Engaged for real this time

David proposed tonight and of course I said yes! We were able to go to my staff Christmas party so I had the opportunity to show off my beautiful ring. We are both very excited!

School

I haven't really talked about school in a while. This year's class has several more challenges than last year. A lot of times I feel like I'm failing these kids. I hope that is just the perfectionist part of my personality coming out, but I just wish I could do so much more for them. If you're a teacher... do you ever get into those funks where you feel like everything you're doing is boring and there is no possible way you are getting the point across to your students? I feel like I should be giving more enrichment for my high kiddos and more reteach to my low students, but I'm managing as best as I can. They did a lot better on the middle of the year benchmarks than the beginning of the year at least. I think it's funny that all my students last year got commended on the reading TAKS whereas this year I am desperately hoping a couple of my kids even pass... My writing curriculum has been a lot better this year due to that professional development I did this past summer. I am planning on some sort of science professional development this year or summer to help improve my teaching in that area. I feel like it's nice to have goals so now that I've tackled some of what I wanted to work on in writing, I will work on improving my science lessons. If you can tell, I don't discuss school with David all that much and I needed to get some of this out, even if only my parents read it! :)

Rockin around the Christmas tree...

David and I decorated a tree together for the first time with our
ornaments that we have each accumulated over the years. All it's
missing is a tree topper and a tree skirt... I love Christmas time!!

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil...

Picture of our house!

Cute Pictures... :)

UPDATE

There has been some confusion....I am not engaged. I have moved, but I am not engaged. LOL, sorry for the mix-up!

Home

Well thanks to Dad and David, I'm all moved in to David's house. I still have bags and boxes to unpack, but it's nice having everything here! :)

Schoolhouse Rock

I'm done with the first month of school and I've only had to take one sick day so far! After many stressful schedule changes and figuring out pull-out times for my needy kiddos, we are finally getting into the routine and swing of things. My class is full of sweethearts. Some of them are super impulsive (ADD or ADHD), but they have good intentions.

After the first week with the kiddos, David and I headed back to Plano for Zeb's 21st birthday...she's so grown-up now :) The weekend after that we went back to Plano again for one my friend Tracy's engagement party. It was a gorgeous night and I am so exited for Dan and Tracy! I am actually going to be a bridesmaid in her wedding in February!

I finally got to spend a weekend in Austin last weekend. David and I went to the movies (our usual hobby), slept in, and watched a lot of football. We also decided that I will be moving into the house with him. I just have to figure out how to go about subleasing my apartment...

Yesterday, I finally used my spa certificate that David got me for my birthday. I spent 3 1/2 hours at the spa getting a one hour massage, a spa facial, and a foot facial pedicure. I also enjoyed a couple glasses of wine while getting pampered. Needless to say, I was in a great relaxed mood when I got home! David sure knows how to buy gifts.

Today, I am looking forward to watching the UT game against Tech, and avoiding doing school work. Hope everyone is having a nice weekend!

My 2nd "first day of school"

Man it's nice having at least one year of teaching experience. I wasn't stressed or nervous really at all for today. Everything did not work out how I thought it would, but I just shrugged it off knowing that would happen. My kids have an overall lower average than last year, but they are a bunch of sweethearts...so far. I remember it took a few weeks for the true personalities to come out last year so I'm keeping that in mind. By the way, it's pretty awesome to hear that students actually wanted to have you for a teacher and were really excited when they got you. I've never heard that before considering they really had no idea who I was last year. I have a little sister of one of my kiddos from last year. The mom came in whooping "YES!" during open house because she was excited to have me again! How awesome is that?!

Back to School

I started school on Monday. Just teachers went back this week and the kiddos return next week. I will probably meet most of them tomorrow night at open house. They will come in with their parents to drop off their supplies and check out the classroom sometime between 4 and 6. I haven't really gotten nervous yet... Maybe it's just the first year where the nerves really bite you. I had a parent come up to me today telling me how excited she was that her son was in my class. What a compliment! Based on other teacher's comments, expressions, and recommendations, I'm pretty sure this year will be a bit tougher than last. At least I have some experience under my belt to help me! I'll keep ya "posted"...

