True Happiness

I don't have the words to write how I feel this holiday season. I feel blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life. I'm incredibly happy...

Lots of love,
Wendy

Put one foot in front of the other...

Great Christmas special on tonight!

Tonight was awesome! Shared the Pizza Hut Dinner Box with Kate/Michael. It was bountiful! Then got to spend some much needed time with my little Eric! He's definitely not so little anymore! He is completely off of his oxygen and is pushing 10 pounds. He's a little chunky monkey! :)I love him to death!

Played some CIV with Aaron tonight and it was fabulous.

I can't stop smiling...

~Wendy

How's it going?

Today is Your Day
By: Shania Twain

You got what it takes you can win,
Today is your day to begin.
Don't give up here, don't you quit.
The moment is now, this is it
Know that you can then you will
Get to the top of the hill
Part of the fun is the climb
You just gotta make up your mind

That today is your day
And nothing can stand in your way
Today is your day
Everything's goin' your way
Today (you can do it)
Today (c'mon c'mon)
Today (c'mon do it)
Today

When somebody throws sticks and stones
All they can break are your bones
And life's gonna kick you around
Then kick you again when you're down

But today is your day
And nothing can stand in your way
Today is your day
Everything's goin' your way
Today (c'mon do it now)
Today
Today
Today

mmmm life's gonna kick you, its gonna kick you around, its gonna kick you down

Brush yourself off no regrets
This is as good as it gets
Don't expect more or less
Just go out and give it your best (give it your best)

Today is your day
And nothing can stand in your way
Today is your day
Everything's goin' your way

Today
Today ( I said today is your day)
Today
Today
I said today
Today
Today is your day mmmmm

That song has been stuck in my head all day. I dropped my students off at music class this morning and the class before them were performing it. There are very few things on this Earth that are more touching than watching children sing about hope and encouragement. I was touched and as I left the music room I was rejuvenated. I know, I know...that sounds ridiculous, but it's true. Some days are harder than others and today was one of those hard days. I'm adding the song above to my favorite playlist and I plan to listen to it often. I recommend you check it out and while you're listening imagine a group of 3rd grade students singing it. :)

I've been enjoying life and keeping busy. I just finished my last class towards my Master's degree, so now all I have to complete is an internship and my thesis. I plan to finish up this summer. I feel like I've been in school forever; it's almost surreal that it will all be over in just a short couple months. Today I completed my final exam and received a 100%...well, technically a 96% because there were 2 short answer questions that have yet to be graded. I know that I got them right, so let's just say I got a 100%. Yay, for me!

I'm getting really good at Call of Duty: Black Ops and Gears of War 3. I've been playing both of those quite regularly with the boys. I've been known to get the most points the majority of the time. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I recently purchased "You Don't Know Jack!" on the Xbox and DDR. Both have been a blast to play and pretty entertaining. I recommend both! It's a good change up from killing non-human things. I really hope no one reads this because I'm a huge dork. I'm only writing this because I really have no record of what I've been doing for the past 6 months. I'm usually really good about writing in an offline journal, but I haven't even been doing that.

In other news, it's not even December and I have all of my Christmas shopping finished! Woohoo! I was able to snatch up some really great deals on Thanksgiving Day and the day after Thanksgiving. I also did some online shopping and got some even more fantastic deals. I'm usually a procrastinator, but when it comes to buying gifts I don't mess around. Especially when it comes to saving money! I'm thankful that my mom taught me at an early age to bargain shop because it's really paying off now, quite literally.

I better get off here. My cd's have finished burning for church cantata practice tomorrow night and I need to do some laundry for school tomorrow. Oh, yeah...and Andreas and Nathan are here playing Gears of War 3 without me and Aaron. Lame.

Hopefully, I'll write more later this week or a least a couple times a month. It's unacceptable that I haven't written since July.

