Northern Exposure :)

I had a northern adventure last weekend!!! :) WOOT!

On Wednesday night, Patti and I left for the Frozen North at midnight. Patti emailed me a couple of weeks ago and told me that she had to go to New York to see her brother and help out and asked if I would like to ride up there with her. I took a couple of days off and away we went! Like I said, we left at midnight. It was a very long, very dark, very rainy, very crappy drive. We had plenty of time for great conversation on the way up! I managed to stay awake (thanks to a very large can of something from Starbucks) until about 5:30am. Then I napped for about 45 minutes. We were slightly delayed on the way up by the weather and a road construction malfunction. At any rate, we arrived in Erie, Pennsylvania at around 10:30 on Thursday morning. It was very cold and raining, but Steve was waiting there for me!! :) WOOT! Patti and Steve met, we transferred my stuff to Steve's car, and then we went inside HealthSouth to meet Patti's brother, Bill. I am so glad he is doing better. It was very nice to meet him. After a brief visit with Bill, it was time for Steve and me to head for Dunkirk.

When we left HealthSouth, Steve had a couple of stops to make in Erie. We went to the mall to return a few things. Then we stopped for Steve to check on some coins. Then he took me to Chick-Fil-A (because I was STARVING!) and we were off to Dunkirk. I was glad Steve was the one to take me into New York state. :) When we got to Kelly and Mike's house, we got my stuff into the house, I met Duke the Wonder Dog (who is very LARGE, but mostly a very good dog), and then it was time to rest. Steve had to go to the funeral home for his great uncle :( so I stayed behind to take a much needed nap. I woke up when he came back and then I got to meet Kelly, who was home from work by then. After I said a quick hello, I took a shower and got cleaned up for the evening. I felt MUCH better after a shower! We visited with Kelly and Mike for a few minutes and then Steve took me to meet his grandma. She is so sweet! I'm glad I got to meet her! After that, Steve took me to one of the clubs he belongs to and I got to meet a couple of his friends. They made me feel very welcome! After the club, it was back to Kelly and Mike's for dinner. We had pizza and the best wings I have ever eaten. Ever. They were so good. Steve's parents came by Kelly and Mike's too, so I got to meet them as well. I was very excited (and nervous) to meet his parents! We called it a night kind of early because I was so very tired from the trip. (No pictures from this day. I was brain dead. Fail.)

On Friday, we went with Kelly and Mike to breakfast at Demetri's on the Lake. I had yummy cinnamon french toast and bacon. SO good! We spent most of the afternoon just hanging out. Steve had made dinner reservations for us at 4:30, so we got ready and took off for dinner. I don't know why I didn't take our picture. We looked pretty snappy. :) We had a lovely dinner at The Colony. I had chicken and broccoli alfredo, if you're curious. It was very good! After dinner, we went back to change and then Steve took me ice skating! I'm not gonna lie. I was terrified. It had been at least 9 years since I had been skating and I was surrounded by people from New York who seemed to be very comfortable on the ice. Steve promised me he wouldn't let me fall, and despite my best efforts, he kept his promise. :) I am a spaz. Seriously. It's a wonder I can even walk. But somehow, he was able to keep me upright. I held tightly to Steve and the wall for a while. Later on, I was able to let go of the wall and just hold onto Steve. :) Despite the fact that I was terrified of returning to SC in a full body cast, I had a wonderful time! :) Unfortunately, there are no pictures of this skating adventure. I could barely stand up...I certainly couldn't have managed a camera!!!

Saturday was a very big day! The weather was a little better (no rain, just clouds), so Steve took me to Niagara Falls! I was very excited!!

Here we are in the Hoop, about to leave:

We grabbed some lunch on the way out of town and took off. When we arrived at Niagara Falls, it was VERY cold! I am so glad that Kelly let me borrow one of her big coats and one of her hats! Otherwise, I might still be a popsicle! We walked around for a little bit, and then decided to go on the boat ride. It was cold and wet, but I'm glad we did! It was so beautiful to see the Falls that way!


Here are a few shots of the Falls from the Maid of the Mist:

Don't we look adorable in our giant blue Maid of the Mist ponchos?

After our cruise, we walked around the park. We were seriously jealous of Canada. Unfortunately, because terrorists don't know how to behave, you have to have a passport to go to Canada now. Fail. And it's just right there....taunting you with all of its bright lights, fun looking places, and even a ferris wheel! We getting our passports so we can go to Canada next time. I mean it. Look how fun it looks!!!

Here are some people on the Maid of the Mist, getting ready to set sail (and get wet!)

The Falls were beautiful. I took almost 90 pictures.

I was doing my typical hold the camera out and take our picture thing and a nice lady stopped to take one for us. :)

We walked and walked and walked and looked at the Falls, I think from every angle possible on the American side. And I took more pictures...

