Do I really sound like that?

I still get weirded out when I hear a recording of myself talking. I STILL think..."Do I really sound like that?"

I only thought of that because it seems to work the same with pictures of myself that other people take. When I take my own pictures, I use strategic methods to make sure certain parts don't get shown (pretty much anything from the chest down). But when other people take a picture, they don't think of these things unless I tell them. And if I KNOW they're taking the picture I do tell them. Then there's the ones that get you when you least expect it and post it online for all to see. I saw this certain picture of me and thought "Is that REALLY me???" It was not only a full body picture (which I would never okay), but a profile shot at that. So not flattering at my heaviest weight.

I'll be on the treadmill if anyone's looking for me...

Land of the lost

And hopefully lost forever.

27 pounds down, 54 to go. I've decided not to be overwhelmed by this number...especially near the holidays.

Things to be excited about:

1. I can wear a LOT more clothes in my closet. (Back in May, I had 1 pair of pants and about 3 shirts that fit me...I refused to buy any more fat clothes)

2. When people at work notice a weight loss, it encourages you to keep going.

3. My boobs are getting smaller! :o)

4. I don't have to shop in the "big girl" section anymore...no more Lane Bryant.

The other night I was laying in bed on my stomach and thought I might be laying on something, but it was just my hip bone. Haven't felt that in a while.

I know I have a long way to go, and my goal may be pretty lofty, but I'm just gonna keep on truckin' one stinking pound at a time.

The way we were

This last Saturday was a day I had been looking forward to for a long time. It was our High School Band reunion!

I had no intention (ever) of going to my regular high school reunion, but THIS was different. These were people with whom we spent many evenings and weekends. So much of our time was spent together, and then all of a sudden we began new lives. A lot of us still look the same...but different.

I felt a little bad for the spouses there who had nothing to do with our past. They must have thought we were all a little dorky...and we probably were.

But I hope we get to do it again soon. And not in another 13 years.

A little venting

1. This school year sucks...and it's only September.

2. People at work think my classroom is a multipurpose room they can use when they see fit. This makes me angry.

3. Kids steal. This also makes me angry.

4. My house is a mess...all the time.

5. My weight loss is slower than watching grass grow.

6. My iPhone is on the fritz. Grrrr.

7. People keep asking me to do stuff I don't want to do...but I'm a big sucker and do it.

8. My husband works all the time. All....the....time.

9. Corporal punishment at my school NEEDS to happen.

10. I think my hormones are making my crazy.

How hot was it?

It was Africa hot. It was stupid hot. It was really stinkin hot today. And of course I was out in it. First Texans game of the season, and hopefully THAT was the hottest it'll be...wishful thinking. My sweat towel was soaked by 9:30...AM. We weren't even outside 2 hours and all of our clothes were a shade darker from the sweat. It's not a very lady-like feeling. My elbows were sweating. I was gonna take some pictures, but we all looked so sad and miserable, that it just didn't seem appropriate.

But we did beat the Colts, so I can't complain too much. Oh, sorry...did I already complain too much?

Did I tell you it was hot?

Are you Ready for some Football??!!

Okay, so I took your advise Jessi, and will do a post on my football games. I only like to post if I have pictures, and I never have pictures, so I just don't post about stuff. But I took a couple pictures at our last Texans game, so here you go...



Okay, so the mellophones are a little dorky. It's 112 degrees, so we have to keep entertained. The trumpets just rolled their eyes at us. They're just jealous.

So I never thought when I joined band in 6th grade that I'd still be playing at 31. But here I am, along with many other grown adults, reliving our high school glory days...except a lot of us sound better. And it does sound better in person compared to the crappy recordings on YouTube.



This is from a couple years ago, but we all still look the same. If I had the cool iPhone that took video, you'd be watching us all the time...but I don't.

Abso-stinkin-lutely nothing

I've been getting the feeling recently to just delete my blog. I have nothing to blog about. I have no kids, and this time of year I have no husband. I don't do anything exciting on the weekends. I work...I go home...I sleep. It's very boring, therefore, I don't write about it.

Perhaps you could give me ideas about what a single girl can do to make her blogging more exciting.

DQ country

It's a good thing I don't have TV, because every time I go to someones house who does, the commercials always get me. I am an advertisers dream. Ice cream is my guilty pleasure, so Dairy Queen commercials are dangerous. So stupid me saw a Dairy Queen commercial today and went ahead and drove to the nearest DQ (not very close) to get their new mini blizzard. Remember when they had the Breeze? It was the same as the blizzard, but with frozen yogurt. Where did that go? Was it not marketable? I know I loved it. Digressing...sorry.

AND the blizzard of the month is THIS!

Isn't it fantazmic?! It's Oreos AND Brownies. My two favorite things. And in a much more manageable (mini) size at only 430 calories. Um...ya.

But I didn't eat all of it, so I'm thinking I only had about 380 calories worth. I can live with that. And it's not like I eat this kind of stuff all the time. I mean, I haven't had a blizzard in like 3 months.

So I figure Monday's a good day to start the diet.

Debt sucks

Right after the hubby and I got married, we decided to go into real estate investing. I say "we", but I wouldn't say I was 100% on board. I did what I could, but being socially handicapped there wasn't much I could do.

So nearly eight years later, all six of our rental properties have FINALLY been sold...or was it seven? All I care about is that they're gone. But certainly not forgotten. Since a few of them were owner financed, we had to buy them full out before we could sell them. Needless to say, I think we've learned our lesson for buying rental properties...don't.

