Mississippi Snow

and one wide-awake kid-at-heart.

I woke up with a near heart attack at 4:58 when my assistant principal called to deliver the news--no school.  I decided to take a look out of the bedroom window.  I honestly could not believe it.  I woke Steve up and made him get out of bed to look...I'm sure he was super excited about that.  (Actually, he probably won't even remember it.)  Serves him right for snoring all night.
Instead of going back to sleep, I put on a coat and boots and head outside.  And then I called and woke up Noele....she will be much more forgiving.  It was beautiful!  I love it! I stayed outside for about 30 minutes--until my hair was wet enough to start curling.

In this moment, I am wishing I had gone to the grocery store and bought a few things: eggs, bread, tomato soup.  Tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich is the best meal in cold weather....hands down.  I will have neither of those today, the ONE snow day I've been granted in my five years of teaching.
*sigh

We will have to settle for left-over pizza.

Castle.

Do you watch Castle?  You should. 
It starts back this Monday. 

Nathan Fillion is adorable.  He's also great in Firefly and Serenity.

Discovered today.

1. When I am not feeling well, I turn into a slobby, disgusting mess.

2. Cream of wheat has no taste.

3. The warmest room in my home is the downstairs bathroom.

4. Expired cough drops still work.

5. I can waste an entire day learning how to manipulate blog html, headers, and backgrounds.

go Michael!

So, I'm a beginner at the Biggest Loser. I've never watched an entire season, but that's all changing here in 2010. I accidentally flipped onto the channel as the show began this evening, and I'm all in.

Michael is my favorite. Maybe it's the way is eyes glisten as they tear up. Maybe it's his sense of humor. Maybe it's that he's on the show with his mother. Or the Italian accent. Or the fact that he is the heaviest and has the longest road to travel. Whatever. I adore him. I'm totally rooting for him.

I am resolved.

I don't do New Year's resolutions, but I like the idea of starting over. Usually I pick the beginning of a month or week, so why not go with the beginning of 2010?
So I've set some (mostly) doable goals for the upcoming year--or at least as far into the year that they will last.

1. READ.
-fiction, nonfiction, my BIBLE, biographies-I'd like a really good bio to read; I've not read many in the past but two of my favorites are Teacher Man by Frank McCourt and Educating Esme by Esme something .

2. LEARN.

I find more and more that I am lacking pertinent information about events, people, ideas in the Bible. I not only want to read the Bible, I want to learn how to support and share my beliefs.

3.RUN.

I'm thinking a 3-mile run every morning will be a good start to the day. Plus I'm really wanting to get in shape....GOOD shape and starting the day with some exercise might help me want to do another type of exercise after work. It's like tricking myself into exercising.

4. Count my blessings.

I'm stealing this idea from a blog I cannot find at the moment, but will find and note later.

5. SLOW down.

Life is going by too quickly...I'm slowing down. I hate the feeling that I don't have time or I wish I had taken the time to do something. I'm doing it this year....whatever it is, I'm doing it.

6. THROW OUT.

The closets and I are going to have a knock-down over the next few weeks...it's going to be great.

7. SAVE.

I want to save as much money as possible this year. Steve and I have some friends that are looking to move to Ireland, so we will want to go for a visit if this happens. Also there is talk of a Trans-Siberian Railroad adventure....I'm pretty sure that is expensive and possibly dangerous.

8. WRITE.

I don't promise a daily post. I don't even promise a weekly post, but I'd like to do better here. For stress relief if nothing else.

9. SEW!

I should have put this first. Steve gave me a sewing machine for Christmas. I spent some serious money and time in JoAnn Fabric in Austin with Katie and am now prepared for at least 3 projects. My first few projects will be quilts/blankets, and then I hope to move into other fun things.

10. PHOTOGRAPH

I thought about joining in on this fun, but I have serious commitment issues. I'd hate for a blog idea to fail because I cannot commit. I'd like to learn more about taking pretty pictures. I know a great deal of what I see and love is Photoshop grandeur, but I'd like to develop an eye for good photo ops. Maybe one day I can master the Photoshop look. (considering that I don't even own Photoshop, this might be hard.)

I think I'll give a monthly update. Because I know you care about my silly little goals.

Freedom!

I'm taking a step today.

I'm deleting Sallie Mae from my bookmark toolbar.

I no longer need her.

I owe her nothing.

It's a big step.

Freedom.

Happy. Happy!

It's my sister's birthday (well at least it is for a few more minutes).

We look nothing alike.



She learned everything she knows from me.



We always have fun when we are together.



She's a beauty queen...



and a rock star.



She bakes....




and makes me laugh.



She is my best friend,



and I love her very much.



Happy Birthday, Noele!