Black Friday...

Yes I am thankful for Black Friday! My dad and I started a few years ago getting up way before the crack of dawn and going out to stand in long lines for some Christmas presents! Some years have been better than others but none the less we always find something to get and get it at a great price on sale! This year I think I got the most items and shopped a lot longer than other years! We always have a great time and now have a routine down. He drops me off at the door or end of the line whatever and then he goes to get coffee for him and hot coco for me! By the time you are done with your drink it's time to shop! We split up and then meet up and go to the check out line all before 5:30AM most of the time! And then normally we go eat breakfast and then he drops me off at home to go back to bed! Such a fun time and this year we actually went to the right store the first time around!

Glidden...

I am thankful for the paint brand Glidden. Over the break I was able to get my guest bathroom painted the way I wanted it and only had to use one coat. Thanks to our friends Chase and Lindsay who pointed us in the direction of Glidden it was a easy quick paint job! So now our bathroom matches the guest bedroom color scheme! I will post some pictures of it when I get a chance to take some! So if your wanting to paint anytime soon I would suggest using Glidden! It's the bomb!!!

Thanksgiving Break...

So I loved having a Thanksgiving Break when I was in school but now that I am a teacher I am even more thankful that we get this wonderful week long break! This time of year us teachers get kinda tired and just ready to not see the kids for a week. We get a great change to hang out with family and friends and enjoy some sleeping in! I love to sleep you can ask anyone and this break really does help me get to relax a little bit! So thank you to my district for giving us the entire week off! I enjoyed every minute of it!

Radio...

Okay, so today I am thankful kinda in a selfish way today, and you probably wonder why the title of this entry is Radio. Well that's because we are watching the movie Radio today through Friday to put a good end to our week before we go to Thanksgiving break. Why the movie Radio you ask well there are two good reasons. The first is because we just finished our football unit in P.E. and it's a great time to watch a football movie. Second reason is because of the character the actors in the movie have to become friends with Radio. Radio is a special needs boy that was being made fun of by the football players and the coach finds out and puts a stop to it. The coach also takes Radio under his wing and teaches his football players how to treat someone that is so very different than they are. I have classes where the students are very different and some have very special needs and others don't at all. So this was a great movie for them to watch to show them what the right and wrong way to treat people that are different than they are. So this will make for a good couple days before we go into our Thanksgiving Break! So I am thankful for the movie Radio to give us coaches a little bit of a break and for helping us teach our students about the character of a man.

Hobby Lobby...

OH how I love thee! Hobby Lobby is probably my most favorite store besides Kirklands!!! Between these two stores I can decorate my house the exact way I want it! I love doing crafts even though I am not to good at them and I have to be told exactly what to do I still love them! I can spend countless hours in Hobby Lobby! From looking at all the scrapbook papers that I will probably never use but really want to all the way to the fake flowers to make arrangments in our house! I also want a sewing machiene to start making things for gifts and what not for friends because at hobby lobby the choices are almost endless. They have started putting out Christmas decorations way before Halloween was even here so that put me in a great mood! I love getting to finally decorate my house the way I want to and it's mostly because of Hobby Lobby.

Skype...

I am so thankful for Skype! Yes I live far away from my brother and sister in law and my 2 neices! So skype is the best thing around to talk to them. As probably most of you know it is kinda hard to talk to a 2 almost 3 year old on the phone! With skpye she can see who she is talking to and it's much better! This way you can also make sure that the little ones aren't scared of you when you are around them in person! I can also see our good friends in Bryan, TX who are about to have their baby #2 (no name yet)! We love talking to Dawn, Dr. B, and Nathan! It's so cute watching Nathan just be memorized and stare at the computer screen! So I am thankful for Skype for keeping me connected with all my friends and family!

Potty training...

So I thought I was going to have to give in and always have to change the towel under Rosco's kennel every time I came home from work since we got the little guy!

See the thing with him is he is pretty tiny and had previous owners so I wasn't really sure he would ever get out of the habit of hiking a leg and peeing outside of his kennel. He is a very talented dog by the way. See he knows that if he pees outside of the kennel then it's ok and he wont have to be in pee all day long. Very smart if you ask me but also very annoying. Seeing as how he wouldn't always do it to the same side we would have to get a big huge towel that is just his now and put it under his kennel so he would pee on the tile and always wash it every night because we would come home and there was always pee on it! Grrrr very frustrating!

Well much to my surprise this whole week (knock on wood) he has been able to hold it until I got home and the just go outside! I think either his bladder has expanded over time or he has just been potty trained!!! Woo Hoo I know kids will be much harder but with Rosco we have done pretty well! Way to go Champ!

Military...

So today is Veterans day 2009 and at my school we had yet another great veterans day program. I felt that it was fitting to be thankful for the military and to write about it today! I am so thankful to the men and women in the military that serve for our country's freedom! Without you all our country would not be as safe as it is now!

