Dirty Dishes

It has been a considerable amount of time since my last post.  My bad.

I am now a graduate of Ashland University with a Master of Education degree in Curriculum & Instruction as an Intervention Specialist Mild/Moderate. Exciting, indeed.  It hasn't hit me yet that I DONE...even after Sallie Mae withdrew their first payment since 2008. Oh, the joys of a great education. Mounds and mounds of debt.

I paid off my car.  My 2008 Ford Fusion is now completely mine! Feels good to have one less payment a month...oh wait, I don't know what that feels like because now I make a student loan payment in it's place. Yay, for me.

My furnace was serviced today.  Turns out I only needed a thermocouple.  Now, I won't have to light the pilot on my furnace 3+ times a day.  It was getting ridiculous! I'm happy that the part was only 15.00...if only the service call wasn't 65.00.  I feel like I've been taken advantage of! The service only lasted 15 minutes, so that guy made out like a bandit! Oh well, I'm warm and I didn't have to drain my savings account to fix my furnace.  All is well.

I've been sick for more than a month now.  I'm starting to get worried about what's going on.  I've lost my voice.  Which is incredibly sad because I sing at least 2 days a week.  I can barely talk without sounding like a burly man. I miss my voice and singing. I wish it would come back soon.

I feel like all I do is whine on here.  Geez! Well, since I'm on the subject...my stupid dishwasher isn't washing properly and now I have to wash all of my dishes by hand.  It wouldn't be so bad if I washed them as I dirtied them, but sometimes it's days after and they pile up.  I need to use my time more wisely. Hmm...maybe I should get off of here and start washing dishes.

Great idea.  Talk to you later.  I'll tell you about Dominion and school and whatever else I feel is necessary next time.  I missed you! Hope you missed me too!

Oh, yeah...and I donated my hair again! 10 inches! :)

Until next time...

Cupcake Toppers!

Look what I learned how to make!! Cupcake toppers! These will be adorable in the cupcakes for Tabby's bridal shower.  I'm so crafty, I know.  I can't wait to take a picture of them inside the cupcakes!! :)

I've been spending a lot of time on Pinterest trying to find last minute ideas for the bridal shower.  I love throwing parties. I can't wait to see my vision come to life.  I've been creating a lot of the decorations myself and saving a lot of money! Tonight I make cupcake toppers and tomorrow I plan to cover bottles of water with purple duck tape.  Yep, that's right.  Duck tape covered bottles of water.  Who wouldn't want one of those? I'll make sure to post pictures of the water. I know you're dying to see that!

Well, I'm going to finish up the cupcake toppers and prepare for tutoring tomorrow.

Night,
Wendy

Stole this recipe

I make AMAZING punch. There, I said it.

I’m the Punch Master. Queen of Punch. Snoop Punch. David Punchuleta. I bet you didn’t know this about me, but I seriously rock the punch bowl like no other.

I invented one very special recipe that I’m about to share with you. And I have to tell you—you’re really lucky because all you have to do is read the recipe, buy the stuff, put it together, and serve it at a party and have everyone tell you that it is the best punch in the universe.

Whereas I had to create, puzzle, reflect, and ponder the recipe in the first place in my special Punch Laboratory. I had to contact chemists from ivy league universities to perfect the chemical makeup of this recipe. I had to search the globe for the exact ingredients. I had to throw out hundreds of thousands of batches of lesser punches on my quest to attain the ideal ice-to-punch ratio.

But now that I’ve arrived at Punch Perfectdom, it’s hard for me to contain it and keep it to myself. I feel that I owe it to the world to share. You all have been so nice to me lately, and I feel so intoxicated with goodwill, that I am ready to freely give you this recipe for the betterment of mankind. If the war suddenly ends, I will know that The Punch has done its job.

OK, are you ready?