I had such an amazing time at the Falls with Steve! It was wonderful to get to spend the day together in such a beautiful place!! :)

We headed back to Dunkirk for dinner with Steve's family. Since it was Saturday and game day, I had to go get my spurs up (or my Gamecock colors on)! I got dressed and we went for dinner. Steve's mom made a wonderful dinner for us! We had chicken (that I don't know how to pronounce, much less spell), corn, mashed potatoes, a cucumber salad, and rolls and a delicious strawberry dessert! YUM! Everything was so good and I really enjoyed spending time with Steve's parents, Kelly and Mike, and of course, Steve! They are all such wonderful people! After dinner, Steve took me to meet his grandpa. Oh my goodness, he was so hilarious. So very cute. :) After that, Steve and I watched the ill-fated Carolina-Alabama game. Gamecock. Fail. Oh well. It was a wonderfully marvelous day anyway! :)

Oops! I almost forgot Zeek! Heehee. Fat cat. :)

All too quickly, Sunday arrived and it was time to go. I got ready, said goodbye to Kelly and Mike, and Steve and I headed for Erie to meet Patti. The drive to Erie was beautiful. The sun came out and the fall colors were so pretty. Steve and I had a late breakfast at Perkins (blueberry pancakes and bacon) and then it was time to go. I hate saying goodbye. :(

Patti and I had a long, but uneventful drive back to SC. I am so glad glad she let me ride up with her. I had such a wonderful time. It was great to catch up with Patti in the car, to get to meet Steve's family, see new places, and most of all, to spend time with Steve! :)

Birthday Weekend! :)

After my wonderful birthday surprise, I had a wonderful weekend. :) Here's a recap:

Thursday: Steve made me go to work. Fail. I wanted to stay home. UGH. Anyway, I went to work. Boring, boring, boring. After work I rushed home and baked a cake. Boring. Then we went to Chili's for dinner with Tracey. FUN! :)

Friday: Friday, I had a terrible migraine ;) so I stayed home from work. I worked on my cakes in the morning. We made a couple of runs to WalMart. We met Kathy and Hoppy to deliver a cake and to have lunch at Olive Garden. Yay! We went and got Steve a shirt to wear to the game on Saturday so he would look like a true Gamecock fan! I worked on cakes some more. I got a haircut! :) Friday night, we grabbed some dinner and stayed in watching movies. Fun times. :)

Saturday: GAME DAY! GAME DAY!!!! WOOOOOOOT! Steve got to go see the Gamecocks play!!! We met the Mizwas and Mama Childers at 12:30. We loaded up the truck and headed for Columbia! :) We tailgated for a little while. I love tailgating. :)

Then Steve and I walked to the Roberts's tailgate. Katie was there from Anderson and she really wanted to meet Steve! We hung out over there for a little while. I ran into Tracey's husband, Mike, who was thrilled to get a piece of Speppy Cake. :)

Then we walked to Chris and Lee Ann's tailgate to meet up with our peeps again. After visiting there for a few minutes, it was on to the stadium!! :)

The game was pretty good. The first half was a little sketchy, but the Gamecocks were wide awake for the second half! 38-14! Yay!!! We had such a wonderful day with friends and part of the family! :)

Sunday: Steve had to go home. :( Ten more hours in the car. But we had a wonderful visit while he was here!! I had the nursery with Meredith on Sunday morning, so it was off to church for me. After church, I went to Mom and Dad's for my birthday lunch! Chicken and dumplings, potato salad, green lima beans, broccoli casserole, and JELLO PIE!!! WOOOOT! I love Jello Pie!!! After lunch and some visiting, it was back home to get ready for the week ahead.

I had such a GREAT birthday weekend!!! :)

Happy Birthday to MEEEEEE! :)

Last Wednesday was my birthday. My 29th birthday. Um....when did I get this old??? Everyone knows I love my birthday. :) This is why I have a birthday month and a birthday week. Birthdays are fun. :)

So on Wednesday, September 30, I hit the big 2-9. The day was fairly ordinary. I got up, I got ready, I went to school. Whoopdeedoo. I stood in the hall, I did ELA, I taught my classes, I stood in the hall some more. Yippee. One should not have to work on one's birthday.


After school, I went to the post office to pick up the card that they would not leave at my house the day before. Steve had express mailed my card to make sure I got it in time. :) When I got home I had two boxes on my doorstep. WOOT! I love boxes!!! The first box was some stuff I had ordered from Garnet and Black Traditions. Hooray Gamecocks!!! The second box was a surprise!! From Korea!! KOREA!!!!!! Chalica sent me some fun elephant print shorts and a very cute elephant pillow! I loved my Korean box!! :) The day was looking up. :)

And then things got MUCH better. Steve sent me a text message. The conversation went something like this:

Steve: Are you home?

Me: Yep.

Steve: Ok. Got a bday text for you.

Me: Ok.

And then I received a picture message:

And I freaked out a little bit. :)

Me: When did you take that?

Steve: About 20 minutes ago.

Me: Are you messin' with me?

Steve: Would I do that?

Apparently he decided I was too slow at that point and called. "Come out on your porch," he said. And there he came. Down my street. All the way from New York. He drove to see me for my birthday. Ten hours in the car. For me. :) It was a WONDERFUL birthday surprise. :)

Steve and I went to meet friends at Tequila's for my birthday dinner. Jill, Chris, Michael, Krystle, Tara, Scott, Beezer, and Joel came out for my birthday dinner. Chris brought me this lovely cake. I found it hilarious that they misspelled "Speppy" and had to go back and squeeze the P in. Cake Wreck!!!