<3
Wendy

"Fair People"

I'm not really a fan of fairs. I'm not a fan of the heat, food, rides or walking around in close proximity to "fair people". I consider "fair people" a rare breed. I mean, there are "fair people" that live at the fair because of their livestock and whatnot, but then there are "fair people" that live at the fair for the fair. They dress and act strangely unnatural. Until yesterday, I had never been to the Madison County Fair, nor had I ever been hypnotized. To make a long story short, I was given fair tickets from a family that I wait on every Friday night at Todd's. The family actually runs the Madison County Fair and the wife thought it would be hilarious if she got me on stage with the hypnotist. It was funny, indeed. Well, Katie told me I was anyway. I was not convinced that I would actually be hypnotized, but I was. Apparently, I screamed and danced when a certain song was played and reacted to many suggestions from the hypnotist. I don't remember much, but I do remember feeling really tired afterwards. And, somehow I popped a button on my pants. Haha! I must have really been dancing! Katie and I ended up getting dinner at the fair and checking out the prize-winning animals. I ate dinner fried on a stick and then we both left the fair with funnel cakes. BIG MISTAKE! I don't normally stuff my face with fried foods, so I was deathly sick all last night. Needless to say, I will not be going to another fair for a long time.

Why must door to door sales people come to my house? I'm far too nice to tell them "no thank you" as soon as they start their sales pitch and then I feel bad telling them I don't want their product at the end of the presentation. Just now, someone came to my door selling a concentrated cleaner. She cleaned my front door, the rims on my car, and proved that she could take out pen stain from a towel (after I gave her a pen to use because apparently she lost hers). I was slightly impressed, but told her nicely "no thank you" and she went on her way...with my pen in her hair. It's a good thing I just bought 50 8-packs of black pens for a penny each. I guess I can part with one.

Saturday I am going to Zoombezi Bay with the cousins. I wish I could say that I was super pumped, but there's something about putting my life in danger while wearing a bathing suit in public that doesn't sound exciting to me. I need to get out more, but how about some good ol' bowling or putt putt? That sounds like fun to me!

I feel the need to vent about my Contemporary Issues in Education class, but I can't bring myself to do it right now. I'll save it for another day. I doubt my opinion will change in a few short days.

~Wendy

Book-less Library

Well, we all knew it was bound to happen...

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2079800,00.html?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews>

Librarians everywhere are crying. The dewey decimal system is useless.


--Not sure why I couldn't get my link to insert, oh well, I'm sure you know how to cut and paste.--

The light at the end of the tunnel is drawing near...

I'm not sure if I mentioned this in my last post, but I have poison ivy. Well, I've been struggling with it for over a week. I ended up going to the doctor last week and was prescribed Prednisone. The medicine is a miracle-worker. It sped up the healing time and now I'm almost poison ivy free! However, it has caused some severe insomnia. On the first night, I don't remember having any trouble getting to sleep, but on the second day I slept for about 2 1/2 hours tops...and that was after a busy night waitressing. I've never had problems getting to sleep after waitressing. After that night I realized that I had to pair my last dose with some Benadryl, so I would be able to sleep. I haven't had any additional problems, so that's good. This was the first time I had an allergic reaction to poison ivy. I swore up and down that I was immune to it, I guess I was wrong, or else my body has weakened it's immune system...I mean, I am almost 27. I hear It's about time for the body to start falling apart. :(

I just registered for my last class at Ashland University. I was actually registered to take it my first semester at Ashland and I had to drop it because it seemed to difficult, and I didn't really like the professor's personality. Turns out, she is the only professor that teaches the course. Yay, for me. It's been three years, you think they would have gotten at least one other teacher to teach it. I do have three more years of knowledge in my brain, so yeah, it should be a breeze...right?

Speaking of Ashland, my new summer course starts today. I'm not looking forward to it at all. I know, that's terrible, but it's Contemporary Issues in Education. I hear that it's a debate course, and if you know anything about me at all, you know that I am not one to debate issues. I hope I am passionate about some topics in the course, or else I'm screwed. It's difficult to debate something that you are not passionate about. That's what I get for being so apathetic about things...