The Punch

Ingredients:
1 can frozen pina colada concentrate, thawed (Bacardi makes a good one)
1 can frozen orange pineapple juice concentrate, thawed
4 liters of diet lemon-lime soda (That’s two 2-Liters for the mathematically challenged.)
1 bag of pebble ice (You can buy it at Sonic Drive-In or at most grocery stores in the deli or meat departments.)
1 bag of frozen raspberries

And now for the directions:
*Pour the thawed concentrates into your punchbowl and stir.
*Use one of the empty cans and fill it with water four times and add it to the mixture. Stir.
*Add your diet soda to the mixture. (You can use regular sugar-filled soda if you want, but I think it gets too sweet and you will also feel guilty when you fill your glass for the sixteenth time. Which you WILL.)
*Next, add about half your bag of pebble ice.
(NOTE: Please do not insult The Punch by using crappy ice cubes from your freezer. The Punch will hate you forever.) (ANOTHER NOTE: Please do not screw up the order and add the ice before the soda. You will get an ugly foam at the top of your punch bowl.) (ONE MORE NOTE: I’m sorry if it seems like I’m micro-managing this recipe. It’s just that I have already suffered bad punch experiences so that you won’t have to. I micro-manage because I care.) Let’s see….where were we? Oh, yes. We’re ready for the crowning ingredient…
*Add your frozen raspberries to the top.

Viola! You have just created the Mona Lisa of Punch!

Your punch should be a lovely dark yellow at the bottom of your punch bowl, light lemony yellow in middle, almost white on the top, and then bright magenta on the very, very top! So pretty!

And then, when you start serving the punch with a ladle, it all mixes together and becomes this dreamy pink color.

And then, when you lift the punch bowl to your lips when it is almost gone to swallow the last few drops of punch, it is an even darker pink because the raspberries have really mixed in.

And then, when you pass out on the floor because you tipped the punch bowl too far and lost your balance, falling backward to the floor with the punch bowl hitting you square in the jaw—you will see lots of lovely yellow stars and magenta raspberries floating above your head.

Go now. Make Punch.

Sad, sad world...

What is this world coming to?  Just found this on Craigslist under the tickets section.

I need a used ticket stub from any concert or sporting event from July 4 of this year. I dont care what event this ticket is for I just need to have something to show my wife. I was out cheating on her that day with a girl from work however i told her I was at a concert then a ball game. I am not sure she believes me 100 % on this so what I will do is leave the ticket stub sitting on the sink one morning where she can find it and that way she will think I was actually at a concert and not continue to question me about this. 

Fabulous

Date went very well last Saturday. We had dinner at Texas Roadhouse; the food was great and so was the conversation.  I was worried about what we were going to talk about, but as soon as we started talking it was effortless.  We talked for the whole 2 hours we were there.  He has a lot of the same goals as I do.  We both want to get married and start a family, but it's difficult with our lifestyles.  We're both comfortable with where we are right now and don't get out much to meet new people.  I'm not sure if I can see myself "dating" him, but he is a great guy to get to know better and fun to be around.

After our "date", I went over to Aaron's house to watch some LOST with him and Jordan.  We're practically through the 5th season, which means we only have one more season to go! It feels like we've been watching it forever (really only a year); it's getting really good and I can't wait until the season finale!  I hope we start another series when we're finished with LOST.  It's nice to have something to look forward to and I enjoy hanging out with the two of them.

They are already starting to put "back to school" items in the stores.  Ugh...I don't even want to think about going back to school.  To say that I'm enjoying my summer vacation would be an understatement.  I'm having the summer of my life.  No, I'm not going anywhere special, but I'm enjoying spending time with friends and family.  I'm caught up on my laundry and cleaning and I'm even reading for pleasure.  I feel selfish when I talk about summer vacation and how I never want it to end, especially when I'm around my friends who are not teachers, but I can't help it.  I've grown accustomed to this lifestyle.  It hasn't changed since I was in elementary school.  Work hard for 9 months and get 3 months off.  It's fabulous.

Anyway, I'm done talking about junk.  Maybe I'll have something exciting to talk about tomorrow.  Oh YEAH! Yesterday I was able to get all of Tabby's favors, table centerpieces, and decorations made!!  I couldn't have done it so quickly without my cousin Mariah's help! She was awesome! It feels good to have things done in advance.  Now I don't have to worry about it. I can spend my time worrying about the games and food! :) I'll post some pictures later.

Off to get ready. I'm going to the teacher store today at Polaris to pick up some doorbuster sales and then Cheesecake Factory tonight!

