Ten and Ten

I've been in kind of a funk recently.  Not unhappy but not exactly happy either.  I blame the weather.  I am not a cold weather kind of girl.  I like 80 degrees and sunny with the occasional rainy day thrown in to keep things green and the pollen count down.  This spring has not been the warm temps I seek, therefore, I blame my funk on the weather.
So in order to vent as well as to keep things in perspective I have devised a ten and ten list.  The first ten things I do NOT like.  I feel like hate is a word best reserved for things such as Satan and other evil-doings.  This is a list of 10 things I could do without...

1.  Stinkbugs.  Seriously, where did these things come from??? One year I have never seen one and the next year they are EVERYWHERE!

  

2. "Decorative Animal Heads"  These things just creep me out.  Am I the only one???

3.  "That's a fact, Jack!"  Please note, I have never seen Duck Dynasty but my middle school boys have and I hear this quote from the show. all. day. long.   I will never watch Duck Dynasty for two reasons.  The first being this incredible annoying quote and the second being that I don't have cable.

4. Chevron Printed "stuff"  I don't know why I'm so against this pattern, I just feel it is waaaaaay overdone in home decorating these days.

5. Reality TV.  I know a lot of folks who love it but I could live without ever watching reality tv.  I'll take an old fashioned sitcom any day.

6. Not having enough time to get done what needs to be done AND what I want to do!

7.  Having the heat on at the end of April because it is so. freaking. cold.

8.  Itchy skin.  See #7 for why I have such itchy skin!

9.  Running late.  I try and have everything laid out the night before because I don't do well in the mornings but it seems no matter how much I prepare and how early I get up I'm still running later than I would like.

10.  Liver and onions.  This has to be the most disgusting thing in the world.  Mom used to make us eat it when we were kids.  I can't even stand the smell of it cooking in the house.

The next ten things are things I don't want to live without.  I don't use the word "love" because I reserve that word for my family, God, and my pets. :-)

(Note:  These are things I don't want to live without under the premise I have heat, indoor plumbing, air-conditioning, and other first world necessities.)

1.  Yardley's English Lavender Soap.  This stuff is about $1.00 a bar and smells heavenly!

 

2.  Books.  I believe Thomas Jefferson said it best, "I cannot live without books."

 3.  Small towns like Dayton, Virginia where there is still a large population of "old order" Mennonites.

4.  The beach.  Most any beach will do. :-)

5.  Ice cream.  Chocolate is my favorite, but any kind will do.

 

6.  I recently got my first iPhone and absolutely LOVE it.  Each Sunday Babycakes and I use the FaceTime feature for her to talk to her Poppa (my Dad) in Texas.  It makes being far from family a little easier.  And it's totally like the Jetsons!

 

7.  I am not ashamed to admit that I color my hair.  I do it at home for 3 reasons.  1.) It's a lot cheaper than the salon ($7.99 without a coupon versus $80 without a tip!)  2.) I don't have time to have it colored in a salon (several hours versus 45 minutes start to finish) and 3.) I get more compliments on the color when I do it myself than when I have it done professionally.

 

8.  I am also not ashamed to admit that I drive a mini-van and LOVE it.  Eat your heart out!

 9.  My Scentsy warmers.  I have 3 of these in my house and one in my classroom.  The one in the picture above is the just like the one I put in Babycakes' room.  I love that they have yummy smells, it's like burning a candle without the threat of Babycakes getting burned or me burning down the house!  It's also the perfect nightlight. (I linked to my friend, Ashley's page if you are interested.  She did not pay me to post this, nor am I getting free anything for writing this!) :-)

10.  The Golden Girls.  Must be the best comedy in the history of television.  I own all 7 seasons and watch them repeatedly.

Thanks for "listening" to me.  I needed that!  I'm hoping to get some picture up soon to show you all some of the stuff we've been doing here at Wilted Acres as well as a couple of projects I have squeezed in!

Enjoy the week!

The Dissertation Den...