Well, it's time for me to get ready for class. Wish me luck! Ugh...

BTW: I calculated how much money I am wasting driving to the Ashland campus three days a week and it's roughly $30.00 a week depending on how much gas is at the time. It's ludicrous! :(

Summer Vacation?

Where have the weeks gone? Seriously, it's almost the middle of July!

I have enjoyed my time off from teaching immensely! Not that I don't enjoy my job, I do, but I needed a break! So, what have I been up to for the past couple of months? A lot, but apparently not anything important enough to make it on this blog. This summer has been a blur. I've been keeping myself busy with the Madison County Arts Council musical Brigadoon. I don't have a major part, but I'm in almost every singing and dancing number. It has been enjoyable. I have practice every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday evening from 6:30-9:30. I tutor a student in my class Mon. - Thurs. from 9:00 am to 11:00 am and I'm taking classes at Ashland Mon.-Wednesday 1:15 - 4:45. And, of course, I still have my Friday evening waitressing job at Todd's Pizza. Yikes...I need a vacaction...oh yeah, this is technically my vacation. Crap!

It seems like I find myself writing on here when I'm avoiding something I really should be doing. In this case, it's my Qualitative Research paper. It's due tomorrow evening. The research question: "What do teachers perceive to be effective strategies to help students who procrastinate?" Apparently, I have learned nothing. I better get my act together! I only have 2 classes left and I'll have my Master's Degree! It's hard to believe I have made it this far...

I've been watching a lot of movies on Netflix. It's my new best friend. I can't afford cable and even if I could I don't think I would have it because Netflix is far superior. I've been watching a lot of Independent films and movies that I have never heard of. I feel like I'm becoming a "well-rounded" movie connoisseur. You're jealous, I know.

Well, I gotta get off here and take a shower. It's important that I shower before waitressing, so that I can instantly smell like grease and failure in a matter of minutes. Oh yeah, and tonight I have to wear a long-sleeved shirt because I have poison ivy on both arms. FML

'Til we meet again or until I need to procrastinate,
Wendy

Epic Failure

Well, there goes my 2011 resolution. It's been an entire month since I've updated and although there has been plenty to write about I just can't find the time to do it. I'm over the hump in my 521 Curriculum class. This semester has gone by fairly quickly! I grown to love writing in APA form...well, not love....how about **accept**. I am confident that I will have very few problems writing my thesis. ::fingers crossed::

Happenings:

1) Bought an iPad with a gift card given to me from a parent in my classroom. I use it in the classroom with my students and it's amazing! I would NEVER purchase one, but since it was a gift I am more than welcome to accept it into my life. The possibilities are endless.

2) I've wasted more of my life than I am willing to admit playing Call of Duty Black Ops Zombies with the boys. I'm better than I was when I started, but none of us can honestly say we are getting anywhere. Alas, we continue to waste our lives playing until the wee hours of the night.

3) Trivial Pursuit "Bet You Know It" has been a great way to keep our minds off of the zombies, but it also makes us angry.

4) Alternate Assessments are DONE!

5) I've been taking piano lessons at the WJUMC. I practice on our new Baby Grand piano. I'm not good, but I'm learning proper technique.

6) Spring break will start the last week of this month. I'm more than happy to have a week off. :) Yay, for being a teacher.

7) I still can't write about anything important.

I'm planning to play tennis tomorrow with Nate and Aaron. I'm sure I will get brutally beaten as usual. It's still fun!

I continue to follow the coverage of the devastation in Japan. I wish there was more I could do. It breaks my heart to see the people of Japan suffering. It's tragic. However, I know that they are strong-willed individuals and they will overcome. I will continue to keep them and all families affected in surrounding areas around the world in my prayers.

Going to bed early tonight.

<3 Nite

In bed.,.

I'm updating my blog from my bed with my iPhone.

