Z Is For Zippy

Well, I made it all the way to Z with only a little bit of cheating!  I think it was easier this year than it was last year, which I suppose is good.  The posting action around here will be brief, if at all, this week.  Graduation Week is jammed with a thousand little milestones and every moment of my time is spoken for.  Which, unfortunately, leaves little time for the ole blog.  But I will be back with a vengeance next week!

Before I run head long into my party planning zone, I do want to recap my weekend.  My eye is clearing up nicely.  I really do think that it was mostly allergies, but I am using the antibiotic drops too.  I will not, however, be using the ones they gave to dilate my eye and reduce swelling. I had never had my eyes dilated before and I did not enjoy the experience.  (Particularly since it stayed that way for more than 36 hours!)  Thank you all for your get well wishes on Friday!

I got my eye back in working order just in time for prom!  It's one of my favorite school events of the year because everyone is all prettied up and shiny.  And my girls and guys did not disappoint!  It's always fun to celebrate the school year in a slightly different setting.  Plus, we were home at a fairly reasonable hour (as in before midnight)!

And Sunday, Amber, Casey and I got together to celebrate Casey's birthday!  We were planning on going to see our favorite local band but didn't feel like fighting through all of the bikers (there was a big motorcycle event on Sunday, too) so instead we hit up a local winery that was a little more relaxed.  We chatted, had fancy beer that tasted like grapefruit, and ate so much good food!  (Oh the cheese!)  I needed that time with two of my favorite girlies to ready myself for this week! 

Hope you had a great weekend too!  Do anything exciting?  I would love to hear about it!

W, X, Y --Where I've Been: An eXplanation for You

Let me apologize in advance, but this entry is going to serve as W, X, and Y.  I know that's cheating, I promise, but it's the best I can do.  Yesterday, we had a great day of track.  A very hot day of track, as well.  I was already not feeling great, but I pretty much came home and went to sleep, whenever I wasn't sick to my stomach or trying to take down the swelling in my eye.  Because on top of a stomach bug, I seem to have also scored a prime case of pink eye or some kind of severe allergic reaction.  (Always the over-achiever!) 

So, today instead of going to the track meet with the little kids, I get to go to the eye doctor.  Not how I planned on the day going.  But at least it happened this week and not next, when I will be knee deep in graduation stuff.  And I am planning on taking tomorrow off to recooperate, and go to Prom.  One more week and my life is mine again.   (I think I can.  I think I can.)

Anyway, that's where I have been and that's where I'll be.  And I really just want to say how much I have enjoyed meeting people during the A to Z Challenge!  I can't believe I broke 100 followers.  I can remember the not-at-all distant days where I was pretty sure only three people were paying any attention to me at all.  I hope that you stick around too!  Summer is my favorite time to blog!

V Is For Virginia

I love a good road trip!  This year marks the fifth anniversary of our Annual Girls Road Trip!  And to celebrate, we are adding an extra person (hey there, Casey!) and a new location.  It's actually fitting that we celebrate this anniversary once again visiting Tara, since it all started back in 2008 when we went to see her in Charleston, SC.  That year, I swore that as a graduation present Amber would get to see the ocean, and with an assist in the lodging department, it totally happened!

 The next year, Amber was living in St. Louis (aka the STL), so I went to stay with her and a then-baby Butters!  We went to the spa, ate all kinds of goodness, raided Trader Joe's and checked out some art.

 In 2010, it was all about the beach again.  This time we headed to the Redneck Riviera, Gulf Shore, AL!  It was so much fun that we had to do it all again in 2011!

I am really looking forward Virginia!   It will be nice to all be together, which is always a good time yet happens so rarely, and we will be celebrating a certain little girl's first birthday!  Nothing says summer like a good vacation!

T Is Also For Thirty

I am just over six months into my thirtieth year.  And so far, so good.  I feel like I am probably busier than I have ever been in my life, and even when I am overwhelmed, it feels good.  I've written before about how my actual thirty looks nothing like how I thought my life would be.  In all my imaginings, I was sure I would be married, have kids.  I thought I would have hit all of the "adult landmarks" people talk about. 

