowed to leave at 4.

The kids were gone...thankfully.

(That would have been a nightmare in a class with 24 5-year-olds.

I ran to my teaching partner's room and asked if she could tell.

Duh.

She could totally tell.

And could totally see my zebra undies.

Then she proceeded to laugh hysterically at me for 10 minutes.

 

Now, a NORMAL person would take their "ripped-pants-clad" self home.

BUT...

I had a lot of stuff to get done before tomorrow.

And if you know me at all, you know that I do NOT want to sacrifice my sleep time in the morning just to get to work early.

So instead of going home, I tied my WINTER COAT around my waist (circa 1992.)

And I walked into the copy room with my head held high (kind of) and prepared for tomorrow.

I stayed at work until 5:30.

If you're keeping track, that means that I spent an hour and thirty-five minutes at work with pants ripped from my crotch all the way back to my butt.

I even interacted with my co-workers, who I'm sure are now questioning my sense of fashion.

 

Once I felt prepared enough to leave, I did.

And on this chilly, 30 degree day...

I must say that there was quite a draft on my way out to the car.

 

Rest in peace, khaki pants.

Oh, how I will miss you.

 

xoxo, wife.



if i could write a letter to me...

 

 

Are you all singing that Brad Paisley song to yourself now?

Oh.
Well I am.
It's one of the few songs he's come out with that I actually like.
I think it's a good idea...writing a letter to your younger self.
And I decided that I'd like to write a letter to me, at age 17.
So here it goes.

Dear 17 year-old Lisa,













I'm sure you probably don't really think you need to hear from me.
Because you think you've already got it all figured out, don't you?
But there are some things I'd like to say to you.

You're smart, you have lots of friends, you sit at the popular table at lunch.
You're the Student Body Vice President.
You're cute (even though you don't always think so.)
But you know what?
I remember you pretty well at 17.
Even though you are part of the popular group, you aren't like all the other people in that group.
And you don't quite feel like you totally fit in with all of them.
You realize that high school isn't as great for everyone as it is for you and your friends.
And you do what you can to acknowlege those people, however insignificantly.
You smile at them in the hallway.
You say hi as you passed by their locker.
You let them borrow your pens.
You share your Orbit gum.
You casually talk about the biology assignment with them.
And you never complain about being stuck with them during a group project.
Sometimes it embarrasses you to be caught engaging in a conversation with some of those people.
But thank you for doing it.
You're a good person for showing others that you care.
That attitude will take you much farther in life than the attitude some of your classmates.
(And you'll stay in touch with the couple of friends that really mattered anyway.)

I also know you often feel left out because you never really have boyfriends.
You feel like the boys just think of you as a buddy, but not girlfriend material.
Sometimes it affects your self-consciousness.
But you know what?
The guys that your friends are dating are losers.
And most of them will break up in a few months anyway.
You're looking for more than a "high school crush."
And you'll find it.
Believe me.
And you'll probably find it sooner than you think.
You'll meet the man of your dreams on your first day of college, and you'll never look back.

If I could give you some advice before I go:

Be YOU. Don't be anybody else.
Don't worry about what other people think of you.
Stand up for others.
Don't be afraid to talk to people about that anxiety you often have. The more you talk about it, the better you'll feel.
Hug your extended family members more often. Some of them will be taken from you soon, and you'll wish you would have done so more often.
Listen to Mom and Dad. They're right 99% of the time.
Put yourself out there, and work hard to achieve your goals.

You're doing a great job, Lisa. And you'll be proud of where you are when you're 25.

Love,
25 Year Old You.

PS. Don't stress about Pre-Calc so much. You're never gonna use that stuff, and you'll still go to college and get a career no matter what grade you get in that class anway.
 

dune buggy ride of death

In 2008, my parents had planned on taking me and Ty to Sanibel Island for a vacation.

When a hurricane evacuated the island the night before we were supposed to fly in, the vacation had to be canceled.

Instead, we went to Silver Lake in Michigan.
 

We had a really good time...until the Dune Buggy Ride of Death.

 

I might look happy in this picture, but don't let my expression fool you.

I was scared out of my ever-loving mind the whole time.

Exhibit A: The Video.

Excuse the noise and bumpiness...I couldn't help it.

Please also excuse the screaming...couldn't help that either.
 

I applaud you if you made it to the end.
Very soon after the video concluded, both my mom and I asked to be let out of our respective death contraptions known as dune buggies.
Then my dad and Ty were free to do all the crazy crap on those buggies they wanted.
And we sat by the water and complained about it.
It was stupid.
And dumb.
And I should've realized when I had to sign my life away that it was not going to be fun.
And it wasn't.

xoxo, wife.



5 thoughts i'll inevitably have tomorrow.

**Tear**

Christmas Break has officially come to a close.

Those had to be the two fastest weeks known to man.

And while I missed my little munchkins quite a bit, I could definitely use a few more days of lounge time.
{Come on, Summer!}

That being said, please allow me to take this time to share with you a few thoughts I'll likely have tomorrow upon my return to work.