Dolphin Watching Extravaganza....

So for some reason David thought it would be a brilliant idea to buy tickets for a dolphin watching tour boat....I know, weird right?! It's like he's dating a dolphin freak. Anyways, we did that on Sunday and it was loads of fun! It was like an hour and a half for $20 a person and totally worth it! We saw several dolphins, but it was very difficult to catch a picture so that would be why there are not any pictures off the boat. The tour guide (who appeared a bit drunk to both of us) took a picture of us in front of a huge ship that David thought was real cool (?). David didn't really enjoy getting his picture taken alone as you can see. The next day we went to the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi. It was an okay aquarium at first, but went up by volumes once I found out they had dolphins! :) I still think the Dallas Aquarium is probably better overall with the ambiance and such, but that is completely my humble opinion. This kid kept on getting in the way of all my pictures of the dolphins in the underwater viewing tank, but I did the best I could.
In case any of you are wondering, Port Aransas has a beautiful beach. I would go back in a heartbeat. The candy store is fun and the Crazy Cajun restaurant is delicious for those who enjoy seafood with a bite to it...although David did enjoy his ribs. Moby Dicks (we went here Friday night) is a great place to order fried food, but I enjoyed the calamari and stuffed crab. David said the Filet was only very slightly overcooked and otherwise delicious. Other than that, walking on the beach at night and swimming in the ocean during the day is glorious. Can't wait to go back...

David acting goofy...okay me too

Do we look like a match??

Port Aransas

This was the view from our suite's balcony... We actually stayed an
extra night so we are just driving back to Austin today! Gorgeous :)

Baby Kayla

My mentor teacher, Sarah, had her baby girl, Kayla, a couple weeks ago. I finally got to see Kayla yesterday when she turned exactly 2 weeks old. She was born 6 lbs. 9 oz, and 19 inches long. She is a petite little girl and absolutely beautiful.

Happy Birthday to Me

David and I drove to Plano to celebrate my birthday. Friday night we went out to sushi with an old friend of mine. Saturday on my actual birthday, everyone played games and hung out at my parents house. I didn't really get to open any of my cards or gifts since Emma helped me with all of them, but it's always cute to see a 3 year old get excited about other people's gifts. I got a few musical cards, giftcards, perfume, a scented candle picked out by Emma (she just wanted to give me birthday candles), and a book for school that I wanted. David got me a spa certificate for a facial, pedicure, and deep tissue massage! We are also going to Port Aransas this weekend as a combo birthday/6 month celebration. I finally get to go to a beach this summer! YAY! Sunday, the men golfed and the ladies brunched and tanned. My parents met David's parents and everyone seemed to get along, thank goodness! :)

4th of July

David and I spent July 4th in Austin. I cooked ribs, BBQ chicken, potato salad, and baked corn on the cob. We had quite a feast and then drove downtown to watch the fireworks from Congress bridge. Next year, we want to rent kayaks and watch them from the river. We'll see if that actually happens...

San Antonio

David and I went to San Antonio for a couple days after we got back from Connecticut. We stayed in the Sheraton Gunter, which was a historic old western hotel in downtown San Antonio. We went to see Transformers in the IMAX theater, which was definitely not as good as the first one. That night we went out to dinner with my cousin, Jake. We pulled into some random restaurant at the side of the road that had pretty random drinks and okay food. The atmosphere was worth it and we all had fun catching up. Jake and I found it weird to talk as adults instead of little kids. Luckily, we still get along and David wasn't too left out! :) That night David and I walked along the Riverwalk. The next day we went to SEA WORLD! You can probably guess who really wanted to go there...hehe First, we headed to the dolphin feeding tank and just watched those adorable, playful creatures. Then, we watched show after show including the Shamu show, the dolphin & beluga show, and the sea otter/sea lion show. We walked through the shark and fish viewing center, the penguin area, and the alligator pond. Before leaving we did another round of the dolphin feeding tank so I could marvel again. Probably the funniest experience of the San Antonio trip was on the way there when David decided to pull into a Snake Farm by the side of the highway. We paid $10 each to walk through a smelly building full of snake and reptile cages and a 3 acre outside area with a petting zoo. There were some crazy animals there, including deer-rabbits and mutant guinea pigs. This put us an hour behind schedule and was totally worth it!