And outside of a house and a job, I haven't.  I don't know if I ever will.  But one thing that my thirties have brought me is peace with that.  No matter what happens, I'm okay with it.  I really and truly believe that this may very well be my best decade yet, come what may.  I am more comfortable with who I am and who I am not than I have ever been in my life.  For a girl who has been riddled with confidence problems her whole life (despite my attempts to pretend otherwise), that's kind of a big deal. 

I look at the kids I teach, even my seniors, and can't help but smile because they just have no clue.  They don't know how hard the next years will be, or how glorious.  Because they will be both. Living is simply the sweetest, most frustrating, most amazing thing.  And you can't see it until it's in the rear view.  But it makes me anxious to see what's next for all of us.

T Is For Tardy

I have a real post for the letter T, I just fell asleep before I finished it.  And since I am off to the senior picnic today, it won't be up before this afternoon!  Please accept my sincere apologies and check back later for the real post.  Thanks!

S Is For Sleepy

Like most of the posts this week, this will probably be short.  It seems last night that my allergies got the best of me, so I took a Benadryl.  And proceeded to sleep for the next 12-13 hours.  Guess I needed that.

Which means that instead of having hours before I am supposed to go out in public looking somewhat presentable, I now have an hour.  (And this morning, I am looking more than a little rough!)  But I can't miss a chance to go shopping (Thiry-One) for a good cause, The Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk For The Cure my co-workers are doing!  Fighting cancer and getting new bags?  Perfection!

When was the last time you shopped for a good cause? 

R Is For Roses

There's this stupid rosebush in my backyard that I have been trying to kill pretty much since I moved in.  It's not really on purpose, it's just that I have problem keeping things that flower alive and this rose bush is in the most inconvenient place ever.  My dad has cut it down, mowed it down, and it still comes back bigger and better than ever.  And because of that, I love it.  Persistence earns bonus points in my book.

And all I can think as I write this is that the stupid rose bush and I have a lot in common.  And all I can hope is that my Gardener rewards persistence, too.  Because some days I don't have much else going for me.

Q Is For Quiet

Whenever I think about my personality, I think about this song.  I'm sorry about the Japanese subtitles, unless, of course, you speak Japanese, in which case, you're welcome!

Unlike Winnifred, I am a little bit shy when it come to being around new people.  But I am rarely ever quiet.  I love to talk. LOVE.IT.  And I have a big voice.  I don't mean to, that's just how it is.  My parents actually had my ears checked when I was a kid because they were convinced I was hard of hearing.  I wasn't.  I was just loud.  (Which isn't a clinical diagnosis, but maybe it should be!)

Sometimes this comes in handy, like when I am singing.  I can fill a church, auditorium or classroom with very little strain or effort.  When I sang with the girls, we would always turn my mic volume to half of what theirs' was.  (This confounded many a sound guy! But I always promised them I wasn't bothered by it!)  This also means that my inside voice isn't always situationally appropriate.  It can make me sound angry even when I'm not.  And my whisper is almost always not so much.

Even if it makes other people crazy (especially my mother), our idiosyncrasies are what make us unique, right?  Do you have a quality about yourself that you don't mind but makes others a little crazy?  Surely I'm not the only one.  (Please?)

O Is For Opening Day

Today is the first day of track season.  I've been a coach for four years, despite the fact that I never ran in school.  (Or ever.)  If I wasn't a little short for my weight, I think I might actually enjoy running, but I fear we may never really know.  I only really became the coach out of a fit of rage (directed at the coach at the time) and took the position when it opened with my colleague to prove that we could do a better job.  She did at least run track.  I knew next to nothing.  But I was willing to learn.

Just the same, while track season is very short, it's one of my favorite things.  Because it is an individual sport, you get to actually know the kids who participate.  For some reason, I always get the job of measuring discus.  (And if you thought my running knowledge was limited, you hadn't seen me on the discus!)  We had our kids throwing the wrong size discus (they looked like dinner plates) and then wondered why they couldn't throw them.  Thankfully, a veteran coach took us under his wing and showed us the ropes.  He still gives us crap about that, though. 

There are so many reasons that I shouldn't be a track coach.  I'm round.  I'm prissy.  (I really want some cute boots for when it inevitably rains and the mud's deep!)  I still don't know all the things I should.  My hurdles coaching is something like, "Just run until you get to a hurdle, then jump."  But I will do it as long as they will let me.  And there's nothing like Opening Day.

