Week of Lazy

I never realized how lazy I could be until this week. There have been random moments of productivity: laundry, cleaning, cooking, tutoring, and sending off some emails for work. Also, these all sound so boring, so: I never realized how lazy AND boring I could be until this week.

Today, for example, I woke up at noon (the latest I have slept all summer) and then laid on the couch and watched TV for an hour, then went outside and laid on the back deck for 2 hours. Finally, I became so consumed with gross guilt that I went inside and got a book. One of those books on spirituality that makes you think. Why is it that if you lay down with a book in your hand, vs. with nothing in your hand, you are suddenly slightly more acceptable and productive? I am not sure, but it did the trick. Then I came in and did a 7 minute power ab workout-again, hoping to wash away some of the lazy guilt.

I am going to be jealous for a minute...everyone's life (broadcasted via the facebook) sounds so summery and interesting. I would like to think that the summers between college, I was interesting and fun too, but now reading about other people going to beaches, hiking, taking trips to cities, parks, museums, parties, and picnics, make me feel sooo lame. I feel as though I have evolved straight up into old lady status. I called my family today and they were on the beach in Maine.

Tomorrow I am babysitting the same kids I watched without pay for 11 hours Monday, when I realized I won't be having children for at least 10 years. The boy threw a ball into the hot oven while I was pulling dinner out and the ball melted and got stuck under the coils, creating an awful plastic-y smell and my face bright red yelling, and resulting in Corey's forearm burning while removing the ball with too-short grill tongs. So yes, I am looking forward to tomorrow.

I apologize for any negative energy this blog gives off. I really am happy! Just bored...and contemplative.

"Staycation"

I am not sure which person coined this lame term, but I'm using it all week. So thank you to them. My sister and her boyfriend and my parents went off to our annual vacation for the 4th of July up to Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. As much as I love going there even though I have been there 20 times total, I don't love being a 5th wheel and being a tag along to either my parents or Courtney and Kyle. So, I am dogsitting Murphy and watching the cat and rabbits for 10 days. There are several perks to this: Corey gets to help me, and this means I get 10 days of cooking for him and practicing being good wife material. Hahhhh! Well, the cooking thing is a huge excitement factor for me. Also, we plan on movies, board games, and taking several walks in the neighborhood. He will have to work the whole week, but that's when I plan on catching up with reading, preparing for next school year, and scrapbooking!

Corey had off today and we were planning to drive to Lititz for the 4th of July Parade, but a few days ago I came down with a terrible chest cold and couldn't breathe all day. So we stayed home. I tried to perk up his day by making him 9 huge sea scallops and corn on the cob with rhubarb oat bars for dessert. :) Tomorrow we are going to try to go to Aunt Nancy's for her picnic and then maybe head to Lititz for fireworks at 10. I love 4th of July fireworks!! Actually, I love fireworks whenever.

So here I sit enjoying my chest cold, getting ready to watch Marley and Me, and have a blast on my STAYCATION! WOOOO!

Florida

I just got home Monday night from my only vacation this summer- a mini 3 night getaway to Clearwater, Florida to see my 2nd cousin get married. It was a great, relaxing trip and I had so much fun with Corey and my extended family. We went to the beach every day we were there (4 days), and I only got a little sunburn on my right forearm and my butt. Interesting places that I am sure everyone wanted to know about. I think I got a tiny bit of a "tan" too-as much as a pasty white girl like me can get. Of course my boyfriend now looks like he was born in the Congo, but whatever. We had yummy ice cream, caramelized fried sweet potatoes, buffalo chicken sandwiches, and amazing fried green tomatoes. I may have gained 5 pounds.

Now I need to try and be happy that I was able to go instead of having post-event depression, where I dwell on the fact that I am stuck in PA the rest of the summer and my family is going away Friday and I am dogsitting.

Pics of Florida are up on Facebook. Holla if you have any cool ideas for plans for the rest of the summer that could include me. :)

Happy Fathers Day, Dad!

I just wanted to give a "shout out" to my dad on Father's Day. Here is dad at Corey's graduation from Fordham and a pic of dad in the rainy downpour volunteering for the Cancer Society's Relay for Life. I wanted to upload more pictures, but my computer is being grouchy...probably because it is late and she wants to sleep. Anyway, some awesome memories I have:

-Monday Night Football-from the time I was in 1st grade in my Winnie the Pooh boys football PJs staying up til 1 AM all the way until now...MNF with dad=awesome
-Going to Eagles games together
-Riding with dad to North Carolina when I was really young and taking his phone messages. He even bought me a pink flamingo stuffed animal.
-Whenever he came back from business trips and he flew, he would bring me home Reeses's PB cups-yeah, I got chubby
-In 8th grade he set up a football camp for my girlfriends and me to teach us football for gym class
-Taking us on TWO amazing cruises!
-Driving me to NYC to visit Corey at Fordham multiple times and then coming back 2 days later to pick me up- what a dad!
-Johnson's Popcorn on the boardwalk at OCNJ and daddy/daughter mini golf dates
-Driving to Indianapolis to go to the Indy 500 for Corey and me
-Going to work with dad and falling asleep in his office and having his coworkers come in to find me drooling (several occasions)
-The "leg dance"

I love the way he:
- loves the Lord
- loves Corey and is such a good "dad" to him
- gives me cash (ok that was more like HS/college)
- loves my mom
- eats anything I make for him
- gets so angry when the Birds lose a game :)
- drives me everywhere
- snores as loud as a monster truck
- is so incredibly patient, never raises his voice, and puts up with 4 women in the house!