We had a lovely dinner with friends. :) I received so many birthday phone calls, cards, and messages! I am very blessed to have such wonderful friends and family! :) :) I think 29 is going to be a wonderful year!!

First Game of the Season!!!!

Saturday was the first home game of the season!!!! WAHHOOOOOO!!!!! Okay, so they played Florida Atlantic University. Wait, huh? Where? I didn't know either. It is apparently located in Boca Raton. I thought that's where the old people were. Oh well...

At any rate, I met Krystle and Mama Childers at the Mizwas' house at 1:30. After a short ride to Columbia, we set up the tailgating tent! WOOT! We put out our chairs and the cooler and sat down to relax. Thankfully, it was not raining, but unfortunately, it was SUPER humid which made it INCREDIBLY hot. Anyway, we had chicken and snacks and cake. Yum. :)

We walked over to where Chris and Lee Ann were tailgating to say hello. Then it was on to the stadium!!! Hooray! :)

Pretty Gamecock! Yay for being able to see the football field in person!!!!!!

They added some great signs in all four corners of the stadium to recognize notable Gamecocks. I like them. I think they're classy. :) The players (or their family members) were recognized during the game with framed replicas of the signs.

Pregame! WOOT!!! U-S-C GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO COCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I need this hat. Seriously.

It's Magic Time!! There's Cocky!!!!!!! Best mascot in sports right there, folks. Take a good look.

So the game was pretty fun. The Gamecocks came out looking pretty strong. And then they forgot what they were doing, I think. The first half was a little rocky. All I can say about halftime......FAIL. The alumni band....should stick to donating to the alumni fund. And the band band.....Dave Matthews....for halftime???? Um....I hope that doesn't last long. The second half was much better, except for a few bogus calls from the officials. I'm pretty sure when you catch the ball and take two steps with it and then drop it that it is called a "fumble". The officials, however, called it an "incomplete pass". Um...how complete did it need to be??? Stupid. And the best of all....the "disconcerting signals" call. As if the officials got together and said "Hey y'all, watch this. We're gonna make the stadium go 'WHHHHAAAAAAATTTTTTT????'" Stupid stupid call/rule/whatever. It's dumb.

Next game: Thursday night. I hope I get home from stupid parent conferences in time to see most of it!!! Come on, Gamecocks! Let's beat Mississippi. They have too many double consonants in their name. Just try not to be disconcerting. Thanks! :)

Best. Dog. Ever.

Sadie is the best dog. She is a Gamecock fan. Your dog is lame. :)

GO COCKS!!!

Carolina Football Season is here!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) I was so excited all day!!! I wore all of my Gamecock gear to school. I think the kids thought I was a little crazy. Of course, the Gamecock kids thought I was cool. :)
I stopped off at the College Shoppe after school. It's become a tradition in the last few years. I go there on the first game day of the season and buy myself a present. :) Isn't this shirt cute?!?
I had to rush home and decorate cakes. I almost finished both of them before kickoff. I finished the second one during halftime.
The Gamecocks looked awesome at the beginning of the game. They kinda lost it a bit as the game went on. Our poor defense was tired since the offense couldn't seem to stay on the field for very long. But, a win is a win, and the Gamecocks defeated the Wolfpack 7-3.
Up next: Georgia. YUCK!

The First Weeks of School

Well, I've been back at work for 3 weeks. One week of "workdays" (technically one workday and one day of meetings and two days of sitting at a table at open house, wishing I could get some actual work done), and two weeks with children. The first week with the kids is always pretty boring. I talked about my rules and procedures 25 times and read The Music Teacher From The Black Lagoon 25 times. I like to read that book to scare them. :) Mwah hahahahaha! I was absolutely exhausted all week. And I had migraines. Fail. It didn't help that York Tech started last week too. We had a nearly 3 hour meeting there on Tuesday night and then my class started on Wednesday. I was SOOOOO tired.

Week Two at school was a lot different. I actually got to teach some music. :) Well, I got to teach music every day after I taught language arts on the second grade hall for two hours. Sigh. At least the second grade teachers have been helpful. :) My kids are a lot different than what I'm used to. They are polite and they listen and follow directions. YAY! :) :) :) I haven't raised my voice in two weeks. I'm excited about that. I've used my teacher voice a couple of times on a couple of kids, but nothing too serious. I really used it just to show them that I have it. I don't want them to get too comfortable. So far, I'm actually enjoying being in my classroom doing my thing this year. I hope that continues!!

Here are a few pictures of my new classroom. I like it in there. Except the goofy lack of air conditioning.

My front board area. Rules are above the board, my stereo is there, a calendar, and there's Mr. Monkey in the chair. :) The kids LOVE Mr. Monkey!!!

My schedule. Geezerie. I'm BUSY!!

My monkey behavior chart.

The back instrument/book corner.