N Is For Nothing

I spent a whole weekend doing a whole lot of nothing.  I ate a lot of hushpuppies and fried potatoes, did a lot of baby holding, watched a lot of TV.  And it.was.glorious!  Because these next few weeks are going to be so full of event after event that I will gladly embrace the downtime.  (I might have even reveled in it a little!)

In the next 25 school days I will have:  four track meets, two awards banquets, the senior picnic, two graduations, the after-grad all-night party, and. oh yeah, and teaching my classes for the remainder of the semester.  It's my favorite and my least favorite time of year.  Of course, those activities don't include events for my other job or my actual personal life (which I do occasionally try to have!).  I can't wait to share Casey's birthday and our Cinco de Derby party with you all.  Because sometimes, my life really is just about having fun like a normal single girl in the world.  (Which is a challenge in and of itself!) 

But, for today and today only, my word is nothing.  It doesn't make for a very good post, but it is tremendously good for my soul. 

M Is For Movies

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves is the first movie that I remember seeing in the theaters.  My friend, Charlotte and I saw it together with her mom.  We couldn't have been older than first or second grade, but I still remember it.  Movies have had that kind of impact on me.  I've written it about it before, in fact.  During the 30 Day Challenge, I made a list of some of my all-time favorites.   And I even have a list of pretty famous movies that I haven't seen.  (It's my not-so secret shame, to be sure!)

Today, my office hosts a collection of well over 200 hundred titles.  Many are classics, some are stocked for viewing with the Divine Miss M someday, and a few I should probably be ashamed of.  (I openly admit that I frequent the $5.00 bin a bit too often.  I just can't help myself!)  I am many things, but I am not a movie snob!  Yes, I love Casablanca, but there's a time and place for Summer School, too.  It's nothing for me to watch three or four movies while I pretend to clean or do laundry on a leisurely Saturday.  Those are actually some of my favorite days.

Movies take us to places we may never see, into the experiences of characters whose lives we may never live.  And there has always been something so enchanting to me about that. Not just because I dreamed, like many other little girls, of becoming an actress.  Movies offered me a window into a world bigger than my hometown, and when you felt claustrophobic from the small minds of a small town, that was pretty much the best thing ever. 

What are some of your favorite movies?  Do you remember the first one you saw in a theater?  Your comments are the best part of this challenge!

L Is For Ledges

I've always been fascinated by things people fear.  Not in a mocking way, I promise, more in the same way that I love people watching.  It's interesting to know what makes people tick.  I knew a girl growing up who was afraid of sharks, and got nervous around any body of water, even though sharks are rarely found in freshwater, Midwestern ponds or the shower.  I mean, what causes our brains to imprint the things that panic us?  I'm sure there's some scientific explanation, but if you know, you don't feel obligated to school me.

I have two things that really mess me up.  One is ledges.  Heights don't really bother me, in fact, I love a good panoramic view of a city.  I've stayed in the upper floors of hotels without problems and been to the top of the Empire State Building without incident.  But I used to have panic attacks about looking over the edge of the church balcony.   One glance down on the rest of the congregation and I was a dizzy, short-of-breath mess.  I can't think of a single reason why.  I've never fallen over a ledge of any kind if you don't count being dropped off a diving board into the arms of my waiting swimming instructor by my mom as a kid.  (I refused to jump, so she helped.  And I still love swimming, so it didn't scar me for life or anything...)

My second makes even less sense.  I hate wind-up music boxes.  Can't stand them in a worst gift you could ever give me sort of way.  I have three beautiful NYC snow globes, and I have no clue what they play.  And if I have my way, I never will.  That is the kind of psycho music boxes bring out in me.  My grandma swears that this phobia is because I hated to sleep and they used to play a Winnie the Pooh wind-up toy in my crib.  I say it's because the high-pitching tinkling is Satan's house music.  I don't know who's right, but my friends will attest that playing a music box in my presence causes a high-speed come apart like no other!

Which leads me to ask...do you guys have any weird fears?  Yell them out in the comments!

