Day 17: What Am I Looking Forward To?

I should probably just start right here and say that I am easily excitable.  It doesn't take much to get me all worked up (in a happy way) about things.  With that said, here are a few things that I am looking forward to in the next year:

• The holidays - the food, the fam, and the fun.  All of it!
• Amber's birthday - We are having a little quarter-life celebration for my dear friend in just a couple weeks!  I think we have even managed to put some semblance of a plan together for it!
• Vacation - The beach.  Again.  And it never gets old!
• My 30th Birthday - Seriously, I can't wait because I have decided to throw myself a party.  (And we all know how much I love to plan events!)
• Sheena and Ronnie's Wedding and all the impending celebratory showers and what-not - There's nothing more fun than watching two people in love tie the knot!  It's just awesome!  (And in this case, something we've been looking forward to for a LONG time!)
• And last but not least, it sounds as though Amber might be joining the blogosphere sooner rather than later!  This is something we should all be looking forward to!  I promise more details when they become available.

And I'm sure that there will be other things that just aren't on the schedule yet!  That's part of the fun of this whole blogging thing, to share as it happens! 

Having A Moment: The Royal Edition

Can I just say how excited I was when I found out this morning that Prince William and Kate Middleton are officially engaged?  I mean, I'm sure that my congratulations is the one that they have been waiting for, but seriously, how much fun is the idea of a royal wedding?  And that he proposed with his mother's ring?  So sweet.

Maybe what really gets me is the idea of the commoner becoming a princess.   What little girl didn't have that dream one or twice growing up?  It's like a real-life fairy tale.  And they've waited for eight years.  That takes a ridiculous amount patience.  (Do I hear an amen, ladies?)  More over, I guess it just seems like they really do like one another.  In candid pictures from vacations or weddings, they are always so cute, smiling and laughing.  (And I think it's hilarious that she was quoted as saying that she finds his RAF uniform "so, so sexy.")  I can't imagine all the stress and pressures that would come with that kind of position, but I like they they seem to be pretty down-to-earth considering. 

It's just nice to hear happy news when you turn on the TV.  (Though I'm sure that the wedding watch will wear out, even for those of us on this side of the pond.)  I love to hear people's engagement stories anyway, even if I don't know them, because they are all so happy.  I was obsessed with Princess Diana as a kid, and even if she didn't really get a happy ending, it's nice to know her son might. 

Day 16: Something I Am OCD About

If you know me very well, you know that there are very few things that I am OCD about.  But here are a couple.

• This one I picked up from my mom, so at least we know who to blame.  (ha!)  When loading items onto the conveyor belt at the grocery store, I have to group all the cold items together first, then all the other things. 
• I need pictures to be straight on the wall.  If they aren't, it really bugs me.  It doesn't matter how much junk is on the floor, if the pictures on the wall aren't straight, I won't be able to sleep.
• All my CDs and DVDs are in alphabetical order.  And there are separate places for TV on DVD and movies.  But always alphabetical order.
• Music and photo files are organized on my computer according to my system.  It's not exactly full-proof, but when I move things around it takes me days to find the right files. 

So what we've learned here is that most of my issues are related to food or entertainment.  Wonder what that says about me? 

And what about you?  What are you OCD about?

Really, Monday? This Is How You Want To Do Things?

Today, I am feeling 10 kinds of wrung out and strung out.  Work was stressful, and I had a million errands to run after.  It was cloudy and cold.  My allergies are acting up because I actually did a little house work yesterday.  You just ever had one of those days where it feels like everything has united in an effort to take you down?  Yeah, that was Monday for me.

What's funny is I remember being in junior high and thinking about how far away 1999 sounded, and how I couldn't wait to blow this popsicle stand and get out into the real world.  Because when I was an adult, I would have all the answers.  I would have it made.  And it's only now, more than 10 years later, that I can fully appreciate how full of crap I was.  I just didn't have a clue.  What's really annoying is that I don't actually think I know much more than I did then.  I feel like I spend three-quarters of my day saying, "I don't know."  And it's just frustrating.