I love you dad!!!! YOU ARE THE BEST DAD IN THE WORLD!

Facebook Quizzes: Are they necessary?

I have been really struggling with these stupid Facebook quizzes. I know this sounds so ridiculous, but I am upset that the quizzes fill my home page news feed. Some quiz titles really catch my eye, such as: "How well do you know ___ (insert some old crush of yours or mean girl that you follow)?" and "When will you get married?" (isn't that intriguing?) BUT the ones that make me cringe are the ones that say "What bra size are you?" This is so gross and so unnecessary to post on Facebook. People don't care what bra size you are when they check Facebook. Ok a thought just popped into my head- maybe if you were a creeper and you wanted to date a girl but never saw her before then you would be like "Oh cool, she is a C cup (or whatever your preference is.) Other than that, people know what you look like and your average chest size. Also, isn't it stupid that you would have to take a Facebook quiz to find out? Just look at your tag inside your bra. Or, go get measured. Facebook won't tell you your measurements. Ok, now that I just blogged about bras....moving on.

It just makes me question whether or not Facebook quizzes are necessary. If you have any quiz titles that intrigue you, post them in the comments section! They are funny to read sometimes. And I apologize to you if you are reader that lives for Facebook quizzes.

LAST WEEK! reflections...

This begins the last week of school for the 08-09 school year. I can't believe that I have just about completed my first year teaching. What will I blog about now!!? Ha, just kidding. I would say that this year was better than I could have imagined overall, as far as my students go. I was so blessed and inspired by my students. I really couldn't have hand picked a better group of kids, and I get to have the same kids next year plus some new 7th graders and whoever else moves here this summer. No one is graduating yet. I could write a pretty entertaining book with all the quotes and situations from this year. During this school year I only had to give out 1 lunch detention. I saw great progress with English and wonderful friendships being made in ESL class. If I had to pick a negative aspect of the job so far, it would have to be the lack of support for the program as a whole. We still have a lot of ironing out to do to get this program where it should be for the district.

Things to Look Forward to This Week:
-Early Dismissals for the kids
-Hershey Park field trip for 8th grade on Wed.
-Last week activities and games
-Grading and submitting final grades and exams (ok, maybe not so much)
-FRIDAY! Going home to cater my sister's graduation party!!!! I am really happy to go home and be able to jump into doing what I love- cooking and baking for 60-100 people! :)

Last night was the LAST time that I will have to say "goodbye" to Corey for the summer-minus short weekend trips and such. Here's to a GREAT summer with my best friend! As a little celebration (since I had ZERO vacations lined up this summer) I decided to purchase tickets to Florida for a 3 night mini vaca. My cousin, Josh, is getting married on Clearwater Beach and it is a VERY small wedding, but they invited me to come down if I wanted to. I didn't want to go alone, and Corey's intern supervisor is letting him take 2 days to go down, so I got a ticket for him to. I think he deserves a vaca too for how hard he has worked this past year in school. So less than 3 weeks and we will be going to sunny FL! Now, THAT, is something to look forward to!

Centipede

Nothing grosses me out more than centipedes. Actually, maybe spiders do, too, because they make me scream. But anyway, I just wanted to note that in the workroom/copy room next to my classroom at the Middle School there is a sink where I fill a bucket to wash the boards. I went in the room to empty the bucket and there was a 3 1/2 inch centipede in there. Grossest thing ever. Meanwhile, the bell rings and I have a class full of kids waiting for me and there I am trying to "drown" the bug by filling up the bucket and dumping water on it. Apparently these things like water as much as Michael Phelps, so I called in one of the boys, Roman, to kill the thing. Roman tries to push it down the drain with the drain stop. It goes away.
10 minutes later I go in there to make a copy and IT IS BACK! So I call Joe in. This is where the story gets good. I tell Joe he must kill the bug with his shoe. He takes off his new white sneaker and puts it in the sink and "cuts"/smooshes the bug into 4 parts. Dead.

Um...now Joe's shoe is soaking wet-and it is only 2nd period. Poor Joe. He had to ask me for a tissue to dry it. I wanted to tell him that the tissue wouldn't dry his sneaker, and that unfortunately he will have a wet shoe at least until lunch time.