K Is For Knights

In the immortal words of Bonnie Tyler, "Where have all the good men gone, And where are all the gods?"  (Ha!  Couldn't resist a Footloose reference!)   But, all joking aside, I do have a rather serious topic today. This is one of those rare moments where I may stray from being family-friendly, so be warned.  (But I promise not to get too far out of hand!)   I don't know what has happened to chivalry and loyalty in this world when it comes to relationships.  Where are the men of courage and honor?  Have those days gone for good?  If what I have been seeing is the norm, then it really makes a girl wonder if she even wants to be in a relationship.  And ladies, I'm not letting us off the hook either.  It takes two as they say, and it seems that a man who is looking to compromise a relationship (and himself) has no problem finding someone to do it with.  (Pun not intended, but just the same...)

But the question I really want to consider is why?  Why are we so willing to throw our morals to the wayside when lascivious activities present themselves?  Do we have to say yes just because it is available?  I certainly don't pretend to have all the answers.  You can check my dating background and see that.  But I'm just discouraged by men and women I have seen fall to the "grass is greener on the other side" mentality.  And I just don't get it.  Cheating is never excusable, but that's not to say it's not something a couple can come back from if both sides want to work at it.  But what's the deal with cheating in the first place?  It's become so common that we barely blink an eye at the news.  And that just isn't okay. 

I was raised in a fairly small community, and so my formative years were somewhat sheltered.  But when I think about the kids in my graduating class (of which there were a whopping 37), less than half of us had parents who were divorced and that was just in 1999.  But that is certainly not how it is today.  (And I live in the same community, in case you wondered.)  Maybe I am in the minority myself, but I believe that divorce is still a big deal, even when it is necessary.  But what I really find myself wondering is how can we turn the tide?  Is that even possible? 

I'm just talking out loud here.  I invite you to join me in this discussion, but I ask that you play nice.  We all are entitled to our own opinions and gracious knows I don't have all of the answers.  I'm anxious to hear from you...

J Is For Juggling

Before you even get started, if you want to read something on the same topic, but written so much better than I could ever dream of writing, go here.  It's fine.  My ramblings and I will be here when you are finished.  Moving on...

I've always loved a full calendar.  There was just something about writing in the appointments of my teen and college life in onto each pristine month that just made it all so official.  Even though I now enter most of them into my phone, my love for overbooking myself...er, keeping myself busy endures.  I, too, am a first-born, people pleasing, overachiever.

But here's the truth of the whole thing...I am the girl who can't seem to say no.  (And not in a fun way! tee hee!)  And the really confusing thing is that I'm not really that great at juggling it all.  It will all get done, and it will probably all be fine, but I routinely bite off more than I can chew.  And then feel lousy and stressed, and take it out on perfectly lovely people.  And I wish I knew how to stop. 

I get that the simple answer is to just say no more.  I wish it were that easy.  It seems like my job and pretty much every area of my life demands a little more of my time with each passing day.  And I don't even have a husband and kids.  (Seriously, ladies, I don't know how you do it!)

Since I live my life in school years and not calendar years, my goal for the 2012-13 year is to live in the present more.  I want to prepare ahead as much as I can so that when the big events come, I can spend my time enjoying them instead of stressing about them.  This is just one of the reasons why I have decided not to work an extra job this summer, even though I have been offered a couple different options.  The money is nice, but my sanity is more valuable.

Am I the only one who does this?  Surely not.  Make me feel better about myself in the comments.  (ha!)

I Is For Interruption

I wanted to take a break from more topic-based things and just do a recap of my little Easter Break.  Hope you guys don't mind!  But let's be honest, if you do I am still going to talk about it.  I mean, it is my blog after all!  ;)

Friday, I had a rather disappointing day shopping.  I just wasn't really in the mood, everything I liked wasn't in my size, and I wasn't feeling very well.  Complete shopping fail.  (I'm sure I'm not the only one who has ever been there.  Am I right, ladies?)  Saturday, I mostly just lounged about until it was time to get ready to go to Holy Saturday Mass to see my SIL join the church.  The service was long, but very beautiful.  (Despite being raised Catholic, I had never been to the Easter Vigil.)  Which brings us to Easter Sunday!  After Mass, I spent some time in the absolutely gorgeous outdoors taking a few pictures.

Because of the crazy warm temps, Mom's clematis is already in full bloom.  This purple one is my favorite!