Connecticut

I realize Connecticut was a month ago, but I've been enjoying my summer/been busy with my writing class. The family reunion was pretty darn big. David didn't seem overwhelmed at all, which is impressive with my family. There was lots of babies to hold, kids to play with, and relative to catch up with. Zeb, David, and I stayed at Jacques and Kathy's house and had a lot of fun. :) Right after we came back, David got to start living in his new house (pictures to come later) and I went back to Plano for Dad's and Emma's birthdays. Emma is now 3, a little girl instead of a baby....weird.

Fingers crossed

So summer is great. I think we should have half of the year be summer so teachers can have more time off :). David and I have already been fishing and I've already finished a book or two! I am going to Connecticut again for yet another family reunion this Wednesday. I'm staying for a week this time AND David is joining us on Friday. Keep your fingers crossed that he doesn't run for the hills or get overwhelmed after meeting the rest of the family. Now for those of you reading right now from Connecticut, don't get me wrong. By all means give him a hard time, but just don't tell embarrassing stories about me :)

End of year....

Yesterday was my last day with the kiddos. I only cried once! One of the moms wrote me a note explaining how I made a difference in her daughter's life. She told me I chose the right profession because I will change lives -- and I'm good at it! It was a very sweet card so I had no choice but to cry and give the daughter a bear hug! I scored on teacher gifts considering the really big one was parents getting together to purchase a Visa gift card. At the end of the day at my school, all the classes line up or sit down around the flag pole at the front of the school. We sing the school song and then the girl or boy scouts lower the flag instead of raising it like we did at the beginning of the year. Then they make all the teachers go inside the circle of kids and parents, and we all have to do the chicken dance. Apparently we were even on the Austin news at 5:00 last night showing "end of year" activities. Of course I didn't watch! I was standing next to Mimi (my old cooperating teacher that is moving to middle school next year) and Krista (a girl from the same cohort as me who got hired at the same time I did). It seemed a fitting and fun end to the school year. I still have to go in today with just the teachers for a faculty meeting and to make sure my classroom is all clean. Tonight we are having a staff boat party for a few hours. I'll let you know how fun that was after the fact! Tomorrow, I am going to see Wicked in San Antonio with a friend. I cannot wait! So even though it is sad that I had to say goodbye to my wonderful class, I have exciting things happening the next two days. I am sure I will feel a void in my life next week. We'll see.

Family Reunion 1

I was in Connecticut this weekend for a Lisee family reunion (My dad's dad side of the family). It was nice having all of us there since the last couple times it feels like I have been going to Connecticut alone. Paul and Robin were nice enough to open their home to Zeb and I. I had fun hanging out and playing with their 4 kids, but my apartment seems eerily quiet now. Emma had so much fun playing with them and with my cousin Lisa's kids too. I miss all my cousins and I wish I lived closer to them so I could get to know them better. I am excited to go back to Connecticut in about a month, this trip for a week, for yet another family reunion. You know what was one of the best parts about this past trip? Having someone waiting for me at the airport when I flew home to Austin :)

TAKS take 2

Got the math TAKS scores back...

All my kiddos passed and 18 out of the 22 got commended! I cannot believe my first year is almost over!!!

Scarborough Faire

I came home for Mother's Day weekend and we celebrated today by going to Scarborough Faire. I really could not remember the last time we went, but the people were definitely a lot funnier than I remembered (probably because all of it was going over my head when I was younger). We went to a couple shows and my absolute favorite was the German Twins who rapped. Emma ended up warming up to David and by the end of the day when we were out to dinner at Fogo de Chao, she was going to him often and asking him to chase her outside. It was adorable.