 

1. It's only been two weeks! Have they seriously forgotten EVERY behavioral expectation in this classroom?

It's a sad truth. The week after Christmas Break is spent reteaching a lot of the rules and procedures that you spend the first month of school teaching them. And it can be very discouraging to know that it is Janurary, and you're going back over stuff they clearly picked up on way back in August.

 

 

2. I have to pee. And I'm hungry.

Over a long break, you get used to using the bathroom and eating whenever you want to.

Not the case when you're teaching.

You can only use the bathroom and eat when you have a free moment.

Which means I pee once a day (if I'm lucky.)

And I scarf down my lunch during my 25ish minute lunch break.

Did I mention that my lunch is at 10:45?
So come 4:00, I'm starving...and ready for dinner.

 

 

3. I was totally not prepared for today.

I had every intention of going into work over break and getting AHEAD.

But that is not possible if you don't have access to a working printer/copy machine.

No one is fixing it until we're back to school.

Which means that I currently do not have anything ready for tomorrow.


4. I miss my jeans.
My jeans and I have formed a pretty close relationship over the past couple weeks.
And now I have to bust the slacks back out.
Dang.
I'm still planning on wearing the Uggs though.
I just can't bear to part with them.
Hopefully no one will notice.

 

5. Boy am I glad to see these little faces.

It's inevitable. Even if I'm in a crappy, "Dang, I have to go back to work," mood, my kinders have a knack for cheering me up. The things they say, the things they do, and the rate at which they're learning is more than enough to turn my sour mood into a better one.

 

I'll miss my relaxing down time, but I'll be grateful to get back in the swing of things.
We'll get to the halfway point in the year this week!
It's going fast.

 

xoxo, wife.

flashback: one time we bought a car.

Wayyyy back when...

Like 2 and a half years ago after we got married, our first big purchase as a couple was a new car.

Up until then, I had been driving this:
 

A 1998 Pontiac Sunfire.
A gift from my parents on my 17th birthday (when I bawled like a baby.)
Man I loved that car!
Purple, two doors, sun roof...the car was awesome, and full of memories.

(WHY was I sitting so close to the wheel?! I never sit that close anymore.)

But by the time we were married, my little trooper was 12 years old, and in the beginning stages of kicking the bucket.
So after we got married, we figured we were grownups, and could buy a new car.
And by "new," I mean NEW. As in brand new.
And by "car," I mean SUV.
Put those two terms together and they equal EXPENSIVE.
Did we make the smartest choice in buying the exact car that we did?
Probably not.
Does the car have a dent in the back from the time I backed into Ty's dumb truck with it?
Probably.
But I still love it!
I stumbled across the video I took of when we pulled into the dealership to pick it up.
Thought you might enjoy.

 

We still love it! (Dent and all.)

 

xoxo, wife.

frolicking in the snow {cat style}.

Bubba has been begging to go outside every morning when I get up since I've been on Christmas break.

So the other day I decided to let him.

He loved it.

And he was purring SO LOUD, I could hear him the entire time.
(Please ignore the white-trashness of the propane tank sitting on our deck.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is he not the most precious thing ever?

Eventually I shut the door because I was cold and he was out there for about 10-15 minutes.

Here Bubba was saying, "Alright Momma, my feets is cold. I is ready to come in now."

And as soon as I let him in, I got Kitty Love of the Century!

He was still purring too.

 

xoxo, wife.

new year's eve 2012

New Year's Eve isn't a fancy, sparkly party with fireworks and glittery accessories around these parts.

Last year, Ty's brother invited us all to a hockey game for New Year's, and now it's become a tradition.

If you can actually call two years in a row a tradition...
Perhaps NEXT year it can be classified as such.

Anyway, we traveled to Fort Wayne again this year for another Komets game.

But before-hand, we stopped at a very elegant, fancy restaraunt for dinner.

Yep, that's right. Chuck E. Cheese!

 

 

But we went with this guy...and his parents. 

Because it would probably be too creepy to go by ourselves.

 

 

 

 

Between the 4 of us adults, we won Caleb over 1,600 tickets.

 

I will not disclose the ridiculous amount of money we spent on tokens for those silly games.

But I will say that it was A LOT more money than the $16.99 Chuck E Cheese stuffed animal he got with his 1,600+ tickets.
I'm pretty sure we got taken.

 

Then we moved on to the hockey game.

 

 

Water: The New Year's Eve drink of Champions!

 

Then I busted out some mustaches.

Because we're cool like that.

 

And my nephew, Hitler, joined us as well.

 

Ty was upset that you couldn't see his mustache.

But he already has a real one, so it's ok.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After Ty had been eating peanuts for awhile, he picked up his beer that was on the ground, and realized he'd been dropping peanut shells into it.

I told him he might be onto something: peanut flavored beer.
Everyone else just made fun of him.

 

The team we went to see lost by a LOT.

 

Nephew was not happy about it.

 

 

It was a fun way to ring in the new year.

Ty and I pulled into the garage right as the clock struck midnight.

And shared a very romantic kiss in the car...in our garage.

 

Looking forward to doing it all again next year!

 

xoxo, wife.