My brother is currently in the USMC as a Cobra pilot! I could not be more proud of him! I still remember the first time he left for Iraq. Probably one of the saddest days ever! My sister in law just had their first baby 2 weeks before he had to leave and seeing him say bye to them was heartbreaking! Thank the Lord for keeping him safe and out of harms way. I don't know what I would have done if something would have happened to him! He is my big brother and I look up to him for advice and everything else. It was really great that he could call and email home to let us all know that he was safe and doing ok when he was there. As for my sister in law she is probably one of the strongest women I know! Not having your husband around like that has got to be one of the hardest things ever. So thank you Andy for what you do to protect us your family and our country and thank you to all of the Veterans out there for your service and commitment to our country as well! This country would not be the same without all of you!

College...

I am so thankful that I went to college for so many reasons! When I decided to go to Texas A&M-Commerce I wasn't overly excited for any one particular reason. I was happy I was going some where to play soccer but I hadn't really thought of a concrete plan as to what even really wanted to major in. One thing I was happy about was getting a phone call from an old friend the summer before school started and asking if I wanted to be her roommate our first year of college. I gladly accepted and started to get ready for the rest of my life!

My first few years were kind of difficult getting use to studying and a coach that yelled at me ALLLLL the time was not very fun. I did seek comfort in my roommate and a couple other teammates and some new friends I met, the Gamma Phi's! The second year at Commerce I joined the sorority and kinda got into some trouble during soccer that taught me a great lesson and I did learn from it. My junior year was a great year for me I had a lot of fun in soccer and in the sorority life was great! When my senior year came around I was doing great and ready for graduation. The only thing I had to do was finish my last semester of classes and my student teaching semester! Oh yeah I finally decided I wanted to teach and coach! It was going to be a fun year! But then started soccer season and I was hit with a ton of bricks after a game my dad told me my Uncle had cancer and was dying oh and that same day he told me my grandpa also had cancer!!! Talk about a crappy day I think that ranks up there pretty high! Along with the fact that I had just broken up with my boyfriend of a year on our year anniversary! haha not so funny at the time but now it's all good! Out of all that my senior year I really grew up. My Uncle did pass away in January of 2006 probably the hardest day of my life to this day!

After thinking back on my college years I know I did everything I possibly could have to make it the best experience! My college roommates and I are so close it's like we were sisters that reconnected in college! I love them so much for always being the best of friends to me and having such a blast and never holding back! Roomies for life!!! Some of my sorority sisters I met will be just that simply sorority sisters but others are really my sisters! I had such a great time bonding with such a great group of girls when everyone before college who knew me, knows that I wasn't much for hanging out with a bunch of girls 24/7. My Gamma Phi sisters really opened up a new light in my life and it was such a great experience!

My soccer time in college has so many stories! Some of the best times of my life and by far some of the worst times in my life! Wow who knew that would happen by playing college soccer. While playing soccer for 4 years we were regular season conference champs in '03 and conference champs in '04. I learned so many great lessons that I still use as a coach myself from how to act on the sideline to how to treat your players to great ways to win a game! While playing soccer my junior year I suffered my first really bad injury. I broke my nose really bad in the first half of one of our games right before the conference tournament. I had surgery a week after I broke it but it didn't work. My nose was still crooked and I still couldn't breath. I then had a couple options for one we knew I was going to have to have another surgery 6 months later so I could play and risk hurting it even more or sit out during regional's in CO and just cheer my team on. Of course I tried to get released early but that didn't work I did however get to play in the regional tournament in CO so that was awesome and I didn't hurt my nose anymore than it already was even better!

So during my years in college lots of things changed in my life! Some were good changes and some were bad but through it all I had a great time and wouldn't change any of it besides the hangovers! I am so thankful for going away to college even though it wasn't very far it was far enough! I had an amazing experience and hope everyone gets as much out of it as I did!

Friends...

#3 Friends...

Wow where would I be with out my friends to keep me sane! Friends defiantly make my world go round! They are there to pick you up when you are down and bring you back down to reality when you need it as well and sometimes they can make you feel as normal as ever! When I think about the friends I have in life I can't help but smile. I often tell a lot of stories and not just once but multiple times and every story seems to have a friend in it! It makes me so happy to realize how many people I have been in contact with in my life. I have friends from elementary school through now just making some new friends this past year. I can for sure say that each one of my friends means something different to me.

Friends are there for you no matter what. Some of my friends and I can go for days, weeks, even a month or two with out talking and pick right back up where we left off. I have had some great friends in my lifetime and that have helped me through some tough times in life. From taking me out when I just needed a Taquito from Whataburger in Greenville to leaving me a card on my bed telling me they were there if I need them. I LOVE MY FRIENDS!!! It's crazy when I think back on my life and remember when and how I met some of my friends.

The one thing that does make me sad is that I don't get to see all of my friends as often as I would like. Maybe it makes me cherish our friendship more but it still sucks! Also when you lose a friend. There are so many different ways you can lose a friend. You can lose them to dying, to loss of keeping in contact, and to not getting along in many different ways. It sucks when you lose a friend to any of those ways, especially if you never know why.