Zeb and I bought Mom a cooking class for the end of May called "A Culinary Tour of Spain and Portugal" and she seemed very excited about it. Looks like we made a good choice. Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers out there! :)

Door decorating time...

Flowers from the boy :)

Relaxing Weekend

I have had a pretty lazy and fun weekend. Friday night, David took me to get my first professional massage. The therapist said I definitely had my "street cred" for being a teacher after feeling my shoulders and neck. I don't know why I have never gotten a massage until now. I felt completely relaxed and stress-free. I think I just might have to start treating myself to one every once and awhile.

Last night, we ended up seeing that new movie, "Earth" at Alamo Drafthouse. We had actually seen a lot of the footage since quite a bit was taken from Planet Earth, but there was still new stuff that was worth seeing. I enjoyed it at least!

Today will be spent grading, planning, and doing a teacher self report that has to be completed every year I am observed. Math TAKS test will be this Tuesday, so please think about me that day! I am sure they will all do great, but keep your fingers crossed for my kiddos! :)

Teacher Quote :)

I have an 'Apple a Day' Teacher calendar. I love some of the quotes in it!

"No one has yet fully realized the wealth of sympathy, kindness, and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure."

~Emma Goldman

Now Puddles thinks it's her turn to pick the show...

My friend's dog thought it was his turn to drive...

Easter & more

Easter weekend was too short for me. Even though I did not have school on Friday, I still would have liked more time off! I think it would make more sense to have Monday off rather than Friday so I wouldn't have to drive back to Austin on Easter.

David came over for dinner and met the whole crew - Dad, Mom, Val, Jason, Emma, Zeb, and Andrew. He passed the "test" and everyone liked him. The next night I went over to his parents house for dinner. I learned a new card game and of course, won both hands we played! I tend to be fairly lucky in cards, especially the first time I play a game.

School is pretty stressful nowadays what with Math TAKS test right around the corner. Everyone is tense and trying to cram and review everything in the next 2 weeks. I am feeling pretty crummy again...chest congestion and sore throat. Seriously, I am so over getting sick.

Tonight I made my own Spinach Artichoke Dip and garlic shrimp with rice. The food was pretty great, but I burned the heck out of my arm. I ignored it when it happened and then it just kept expanding. I had some people over for wine and dip and they kept pointing out how bad the burn was looking. It's a good thing I have a high pain tolerance. Plus, I think my arm took some of the attention off my throat. I'm hoping this sucker doesn't blister or scar...

Strep and sunsets

So I was pretty darn sick Saturday and Sunday. I took a sick day on
Monday and it's a good thing because when I finally saw the doc, she
told me I had strep...again. I had to stay home on Tuesday in order to
be on medication for 24 hours, not be contagious, and not be racked
with pain. Today was my first day back this week and I had gotten used
to sleeping during the day. My voice was squeaky and hoarse, like a
raspy muppet (LOL)!

Tonight David took me on a picnic to Mt. Bonnel which could easily be
the prettiest place in Austin. It is basically a huge cliff that looks
over houses on the lake and then you can stand on a bench and see
downtown and the clock tower all lit up. We got there in time to watch
the sunset so we drank some wine, ate our picnic, and watched the sun
go down. Pretty fabulous first day back after being sick if you ask
me...

Sent from my iPhone

Take that TAKS!!

So I got my students' TAKS scores back today... Not only did
every single one of them pass, but every single one of them was
commended!! Literally the lowest score out of my 22 kiddos was a 92%
and I had 6 or 7 of them get a perfect score. How's that for a first
year teacher?! :)

Sent from my iPhone

Spring Break

Well this past week off has been pretty fabulous! I actually took
Friday the 13th off as a sick day so that David and I could drive to
Missouri. It's a 12 hour drive but so worth it when we saw the view
from the condo we were staying at on Lake Ozark. We spent time
fishing, hiking, mini-golfing, went to a cavern that was seen in
Ripleys Believe it or Not, went to a winery, found yummy maple fudge,
saw some spectacular views, and had some delicious food. (Jacques, I
even tried frog legs!) The weather was actually perfect after the
chilliness on the first day. We spent 3 days there and drove back on
Tuesday. I met his parents on the way back. They seemed like very
sweet people and apparently they liked me too!