While I was taking pictures, my little brother was practicing his golf swing.  This causes my parents' outside cats to go absolutely nuts chasing the balls all over the yard!  They also would try to sneak them back into the garage when he wasn't looking.  It was pretty funny!

Don't believe me?  Here's your proof...

There's no real narrative for this cake.  I mean, my grandma made it for my cousin's birthday (we celebrated his and my SIL's 25th), but mostly I just liked how it looked (and tasted!).  It being the cake...and the picture, for that matter!

It was a very good weekend, even if it went by entirely too fast!  Good news is that it's only 29 days until summer vacation!  (And how could I let a post go by without this sweet face!  She had a very happy 1st Easter weekend, too!)

H Is For Happy

First off, welcome to Week 2 of the A to Z Challenge!  I can't believe how many new people I've "met" already and we are just getting started!  If  you are new here, welcome to the party!

Now let's move on to the letter of the day.  I'm just going to come out and say it--sometimes, being happy is hard.  Even if you have no real reason not to be.  And for someone who is prone to letting complaints pass her lips much more often than praises, I think it's high time for me to talk about just what makes me happy, and to do it in list form, which is always my favorite!

Things that make me deliriously happy....

• German potato salad
• My whole family gathered together in one place
• This face

• That song I loved but had forgotten about coming on
• I no longer drive an 11 year-old minivan (though I am thankful to have had it in my hour of need!)
• Drive-thru ice cream places
• Milk Duds
• We Bought a Zoo (watched it over the weekend and loved it!)
• A good haircut  (getting one today, in fact!)
• A long nap in the middle of the afternoon
• Planning for vacation
• Pedicures!

What's making you happy today?  Tell me all about it and let's all practice being happy!

G Is For Games

Yes, as in The Hunger Games trilogy.  I'm normally not one to jump on the bandwagon when it comes to these books for a couple of reasons:  1) I don't particularly care for fantasy and 2) I don't enjoy reading something just because everyone else is.  And I'm pretty serious about this.  I haven't read any of the Harry Potter books or the Twilight series.  (And while I might someday read Harry Potter, you can't count me out on the sparkly vampires.)

I've had the books on my shelves at school since last spring, and from time to time someone would check them out and tell me I should read them.  But I didn't.  In fact, it wasn't until a week or two ago, when the build-up to the movie was at fever pitch that I really even gave it a second thought.  So, I picked up book one, The Hunger Games, and preceded to read it in slightly less than 24-hours.  Let's just say that despite the gore level a little beyond my comfort zone (I'm kind of a wimp), I love it!  I've finished Catching Fire since and am almost done with Mockingjay.  I can't get enough.  And I managed to start a bit of a family reading thing, because my dad and my SIL have both read the whole series as well.  (My SIL may have even read them aloud to my niece.)

They are well-written, vivid, with just enough twists and turns to make you want to keep reading.  Of course, most of you probably know this because I feel like the last person alive to discover how good they are.  The only thing that has me annoyed is that everyone is trying to make this a story about a love triangle, when that not really the point.  To do that takes away from the real story, one of Katniss Everdeen, a literary character worth looking up to.  (And we could use a few more of those!) 

Have you read the books?  Is there some other series you absolutely love?  (I will say that P just might be for one of my other favoritesm Percy Jackson!)  Let me hear all about it in the comments.

Wishing you a great Easter weekend!

F Is For Fair

This has been the first post all week that I had no clue what word I was going to use.  I had several thoughts, ranging from Faith to Frustration to words that are better left unsaid on a blog that's trying hard to stay PG.  But like all good ephiphanies, the word finally came to me in the middle of my morning shower--Fair. 

One of the mantras on repeat at school is that equal isn't always fair.  And while I know that this is intellectually true, some small part of me screams "And why not?"  I want things equal and fair.  I want my friends who are praying for a baby to get one, those who are sick to get well, and the answers to a million big and little prayers to come in the just the way that I have been asking for them because goodness knows that I have all the answers.  (ha!)  But at a conference that was not at all about religious matters, the speaker said that fairness is everyone getting what they need to be successful and that means everyone's paper looks a little different.  There's no place for comparison at the table because what is best for one is not necessarily best for another.  And it is not the students' job to make that call.  It's the teacher's.  Hmmm...couldn't possibly be a lesson in that right?  (God's sense of humor is sometimes too much for me!) 