So one of the reasons I haven't been blogging as much is because I've been trying to work on my dissertation proposal.  I am the kind of person who can NOT work unless all external conditions are just right.  I am so easily distracted by "extraneous stimuli" that it's not even funny.  Initially, the Hubs helped me set up my workspace in the basement (It's not as dungeon-ous as it sounds!)  but it was way too chilly for me.  I didn't want to be down there because I was always cold.  So that lasted about a week before I told him it wasn't working.

So last Saturday I took Babycakes out to run errands and the Hubs moved furniture like the manly man he is.  We moved things around so that my scrapbook room/family tv area could become...

"The Dissertation Den"

The Hubs told me that I was a nerd because of the name.  I told him I was simply an, "Intellectual Bad-Ass."

While I was at work on Monday he stayed home with Babycakes since she had been up half the night throwing up and she couldn't go to Daycare.  When I came home I found these AWESOME shelves that he had gotten at Target to help me organize all of my research.

While the purpose of this room is for me to work on my dissertation I still have my scrapbooking stuff in here.  I can't quit that cold turkey.  :-)  Besides, there was no way I was packing all of this crap up to store until I finish.

So while I am still plugging away at getting this Beast completed, I make time for the important things...

Babycakes LOVES to "clean!"

I hope everyone has had a great week!  I am off to my college reunion this weekend for a little relaxation.  Hopefully I can post some pics upon my return!

Plugging Along

I know I haven't been very good about keeping up with my blog recently but I have several reasons:

1.  Dissertation Proposal.
This thing is taking over my life. As well it should.  I have put it off for too long and now I need to buckle down and WORK!  I have been staying up late (late for me anyway)  to get reading finished and notes completed so that I can wrap my head around this beast of a project I have decided to undertake.

2. Work.
This time of year is crazy for me.  IEPs are coming due, the weather warms up, and the kids get crazy.  I have to become more creative in my lesson planning to keep them engaged without pulling out my hair.  I love my job, I really do, but some days it is more challenging than others.

3. Springtime Weather
While I do enjoy Spring every year, this year I have been begging for its arrival.  This Winter was pretty rough.  Between the cold weather and Babycakes being sick every other week I. am. done.  Take that Old Man Winter!  Since it's been in the 80s this week I have been taking advantage of the additional daylight and spending time outside with...

4. Babycakes!
I have been busy spending time with my beautiful girl.  She is growing up as I watch her each day and I don't want to miss a single second of it!

So while I think daily about updating my blog I have other things on my mind these days.  In addition, my resolutions have come to a standstill as well. I'm hoping to get back on the resolution train as soon as things settle down a little bit here.  Until then, it's back to the old dissertation grindstone.

Happy Hump Day! 

Thoughts on Turning (gulp!) 40!!!

So, I recently celebrated a milestone birthday.  While I'm not embarassed about my age and I don't consider myself "old" (except when recovering from illnesses that used to be gone in a matter of days now takes a week or more) I'm still not sure how I feel about this milestone in my life.

My actual birthday was kind of a bust.  It was one of those days when not long after you start your day you wish you could crawl back under the covers and try again tomorrow.  It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't the fabulous day I wanted.  Of course, I spent my 30th birthday in Paris, France so spending my 40th in a middle school was kind of a let down.

But the weekend after my birthday my AWESOME sister organized a dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in the area with my family. 

 Babycakes was in HEAVEN!  She got to sit in between her Grammy and her Uncle Mike!

I was in heaven because I got to sit in between my Mom and Stepmother. :-)  Two of my favorite women in the whole world!

Not sure about the expression on my face in this one...

My Mom got me a charm bracelet for my birthday!  I have been wanting one for. ev.er!!! 

I love that my little sister works at the jewelry counter of a local department store! :-)

Babycakes was really the life of the party.  She showed off her hat...

...before deciding it looked better on her Grandpa!

 

 That's my "little" brother there on the left.  I can't believe I didn't get a picture with him OR the Hubs.  Epic fail on my part!

 And Mommy's little rock star!

 Finally, a picture of my and my little sister.  She is expecting a little girl in July and I am so excited to be an Auntie! :-)

 So while it wasn't Paris and I had to turn 40 somewhere, I'm glad I turned 40 exactly the way that I did!