Wednesday through Saturday I was in Plano spending time with family.
Emma is still the most adorable little girl in the world. You have no
choice but to say yes when she asks, "Aunt Steph will you please play
with me?". She has all of us wrapped! I also particularly enjoyed
step aerobics and jazzercise classes with my mom and sisters (yes this
is more evidence of my having an old soul).

After returning to Austin last night David and I went on a double date
to see I Love You, Man and dinner at Hula Hut (I know you're jealous
Val). Paul Rudd is the man but the whole movie is hysterical so I
would definitely recommend it. Now I have to get ready to go back to
my normal life at school. I suppose I should get back to planning...

Hope everyone had a great week!

Sent from my iPhone

At Seven Springs Winery :)

After our tour of Bridal Cave! (more pictures to come)

A deer we saw on our hike!

One of the views from our patio in Missouri!

New beau

So I've been dating someone for about the last month and a half. Here's what I have so far...

He bought me flowers on TAKS day just because he thought I'd probably had a long day (cute!). He will have soon taken me on two trips that were both fairly spontaneous and to places I've never been before. He has called me beautiful several times. I tried calling the boy a liar, but he's pretty stubborn. He kissed my forehead when I was sick. He's made me smile countless times. The only semi quirk I've discovered is that he doesn't like kid movies or chick flicks, but he is willing to sit through them for me. :)

Ladies and gentlemen, I think I might have finally snagged one of the good ones...

Happy living

So I realized it had been a while since I had mentioned that I was
happy so here it is...
Life is going well right now and I am simply happy. The one thing I am
worrying about is the TAKS test on Tuesday that my kids will take. I
gave them a release test that was taken in 2006 and the lowest grade
out of all my students was an 83%. That would be absolutely awesome if
they all did just as well on the actual test but I will be happy if
everyone passes! I also just put in my employment plan for next year
to stay at my school. I'm not sure how I got this lucky but it is
definitely happy living for me right now. :)

Sent from my iPhone

Losing touch

It is so easy to put things and even people on the back burner when
you get busy. Technically, I should probably be writing more
frequently on here when I get busy since that means I am talking to my
friends and family a heck of a lot less in person, on the phone, etc.
I am bad about letting things slide. I don't think I'm a bad friend
(or atleast I hope I'm not!) but I've been thinking lately about
significant people and friends in my life that I have lost touch with.
Don't get me wrong--I know this happens. It's a part of life and
growing up, and yada yada yada. Even so, I have been making an
effort to get back in touch with people I've missed. I encourage you
to do the same. It's always nice to hear from an old friend. Let me
know if reconnecting works for you. Good luck!

Sent from my iPhone

One of "those" days...

Do you have one day that you almost dread? A day you try to ignore when it shows up on the calendar? Tomorrow is one of those days for me. Eight years ago I was a different person living in a separate world, but this time of the year still has an impact. It makes me reflect, regret, relive, renew doubt, renew hope, and renew appreciation for all the love and support I am blessed to have around me. I know I am truly lucky.

Fun Weekend

I spent this weekend gambling in Shreveport! :) I had a professional development day on Friday (meaning the kids had no school and the teachers did) so we were on the road by 3:30 pm. It was my first time actually being in a casino so we played penny slots. We each put in $100 and he didn't do as well as I did... I got down to $70 at the penny slots. First I won 50 free games and got back up to the $80's. Then I won a little here and there and got back to $92. After that, I won a bonus feature and got 100 free games...out of that I won 50 more free games...out of that I won 15 more...and I ended up winning $78.45 on an initial $0.15 bet. (I have pictures to prove it and will be posting those soon!) I got up to $171 and the first thing I said was that I had to call Meme! (Those of you who know my grandma will understand!) We decided I was lucky due to the temporary #5 tattoo one of my students had given me the day before and I put on my wrist. :)

I wasn't so lucky on Saturday, but I didn't lose that much at all. This is mostly because I didn't bet that much either. I also refused to play blackjack since it was a $25 minimum and I had only played blackjack for pennies with my family! I did, however, find a pretty fabulous dress so I think my luck went towards shopping and not gambling!