So this is my shout out to all my friends I LOVE YALL!!! Miss you even if I don't get to see you very much, know that I cherish our friendship and can't wait to talk to you soon!!!

Family...

So one of the other most important things I am thankful for is my Family. If I did not have my family and their love my world would crush around me. My parents are probably the most loving, caring, giving, passionate people I know! After everything I have been through in my life and what I have put them thru they are still and always will be there for me. After Jason and I got engaged my mom and dad we the most supportive and excited I have ever seen them for me. Thank you so much Mom and Dad for teaching me how to love and be loved. You guys really are who I look up to and I always will!

As far as siblings go I think I am very lucky how well my brother and I get along! However we all know that it wasn't always this way. Growning up with an older brother can be hard at times but as soon as Andy left for College a light just switched and we pretty much instantly became the best of friends. It might have also been the fact that both of us matured. Andy joined the Marine Corps and I was going through all of the high school things high school kids go through. Once I graduated HS and went to college I would call my brother for advice and to vent if I was mad about something pretty much anything. He was always there for me when I needed him. I think the time that we realized we needed each other the most was when our Uncle Bob, "UB" died. For the both of us me being 21 and Andy being 24 this was the first family member for us to pass away. We are very fortunate to still have all of our grandparents. As far as my brother goes and the military I say Boo to that! I am not a fan of him having to be deployed but who is right!? To be honest the first time he was deployed my heart stopped knowing he was leaving to the "sand box" having to leave his not even 2 week old baby and his wife! Anyway he has been deployed and back a few times and now has 2 baby girls Maddie and Rylee!!! I love them to death and would do anything I can to make those 2 the happiest girls on the earth!!! I am so glad they will get to be with their mom and dad during these holidays!!! So in a nut shell I am a huge fan of my brother and what he has done in his life! Oh and congrats on graduating from WTI bubba!!! Love ya!!

Becca is my sister in law! As I would like to call her just my "sister"! I have known Becca since high school when Andy and her started dating! I am so glad she is my sister I never had! I love being able to call her for anything or ask her about anything! Well almost anything she is still married to my brother so there is a limit! As far as her on the mother stand point I want to model our children after what an excellent job she has done with my nieces. I know they are not perfect but in my point of view I think they are! I try to keep in touch with Becca as much as I can with out being to over the top when Andy is gone but I always want her to know I am here for her and the girls. Becca you are the best friend/ sister I never had and have always wanted! Thank you for being there for me and I promise to be the best sister to you and godmother to Rylee I can be! Oh and as far as Maddie goes I would love to see both of them as much as possible!!! I think i brag on her more than I will even my own first born! It's hard not to when Becca has shown her how to be such a great kid/ niece/ granddaughter/and everything else in the world! This is my promise to see the girls as much as we can!!!

Ok enough I love my family plan and simple and will do whatever I can to support them and back them as much as possible!! I am so thankful for my family and what the do to make us, US!!!!

Things to be thankful for...

Well now that it's November I am going to try to blog about all the many things I am thankful for! I will try to update this as much as possible and it shouldn't be to hard seeing as how I have so many things to be thankful for!!!!

The first thing I want to blog about would be how thankful I am for my husband! Yes, he is by far the best thing that has happened to me! I don't know where I would be in life if it wasn't for him! Jason takes me just as I am and puts up with everything I do or don't do (dishes, etc...)! He even listens to me tell my stories over and over again and only tells me when I'm telling him for the 4th or 5th time. We have so much fun together and are reminded often that in this life it's going to be just the two of us in the end. Sometimes I can get sad or upset with things that happen but he reminds me that he is here for me and will always be there for me! For that I am so grateful to him. We have such a great time just hanging out at home or going out for a walk or on a date! Our kids aka Puma and Rosco always seem to do something to make us laugh all night long!

Believe it or not we even enjoy cleaning the house together! We both have our parts of the house that we clean every Sunday and after we are all done we both feel so much better and happier when the house is all cleaned up!!! My mom and old college roommates wouldn't believe me that I help keep everything clean and neat and organized but I do thanks to Jason!!

I am also so thankful for how dedicated Jason is to his profession! He truly lives the 24 image! Well besides eating well all the time. Other than that the only time that he misses a workout or the chance to help someone else with their questions about working out or getting in shape is when he is sick. Even then he tries to do as much as he can. The one bad thing about being married to a personal trainer is you don't want to listen to them you would rather listen to someone else or do it on your own. I still love to go to the gym with Jason just now I do my own thing and he does his own it's better for the both of us.

I could go on and on about all the many qualities I am so thankful for when it comes to Jason but I will spare everyone and just stop here for today! Hope everyone is having a great November only 3 more weeks until we stuff ourselves full of turkey and mashed potatoes!!!!!