Simply amazing...

I'll write more later; I should really be getting to bed.

Happy Valentine's Day!

<3 Wendy

You be crazy, IKEA!

Have you ever tried to order from IKEA.com? Yeah, me either...and this is why.


Delivery method:Truck (your local delivery carrier will contact you directly to confirm the delivery date.)

Estimated* delivery date:2/23/11

* Please note that this is not the actual delivery date, some areas may take longer due to the regularity of deliveries to your area. Our system calculates this estimated date considering the total amount of time to process your order including: packaging, transit time to the delivery provider, and transit time to the delivery address.

Important - Read our Delivery Terms, Conditions and Cancellation Policy.


Subtotal$69.99

Delivery Cost $349.00

Order Total excl. taxes $418.99

Taxes$28.28

Total cost of order
incl. shipping and taxes$447.27

Yeah, that's right folks. It costs $349.00 to ship a bookshelf. I think I better begin planning another trip to IKEA. Even with gas prices climbing past $3.00 I think I will still save money if I go pick it up at the store.

Pure craziness....

Horray!

I did it...I just ordered the iPhone 4. I'm a little nervous because there were some technical difficulties, which I will share at a later time. I gotta get back to bed now.

<3

iPhone @ 3:00 AM!

Another snow day today. Last night was crazy! I was up for the majority of the night listening to the ice melt and crack. I lost two huge limbs out of my front tree and if it wasn't for my neighbors, my car probably would have been smashed. They came over last night and helped me bust the ice on my car, so I could move it up farther into the driveway. The ice is so bad on my sidewalks that it literally looks like I went outside and poured a bunch of ice chunks everywhere. The ice chunks make it a slightly easier to walk on, but still treacherous. Nathan and his sister Emily came over and picked me up, so I could get out of the house. We went to Easton to pick up Nate's computer, ate at Chipotle and stopped at Walmart. It was nice to get out. I hadn't changed out of my PJ's in two days...there really wasn't reason to.

It looks like we'll be back in school tomorrow, which I'm surprisingly pleased about. I have plenty of data to complete and I'm behind on some of my alternate assessments. YIKES...I don't even want to think about that! It will be nice to see my friends at work too...I need human interaction!

I plan to get up at 3 AM to pre-order the iPhone 4. At least, I hope to. I'm going to set 3 alarms, so I better get up! Then I have to get up at 5:30 to get ready to work out. I know, crazy, right? I'm going to workout with Nathan and his friend in Clintonville tomorrow morning. We have to be in Clintonville by 6:30 am, so we have to leave WJ by 6...which means, I have to leave my house by at least 5:45 am to get to Nate's house by 6:00 am. It's making me cringe already!

Well, I better be getting off of here. I need to shower and finish packing my workout bag.

Good night :)

Oh yeah, Happy Groundhog Day!

No, thank you, Chris Bradley.

To be honest, I only watch the news when there is snow in the forecast. I have been watching the same forecast all day, and it hasn't gotten old yet. In case you didn't know, we're going to get some ice tonight and rain in the wee hours of the morning. I live for snow days...who doesn't? I'll tell you who-adults who aren't teachers. Let's take a moment right now to pray for all of those unfortunate souls that have to dig their cars out in the morning and brave the icy snow-covered roads to get to work on time....I'm sorry. Even though I get a call in the morning regarding my school closing I still turn on the news to see it there. It's like I don't believe it, and then when I see it I get a small rush of energy. It takes me back to when I was in school and life wasn't so complicated. I'll watch the school closings loop all day...just because I can. :)

I didn't exactly watch the news all day...I mean, I had it on in the background, but I was fairly productive. I managed to get all of the laundry done and dishes. I made a batch of sugar cookies. Started my homework for my class tonight, but when I found out that class was cancelled I stopped. Haha. I'll finish it up next Tuesday before class. I'm such a great teacher...