All in all, it was a fun weekend! I'm glad I decided to leave Austin and do something new! I hope this weekend was fun for all of you as well!

Greetings!

Happy Hearts Day everyone! :)

Sent from my iPhone

Kid talk

As we were lining up for lunch, one of my boys just stood there and studied me for almost a full minute.

Boy: "Ms. Lisee, I think you're darker on your bottom half than your top." (pointing to my legs and then my arms/neck)

Me: "Sweetie, I'm wearing pantyhose." (pinching the pantyhose off my leg)

Boy: "Oh well that's good because if you weren't wearing tights then that would hurt if you were pulling your skin like that."

:)

Quote to keep teachers going...

"Only the brave should teach. Only those who love the young should teach. Teaching is a vocation. It is as sacred as priesthood, as innate a desire, as inescapable as the genius which compels a great artist. If he has not the concern for humanity, the love of living creatures, the vision of the priest and the artist, he must not teach."

--Pearl S. Buck

February holidays

So I am starting to get ready for my Valentine's party at school that will happen later this week. I have never been a big fan of Valentine's day, but my students are already getting excited.

In honor of this annoying holiday, I figured I'd share a quote that is actually on the box that my perfume came in. I wear "Falling in Love" by philosophy. I kept the box because I'm a big fan of what's written on it! So here's a little food for thought... :)

"When it comes to love you need not fall but rather surrender. Surrender to the idea that you must love yourself before you can love another. You must absolutely trust yourself before you can absolutely trust another and most importantly you must accept your flaws before you can accept the flaws of another."

One Giant Leap for "Stephkind"

So today was a pretty historic day for me. I stood up for myself as a woman and as a person for probably the first time. I realize this sounds like nothing, but if you know me then I know odds are...your jaw just dropped. I will no doubt feel guilty about it later, but for the time being I'm a little proud.

Another weekend

I did a few new things this weekend. Friday night was spent at main event for someone's birthday. I played shuffleboard for the first time, ddr in the arcade, and then rocked at glow in the dark mini golf.
Saturday, I shot a gun for the first time. I had to learn and memorize the 4 rules of gun safety before I even touched my friend's gun. Then, he named all the parts of the gun, disassembled it, and put it back together again. I had to do this while naming each part. At the shooting range, he showed me how to stand and hold the gun while aiming. There were three of us who went and we all got to do plenty of shooting. The target was only 3 meters away, but I think I really started to get the hang of it by the end.
I spent the Superbowl tonight with a group of friends at someone's apartment. It was very laid back and chill, but I'm pretty sure I was the only one rooting for the Steelers. Too bad for everyone else.... :)

Thunder Cake

I am posting a picture of a note I received in December from my students. It was absolutely precious and yes, I am working with the writer on his spelling! :)

After looking at that again, I decided to do something fun for my kids. We read the story "Thunder Cake" by Patricia Polacco this week. If you haven't read it before then you should because it is a short, sweet read. It is about a little girl who is afraid of a thunderstorm so her Grandma suggests making thunder cake to keep her mind off of it. She has to do several things which require her to overcome her fears, but at the end of the story they end up eating the thunder cake they made. Since I am trying to be a "cool" teacher, I made my kids a thunder cake tonight (with a little help :) ) which I will allow them to devour tomorrow. I hope this gives me some cool teacher points...

Man, I'm a nerd.