And it's because of all this that I am putting myself to bed early.  The sooner this one ends, the sooner I get to start all over with a brand new day.  Thank goodness.

One bright spot:  Megan at In This Wonderful Life (see blog roll) is having a giveaway!  If you want to join in the fun, go here!

Day 15: My Dream House

Oh, my dream house.  I don't even know where to begin with all the ideas I have about a house.  I mean, I live in a perfectly nice house now.  And let's be honest, I have trouble enough keeping that clean.  (Shut it, Sheena!)  But, if I was able to have my dream house, I'm choosing to believe it would come with a dream housekeeper.  So let's talk...

I really like open floor plans.  I would want to have a big kitchen with all the goodies because in my dream house I would also be able to cook like the Pioneer Woman.  I would want lots of big, comfy chairs and couches so that we could sit and watch movies or TV shows, or the big games.  And a big table with plenty of room for everyone, because in my dream house I would entertain all the time.  I would have a gigantic four-poster bed, stacked with pillows and perfect bedding.  And there would be a door in my bedroom leading on to a deck where I can drink my hot chocolate and watch the kids play or the animals run or the kids run like animals.  And I would have a sun room because I've always wanted one ever since I stayed overnight with a friend that had one when I was in junior high. 

I could show you the tear sheets or pics I've saved, but wouldn't really show you things that I most imagine in my dream house.  My house would be bright and airy and full of noise and love.  It would be the house that all the other kids in the neighborhood ended up hanging out in.  It would be full of holiday memories and girls night dinners and a million other good things.  It wouldn't ever feel cold or lonely.  Because it's not about the size of the house or how many cool features it has, it's about all the people you share it with.  (And that housekeeper.  If you're going to dream, dream big).

Day 14: Pictures I Love

Pictures are like potato chips, you can never settle for one.  I love each of these pictures for a different reason, but the first one is probably my all-time favorite.  I can't believe that my Little Moo was ever this small...and that hair!  To borrow from Rachel Zoe, I die!

A little rain delay action photography...

Look at this face!  How could you not fall in love? 

I get bored easily on car trips.  This was taken, with no real planning, in the floorboard of my car.  (Rest assured, Amber was driving.)

Couldn't do this again if I tried.

Sure he looks pretty, but this is the face of evil...

Technically, this isn't one of mine.  I was holding the camera, but Little A was pressing the buttons.  I wish I could take the credit though...

Lu retiring her crown.  One of my favorites of her, and she's not one to shy away from the camera.

A couple good flowers pics...

And of course, a baseball one to finish.

Just a quick note  - I hold the copyright for all of these pictures, and most of the pictures that appear on this blog.  Please do not use them without my consent.  If you ask, I will probably say yes.  This hasn't been an issue, but I want to make sure that I won't become one.  Thanks!

Day 13: My Life Goals

So today's question is, "What exactly are my life goals?"  That's a nice light question to consider, right?  My first thought was to refer you to my bucket list.  I mean, those are sort of my life goals.  They should totally count.  Except that kind of seems like the easy way out.  So here goes nothing...

I want to back to school.  Some days, I think I want to be a principal.  Other days, I think higher education, teaching other teachers.  Right now, it looks as though I will probably go back in the next couple of years.  Maybe.  We'll see.

I want to be the kind of teacher students know believed in them.  Because I do.  In the same vein, I want to travel more so that I can take my adventures into my classroom.  Many of my students haven't been out of the region, much less to another country.  I want them to know that there's so much more out there to see and do, even if they choose to build their lives here.

I would like to have a husband (maybe even kids) to share my life with.  Or at the very least, a nice couch to share my life with...

But more than anything, I want to be the person God intends for me to be.  I want to live out the tenants of my faith with fidelity.  I want to wake up every more with praises and go to bed the same way, no matter what I face during the day.  If don't accomplish any other goal, I hope I achieve this one.