Now we sit on our mountain of debt. I figured if we can eat Ramen for the next three years, we'll be able to pay it all down. And hopefully before I'm 40, we'll be living in a REAL house! Debt sucks.

But it's too hot!

I don't feel like doing anything. Last night as I was writing my former post, we both noticed how warm it was in the house. I just figured since the sun was beating on the house all day, it just hadn't cooled down yet. I was wrong. By 11 this morning we hit 85...INside. I SHOULD be Spring cleaning. I get up and work for about 5 minutes, then I crash. It's too hot.

So I just stare at the pile of stuff in the guest room that needs to be put away before someone actually sees it and thinks we live like the show Hoarders.

Summer is here!

Summer, Day 1:

Slept until 8:30. It was wonderful. I had absolutely no plans or obligations for the day. That was also wonderful. I spent a good hour experimenting with my semi-new hair cut...went a little crazy with the curling iron, but it turned out super cute. I took pictures, but I don't like my face so you can't see them.

I had an interview at a really great school last week. So thinking positive, I took everything home from my classroom that belonged to me. It's amazing how much stuff you accumulate in just a few years. I don't know how teachers do this for 30 years. I don't think I'll ever get use to the exhaustion. But now we get some much needed time off to think about "how many more year until I retire?".

Plans for the summer:
1. Sleep.
2. Go to New York at the end of the month.
3. Sleep.
4. Try to make it out to Utah.
5. Sleep.
6. Get my house in some kind of order.

That's all I've got so far.

We've got the housekeeper coming out Monday. Yay! But I still have to get the house "housekeeper ready". I sounds silly, but if you've ever had a housekeeper, you know what I'm talking about. Things need to get put away. Otherwise there'll be little piles of stuff everywhere afterwards.

So now that Summer's here I feel like I should have lots more time to blog...but I honestly doubt I will. :o)

I can see the light!

This time of year teachers everywhere are rejoicing. We like to call this the home stretch. Just one more week and then it's finally...May. And just to top it off, we have standardized tests this week. For 3 straight days, our kids have to sit in a very uncomfortable chair while taking a very unnecessary test. Well what if they fail, you ask? No problem! We'll just pass them on anyways. They'll catch up in the next grade, right?

But I digress...

The end of the school year is upon us, and I've already filled my summer with plans of doing nothing. A trip here and there, but mainly nothing. Someone once told me that if the best part of teaching is June, July and August, then it's time to stop teaching. I disagree. Aren't most people's favorite days of the week Saturday and Sunday? Why is this any different. It's a job, and that's just one of my perks. There's no company car, no conferences in Cancun, no going out to lunch...ever. From 7:30 - 4:00 it's go, go, go. Our lunch is a race to see who can eat the fastest so we can get back to our classroom to set up for the next class. Our conference period is a mad scurry to get things put away from the day before and lessons planned for the next week (or next day!). I feel no guilt for having a couple months off to recuperate from 187 days of pure chaos.

And now I've run out of time, and the kids will be coming in any minute. Perhaps I'll find another 10 minutes before the school year is done to write a little more. Or not.

No tact Nellie

Faculty meeting today after school. It was a big deal since the superintendent was coming. It was a crock of crap. He talked to us for 30 minutes about how the kids are number one and how we are number two...blah, blah, blah. Why do we have to be constantly reminded that the kids are number one? Whether we're joking about it or not, we KNOW the kids are 1st. We're TEACHERS for crying out loud! We wouldn't have a job without them. We always like to make those silly comments about teacher work days being great since there's no kids at school. We're JOKING! Our super apparently has no sense of humor. We got a huge speech about this today...I'm not really sure why. Morale? Highly unlikely considering after he left, we were YELLED at by our pricipal...yelled...at us.

I know our principal is new at her job, but she lacks a certain tact about her position. Yelling at your staff at every faculty meeting is not the way to gain loyal teachers. I still have no idea why we got the 3rd degree. One minute we're going over practice TAKS scores in groups, the next...yelling. I felt like I was just scolded by someone's mother. But I do have to admit, it gives us lots to talk about for the next few days.

Baby Fat

Since we've had our new "fun times" administration, our staff has been given many duties that make us want to slit our wrists. One of my duties is making sure nobody kills each other in line during breakfast. It's very exciting.

But one thing I've noticed by spending time in the cafeteria is what these kids are eating every morning. Crap...junk...garbage...SUGAR! What are these people thinking?? To give a kid lucky charms, a donut, and chocolate milk?? Now, I know I'm no Slim Sally, but come on! It's no wonder a good 60% of the kids at my school are overweight when they start off their day like that.

Oh let's not stop there...Lunch.

A typical day at lunch consists of processed chicken nuggets, or processed fish, or processed beef...get the idea? With a side of instant mashed potatoes, corn, and smiley fries. YES! They'll serve 2 types of potatoes on the same plate...I kid you not. There is rarely anything green on their plates. The USDA has regulations about the fat content and calories, but nothing about carbohydrates or sugars.

If a child is on the free and reduced lunch program, they are required to get milk, whether they drink it or not. Half these kids don't even open them. They just go straight to the garbage (which is actually fine with me since I'm not a fan of milk). But it's the principle of just wasting it. But I digress...

Food in our schools is atrocious. Especially at the elementary level where it's hardly edible. On the off day I happen to forget my lunch, I would rather starve than eat anything from our cafeteria.