Mother is always right

So I went to work out with a friend yesterday and we were switching from different things for about 45 minutes. Then we noticed a free yoga class going on that started in 5 minutes. For the next hour, we stretched, held crazy positions, and breathed deeply over and over. I left feeling more relaxed than ever. Mom, you always told me I'd love yoga because of all my crazy flexibility and it doesn't surprise me that you were right...once again. :)

Summing up the week

I had Monday off, but 4 day weeks sometimes seem longer than regular weeks and I'm not sure why that is. We watched the inauguration in my classroom and a lot of it went right over the kiddos' heads. I told the kids that it was an important day for our nation, but it was also really neat for them because they have only known one man as president since they were born. We discussed what Obama said in his address so I made sure to take outline notes while he was speaking. My principal encouraged all of us to watch it in our classrooms and I was glad I had the opportunity to watch.

Thursday nights are turning into a girl's night for me. Our first one this week was ridiculously fun so I hope it continues!

Friday I went bowling again. Boy am I bad at bowling! My high score out of the 3 games we played was a 109. I still enjoy laughing and making fun of myself though! Thank God I have become less competitive (in some things) as I've grown older. Gone are the days of throwing golf clubs on the ground! :)

Yesterday, I went camping with a rather large group of people. There were 12 people, 5 dogs, 4 cars, 4 tents, 2 campsites, and a lot of toasted marshmallows! Some of us went on a 4 or 5 mile hike and had to cross a river by jumping from rock to rock without getting our shoes wet. I took a few pictures during the hike with my phone so as soon as I can figure out how to post them from my phone, you'll see them. It was a tad chilly and by tad chilly I mean it was downright cold, but everyone had a blast. I forgot how much I like camping and it made me really want to go fishing as well...

Today I am trying to be a little productive with laundry, cleaning, grading, and long overdue errands. We'll see how far that goes...

Last, for those of you reading this that are not living in Austin... I miss you!

Awkward

So I went on a dinner date tonight, only I didn't realize it was a date....awkward! Seriously, what do you do in this situation?!

Picture

I just downloaded pictures from my camera and this one brightened my not-so-good-day up a bit.

Surprise deux

So far this weekend I have done 2 surprising things. I am most surprised by the more common of the two. First, I got a tattoo. I have been wanting one for a couple years and when I finally saw one done about a month ago, I decided it wasn't that big a deal and bit the bullet. The tattoo itself is sort of a tribute to both sides of my family. I got a maple leaf to honor all that Canadian blood in me. The guy who did it got creative with the shading around and inside so it almost looks 3D. It is red for the most part, but he put a lot of other colors in there that give it a nice effect. I also requested a small cross somewhere inside the leaf and he put it in the top center of the middle vein. Parents know and are actually pleased with the design I chose. :)

Second, we grilled out at someone's house tonight and I forgot to bring food for myself that I could eat (aka no cow or pig). I decided to eat half of a burger, which is something I haven't had in 4 or 5 years! It wasn't really bad, but it wasn't really good either. Just oddly familiar.

On a separate note, I have been trying to help out one of my friends this week who is going through a rough time. I realize I almost become sad because I cannot help her as much as I want to. I act as goofy as I naturally am and perhaps a bit more which does bring a smile to her face every now and again, but I wish I could do more. Cheering someone up is hard work.

P.S. - The skydiving trip has been scheduled but in order to respect someone's wishes (Dad), I will not disclose the exact date. I promise to write about it after the fact.

Kungfu fighting

Everybody should be kungfu fighting! I had a lot of fun trying that out tonight with my old high school theater teacher (just to make it a little more random). Luckily, I had a friend from school come with me so I wasn't the only beginner in "street clothes" in the class. I'm pretty sure I used muscles I haven't used in a while and my stupid dancing background kept messing me up. I am going to continue trying this out for the next couple weeks and if I still enjoy it, then I will look into buying a membership. It can be a great workout for your body and I think healthy for the mind as well! I can already see how this would be the ultimate stress reliever, which we all know would be very beneficial for someone like me! :)