~Wendy

Here is one of the centerpieces we made.  I wanted to put the flower into the vase, but the flowers I bought were too big, so we had to modify my vision. I think they still turned out cute.

Yes, the bride showed up! I wanted everything to be a surprise, but it was okay.  She was our supervisor and even helped us out with some of the tissue paper pom poms! (BTW, these pictures were taken at my grandma's house.  She leaves ALL Christmas decorations up year round in the basement.  You may even get to see the Christmas tree in other pictures!)

The tissue paper pom pom on the right was our first.  We didn't like the rounded edges, so we decided to make the edges spikey.  You can sort of see it better with the one on the left.  I should have taken a picture of all of them. This is only 2; we made like 10. 

The flower pots with flowers are going to be the center pieces as well.  We made flower pens as favors.  The guests can use them to play the games and then take them home when it's over. We are planning to arrange the flowers better and put a bow on the pot.  It's a work in progress.  On the right side of the picture you can see a piece of the Christmas tree! haha

Here is a close-up of one of the pens.  The flower looks a little tattered in the picture, but it's real cute in person.  We tied a little "Thank You" tag to each flower pen.

I can't wait to share more bridal shower pictures with you! 

Oh, life...

Why must life be so hard? It's easier to just not think about the tough stuff and just live life in the moment.  I wish I could do that.  I just keep thinking about things I have no control over and then things I have complete control over, but feel powerless...  Does that make any sense? Yeah, probably not.  It's late and I'm just writing to clear my mind.

Today I went to a capstone meeting at Ashland and turned in my capstone intent form and application for graduation.  Yes! It's really happening! The light at the end of the tunnel.  It's here! I just have to complete my capstone (inquiry) and then I graduate.  Seems easy, right? Yeah, I'm trying not to think about it. I chose an inquiry on the exploration of technology and the importance of technology and adaptive technology in the special education field for students with multiple disabilities.  I'm actually really excited to explore new technologies and implement them into my lessons.  It should be very practical.  Since I am paying $1,400.00 for this "course" it better be something I can use.

My date on Saturday is fast approaching.  I wouldn't say that I am nervous.  I actually don't know how I feel about it.  I'm not super excited, but not dreading it. I don't have any expectations.  It's the first real date I've ever been on.  It's kind of like a blind date because I really don't know anything about him.  I do know what he looks like and some things about him, but other than that....nothing.  I guess it's a little exciting to get to know someone new.  It's just that I've grown so comfortable with how my life was going.  Yes, I do want to get married and start a family.  I know that I'm 28 and I should probably help move the process along, but I imagined myself marrying my high school sweet heart and best friend.  Isn't that every little girls dream? I'm sure at some point I must stop thinking about my dream and start living my reality.  My best friend and high school sweet heart does not love me the way that I love him.  The sooner I start truly believing that reality  is the day that I start to give someone else a chance.  I just hope it's not too late.

Lazy

I have less and less motivation  to write everyday.  I was doing really well for about a week and then I started getting really lazy.  There's no excuse.  It's not like I'm working.  It's difficult to write when there isn't anything exciting going on in your life.  Tonight I am planning to go to the Clippers game for dime a dog night.  Definitely not going for the baseball...only the hotdogs. Haha! I'm not really a baseball fan.  I guess it's better than watching soccer or hockey, but I'd never go if they weren't offering 10 cent hotdogs.

 I picked up my rental car today.  While my car is getting fixed I get to cruise around in a 2012 Honda Civic. It's pretty sweet.  I'm not a fan of foreign cars, but it drives really well.

 I'm planning to go on a date on Saturday.  I'm getting a little nervous.  I don't have any problems talking to people I don't know, but it's a whole different ballgame when you know the other person is interested in you.  I don't actually know anything about him, so this Saturday will be interesting to say the least.  Who knows...maybe this is the guy I've been waiting for.

That's really all the excitement in my life right now.  Oh, yeah...last Saturday I played poker with Aaron's family.  I got 4th place out of 9 and almost earned my money back.  It was fun! I enjoy spending time with his family.  I feel at home.

~Wendy