So on Good Friday, as we mourn the death of Jesus Christ, we wait with hope.  Hope for Sunday morning, for something better, for something more.  And we remember that the cross wasn't a place for fairness.  Jesus died sinless and blameless for our sins, for my sins.  There's nothing fair about that.  But the Cross was necessary for our survival.  If there had been no death, there could be no resurrection. 

One of my fondest childhood church memories is of the Good Friday mass.  If you've never been to one, it's somber and a little strange, but I always waited for the ending with baited breath because I knew that meant Ms. Lewis was about to sing.  And when the time came, her notes rang loud and clear in the pin-drop quiet church:

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Oh, oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Almost ten years later, I can still hear her voice so clear in my head that it gives me the chills.  No, I wasn't there in the physical sense, but the beatings, the exhaustion, the cruel torture of the cross, He would have done all of that just for me.  Jesus would have done it all for you, too, even if you were the only one to be saved.  Fair didn't even cross His mind. 

E Is For Easter Break

By the end of today, I will officially be on break.  We didn't take a Spring Break because our school is getting out in early May, but we are at least getting a little extra time around Easter.  And I have big plans for my days off. 

It seems like most everything in my life right now is running just a little bit behind.  My to-do list is piling up in a way that makes me wake up in flop sweats in the middle of the night.  It's like I can feel it staring at me with its ticking clock and mounting demands.  It's really kind of annoying.  I mean, if I am going to have a million things to do, the least my brain can do is give me a good night's sleep, right?  But instead I wake up at 3:00 thinking about work stuff and and side job stuff and just life stuff in general and it's all starting to push me just a little to close for the edge for someone with six weeks left in the semester...

What was I saying?  Oh, yeah.  I really need a break.  I'm hoping to not just do the laundry or scrape the hairspray off the bathroom surfaces.  I want to take pictures (it's supposed to be pretty this weekend), and hug on my niece, and just breathe for a minute with no other plans or intentions.  And I want to especially celebrate what Easter stands for with my family.

Are any of you getting a little extra time off?  Got big plans?  Well, let me hear all about them in the comments!  (I am hoping to have a little time over break to spend more time visiting some of your blogs too!  I've gained ten followers just this week, and I haven't done a great job keeping up with everyone!  But I promise I will get there!)

D Is For Divine

During last year's A to Z Blog Challenge, I did little introductions of some of my friends who are frequently mentioned on this blog.  It's my habit to talk to you, my people, as though you are a part of my life, even though most of the people in my real life don't read my blog.  (I'm quite serious.  My mom doesn't even read it!)  Well, since most of the introductions of my friends were done last year, that leaves only the newest people in my life to introduce, and today's is simply divine.  Or to put it more precisely, The Divine Miss M!

I've never waited for anyone in my life with as much anticipation as I did the birth of my niece this January.  And like any true diva, she made as grand an entrance as possible.  When she finally arrived just short of midnight on January 22, I knew that I had never seen anyone quite as perfect as she was.  Though I have already written about my own plans for children (or lack there of), it doesn't mean that I don't love babies.  There's nothing as sweet as cuddling a newborn and from the moment I held her in the middle of the night in that hospital room, I was hooked. 

If you know me in real life, or even have been reading very long at all, you know that I am a camera person, and Miss M has become my favorite subject.  I get a little grief over it, for sure.  My grandmother swears that she won't know her Aunt K if I don't have my camera in front of her face, but all I can think about it how amazing it's going to be to document her life.  I want to take all these pictures because one day, she will be big enough to want to see them.  And photographing people I love is kind of my love language.  (Trust me, you should see how many years of pictures I have on my hard drive!)

I'm already planning all the things we will do together.  I have wonderful aunts who spoiled me in a million different ways, and I can't wait for the day when she will be big enough for sleepovers and movie nights.  I've pinned a whole folder full of craft projects and special things we can do together.  I'm already anxious for the day when she's big enough to take to the theater to see her first musical.  We have plans.  Though she's too little for them right now, I have no doubt in a blink of an eye, she'll be big enough for all our adventures.  And I, for one, can't wait!