Speaking of the news...don't you love how the news shows 90% weather coverage and then 10% everything else. Maybe that's why I enjoy watching the news when there's snow in the forecast. I hate watching the murders/fires/crashes/burglaries...etc. Snow and ice is a much happier topic.

There's only one negative aspect of snow days. Well, for me anyway. I dislike snow days because I live alone. Snow days were awesome in school because you could get together with friends and hang out and play in the snow and what-not. When you're alone, yeah, it's great, but it would be much better if I had someone to share in the greatness. I guess I need to find a male teacher to marry. That way we can have the same snow days off. I haven't found any single male teachers...I'm pretty sure they're non-existent, but I haven't given up hope just yet.

Free TV has been great! I get about 11 channels. The basic news channels ABC, NBC, WSYX, then I get CW and FOX. Somedays, I watch WOSU, which has some quality programming. :) Canceling my cable has been the best choice I've made in a long time. I'm happy to save $90.00 a month for something I wasn't using. I can't believe I kept it as long as I did. Seems like such a waste.

A part of me hopes to go back to school tomorrow because I have so much work to do, but another part of me will enjoy another day to sleep in. Who knows what will happen, but you better believe I'll be watching the news to find out. :)

On a side note, let's pray for the people of Egypt during this time and for the future.

Stay safe out there!
Wendy

Incompetency

Not sure if I really have an audience out there, but if I do, I strongly discourage you from signing up with Time Warner Cable. I've had such an awful experience with them over the past couple of weeks, I would not recommend them to anyone! I'm too lazy to type my experience with them this evening I'm just going to cut and paste what I typed on facebook.

"Time Warner Cable is officially the most incompetent company I have ever worked with. I called them to find out why they were so late and apparently someone came to my house and discovered the cable is in a neighbors yard and left. They said the neighbor wasn't home to get permission. I did not rcv a call like I was supposed to, they did not knock on my door to inform me. I have been home since 3:30 PM waiting on them. I didn't even know they were here! Now I have to wait on them again tomorrow from 4-7. RIDICULOUS!"

I didn't mention this before, but I was planning to have my cable cut off tonight, and the cable equipment picked up. I will save over $80.00 a month, so it was an easy disconnection. I don't watch it anyway. I realized this when the cable box in my living room stopped working 2 weeks ago and I never called the company to tell them about it. I still got basic cable in my bedroom without a box, so I wasn't that distraught. That's when I knew I was wasting my money. My dad gave me his HD antenna, so I can pick up a handful of channels over the air. I'm excited to get all basic news channels, in addition to, the Retro TV station and COOL TV which plays music videos and such. I also get FOX and THE CW! FOR FREE! I'm set. :) I'm really happy with my decision to cancel. I have NETFLIX and recently purchased an Xbox with the KINECT, so I'm not at a loss for entertainment. I'm going to put the extra $80.00 a month onto my car loan and hopefully I will be able to pay it off a year early. It will be nice to get rid of that payment in time for my college loan payments to begin. WooHoo! :( FML

So, I got a snow day on Friday which was super fantastic! I ended up doing laundry and cleaning, but it was nice to get it out of the way, so I could enjoy my Saturday....uh....waiting on Time Warner Cable. FML

Had a fantastic day shopping with my Aunt Dee at Sams Club. I ran into a lot of people I knew, so that was fun. I bought some snacks for my kiddos and my Aunt bought me some Krispy Kreme donuts and bagels. I don't need either of them, but she gave them to me, so I couldn't say no. :)

I'm excited to curl up on the couch tonight with a good movie and some popcorn. Church in the morning, and then who knows? Maybe some homework before Time Warner attempts to do their job again.

OH YEAH! Almost forgot....

Last weekend was quite adventurous for me! I drove to IKEA, JUNGLE JIMS and then to INDIANA to the HOLLYWOOD CASINO. It was nice to have a mini road trip. I had some "me" time and won $128.00. LOL! :)

Good times...

Growing up sucks...