Living the moment

So I have been making plans to do several random things this week. The drag time during the daytime on the weekend has been a bummer, but I've been keeping busy for the most part. I am going out or hanging out on weeknights now, which I thought would be hard with school, but so far so good. I had a "dinner party" and then a game night with a new group of people who turned out to be a lot of fun. I finally went ice skating and realized how much I LOVE it. I am even considering buying my own skates (yes I know this sounds a bit extreme and crazy). I made plans to play laser tag and even though they fell through I know we will eventually go in the near future. I found time to go to the movies and Curious Case of Benjamin Button was pretty darn good. I saw an old friend today, who fortunately I will be spending more time with because apparently I have to hold her accountable. :)
I am going to try Kung fu with someone this week and hopefully go bowling on another one of the nights if I can find someone who sucks as much as I do! I am going sky diving at the end of the month or beginning of the next and I'm psyched.
If anyone has any ideas of other random things I should be doing or making plans to do, I am open to suggestions.

More writing...

Pretty sure this one was within the last year, maybe last spring?

Untitled...(I don't title a lot of them)

My mind is blank and yet the pencil moves
This simple act does all but soothes
The pencil brings above what's been hiding deep below
These days, everything seems to be a foe.

My face is bright but my thoughts are dark,
When will my lies finally leave their mark?

I'm going to hate myself tomorrow morning!

Feelings

Nerves
Twisting, grinding
Constant reminder of tomorrow

Thoughts
Swirling, expanding
Never stopping for a minute

Attraction
Tingling, deepening
Growing day by day

Doubt
Gnawing, screaming
Pushing its way to the front


*I believe this one was written sometime in the last 2 years? Maybe? I need to start dating these things...

Surprise

For those of you who really know me, brace yourself for this surprise. I actually considered getting a dog...until I remembered I live on a second story apartment and that would just be cruel. If I lived anywhere else though, I think I totally would be getting one. A dog person...who knew?

P.S.- I'm not sure if I can really use a "p.s." on a blog, but I'm going with it. Another poem will probably be coming later today!

Woohoo!

Turns out I may be going skydiving in the near future....more details to come :)

Can I really call this poetry?

Okay, I am going to type 2 different poems that I wrote way back in the day, as promised. Try to think back when you were a teenager probably and you can relate to something in one of the two! I use the same type of writing in both poems so I am thinking it was around the same time, but I think the first one is a lot more negative than the second one! WARNING: I AM IN NO WAY SAYING THIS IS GOOD WRITING!

"Poem" 1: Everyday

There's a hole deep inside that no one or nothing can fill.
Something's missing, something's gone, something never will.
Each day is no different because every day is the same.
The only change is tomorrow's coming and yesterday already came.

"Poem" 2: Life

No. This is not me, yet no one understands.
No one ever will, no one ever can.
I desperately want to scream with aggravation
I must bite my lip and resist the temptation.
Life is not meant to be understood
It would already be explained if someone could.
Everyone is different and everyone's the same.
Figuring that out for yourself is the game.
No one will understand, no one will know,
Unless they become you so your insides show.
You are unique and you are alone...
Look life in the face and let that be known.

New year

Happy New Year! I can't believe it is actually 2009. It was a very chill celebration for me bringing in the New Year with family. Gourmet food, fun company, games, and little surprises like gelato today (Yum!). Here's wishing everyone a fabulous 2009!

I realize I will only be 23 this year, but I am having conflicting feelings about my age. On one hand, I feel like my life is already starting to get away from me. I sometimes imagine myself still living by myself in an apartment with perhaps a fish, school stuff taking up half of my apartment at the age of 40. On the other hand, I do not feel old enough to be a teacher. It still feels a little weird telling people that is my profession now. I hope this is a common thing to go through at this stage in my life.

On a separate note, I have gone through some old journals and notebooks from back in the day during this break. I found some poems that I actually wrote at different points in my life and I am thinking about posting one or two every so often. They are by no means great writing or even good writing, but that is how I usually dealt with strong emotions. Some of them are depressing and some of them are sweet, but I just figured I'd give you a warning before posting any of them. :)