At least tomorrow is Friday...that's all I have to say! I've been working on my interims all evening and I'm about to go crazy! I'm hoping to be finished before 11:00 PM, so I can at least get some sleep tonight. I'm glad I started them when I did.

I have a 3 day weekend coming up. Thank you, Martin Luther King Jr., I owe my day off to the greatness you brought to the cruel world we live in. Hopefully, many will remember your sacrifices and attempts to bring awareness of inequality to the nation. I'm sad that many still struggle, but I will continue to teach my students your legacy with the hope that someday we will all live in peace.

Watched another movie tonight before starting on my interims. The movie was called Pope Dreams. I had never heard of it before seeing it in the library...I'm a sucker for those kinds of movies.

Ate the chicken noodle soup for quite possibly the last time. It was really good, but I fear that I can't eat it again.

Wow, what a boring entry. I wish I had something more exciting to talk about. I'm sure that this is reason why I can't keep up on these entries. My days are either too boring or too buys to write. Oh well, someday I will enjoy looking back at these.

Tomorrow I will turn in my interims and weekly work report. (a new idea from the boss to track what all employees do each half-hour, for 5 days) I'm glad I only have to do it for 5 days because it was a lot of extra work. We had to write in detail how we spent the time. Tomorrow is pay day. It's not like it matters, this pay will go straight to the bank. I had to pay for my Ashland course out of pocket this semester, so I must slowly pay that back to my account.

Growing up sucks...

Back to my interims.

Here we go 2011

"Most days of the year are unremarkable. They begin, and they end, with no lasting memories made in between. Most days have no impact on the course of a life."

Everyone wants to make lasting memories, but somedays are unremarkable and easy to forget. My plan is to use this place to harbor my unremarkable memories with the hope that someday these memories will become remarkable to me and others.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here we go 2011.

So far this year, I have...

1.) Not taken down my Christmas tree.

2.) Purchased a new touch screen cell phone with additional data plan. (Which I refused to ever do in 2010)

3.) Enjoyed the perks to new cell phone.

4.) Tried to watch The Black Swan...twice...on the same evening, but both theaters screwed up the film.

5.) Borrowed 3 books from a friends and 3 from the library. I have yet to finish any of them.

6.) Organized my pantry.

7.) Watched at least 15 movies from the library.

8.) Enjoyed a SNOW DAY off of school!

9.) Taken back my wonderful cell phone, with the intention of getting the iPhone in February.

10.) Tried to keep up on my New Year's Resolutions.

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS/GOALS FOR 2011

1.) Stop eating Poptarts for breakfast.

2.) Throw out mail daily.

3.) Be honest with myself and others.

4.) Try to write online at least 3 times a week...yeah, we'll see how this goes! (considering I just started this, who knows how often I will update, but I will try)

5.) Obtain a Master's Degree in Intervention Specialist Mild/Moderate.

6.) Continue to love life and all that it has to offer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I made some really great chicken noodle soup last night and it was even better tonight for dinner. I think I would enjoy cooking nice dinners everyday, but it's just not sensible when you live alone. That's one thing I wish was different. Sharing dinners with someone would be nice and hopefully this will be my year to meet someone to share those kinds of moments with, but for now, it's just Edward (my cat) and I. However, I'm really beginning to enjoy having some more time to myself. I feel like my life is starting to slow down and things are falling into place. Occasionally, I feel overwhelmed with work and school, but I'm learning to stop trying to please everyone all the time. It feels good to sit and read or watch a movie without feeling guilty or feeling like I should be doing something else. I don't really know how to explain it...I'm a pretty complex person. I'm only working one evening at the pizza shop, so this semester I should be able to keep my head above water.

Whelp, it's almost 1:00 AM and I should probably be getting to bed. I have to teach in the morning. :) It was pretty nice getting a snow day today. Our new governor is giving us back 5 calamity days, so I'm definitely not opposed to using them all up.

Good night.

~Wendy